For Yousuf, Islam is key to success

His cool languid style at the crease belies the steel beneath. The 31-year-old Pakistani batsman believes that all his success is due to the higher power.

Some batsmen put their trust in a coach but for Pakistan’s Mohammad Yousuf belief in Islam is the key to success. The man formerly known as Yousuf Youhana, and raised as a Roman Catholic in Lahore’s Christian community, was in no doubt about the reason for his first Test century at Lord’s.

“Everything is because of Allah, we can’t do without him,” said the 31-year-old. “I converted and after that my performances have improved because of the discipline.

“I pray five times a day. When you are praying you are very disciplined. The first prayer in the morning is at 4.30am, the second at teatime, the third after the game and the next two are at 9.30pm and 10.45pm.  “I haven’t changed my way of playing, or the way of my game, just the way of my life,” explained Yousuf, whose Test average has rocketed from nearly 48 to just over 92 since his conversion became public late last year.

That announcement came just before England’s tour of Pakistan — where the hosts went on to win the three-match Test campaign 2-0. Yousuf’s average for that series was 68.40, including a Test-best 223 at his Lahore home ground in December. And he was equally assured on Sunday, on an ideal batting pitch, against an attack missing injured Ashes-winning quicks Andrew Flintoff and Simon Jones.

But Yousuf, who 330 balls with one six and 26 fours after more than seven hours at the crease, insisted runs had been hard to come by. “They are a very good bowling side but I am in good form thanks to Allah.”

On Sunday, he became only the second Pakistani since Mohsin Khan in 1982 to make a Test double century at Lord’s. But Youhana’s beginnings were anything but indicative of the heights he is scaling at present.

He came from a poor family and the only way he could get a ‘knock’ was when he found some broken table tennis balls. The only bat he had was one used for washing clothes. But his talent shone through the tough times. He used to stay in the railway colony and in that same locality as luck would have it, lived the chairman of one local club called Golden Gymkhana, Haji Bashiruddin Chugtai.

He asked Yousuf to come to the nets. He did the hard yards, carrying drinks for three years, and only after that inital phase did he make his debut for the first team. Then in 1992-93, he became the captain his college team and later started playing for Income Tax.

The runs didn’t come as expected and Yousuf left cricket in 1994. The next logical step was to look for a job but even that wasn’t successful. Without cricket or a job to occupy his waking hours, he took to hanging around in the streets with his friends.

One day, just out of the blue, fate gave him a second chance. He got a chance to play for a very big club, which he still represents. One of his friends, who used to play for Universal Club, got in touch with him. the club was a player short, and he was offered the chance to play.

Before Yousuf knew it, his teams was five quick wickets down for 30 odd. The right-hander scored 125 displaying the languid style that has now become his trademark.

Another lucky break followed. A guy who used to arrange players for league cricket in England helped him get a contract in England

Two seasons in England convinced Yousuf that his future lay in cricket and smoothened the rough edges in his batting technique. After that, he played at The Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) for a few seasons, and scored more runs than anyone else. His hard work was rewarded with a chance to represent Pakistan. The country was in need of a middle-order bat and his first tour was the 1998 Independence Cup in Bangladesh.

India won the tournament but Pakistan gained a batsman of great class.

Good but is he great?

• Yousuf has scored over 7,306 ODI runs at an average of 41.04 (3rd highest batting average among Pakistani batsmen after Zaheer Abbas and Javed Miandad)
• 5308 Test runs at an average of 52.03 (second highest batting average among Pakistani batsmen after Javed Miandad) with 16 Test centuries.
• Scored the most runs without being dissmissed in ODIs — 405, against Zimbabwe in Zimbabwe in 2002-03.
• He has also scored a 23-ball fifty, in ODIs and a 68-ball hundred.
• In Tests he has scored a 27-ball fifty, which is 3rd fastest by any player.
• He was top scorer during the successive years of 2002 (1362 runs) and 2003 (1168) in the world in ODIs.