Around 11,000 spectators created a festive atmosphere as Younis Khan made his fifth Test double century to leave Australia reeling in Abu Dhabi. It was his third hundred on the trot, and came against the backdrop of his exclusion from the one-day squad last month.

The decision to axe him had prompted Younis to stridently question the selectors. He was retained in the Test squad though and while he has broken a slew of batting records, he insisted this wasn't about showing up the selectors. "I am not here to prove anything to anyone," he said after another productive day in Abu Dhabi. "I just wanted to show my character and wanted to win the games for my country after Pakistan lost four matches to Australia. So the intentions were never to prove a point but to help Pakistan."

Younis, though, said that the week after being dropped was an important period for him. "I still remember that one week that I spent with my family. I am not able to forget that moment. My family and friends were tense. The media was tense, the entire Pakistan was tense for me, wondering he could retire now, who knows what he could do now after having spoken out. The media has supported me a lot. Each and every moment from that week is with me and [I am] thinking positively from that."

He was also pleased with his preparation for the series. "It was my good luck that I landed here in UAE a week earlier and worked a lot on my batting with the help of the batting coach. The Australians would also practice nearby and whenever I got the opportunity, I would observe their body language and try to learn about them. So that week really made a difference."

During this series, Younis became Pakistan's highest Test century maker, and reached 8000 Test runs, prompting debates over whether he is Pakistan's greatest Test batsman. "I don't think I can become a great… like Javed, Inzamam, Yousuf, Saeed Anwar, Zaheer Abbas, Hanif Mohammad ... I can't compare myself with them," he said. "The era I am playing in, many things are easy for me compared to the time they have played their cricket. It was so difficult for them. I want to be remembered as a team man who served the team and as someone whose performances made his country proud."

He said he drew energy from the large holiday crowd in Abu Dhabi to complete his double century just before tea. "When I was around 160 or 170, my body's response started to go down, but when I saw so many fans were coming in, I thought that if I push myself a little more, then I could get to 200...

"When I saw so many people coming in for a Test, I felt very happy, I took motivation from the crowd, I wanted to hang in there and reach 200, so that all the people who have come to see me, I shouldn't disappoint them."

The situation looks hopeless for Australia, but Younis, while hoping to win the Test, expected some tough days ahead. "Obviously when you score runs and contribute a lot in the game you want the team to win comprehensively so I hope we manage to pull off a whitewash.

"But it isn't going to be easy for us, we still have to put in the hard work. Though we have good spinners, Australia have been in this situation several times... they have Warner, Clarke, Smith and Haddin who had played a big role for them to win the Ashes. So it won't be easy. We aren't thinking that the contest will be over tomorrow or day after and I think the Australian team is capable of making a comeback."
(Cricinfo)