On Tuesday, Saud Shakeel’s batting record touched another height. He showed an exceptional batting display in partnership with No.11 Abrar Ahmed resulted in an unbeaten double century, as he reached an impressive score of 208 when the final wicket fell.
The talented left-handed batsman has made a remarkable impact at the start of his Test career, consistently performing at a high level. In his first 6 matches, Shakeel’s lowest score was 22, showcasing his consistency and ability to make valuable contributions.
He demonstrated his potential early on by scoring 94 in just his second Test match against England in Multan, and he further solidified his reputation by achieving his maiden Test century earlier in the year against New Zealand.
With an astounding batting average of 98.5 after Pakistan’s first innings in Galle, Shakeel currently holds the highest average among players who have batted more than 10 times in Tests, second only to the legendary Sir Donald Bradman.
Furthermore, his total of 788 runs in his first 11 Test innings surpasses the previous records held by teammates Abdullah Shafique (720 runs) and Javed Miandad (654 runs). In fact, only seven batsmen in the history of Test cricket have scored more runs than Shakeel in their first 6 innings.
Let’s take a look at other players who scored extraordinary amount of runs in their first six matches:
Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar’s career got off to an incredible start as he made his Test debut for India against the West Indies on March 6, 1971, in the second Test of the series at Port of Spain, Trinidad. In his first six Test matches, Gavaskar showcased his immense talent and ability as an opening batsman.
He scored a staggering 912 runs at an impressive average of 154.80, including three centuries and one double century. His first three Test centuries came in consecutive matches against the West Indies, a remarkable achievement for a young batsman just starting his international career.
Gavaskar’s first century was a memorable 116 not out at Port of Spain in his debut match, followed by 65 and 67 at Bridgetown, Barbados, and 124 at Georgetown, Guyana.
Gavaskar’s remarkable run-scoring in his first six Test matches laid the foundation for an illustrious career ahead, earning him a reputation as one of India’s greatest-ever batsmen and a legend of the game.
His early success against a strong West Indies team marked the beginning of an era where Gavaskar’s name would become synonymous with Indian cricketing excellence on the global stage.
Sir Donald Bradman
Sir Donald Bradman, widely regarded as the greatest batsman in the history of cricket, began his Test career in spectacular fashion. He made his debut for Australia against England on November 30, 1928, in the first Test of the Ashes series at Brisbane.
In his first six Test matches, Bradman displayed an extraordinary level of batting prowess against England, scoring a remarkable 862 runs at an astonishing average of 139.14. His first Test century came in just his second match, a magnificent 112 at Melbourne against England.
Bradman continued his run-scoring spree with another century, 123, in the fourth Test at Adelaide. In the same series, he also scored a double century in his sixth career match followed by an incredible 334 at Headingley, England, which firmly established him as a batting phenomenon.
The early phase of Don Bradman’s Test career showcased that he was destined for greatness. His sheer brilliance against the English attack in the Ashes series left cricket enthusiasts in awe. With an unmatched average of 139.14 in his first six Test matches, Bradman had already set new standards for batting excellence.
His exceptional performances against England in those initial matches laid the foundation for a remarkable cricketing journey, during which he went on to achieve numerous records and accolades, solidifying his status as a cricketing legend for generations to come. Saud Shakeel’s batting record in terms of average after minimum 10 innings is only second to Don Bradman.
Harry Brook
Harry Brook has a great start of his test match career. Making his debut against South Africa at the Oval, he could only score 12 runs in the first innings and didn’t bat in the second innings. The debut wasn’t great but his debut tour of subcontinent was quite memorable for him.
His remarkable journey started actually at Rawalpindi where he scored 153 in the first innings and 87 in the second innings, contributing with 240 runs in total in a single match. In first six matches of his career, Brook celebrated magnificent century four times.
Brook scored 186 runs at Wellington against New Zealand, unfortunately, in the second innings, he was runout due to an error of Joe Root. Brook is also the fastest to bring 1000 runs in test cricket in terms of balls, he took on 1058 balls to score 1000 runs.
In total, Brook accumulated 809 runs in first 6 test matches of his career. The remarkable thing about his performance has been his strike rate which touched around 100 in initial phase of his career with an average of 80.
Brook is unconventional in his approach and this is what sets him apart from previous century greats. Fearless by attitude, Brook has become a permanent part of the English test team because of his ability to dominate the game in adverse situations.
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Saud Shakeel has just started his test career for Pakistan. He is young elegant and classy cricketer who plays more with timing than using unorthodox approach. Only Harry Brook is an unorthodox batter who has made him name in this list, on a good note, Brook is an exceptionally talented young player who will continue to score big runs dor England.
The era of Don Bradman and Sunil Gavaskar is story of past age. There are some emerging names who are showing signs of early career excellence and, Saud Shakeel and Harry Brook is definitely two of those big names.
