During the first weekend of cricket this 2009/10 season,
Adnan made the incredible score of 222 runs in a 40 over game for Pakistan Eagles. This score is a record for the VSCA competition which has been going for over 70 years in Melbourne. The double century included 31 fours and 7 sixes in a scintillating display of batting.

An interview which Adnan did with one of his team mates following that historic innings can be found on the Pakistan Eagles Website at www.pakeagles.com

But the question remains, “How did this brilliant left-hander never play first class cricket? “.

If there is any short coming in his game, it might only be a lack of patience in that he goes out to dominate a bowling attack from the start and never accepts that a bowler can get the better of him. Invariably he’s right on most occasions and this attitude has helped him score a lot of runs but one unfortunate aspect of cricket is that as a batsman you only need to make one mistake or ignore the principles of discipline for one fleeting moment and it’s all over. The only way one can overcome these slight flaws is to practice, practice and practice. There is no doubt that Adnan practices diligently but it may well be that those who make it to the top might be practicing more. Plus one really needs to be fortunate in terms of opportunity by being in “the right place at the right time” as they say. Ultimately we have to believe that each individual must try their best in whatever they do but what happens in the end is Allah’s will.

In terms of Adnan’s technique, there are no discernable flaws. Furthermore, he plays every cricket shot with great skill and certainty. There is no doubt in my mind also, that his ability to judge th e pace and length of a delivery quickly is matched by very few players that I have played with or against.
For the average player, the mind slices up time into fractions of seconds of around 0.5 sec or 0.33 sec at best.
The great players, it seems,can distinguish between quarters (0.25) or fifths (0.2) of seconds. This ability to break up time into a greater number of shorter intervals is what enables Adnan to do what every great player can do – commit to playing the ball as late as possible. So often I have seen him drive yorker-length deliveries off the middle of the bat for four, when most players would be happy to simply jam down on such a ball to prevent it from hitting the stumps. His favorite pull-shot is often fiercely executed but quite often it results in the ball being smashed straight down the ground – like a baseballer slamming a home run. Again this is a result of him being able to strike the ball as late as possible meaning the ball is so close to him, it is almost past him but this allows him to impart maximum power and speed to ball without having to exert maximum energy. In simple terms, this is what we call exquisite timing.

In terms of describing Adnan’s style, it is his own in that he is not a clone of any well known player in particular although occasionally we see similarities with several cricketing greats in his stroke play – sometimes he reminds us of Saeed Anwar or Brian Lara, at other times he’s like Allan Border but most of the time he’s Adnan Khawaja!