Afzal Masood

Born at Lahore in May 1972,[3] Masood is the older brother of the first-class cricketer Mohammad Akhtar. Masood made his debut in first-class cricket for Lahore Reds against Rawalpindi in at Rawalpindi in January 1968.[4] He played two first-class matches for Sargodha in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy in November 1968.[4] While attending the University of the Punjab,[3] Masood played first-class cricket for the Punjab University cricket team in five matches from December 1968 to November 1970.[4] During this time he also played a further match for Sargodha in September 1969 in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, as well as appearing for Central Zone against the touring Marylebone Cricket Club in February 1969.[4] He later played twelve first-class matches for Pakistan International Airlines (including their A and B teams) from January 1971 to April 1973.[4] Masood played 23 first-class matches in Pakistan, scoring 1,057 runs. He made one century, a score of 114 against Karachi Greens in the 1969/70 Ayub Trophy.[3]

He came to England in 1972, in search of a contract in county cricket. Though he trialled with Northamptonshire in 1972 and 1973, he was unable to force his way into the first eleven.[3][5] After briefly playing in the Birmingham League, Masood moved to Dublin to open a chain of boutique shops.[3] He soon started playing club cricket for Phoenix Cricket Club, and scored the first double century in the Leinster League since Gerry Duffy in 1955.[3] His performances at club level caught the eye of the Ireland selectors. He made his debut for Ireland in a List A one-day match against Northamptonshire at Northampton in the 1982 NatWest Trophy.[6] Masood played five List A matches for Ireland from 1982–1988,[6] scoring 159 runs at an average of 31.80, with a high score of 69.[7] This score, which was his only List A fifty, came against Sussex in the 1983 NatWest Trophy.[8][3] Masood also made two first-class appearances for Ireland, both against Scotland in 1986 and 1987.[4] Imran Khan, playing for Sussex in this match, praised Masood's innings and attempted to persuade him to return to Pakistan to force his way into the Pakistani team.[3] He continued to play club cricket in Ireland into the 1990s, scoring his final century in 1994.[3]

• Afzal Masood at ESPNcricinfo