Umer Akmal
Encyclopedia
Umar Akmal is a Pakistan
i cricketer
. He made his ODI debut on 1 August 2009 against Sri Lanka and made his Test
debut against New Zealand
on 23 November 2009.
and Kamran Akmal
who are also cricketers. While his brothers are specialistwicket keepers, he is a right-handed batsman and a part time spinner
. He can also keep wicket - in recent times he has kept wicket for Pakistan in the shorter forms of the game.
in the 2008 U/19 Cricket World Cup
in Malaysia. After his success at the U-19 level he earned himself a first class contract and played the 2007-08 season of the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy
, representing the Sui Southern Gas
team. He is considered a future asset for Pakistan cricket. He is an aggressive style cricketer. In only his sixth first class match he smashed 248 off just 225 deliveries, including four sixes. He followed that up with an unbeaten 186 in his 8th first class match, off just 170 balls. He fared less well in his second season of first class cricket, with a string of low scores batting at number 3. He found form in the final few matches of the 2008/09 season and then in the RBS T20 tournament thus getting the selectors nod to play for Pakistan A side on their tour to Australia A.
debut against New Zealand
at Dunedin
on 23 November 2009. On the third day of his debut test, Umar Akmal hit 129 runs from 160 balls becoming only the second Pakistani to score a hundred on debut away from home after Fawad Alam. This feat also made him the first Pakistani batsman to score both his maiden Test and ODI century away from home, following his ODI century against Sri Lanka. The innings was noted as special due to Pakistan's tough position in the match and the hundred partnership which Akmal was involved in alongside his elder brother Kamran. He followed up the century in the first innings with a fifty in the second innings.
In only his second Test match he was moved up the order to the crucial spot of number 3, where he struggled initially but managed to counter-attack the hostile bowling with his natural flair, making 46 before he was undone by an inswinger by Daryl Tuffey. In the second innings he was moved down the order to his usual batting spot of number 5 as captain Mohammed Yousuf chose to bat at number 3 himself, and Akmal looked his usual aggressive self throughout his innings of 52 which came off only 33 balls. He had his first failure in the first innings of the third test at Napier where he was caught in the gully for a duck but scored a rearguard 77 in the second, promoting him to the leading run scorer of the series. Akmal finished the tour with 400 runs at an average of 57.14.
award. His exploits in Sri Lanka earned him a place in Pakistan's champions trophy squad. He played two good innings. His 41 not out against West Indies was a match winning knock and landed him his second career Man of the Match
award. His next big innings came in the semi final against New Zealand, where he scored a brisk 55 in a losing effort, before he was wrongly given out by umpire Simon Taufel
, who later apologized. Despite the fact that Umar Akmal is not a wicket-keeper he kept wicket for Pakistan temporarily in the third ODI against England in 2010 from the 27th Over onwards because his elder brother Kamran was being diagnosed for an injury to his finger. Umar Akmal cracked 71 runs in 52 balls including 8 boundaries and 1 six in his debut World Cup match, he was also announced Player Of the match.
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
i cricketer
Cricketer
A cricketer is a person who plays the sport of cricket. Official and long-established cricket publications prefer the traditional word "cricketer" over the rarely used term "cricket player"....
. He made his ODI debut on 1 August 2009 against Sri Lanka and made his Test
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
debut against New Zealand
New Zealand cricket team
The New Zealand cricket team, nicknamed the Black Caps, are the national cricket team representing New Zealand. They played their first in 1930 against England in Christchurch, New Zealand, becoming the fifth country to play Test cricket. It took the team until 1955–56 to win a Test, against the...
on 23 November 2009.
Personal life
Umar is the youngest brother of Adnan AkmalAdnan Akmal
Adnan Akmal , born March 13, 1985, is a Pakistani cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and wicket-keeper who plays for Zarai Taraqiati Bank Ltd Cricket Team and has represented his country at U-17 level. Most recently, he was called up for Pakistan's tour against South Africa in the UAE, as a...
and Kamran Akmal
Kamran Akmal
Kamran Akmal is a Pakistani cricketer who has played Tests, ODIs and T20Is for Pakistan as a wicket-keeper.- International career :He is a quick-scoring batsman and a wicket-keeper, who has achieved 6 centuries in Test innings...
who are also cricketers. While his brothers are specialistwicket keepers, he is a right-handed batsman and a part time spinner
Spin bowling
Spin bowling is a technique used for bowling in the sport of cricket. Practitioners are known as spinners or spin bowlers.-Purpose:The main aim of spin bowling is to bowl the cricket ball with rapid rotation so that when it bounces on the pitch it will deviate, thus making it difficult for the...
. He can also keep wicket - in recent times he has kept wicket for Pakistan in the shorter forms of the game.
Early career
Umar represented PakistanPakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
in the 2008 U/19 Cricket World Cup
2008 U/19 Cricket World Cup
The 2008 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup was held in Malaysia from February 17, 2008 to March 2, 2008. The opening ceremony took place on February 15, 2008. The final was played between India and South Africa, which India won by 12 runs by D/L Method....
in Malaysia. After his success at the U-19 level he earned himself a first class contract and played the 2007-08 season of the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy
Quaid-i-Azam Trophy
The Quaid-i-Azam Trophy is the premier first-class domestic cricket competition in Pakistan.-History :Named after Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, the Trophy was introduced in 1953 to help pick the squad for Pakistan's Test tour of England in the forthcoming year...
, representing the Sui Southern Gas
Sui Southern Gas Company
The Sui Southern Gas Company was formed in 1954. The Company in its present shape was formed on March 30, 1989 following a series of mergers of three pioneering companies, namely Sui Gas Transmission Company Limited, Karachi Gas Company Limited and Indus Gas Company Limited.Sui Southern Gas...
team. He is considered a future asset for Pakistan cricket. He is an aggressive style cricketer. In only his sixth first class match he smashed 248 off just 225 deliveries, including four sixes. He followed that up with an unbeaten 186 in his 8th first class match, off just 170 balls. He fared less well in his second season of first class cricket, with a string of low scores batting at number 3. He found form in the final few matches of the 2008/09 season and then in the RBS T20 tournament thus getting the selectors nod to play for Pakistan A side on their tour to Australia A.
Australia A tour
Umar came to prominence during the Australia A tour in June/July 2009. In the two Test matches he recorded scores of 54, 100*, 130, 0. In the ODI series that followed Umar continued his fine form with a century in the opening ODI encounter off just 68 deliveries. These performances made him gather considerable praise from the media who were there to witness him and calls began to grow about his inclusion in the ODI series for the main Pakistan side against Sri Lanka.Test career
Umar made his TestTest cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
debut against New Zealand
New Zealand cricket team
The New Zealand cricket team, nicknamed the Black Caps, are the national cricket team representing New Zealand. They played their first in 1930 against England in Christchurch, New Zealand, becoming the fifth country to play Test cricket. It took the team until 1955–56 to win a Test, against the...
at Dunedin
Dunedin
Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago Region. It is considered to be one of the four main urban centres of New Zealand for historic, cultural, and geographic reasons. Dunedin was the largest city by territorial land area until...
on 23 November 2009. On the third day of his debut test, Umar Akmal hit 129 runs from 160 balls becoming only the second Pakistani to score a hundred on debut away from home after Fawad Alam. This feat also made him the first Pakistani batsman to score both his maiden Test and ODI century away from home, following his ODI century against Sri Lanka. The innings was noted as special due to Pakistan's tough position in the match and the hundred partnership which Akmal was involved in alongside his elder brother Kamran. He followed up the century in the first innings with a fifty in the second innings.
In only his second Test match he was moved up the order to the crucial spot of number 3, where he struggled initially but managed to counter-attack the hostile bowling with his natural flair, making 46 before he was undone by an inswinger by Daryl Tuffey. In the second innings he was moved down the order to his usual batting spot of number 5 as captain Mohammed Yousuf chose to bat at number 3 himself, and Akmal looked his usual aggressive self throughout his innings of 52 which came off only 33 balls. He had his first failure in the first innings of the third test at Napier where he was caught in the gully for a duck but scored a rearguard 77 in the second, promoting him to the leading run scorer of the series. Akmal finished the tour with 400 runs at an average of 57.14.
ODI and Twenty20 career
In an interview, Umar said "My own dream is to one day play for Pakistan alongside Kamran Bhai (Brother) and I'm working hard to try and achieve that goal". Akmal was selected in Pakistan's squad for the One Day International Series against Sri Lanka in July/August 2009. Having missed out on the first ODI Umar made his debut in the second match of the series replacing Mohammad Yousuf in the middle order. In only his second career ODI Umar scored his maiden ODI fifty. Umar followed up his maiden fifty by scoring a century in the very next match. For this match winning effort he was awarded his first career Man of the MatchMan of the match
In sport, a Man of the Match or Player of the Game or Man of the Series award is given to the outstanding player, almost always the one who makes the most impact, in a particular match or series. The term was originally used more often in cricket before being adopted by other sports. This can be a...
award. His exploits in Sri Lanka earned him a place in Pakistan's champions trophy squad. He played two good innings. His 41 not out against West Indies was a match winning knock and landed him his second career Man of the Match
Man of the match
In sport, a Man of the Match or Player of the Game or Man of the Series award is given to the outstanding player, almost always the one who makes the most impact, in a particular match or series. The term was originally used more often in cricket before being adopted by other sports. This can be a...
award. His next big innings came in the semi final against New Zealand, where he scored a brisk 55 in a losing effort, before he was wrongly given out by umpire Simon Taufel
Simon Taufel
Simon James Arthur Taufel, , is an Australian cricket umpire who is a member of the ICC Elite umpire panel...
, who later apologized. Despite the fact that Umar Akmal is not a wicket-keeper he kept wicket for Pakistan temporarily in the third ODI against England in 2010 from the 27th Over onwards because his elder brother Kamran was being diagnosed for an injury to his finger. Umar Akmal cracked 71 runs in 52 balls including 8 boundaries and 1 six in his debut World Cup match, he was also announced Player Of the match.
Twenty20 International fifties
| Twenty20 International 50's of Umar Akmal | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | |Match | |City/Country | |Year | Dubai Dubai Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi... , UAE | DSC Cricket Stadium DSC Cricket Stadium DSC Cricket Stadium also known as the Dubai Sports City Cricket Stadium is a description of a new multi-purpose stadium in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is mainly be used for cricket. It opened with the Australia vs Pakistan ODI series that started on April 22, 2009. It has a capacity of 25,000... |
2009 | Won |
| [2] | 51 | 11 | Gros Islet Gros Islet Gros Islet is a community located near the northern tip of the island country of Saint Lucia. Originally a quiet fishing village, it has gone on to become one of the more popular tourist destinations in the country.... , St. Lucia |
Beausejour Stadium Beausejour Stadium Beausejour Stadium is a cricket ground located near Gros Islet, Saint Lucia. It was completed in 2002 and currently accommodates 13,000 spectators... |
2010 | Won | |
| [3] | 56* | 12 | Gros Islet Gros Islet Gros Islet is a community located near the northern tip of the island country of Saint Lucia. Originally a quiet fishing village, it has gone on to become one of the more popular tourist destinations in the country.... , St. Lucia |
Beausejour Stadium Beausejour Stadium Beausejour Stadium is a cricket ground located near Gros Islet, Saint Lucia. It was completed in 2002 and currently accommodates 13,000 spectators... |
2010 | Lost | |
| [4] | 64 | 13 | Birmingham Birmingham Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a... , England England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental... |
Edgbaston Edgbaston Cricket Ground Edgbaston Cricket Ground, also known as the County Ground or Edgbaston Stadium, is a cricket ground in the Edgbaston area of Birmingham, England... |
2010 | Won | |