Inzamam's bracing welcome

[King]

A slimmed-down Inzamam-ul-Haq may have pined for his old extra layer of fat as he made his debut for Yorkshire on a day more memorable for plummeting temperatures. More... Inzamam's bracing welcome A slimmed-down Inzamam-ul-Haq might have wished for his old extra layer of fat as he made his LV County Championship debut for Yorkshire on a day more memorable for the bitter weather at Scarborough. The former Pakistan captain, whose Test future is uncertain after he was left out of a training camp squad earleir this summer, has lost more than a stone in weight during his fitness drive, but never had the chance to break sweat on a gloomy day on the Yorkshire coast that was eventually curtailed by bad light. Inzamam, who has signed a short-term contract with Yorkshire as a replacement for compatriot Younus Khan, spent the entire Warwickshire innings rooted to second slip and, much to the disappointment of the 2,800 crowd, never got to bat on the opening day of the Scarborough Festival. While his new team-mates resorted to wearing woolly hats to combat a biting wind whipping in off the North Sea, Inzy maintained his dress sense by sporting a Yorkshire cap, not that it did much to fight off the cold. Inzamam, who will also play in Yorkshire’s final two matches of the season, was at least able to warm his hands early on by taking a neat slip catch to give Matthew Hoggard the first wicket of the day. “It’s not just cold, it’s freezing cold,” he said. “I played here in 1992 and it was the same then. “But it’s good, especially after four or five months without cricket. With Younus going, it was a good opportunity for me. It’s a good club.” The 37-year-old batsman’s last cricket was for Pakistan in their ill-fated World Cup campaign, in temperatures of 30-plus degrees, a far cry from the miserly 14 degrees here. Inzamam, who resigned the Pakistan one-day captaincy in the wake of their failure to reach the World Cup knockout stages and the death of coach Bob Woolmer, was recently named by the Indian Cricket League in their 50-strong squad for a proposed 40-day Twenty20 tournament later this year. He has also put himself in the shop window by signing for Yorkshire and captain Darren Gough is backing his new signing to catch the eye. “He seems excited about playing here,” said Gough. “I’ve had a bit of a chat with him and he’s keen to prove a point to Pakistan. “If he has a couple of good matches, people will be looking at him for next year, whether it’s us or someone else. That’s the idea. If he scores runs, someone is going to sign him.”

Inzamam captures the attention of the younger generation Yorkshire are hoping the capture of Inzamam, who has played 119 Tests and 378 one-day internationals, will help them in their final push for the championship. “He will bring that experience to our middle order,” said Gough. “On occasions this year, when we’ve played the youngsters, they’ve lacked that bit of experience. “We could have stuck with our own but we showed our intent. If we are going to win the championship at this stage, we have to win games. “It’s all about giving youth a chance as well but, at this business end of the season, you need your best team out and Inzamam-ul-Haq would get into any side.” While Gough is hoping for big things from his bat, he is not expecting Inzamam to make a significant impact in the dressing room. “He’s very quiet,” he said. “For such a big bloke, he doesn’t say much. Younus Khan was totally different. He was a bit louder and spoke very good English. “Inzamam doesn’t speak good English but he’s a quality player and I think he’s looking forward to his spell here.”

[Donny]

Inzi scored 8, 3 more than Michael Vaughan.