Shan Masood - two tough jobs, one cool customer

Calm and collected, and as nice a man as has ever played the game, Masood is a unifying, pacifying presence.

He wears his talent lightly and treats everyone with respect; leaders in all sports, in all walks of life, could learn much from the way that Masood carries himself and goes about his business.

At Yorkshire, that business is moving on from a racism crisis into which he walked last May, hot on the heels of a one-day series at home to New Zealand.

It was still a very tough time for the club; only later in the summer did Yorkshire learn their fate, both financially and points-wise, arising from events.

Masood’s performances perhaps mirrored those of his side: consistent, almost always, and very good in patches, but also with that nagging sense that they might have been better still without all the off-field turmoil/uncertainty going on.

Now, as that crisis gradually recedes in the rear-view mirror, leaving some improvements in its wake but also great damage and destruction, hopes are high that out of hardship will spring happiness ahead of what should be a successful season.

“Adversity never feels nice, but adversity is always going to be the individual and the group’s best friend,” said Masood.

“The club, together with individuals, have gone through so much adversity, and the attitude’s been good, the response has been good, and it’s been very forward-oriented.

“I’ve been so impressed with the boys, with the coaching staff - I can’t point a finger at anyone. Everyone’s solution-oriented, and although the club hasn’t done that well over the last couple of years, and a lot of things have hampered that, everyone’s looking at how we can take the club forward.”

Masood wasn’t around when the crisis started and in the years preceding but is hardly oblivious to the fallout.

“Because I wasn’t here, I wasn’t educated on the matter, but I could see that the club’s gone through a lot and was going through a lot, and then obviously having witnessed the points penalty and the financial penalty last year, it kind of gave a picture that, yes, the club’s been through a lot and the players have been through a lot,” he said.

“But, already this season, it’s felt like everyone’s fresher, everyone’s happier, and it’s all moved on from the penalties. We’ve got this season in front of us now and we’ve got the best possible squad that we could have assembled. We’re very happy, and we’re just looking forward to cracking on and letting cricket do the talk.”

Masood’s availability from the start of a campaign that begins on Friday at home to Leicestershire is a significant boost.

“It’s take-two (for me) and so good to be here for the start of the season,” he said. “I think it’s very important that you’re here before the cricket actually gets going because when you’re into the deep end, into the pressure situations, from a team’s perspective you’d like to get to know the guys, get to be with the guys, get to understand the team beforehand, so I’m very glad about that.

“The season is starting a bit differently for me to last year when it was a bit chaotic coming in during the middle of the season, just playing one four-day game and going straight into the Vitality Blast.

“There’s a bit more structure, and although I didn’t play the two-day game against Durham (a behind-closed-doors friendly over Easter), I made sure I was around the squad and got to spend time with everyone, and I’ve managed a few outdoor hits as well.”

He has learnt from his first season as Yorkshire captain?

“Absolutely. People asked me about the Pakistan captaincy. The question was ‘how did it feel stepping into that (in Australia last winter)?’

“It was my first time ever doing international captaincy, and I actually felt the experience here last year was very good and helped me a lot, dealing with certain situations; I didn’t feel like I was walking into a new job.

“Since last year, I’ve had the experience of two captaincy gigs, one in the PSL, one in international cricket, so to come back and mix that with the experience of the last county season will hopefully make me a better captain because you never stop learning.”

Captaining Yorkshire must seem a walk in the park if you’ve captained Pakistan?

“No, nothing is ever a walk in the park,” laughed Masood.

“You have to give the game its due respect, you have to give the position its due respect, and this is a position with the highest responsibility required.

“It’s a challenging job, a wonderful job. Having since done captaincy in other parts of the world, in other forms of cricket, that can only help.”