Pakistan’s phenomenal all-rounder

Pakistan’s phenomenal all-rounder, the 31-year-old Abdul Razzaq, left Lancaster battered and wounded as he played a sensational innings of 62 runs from a mere 30 deliveries helping his side Leicester shire register a victory against their rivals in a breathtaking Friends life Twenty20 Match at the Old Tr afford.
James Taylor of Leicester shire hits out during the Friends Life t20 match against Lancaster at Old Tr afford.

James Taylor of Leicester shire hits out during the Friends Life t20 match against Lancaster at Old Tr afford.

Leicester shire which seemed to be out of the game at one point took the match away from Lancaster with four-wickets in hand. The rain affected match was shortened by an over which gave them a target of 165 to conquer in 19 overs.Razzaq who had arrived a day earlier took the Lancaster pacers to the sword as he seemed unstoppable in an innings during which he cleared the boundary five times.He was provided potent support by fellow batsman Wayne White as the two shared an unhindered partnership of 66 runs off 28 deliveries.Lauding the support that he received from White Razzaq in the post match interview said, “Well played to my colleague Mr White.”

Earlier from Leicester shire side the Australian Andrew McDonald helped his side come closer to the required tally as he scored 57 runs off 40 deliveries.However it was Razzaq who stole McDonald’s thunder in the latter half of the innings by displaying some ruthless hitting all over the park which made the formidable Lancaster bowling attack look helpless.It was the blistering innings by Razzaq which earned him the Man of the Match award in his first match of the mammoth series. Lancaster with this defeat could not retain their unbeaten record after winning their first four games in the tournament.
Friends Life T20 Season 2011

Friends Life T20 Season 2011

This month, the county hired the services of Pakistan’s pace all-rounder as their second overseas player, to strengthen their squad for the Friends Twenty20 tournament.After Razzaq’s signing, the chief executive of Leicester shire, Mike Siddall said, “I think this shows our ambition, we had a little bit of money available with Andrew McDonald going to the IPL. We want to do better than last year in the T20 when we lost seven home matches.”

Meanwhile, this game has clearly exhibited the enormous amount of talent that Razzaq possesses and he can still be valuable for his national side.
However, the impressive all-rounder has been scrapped from the national team and the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) Chairman, Ijaz Butt, feels that the all-rounder has passed his prime and will not be of any use to the home side Razzaq on the other hand has reiterated that he still wants to play for the .national team, over another three to four years,as he believes he has enough cricket left in him to serve his country.