Azhar Ali makes unbeaten double hundred in English county game
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Pakistan's Azhar Ali made an unbeaten double century as he helped Worcestershire rewrite the record books in an English County Championship match against Leicestershire on Friday.
Azhar and former England Under-19 international Jack Haynes put on 281 for the third wicket -- a record partnership against Leicestershire, surpassing the 278 by Cyril Walters and Harold Gibbons in 1934.
Their stand was the cornerstone of Worcestershire's 456 for three, a lead of 308, at stumps on the second day of four at New Road.
๐จ๐๐๐ก๐ง๐จ๐ฅ๐ฌ ๐๐ข๐ฅ ๐๐ญ๐๐๐ฅ ๐๐๐!
— Worcestershire County Cricket Club (@WorcsCCC) May 20, 2022
Azhar completes a magnificent first century for Worcestershire off 159 balls
Superb stuff, Azhar bhai ๐
Worcestershire 253/2
๐#WeAreWorcestershire | ๐#Pears pic.twitter.com/tGUsZAcA6M
Haynes was eventually dismissed for 127 but Azhar reached his double century in the final over of the day with a cover drive for four off Rehan Ahmed.
By that stage Azhar had faced 328 balls, with one six and 18 fours, and also shared in another century stand with Brett D'Oliveira (52 not out).
๐
— Worcestershire County Cricket Club (@WorcsCCC) May 20, 2022
๐ #WeAreWorcestershire | ๐ #Pears https://t.co/3F6c30XIfl pic.twitter.com/ardWPJd4OO
Azhar arrived at New Road, Worcestershire's headquarters, after a successful Test series against Australia which included a marathon 185 spanning 11 hours at Rawalpindi.
The 37-year-old struggled at first with the change to English conditions and his opening six innings for Midlands county Worcestershire yielded 34 runs.
๐๐ญ๐๐๐ฅ ๐๐๐ ๐ฅ๐๐๐ฆ๐๐ฆ ๐๐๐ฆ ๐๐๐ง ๐
— Worcestershire County Cricket Club (@WorcsCCC) May 20, 2022
The moment @AzharAli_ bhai went to his first Worcestershire century ๐ฏ ๐คฉ
๐ #WeAreWorcestershire | ๐ #Pears pic.twitter.com/fbMA4HXt92
But the former Pakistan captain has found his form since hitting 92 against a Durham attack including new England skipper Ben Stokes.