LONDON: 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.
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).
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.
But the former Pakistan captain has found his form since hitting 92 against a Durham attack including new England skipper Ben Stokes.
Pakistan’s Azhar Ali makes unbeaten double hundred in English county game
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Pakistan’s Azhar Ali makes unbeaten double hundred in English county game
- Azhar reached his double century in the final over of the day with a cover drive for four
- Azhar arrived at Worcestershire’s headquarters after a successful Test series against Australia
Firefighters put out blaze near site of deadly shopping mall inferno in Karachi
- Building fires have become an increasingly frequent occurrence in Pakistan’s Karachi, where an inferno killed dozens last month
- Thousands rallied in city on Sunday to demand resignations of officials and systemic reforms, underscoring deepening public anger
KARACHI: Firefighters have extinguished a fire that erupted at a commercial building in Pakistan’s southern city of Karachi close to the site where a deadly blaze killed dozens of people last month, the city’s deputy mayor said on Monday.
The fire erupted at a building near the Mobile Phone Market in Karachi’s Saddar business district, according to Karachi Deputy Mayor Salman Murad.
Two people were rescued in the incident who were given medical assistance by a Rescue 1122 ambulance on the spot, a Rescue 1122 spokesperson said.
“The fire brigade and rescue agencies took timely action. Thank God, there was no loss of life,” Murad said in a statement.
“The cause of fire is being determined and the losses of affected shopkeepers will be assessed.”
The incident occurred close to Gul Plaza, a multi-story shopping complex, where a fire last month killed at least 67 people and gutted 1,200 shops, with more than 15 people still missing.
Fire incidents have become an increasingly frequent occurrence in Karachi, a megacity of more than 20 million people, where fire services remain severely overstretched and under-resourced relative to population density and the scale of commercial activity.
Thousands rallied in Karachi on Sunday to demand the resignations of local officials and systemic reforms, underscoring deepening public anger over civic failures in Pakistan’s largest city.
