The first cut - Mohammad Hafeez

The first day on the job is special for every cricketer, and in the September issue of Wisden Asia Cricket, four debutants - Aavishkar Salvi, Jacques Rudolph, Mohammad Hafeez and Omari Banks - talk about their baptism in international cricket.

"I was on the field when I got to know."

"I had been captaining Sargodha for a while and remember making 130-odd in one match in front of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) staff. I thought then that I might get a call-up into the national squad. Two days later, during another game, a friend came running out of the pavilion during a drinks break to say that someone from my house had called. Apparently the PCB had called home telling them that I had been selected. So I was on the field when I first got to know.

"Mentally there was a lot of pressure because it was international cricket and playing for Pakistan was something I had always dreamed of. Going to my first national training camp was also fairly nerve-wracking but Rashid Latif, the captain, was of great help. He was very open and made me feel comfortable immediately. He advised me to go out and play exactly as I did at domestic level and not worry too much.

"I felt in control on my first day [against Zimbabwe in Sharjah, April 2002]. I still remember my first scoring shot - good-length ball from Heath Streak, I went on to the back foot and punched it through the covers for four. That's when I thought `I can do this, it's not too bad.' I got out for 12 after I got a bit careless [to Streak] but I distinctly remember thinking that international cricket might not be as difficult as everyone thinks.

"Anyway, I put that at the back of my mind and started bowling. Whenever I fail at one discipline, I am always doubly determined to make up for it in another. I got Sean Ervine out leg-before, sweeping at my drifter, and also got Andy Blignaut out bowled. We won, so all in all it was a pretty good first day."

Mohammad Hafeez has played 12 ODIs this season with a batting average of 23.16, including three fifties, and a bowling average of 22.36. He made his Test debut against Bangladesh in August. He was interviewed by Osman Samiuddin.

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