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Zaheer Abbas believes Lord’s double centurion Mohammad Yousuf holds the key for Pakistan in their Test series against England this summer.

Zaheer, one of Pakistan’s most successful batsmen on English soil, said Yousuf has hit early form in the series and will have to score runs consistently on this tour if Pakistan are to return home victorious from England.

“To do well in a Test series, you need at least one of your batsmen to put up big scores, consistently. For Pakistan this summer it has to be Mohammad Yousuf,” Zaheer stated. The bearded Yousuf was Pakistan’s most valuable player in the Lord’s Test with scores of 202 and 48.

“Look at Sri Lanka. For them Mahela Jayawardene scored in almost all the matches and they came back from 0-1 down to draw the (Test) series. The batsman’s consistency made the difference for them,” he added.

The Pakistan team manager said Yousuf has got the best of starts in the series and should capitalise on it, saying, “I am sure the double hundred he (Yousuf) scored here has boosted his confidence and I am expecting him to play some big innings on this tour.”

Zaheer expressed Inzamam-ul-Haq is also looking in great form and together with Yousuf, he should help bring an improvement in the team’s performance. Zaheer was not pleased with the way the team’s openers — Salman Butt and Imran Farhat — performed in the Lord’s Test, stating, “It was such a good track to bat on and I don’t know why these boys failed to score in either innings here.”
Source:The News