LAHORE: Former Pakistan Test captain Azhar Ali has emerged as a frontrunner to be appointed in a new, senior position in the country’s cricket board, to look after its youth development program, the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency reported on Wednesday.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) advertised for the position of Director Youth Cricket on its website on Wednesday only, with October 31 the deadline for interested candidates to apply.The position requires the candidates to have played at least 50 Test matches for their country.
According to an insider, Azhar is the favourite for the post as he has also expressed his interest in working with the junior level players and improving the system, PTI reported.“Another former captain, Mohammad Yousuf is also keen on working in this position and was one reason why he resigned as national selector,” the insider said.
The PCB has created the new post to ensure the appointed candidate will work from the under-13 to under-19 levels with the regional coaches, academies and players.He will also be tasked with scouting new talent and grooming it through a proper system.
The insider said another reason for creating this post was to end politics and age verification frauds in the age group tournaments.
Meanwhile, Pakistan were 23-1 at tea on the fourth day and fighting to avoid an innings defeat after Harry Brook’s 371 and Joe Root’s 262 propelled England to a mammoth 823-7 declared in the first Test.
Brook and Root put on 454 for the fourth wicket as England piled up the fourth highest innings in Test cricket history before Chris Woakes bowled opener Abdullah Shafique with the first ball of their second innings.
Saim Ayub and captain Shan Masood — dropped twice by England fielders — were unbeaten on 13 and 10 respectively with Pakistan still needing 244 to make England bat again.Brook and Root enjoyed a run-feast on a flat Multan stadium pitch, both knocking career-best scores to give England a 267 lead over Pakistan’s first innings total of 556.
The 25-year-old Brook clubbed a four-off spinner Saim Ayub to become the sixth Englishman to score 300 or more in Test cricket, achieving the feat off 310 balls, with 28 fours and three sixes.Andy Sandham of England was the first batsman to score a triple hundred in Test cricket, scoring 325 against the West Indies at Kingston in 1930.
Other Englishmen to score 300 are Len Hutton (364), Wally Hammond (336 not out), Graham Gooch (333 not out) and Bill Edrich (310 not out).Brook has made rapid strides at the international level since making his debut in 2022. He knocked three centuries against Pakistan in 2022 — in only his second series, which England won 3-0.
Brook’s senior partner Joe Root was unlucky not to reach his maiden triple century as he was trapped leg-before by spinner Agha Salman for 262 soon after lunch.England resumed on 492-3 and looked for quick runs, which Root and Brook provided despite Pakistan’s defensive leg-side bowling, adding 166 runs in 29 overs in the session.
Root, who went past Alastair Cook’s 12,472 to become England’s highest Test run scorer on Wednesday, broke his previous best of 254 which he had also scored against Pakistan at Manchester in 2016.Pakistan’s only chance came in the first hour when Root, on 186, failed to keep down a pull shot off pace bowler Naseem Shah but Babar Azam shelled the regulation chance at mid-wicket.
Pakistan were without frontline spinner Abrar Ahmed who suffered a fever and did not take the field on Thursday.
