It was another special moment for the career of Feroze Khushi on Day Two against Kent as he struck his maiden first-class century in just his third Championship game for the Club.
After finishing the opening day alongside Matt Critchley on 46, it tooks only the first delivery of Day Two for Khushi to strike a Grant Stewart delivery through mid-wicket for four to bring up his second first-class half-century.
the landmark moment for the 23-year-old came after 228 deliveries as he took the single to reach three figures for the first time in red-ball cricket. He pushed on in the middle with Ben Allison and brought up the 150 runs just 52 balls later to cap off a fantastic innings.
Khushi said after play: “I’ve had a couple of good celebrations this year! I kind of pride myself on my celebration. I obviously lay flat thanking God as well, because without Him nothing would happen and without my parents’ hard work this success wouldn’t be possible, so I always keep them in my thoughts. I pride myself on my beliefs and it’s very important for me, being a Muslim and a British Pakistani. I’m very thankful and appreciative of my form at the moment. I’m doing quite well and I hope it can continue.
“This is a really good feeling. In the position we were in and obviously with a lot of guys watching it was just nice to get a big one. I’ve scored a couple this year in the Royal London Cup which were not as big, but this time I kicked on and got 150 plus. I’m still disappointed in how I got out at the end because I pride myself on not giving away my wicket, but I’m just really happy today.
“I just played my normal self, I didn’t have to do anything differently. I was getting enough bad balls and just putting them away and obviously, we lost a couple of quick wickets after Critch [Matt Critchley] went. Benny [Allison] came in and batted really well and that partnership of a hundred was crucial because it could have been a different game.
“I felt really positive, I was hitting them nicely and when you hit a few boundaries early doors you build confidence, you feel more comfortable and things just kept flowing. I’m very happy, we played really well and we’re in a very strong position.
“There are periods in the game when you have to respect the bowling and they have got some good bowlers, so you aren’t going to score as many runs, but that’s not a problem. This is four-day cricket and you’ve got all day to bat, so you just pick off the bad balls and rotate the strike. I pride myself on batting for long periods of time.”
Photo: Max Flego Photography
