Azhar Ali achieves major milestone during County season

Former Pakistan cricketer, Azhar Ali, who is currently representing Worcestershire has reached a significant milestone during County season. 

The veteran batsman has become the 17th Pakistan cricketer to reach the landmark of 16,000 First Class runs. He achieved this feat during the match against Sussex, where he scored 103* and the match ended in a draw. 

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With this accomplishment, Azhar joins the ranks of legendary Pakistan cricketers such as Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq, who both achieved the feat in 2016. 

Azhar Ali's achievement is a testament to his incredible talent and perseverance in the sport.

Recently, Sussex head coach, Paul Farbrace, heaped praise on Worcestershire's Azhar Ali, by considering him as a "world-class player in all conditions"  following his brilliant century in last week's County Championship draw. 

"Azhar is an outstanding player, and he showed on Sunday he is a world-class player in all conditions," he said.

"As much as I would have liked to have seen the back of him earlier, it was a pleasure to watch him bat again. He is a fantastic man and a great advert for the game, the patience with the way he played and lined the ball up," he maintained.

"He was the difference probably between us trying to sneak a victory and the game finishing as a draw, which both sides are going to learn from.

"He just plays the game in the right way, and you can’t help but admire such a fantastic player," he added.

In the year 2022, the former Pakistan captain, announced his retirement from the longest-format game following the third Test against England.

With 7,097 runs in 96 matches at an average of 42.49, Azhar is Pakistan’s fifth leading Test run-getter behind Younis Khan (10,099), Javed Miandad (8,832), Inzamam-ul-Haq (8,829) and Mohammad Yousuf (7,530).

In 2010, Azhar, as a 25-year-old, made his Test debut in England against Australia at Lord’s and scored his maiden Test half-century in only his second match. He would score 34 more half-centuries and went past the 100-run mark on 19 instances.

Azhar, 37, is the only Pakistan batter to score a triple-century in a pink-ball Test - a feat that he achieved against the West Indies at Dubai in 2016. That unbeaten 302 remains his highest score in Test cricket.