Fronting up to a pumped up Mitchell Starc or Pat Cummins can make the most accomplished batsmen jittery – for Pakistan opener Shan Masood, facing the Australian quicks needed a little help from American pop rock band Maroon 5.
Speaking to BBC ahead of the third England-Pakistan Test, Masood revealed how he took on Australia’s three-pronged pace attack last year by continuously singing the chartbuster Memories to calm the nerves in Brisbane.
“Whenever I’m batting, there’s always a song in my head,” Masood said. “One I remember vividly was when I was at the Gabba – facing Australia’s Starc, Cummins and Hazlewood. That was always going to be a feisty battle so I kept a slow song, I kept singing Memories by Maroon 5 just to calm myself down.”
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While he did manage to survive against Starc in that Test, Cummins did claim his wicket in both innings, restricting Masood to 27 and 42 in his two outings. In the next Test at Adelaide, he top-scored for Pakistan in the second innings, scoring 68 in their innings defeat.
While Pakistan went on to lose the series 2-0, Masood retained his spot for the next series against Sri Lanka, scoring back-to-back tons and sealing the opener’s slot ahead of the England tour.
Masood, who scored his maiden Test century on England soil in the first Test of the series, singled out James Anderson as another difficult quick to face. In five Tests, Masood has been dismissed by Anderson seven times.
“Jimmy makes the ball talk, he is a phenomenal bowler,” he said. “Playing him, those are the things you play for.”
