The group stage of the 2022 edition of the Pakistan Super League has reached its halfway stage, with each of the six teams having played five games.
Multan Sultans are currently sitting atop the table with five wins from five games, while Babar Azam-led Karachi Kings, without a win so far, are propping up the standings.
There is an unusually large English contingent within this tournament’s Pakistan Super League squads. Eighteen Englishmen have taken the field so far – an average of three per team – with varying degrees of success.
Islamabad United
Alex Hales
168 runs @ 42.00, SR: 158.49, HS: 82*
Alex Hales has excelled so far, with Islamabad United relying on him and Paul Stirling for consistent, explosive starts. Hales has only once failed to make it to 20, but how he fares now that his opening partner has left for international duty remains to be seen.
Karachi Kings
Joe Clarke
52 runs @ 26.00, SR: 115.55, HS: 26
Joe Clarke was left out after some mediocre returns in Karachi Kings’ first three games, failing to carry on his strong finish to the BBL. Still, with his side struggling, he could yet get another crack – an average of 26 is high enough to see him sit second to Babar Azam in his team’s tables.
Ian Cockbain
33 runs @ 16.50, SR: 137.50, HS: 33
The beneficiary of Clarke’s misfortune, Ian Cockbain slammed a 19-ball 31 on PSL debut, having come in at 3-2, to help revive an ailing chase, albeit only temporarily. He failed in his next game, but his late arrival as a franchise cricketer is yet to be extinguished.
Lewis Gregory
44 runs @ 14.66, SR: 86.27, HS: 15; 0 wickets, Econ: 9.54
Lewis Gregory has struggled so far, only once scoring at above a run a ball, and wicketless with the ball. While the job of the finisher is a tough one, Gregory has hardly been denied opportunity either. Twice he’s come in before the 10th over, and only once has he come in after the 17th.
Chris Jordan
5 runs @ 5.00, SR: 125.00, HS: 5; 2 wickets @ 36, Econ: 9.00
Chris Jordan has played just one game, arriving late following England’s T20I series against West Indies. He began poorly, conceding 16 in his first over, but improved through the middle.
Tom Lammonby
4 runs @ 2.00, SR: 80.00, HS: 3
Tom Lammonby was Imran Tahired and then Naseem Shahed early on, which can happen to anyone.
Lahore Qalandars
Harry Brook
78 runs @ 78.00, SR: 181.39, HS: 41*
After enduring a tough BBL and debut series for England, Harry Brook has blown away the cobwebs with two fast cameos from the lower order.
Phil Salt
10 runs @ 5.00, SR: 142.85, HS: 8
Phil Salt has been asked to bat in the middle order as he did for England on debut, rather than in his customary opening slot, but is yet to recreate his Barbados magic.
Samit Patel
26 runs, SR: 144.44, HS: 26*; 0 wickets, Econ: 15.00
Strangely underused despite his Pakistan Super League success in years gone by, Samit Patel has batted just once and bowled two overs so far. In that one innings, a cool unbeaten cameo ushered home a tense chase, but Patel was still left out for the next game.
Multan Sultans
David Willey
7 wickets @ 16.00, Econ: 7.72
The table-toppers have only called upon one Englishman, but he’s been important to their charge. David Willey has done his thing reliably with the new ball, though it was only against Islamabad United that the early wickets began to flow. In that game, he lopped off both openers, Alex Hales and Paul Stirling, to give his side the edge in a high-scoring encounter.
Peshawar Zalmi
Tom Kohler-Cadmore
22 runs @ 11, SR: 115.78, HS: 22
Saqib Mahmood
0 wickets, Econ: 12.33
Pat Brown
0 wickets, Econ: 8.71
Peshawar Zalmi’s English contingent have played five games between them, with Tom Kohler-Cadmore making a reasonable 22 in a high-scoring chase and then a duck, Pat Brown contributing seven steady if unthreatening overs, and Saqib Mahmood expensive in his one game after landing from West Indies.
Quetta Gladiators
Ben Duckett
60 runs @ 15.00, SR: 120.00, HS: 47
Ben Duckett has failed three times, once slowly in a low chase, and once quickly in a high chase. His one knock of substance came off 30 balls and was the top score in a narrow defeat.
Will Smeed
130 runs @ 43.33, SR: 127.45, HS: 97
Will Smeed’s first T20 stint outside the UK started in spectacular fashion, with the Somerset teenager coming within inches of a six in his team’s opener. However, he has struggled in two games since, with a slow 30 and a failure seeing him left out after Quetta Gladiators’ England players arrived.
Jason Roy
116 runs @ 116.00, SR: 203.50, HS: 116
For some reason Jason Roy wasn’t immediately available after arriving from West Indies, but made up for lost time with one of the great T20 hundreds, taking apart Shaheen Shah Afridi and Rashid Khan to help a record chase.
James Vince
49 runs @ 49, SR: 122.50, HS: 49*
James Vince made a two-ball duck upon arrival from West Indies, and batted in Roy’s slipstream during his magnificent hundred guiding a record chase to its conclusion after his England teammates departure.
Luke Wood
0 wickets, ER: 11.25
Luke Wood took a pasting in his only game so far, but Roy’s heroics spared his blushes.
