KARACHI, Oct 6: When Pakistan young batsman Ali Naqvi reached three figures on the opening day of the first Test against South Africa at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Monday, he became only the third player to notch up two hundreds in his first two first-class appearances on Pakistan soil.
Young cricket statistician Mubashir Ali Zaidi has pointed out that only former Australian skipper Bobby Simpson and Zaki Ahmed had previously scored centuries in their first two matches at this level.
Simpson made 167 for an International XI against the BCCP XI in a first-class fixture at Karachi in 1961-62. Three years later, Simpson led Australia in the one-off Test against Pakistan at National Stadium (Karachi) and scored 153 and 115.
The relatively unknown Zaki Ahmed made his first-class debut for Income Tax with 123 against Multan in Multan during the 1975-76 domestic season. In his second appearance, he scored 21 and an unbeaten 100 for Punjab 'B' against PIA at Karachi, also in the same season.
Ali Naqvi, whose full name is Syed Ali Urooj Naqvi, was born in Lahore on 19 March 1977 and played just a single national one-day cricket tournament tie for Karachi Blues last season in which he scored 10.
He toured England with the Pakistan 'A' side this year where he finally made his first-class debut. Soon afterwards, he scored his maiden first-class hundred when he made 114 against the MCC.
In the three-day match against the South Africans last week here, Ali Naqvi celebrated his first-class debut on home soil with fine contributions of 61 and 113 for the PCB Combined XI.
By scoring 115 against South Africa on Monday, he became the fifth Pakistani and the 63rd player to mark his Test debut with a century. The list comprises 16 Australians, 14 Englishmen, 10 West Indians, 10 Indians, five Pakistanis, four New Zealanders, two Sri Lankans, one South African and one Zimbabwean.
Among the other Pakistanis, Khalid Ibadulla scored 166 against Australia on Oct 24, 1964 at Karachi, Javed Miandad 163 against New Zealand on Oct 9, 1976 at Lahore, Salim Malik 100 not out against Sri Lanka on March 10, 1982 at Karachi and Muhammad Wasim 109 not out against New Zealand on Nov 24, 1996 at Lahore.
Young Ali Naqvi became only the fifth batsman to score a Test debut century against South Africa. Other are Pelham Warner (132 not out for England at Johannesburg on Feb 16, 1899), Paul Gibb (106 for England at Johannesburg on Dec 28, 1938), Peter May (138 for England at Leeds on July 28, 1951) and Praveen Amre (103 for India at Durban on Nov 15, 1992).