Brian Lara Cricket Academy: Pakistan captain Babar Azam has revealed that former skipper Shan Masood suffered a finger fracture during the first Test against West Indies at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy, admitting that the injury severely disrupted the visitors in their 90-run defeat.
Masood hurt his finger while batting during Pakistan's first innings and was forced to drop down to number eight in the second innings. His absence from the top order proved costly as Pakistan were bowled out for 120 on the final day, marking their eighth consecutive Test loss on foreign soil.
"Yes, Shan Masood’s injury affected us because, unfortunately, his finger is fractured, so we definitely missed him. At the same time, when you’re facing the new ball, you have to survive the first 20 overs, build partnerships, and then, as the ball gets older, the pitch becomes easier to bat on. We couldn’t put together those partnerships," Babar was quoted as saying by the ICC on Wednesday.
Masood's availability for the remainder of the series will be monitored ahead of the second Test, which begins in Port of Spain on August 2. Only Babar provided resistance in the second innings with his 32nd Test half-century, but he ran out of partners as West Indies fast bowler Jayden Seales tore through the lineup with figures of 5-20.
The defeat left Pakistan rooted to the bottom of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) standings. Reflecting on the loss, Babar acknowledged that his team failed to rise to the occasion on the final day.
"We played good cricket in the last few days, but today we were not up to the mark as a batting unit. The surface is good and we expected the new ball to move for which we were prepared.
“But I think they bowled very well and used the conditions nicely. We’ll sit together and discuss these things because, while the result isn’t go our way, we can certainly address our mistakes. We’ll do our best to correct them and ensure we improve going forward," he added
While Seales led the charge on the final day, it was fellow pacer Justin Greaves who walked away with the Player of the Match award following his historic spell in the first innings, where he recorded five consecutive wicket maidens.
“But I think they bowled very well and used the conditions nicely. We’ll sit together and discuss these things because, while the result isn’t go our way, we can certainly address our mistakes. We’ll do our best to correct them and ensure we improve going forward," he added
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“We came in and tried to be just as disciplined as possible. I mimicked Mohammad Abbas' fuller lengths when he bowled against us in the first and second innings and it pretty much worked out for us."