In Urdu, Misbah means light or lamp, an apt personification for Pakistan’s Misbah-ul-Haq, who in his six years as the country’s Test captain, has lit a clear path for his players to follow.
Indeed, it is possible to make a strong case that Misbah is Pakistan’s greatest captain of all time, and there have been some giants like AH Kardar, Imran Khan and Javed Miandad to consider, each lionised for their part in the turbulent history of their cricket team.
Yet Misbah’s deeds are legend. In short, at the age of 36, he took a team mired in controversy following 2010’s spot-fixing scandal at Lord’s, which saw three of the team jailed for corruption, and led them all the way to second place in the Test rankings. And if that was not impressive enough, he managed it while he and the team were in cricketing exile, prevented from playing their home series in Pakistan following the terrorist attack on the Sri Lanka team in Lahore in March 2009.
Destined to play, travel and prepare for cricket without the support networks other countries take for granted when they compete at ‘home’, it has been an incredible achievement and one most of us will find difficult to fathom having never had the experience.
And yet, can any cricket leader be the greatest their country has produced without having beaten England or Australia on their home soil, something Misbah has yet to even attempt, let alone achieve? I would say not, which makes this a momentous tour for him and his team, keen as they are to ensure his legacy.
It will be a difficult task for all the parties involved. Misbah might have steered Pakistan to five Test victories over England in the United Arab
Emirates, Pakistan’s putative home while in exile, but they have only won nine Tests in England over the past 62 years – though enough were won at the right time to clinch three series in succession in 1987 (1-0), 1992 (2-1) and 1996 (2-0).
Pakistan had a wonderful side during that period, driven by a potent bowling attack comprising Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and wrist-spinner Mushtaq Ahmed. Misbah’s team are almost as blessed this time and they certainly possess the firepower to win Test matches.
A battery of left-arm quick bowlers in Mohammad Amir (one of those jailed after 2010), Wahab Riaz and Rahat Ali, along with wrist-spinner Yasir Shah, has the potential to make life very difficult for England’s batsmen, whatever the conditions.
Their batting, though, is another matter with only Younis Khan having enjoyed extensive experience of English conditions, something many Pakistan players in the past, like Miandad and Imran, would have gained from playing county cricket.
If they can get enough runs to be competitive, and Azhar Ali looks a fine player who could make a hatful, it promises to be a cracking series.
Misbah’s leadership will be vital in getting his team to settle quickly. His reputation for being a good mentor and motivator of young players will be tested to the hilt, especially if the summer stays damp and gloomy. One thing Pakistan batsmen loathe even more than Darrell Hair is the ball that moves off the seam, and this summer has not yet seen the hot, sunny weather that tends to dissuade that.
At 42, Misbah’s own form and fitness remain good. Indeed, tests conducted at Pakistan’s training camp revealed him and Younis to be the two fittest, as well the oldest, members of the squad. In that respect,and also in the way his batting has enjoyed a late flowering, he is like Graham Gooch, who not only enjoyed his best years as a batsman after the age of 37, but also when he was captain.
If ever there was evidence that captaincy can be a calling for some men, then Misbah’s Test batting
average is it. A mediocre 33.6 before he took charge, it has risen to an incredible 56.67 since he took office (now 48.89 overall). Now 42, he will have to bat well to maintain it against England this summer, especially after his attempts to gain experience of the conditions by playing county cricket this season came to nothing.
A proud Pathan, from the same Niazi tribe as Imran Khan’s father, Misbah is the calm centre of a team never far away from blowing like a hurricane. His 20 Test victories as captain are well past the 14 Pakistan won under Imran, the previous record for a captain of that country.
A masters degree in Business administration may help Misbah to structure his strategy, but you also need impressive diplomatic skills to deal with young players whose passions can quickly turn to hissy fits. To that end he cuts a dignified figure, his quiet composure providing shrewd guidance to a Pakistan team prone to excitability. Just as Andrew Strauss did for England, he exudes statesman-like qualities more often found in politics than sport.
He summed it all up rather eloquently himself at a recent press conference when he said: “We should forget about the past and just focus on our game, practice and performance. If we do so with full determination and devotion, we will not only perform well during the series, but also keep us safe from any controversy.”
If he gets the win over England that he, the players and all Pakistan supporters crave, he can take his place at the top of K2, a Pakistan cricket captain who conquered overwhelming challenges and odds. But if he doesn’t, he can still be celebrated as the man who normalised Pakistan cricket, as far as that can be achieved.
He is coy about how much longer he intends to play, but one thing is certain: Pakistan cricket was experiencing one of its worst crises when he took over the captaincy, which saw three players jailed. But if normality seemed a distant dream in the aftermath of that unsavoury moment it has largely been restored now, with Misbah-ul-Haq its guiding light.
This piece originally featured in The Cricket Paper, Friday July 1 2016
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