Taufeeq Umar

Taufeeq Umar
توفیق عمر
Personal information
Full name Taufeeq Umar
Born (1981-06-20) 20 June 1981
Lahore, Pakistan
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Batting style Left-handed
Bowling style Right arm off break
Role Opening batsman
International information
National side
Test debut (cap 170) 29 August 2001 v Bangladesh
Last Test 17-21 November 2014 v New Zealand
ODI debut (cap 139) 27 October 2001 v Sri Lanka
Last ODI 30 May 2011 v Ireland
Career statistics
Competition Test ODI FC LA
Matches 43 22 145 126
Runs scored 2,943 504 8,957 4,431
Batting average 38.72 24.00 37.32 39.91
100s/50s 7/14 0/3 18/48 10/21
Top score 236 81* 236 151*
Balls bowled 78 72 880 1,451
Wickets 0 1 14 34
Bowling average – 85.00 34.35 36.94
5 wickets in innings 0 0 0 1
10 wickets in match 0 n/a 0 n/a
Best bowling – 1/49 3/33 5/39
Catches/stumpings 47/– 9/– 142/– 81/–
Source: Cricinfo, 8 February 2012

Taufeeq Umar (Punjabi: توفیق عمر, born 20 June 1981) is a Pakistani cricketer who was a regular Test opening batsman for three seasons, before being dropped ahead of the 2004–05 season. Unusually for a Pakistani player, Umar has played more Tests than ODIs, as he was not given a prolonged run in the ODI side until 2003, when he played eight ODIs in a row. However, he only missed two of 24 Tests played between August 2001 and April 2004, and after 17 Tests his batting average had reached 48.03 after he made four scores above 50 in the two-Test series with South Africa.[1] Possessing excellent temperament, he remains unique amongst Pakistani openers in his ability to concentrate for long periods and his ability to build innings. With exquisite drives either side of the wicket, a formidable cut and pull shot in the armoury and possessing the natural gift of timing, he seemed the very answer to Pakistan's opening problem especially against a full strength South African attack in South Africa (2003). A loss of form against India (2004) resulted in Taufeeq losing his place in the team and a subsequent loss of batting confidence.

He continued to be in the Pakistani selectors' minds, playing for Pakistan against a touring England XI in 2005–06,[2] and continued to play for Lahore Ravi and Habib Bank Limited in Pakistani domestic competitions. It remains to be seen whether he can recover his solid technique and return to Test cricket as the formidable opener he was meant to be.

This is compounded by the fact that he joined the rebel Indian Cricket League and represented the Lahore Badshahs.

Taufeeq spent a summer in the UK playing Professional League cricket for Lancaster Cricket Club in the Northern League. He was recalled into the Pakistani side for the South Africa Series in 2010.[3] He made his comeback against South Africa with some good scores. Against west indies, he scored a century and then a brilliant double hundred against Sri Lanka at UAE. He has again become a regular part of Test squad as an opener.

International centuries

Test centuries

Taufeeq Umar's Test centuries
No Runs Match Against City/Country Venue Year
[1] 104 1  Bangladesh Multan, Pakistan Multan Cricket Stadium 2001
[2] 111 10  Zimbabwe Harare, Zimbabwe Harare Sports Club 2002
[3] 135 13  South Africa Cape Town, South Africa Newlands 2003
[4] 111 16  South Africa Lahore, Pakistan Gaddafi Stadium 2003
[5] 135 31  West Indies Basseterre, St Kitts Warner Park 2011
[6] 236 33  Sri Lanka Abu Dhabi, UAE Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium 2011
[7] 130 37  Bangladesh Dhaka, Bangladesh Shere Bangla National Stadium 2011

References

  1. ↑ Taufeeq Umar – Test Batting – Cumulative career averages from Cricinfo Stats Guru, retrieved 14 December 2005
  2. ↑ Pakistan A v England XI in 2005/06 from CricketArchive, retrieved 14 December 2005
  3. ↑ http://www.cricinfo.com/pakistan-v-south-africa-2010/content/current/story/480522.html

External links

  1. Send for Taufeeq Umar by Kamran Abbasi, published 23 March 2004.
  2. Pakistan pay for failures across the board by Kamran Abbasi, published 22 April 2004
  3. 2nd Final: Australia v Pakistan at Sydney, 6 Feb 2005 scorecard from Cricinfo, retrieved 14 December 2005
  4. Pakistan's stars in the ascendancy by Osman Samiuddin, published on Cricinfo 29 March 2005
  5. Second Test v India 16–20 Mar 2005 and Third Test v India 24–28 Mar 2005, both from Cricinfo, retrieved 14 December 2005
  6. Player profile: Taufeeq Umar from ESPNcricinfo
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