sport news New captain Shan Masood is the 'good bloke' who can promote unity at Yorkshire trends now
'There's no point dwelling on the past, you need to move on, to keep moving forward, that's the game, I feel too often as cricketers we get stuck in the past, nothing's permanent, we've seen mighty teams fall, and we've seen people at ground level go all the way up,’ says Shan Masood, wiping sweat from his brow as he leans forward poolside.
Sat at the hotel which houses both Pakistan and England squads, the stylish left-handed batsman is not referring to the soon-to-be-concluded Twenty20 international series here but a difficult domestic situation thousands of miles away. Yorkshire are in a mess, and this is the man with the manifesto to get them out of it. Meet the new club captain.
Within hours of his appointment for 2023 was confirmed, Yorkshire had been relegated to Division Two of the County Championship. Indeed, this ‘mighty team’ will take some building back up.
Shan Masood says it's an 'honour and a privilege' to be appointed Yorkshire captain
In Masood, however, they have arguably unearthed the ideal candidate to promote unity after two years of bitter division at Headingley. He is only the second overseas club captain in 159 years, after Darren Lehmann, and crucially the first of colour. Azeem Rafiq, whose whistle-blowing on racism two years ago has led to a re-evaluation of Yorkshire’s image and actions, was the first player of Asian origin to wear the armband in 2012 when he deputised for the injured Andrew Gale.
As Masood, 33 next week, points out, Yorkshire have a rich heritage of Pakistani players including Inzamam-ul-Haq, Younis Khan and Sarfaraz Ahmed, and his arrival should appeal both to the communities that felt ignored under previous regimes - ‘I want to be a role model, because those things matter more to me’ - and also to a playing group who had their established backroom staff support system ripped away from them via the mass coaching sackings 10 months ago. Talk to people on the county circuit about him and you receive a common ‘good bloke,’ response.
‘I hope that
