It was a frustrating 10 days of test cricket for new Black Caps captain Tim Southee. Photo / Photosport
It was a frustrating 10 days of test cricket for new Black Caps captain Tim Southee. Photo / Photosport
After 10 days of toil under the Karachi sun against a Pakistan side they had the better of for long periods, the Black Caps have been left with two drawn tests and a captain praising one opposition player for his efforts in twice thwarting victory for the New Zealanders.
While these late stoppages may seem crucial, they came as no surprise to the players, with New Zealand captain Tim Southee saying it was taken into account by both sides in the way they declared to set up the final days of play.
Instead, more of a factor in Pakistan preventing New Zealand from claiming a rare test series victory on their home patch was veteran wicketkeeper Sarfaraz Ahmed.
Returning to the side after a four-year absence, the 35-year-old sparkplug’s lowest score in the series from four appearances was 53; as he totalled 335 runs at an average of 83.75.
Crucially, the number six batter also took part in partnerships of 196, 85, 150, 123 and 70 with Pakistan’s lower-middle order, just when the Black Caps were looking to assert their dominance.
Sarfaraz Ahmed, left, put on a quick-fire 70-run partnership with Agha Salman on day five. Photo / AP
“Sarfaraz was outstanding... not only today, but throughout the whole series. He came out, he played positive cricket, played busy cricket. For somebody who hasn’t played for four years, credit to him,” Southee said after a thrilling end to day five.
“It came down to the last moments, great end to 10 days of pretty tough toil,” Southee added. “We knew from the nature of the surface that things could happen late in the test but Sarfaraz was probably the difference. We could’ve won had we got him earlier.”
It was Sarfaraz who played a crucial role in determining Southee’s tactics as, with a new ball available for his bowling attack, he was forced to delay taking it in hand under the threat of the positive-minded keeper’s attacking prowess.
“We found with the two batsmen still in - Sarfaraz and Salman - that runs could have come quickly and I think that’s a build-up of the way Sarfaraz played through the day which delayed us taking the new ball.
“If he didn’t play as positive as he did throughout the day then we would have been able to take the new ball because we would have had a lot more runs runs to play with.”
Pakistan captain Babar Azam also credited the efforts of Sarfaraz (118) who struck nine fours and a six in his first test century since making 112 against New Zealand in Dubai in 2014.
“He’s come back after four years and had a dream comeback, after waiting all those years. It was his belief that kept him going.”
Pakistan's Sarfaraz Ahmed celebrates what was his first test century on home soil. Photo / AP
Sarfaraz rated his century as the best of his career.
“I have been there with the team for four years and unfortunately I did not get a chance but whatever cricket came my way, my effort was to keep playing my game and keep giving performances and if Allah wants then I would get an opportunity and I did get an opportunity,” he said.
In fact, while Black Caps fans may feel frustrated at the side failing to take the one final wicket required for victory, Sarfaraz believes the win could just have easily gone the home side’s way.
“The effort was that when there were 140 runs left, the message from the team management and the captain was that you go after the ball,” Sarfaraz said.
“But when the two wickets fell, I had to go a little on the back foot. But if those wickets hadn’t fallen then, the result could have been a better one for us.”
For now, the Black Caps will be buoyed going into a whirlwind three-match ODI series by the fact Pakistan have left Sarfaraz out of their squad. The first match of the series begins on Monday at 10:30pm.
