All Hail King Misbah!

[Furball]

If there's one group of fans that deserve a so-called dull, boring side who win a lot of cricket matches without any fuss, it's the Pakistan fans.

I expected a tough series but I've been suprised at just how good Pakistan have been.

 

[Black_Warrior]

BW still thinks he should go though.

Done an amazing job.

LOL I didn't say he should go.. I still don't like his approach as a batsman and it needs improvement and he has been bailed out by the bowlers on both occasions.

However full credit to the captain for this amazing amazing series victory.. I had a similar feeling during the 05 series because that was a series victory after a very difficult time as well and I am not sure which is better now...but what he has achieved with this team is amazing.

 

[Agent Nationaux]

Thanks Furby. Now I will root for England to go and beat the Lankans and India.

 

[Black_Warrior]

Yeah he was but it was still his opinion; it's besides the point.

It was just the general attitude at the time, too.



Some shocking stuff.

LOL those comments from Sanz and Avada are exaggerations of course..but you know there is a reason why someone who made his debut in 2001 was not a regular until 2007. Pakistan is not a team that produces batsman after batsman. Pakistan had a middle order comprising of Inzamam, Younis, Asim Kamal and Mohammad Yousuf and I still stand by the fact that he was not good enough to get a spot in place of those 4 at that time.

 

[NasserFan207]

The GOAT

 

[Xuhaib]

yeah won't mind England beating SL and India now would make Pakistan series win just a wee bit better.

 

[r3alist]

if only he was younger, even just by a few years!!

 

[Fusion]

Pakistan's 2nd greatest Captain ever.

 

[Prince EWS]

LOL those comments from Sanz and Avada are exaggerations of course..but you know there is a reason why someone who made his debut in 2001 was not a regular until 2007.

Yes; he had a poor start and the selectors over-reacted and blacklisted him for years despite the fact that he was regularly showing them how wrong they were by bossing it like the boss he is in domestic cricket. Younis, Yousuf and Inzamam were obviously fair enough; they were better batsmen than Misbah. That's just undeniable. Asim Kamal, aside from being highly debatable anyway, played just 12 Tests, so he was hardly keeping Misbah out very often.

Beyond that, it was a bit of a joke. Between 2001 and the end of 2006 Misbah played just 5 Tests even though - between them - Faisal, Hameed, Razzaq, Afridi, Malik, Raza, Latif, Adil and Bazid and Kamran Akmal played 80 as #3-6 batsmen. If you take out the keepers and Razzaq/Afridi (as they were offering a proper fifth bowling option; fair enough) you still get 50 Tests played by batsmen obviously inferior to the bloke who played 5. Yeah he didn't do very well in those five but the point is that you should back your blokes who prove they know how to score big runs and give them a chance to adapt instead of panicking and trying random punts; which is what this Misbah era is all about. I have no doubt that his poor treatment not only allowed him to develop his captaincy skills by playing so much as captain but also helped shape his captaincy style by showing him a glitch in the system that needed addressing.

All this is why I love Misbah so much; he's a living, breathing example of so many unpopular opinions I hold about cricket. Firstly, his age - this is a guy who had no real career to speak of in his prime, no former glory to keep his faith in his own ability based on, no long history of Test excellence to cling to when people inevitably pointed to his birth certificate during tough periods of poor form - none of that at all, and yet he got the recall at 30+ and showed the selectors just how wrong they were to leave him out all those years. He's averaging over 70 as captain; he's killing it and going along way to proving my hypothesis that older cricketers aren't 'finished' nearly as early as we tend to think, and that as long as they have the drive they can get over form slumps and blips just like 25 year olds can.

He's also a great advocate for selecting proven domestic performers - even from domestic competitions of dubious quality - and sticking with them if they're well ahead of the pack. This is another idea I hold close to my heart and one I think a lot of selectors gloss over in trying to overplay their hands and talent-spot. No-one gets credit for just doing the obvious and picking the bloke scoring lots of runs or taking lots of wickets but if you do something out of the ordinary and by some massive fluke it actually pays off, that's when you get recognised as a captain or an administrator, so a lot more punts are taken than necessary. I think this is even more true in Pakistan because of how Waqar and Wasim were discovered; people are convinced this is the only way. Misbah is the posterboy for logic and patience in more ways than one; he's incorporated this overall style into his captaincy and his team's selection process. Misbah was discarded early in his career but he didn't sulk or retire or accept bribes or throw matches; he just went back to domestic cricket and scored thousands and thousands of runs at an average above 50 - and he just kept doing that quietly year after year until he got another chance; you have to love that.

He also gives the figurative Virat Kohli to those aggression at all costs types who think you have to be macho and dictate terms to your opposition to win cricket games. You yourself have been very critical of his batting style but he's scoring loads of runs anyway by batting his way and working to his own strengths. Better still, the team has been winning under his style which has extended to the other batsmen that are selected and the no nonsense bowling plans. His whole style is measured, calculated and canny rather than aggressive and dominant and a lot of people have a big problem with this because they can't beat their chests and pull their dicks when they watch their team play under it, but it's something I strongly believe in, and it's working.

Haters can, frankly, suck it. I don't like Misbah because I think he's the greatest batsman or captain of all time; I like Misbah because he stands for a lot of the cricket philosophies I hold even just by keeping his place in the side. Every run he scores and every match his side wins is a little win for me and what I believe people get "wrong" about cricket.

 

[Fusion]

PEWS, you certainly deserve credit for being his strong supporter from the start. Good call mate.

 

[Agent Nationaux]

Yes; he had a poor start and the selectors over-reacted and blacklisted him for years despite the fact that he was regularly showing them how wrong they were by bossing it like the boss he is in domestic cricket. Younis, Yousuf and Inzamam were obviously fair enough; they were better batsmen than Misbah. That's just undeniable. Asim Kamal, aside from being highly debatable anyway, played just 12 Tests, so he was hardly the whole keeping Misbah out.

Beyond that, it was a bit of a joke. Between 2001 and the end of 2006 Misbah played just 5 Tests even though - between them - Faisal, Hameed, Razzaq, Afridi, Malik, Raza, Latif, Adil and Bazid and Kamran Akmal played 80 as #3-6 batsmen. If you take out the keepers and Razzaq/Afridi (as they were offering a proper fifth bowling option; fair enough) you still get 50 Tests played by batsmen obviously inferior to the bloke who played 5. Yeah he didn't do very well in those five but the point is that you should back your blokes who prove they know how to score big runs and give them a chance to adapt instead of panicking and trying random punts; which is what this Misbah era is all about. I have no doubt that his poor treatment not only allowed him to develop his captaincy skills by playing so much as captain but also helped shape his captaincy style by showing him a glitch in the system that needed addressing.

All this is why I love Misbah so much; he's a living, breathing example of so many unpopular opinions I hold about cricket. Firstly, his age - this is a guy who had no real career to speak of in his prime, no former glory to keep his faith in his own ability based on, no long history of Test excellence to cling to when people inevitably pointed to his birth certificate during tough periods of poor form - none of that at all, and yet he got the recall at 30+ and showed the selectors just how wrong they were to leave him out all those years. He's averaging over 70 as captain; he's killing it and going along way to proving my hypothesis that older cricketers aren't 'finished' nearly as early as we tend to think, and that as long as they have the drive they can get over form slumps and blips just like 25 year olds can.

He's also a great advocate for selecting proven domestic performers - even from domestic competitions of dubious quality - and sticking with them if they're well ahead of the pack. This is another idea I hold close to my heart and one I think a lot of selectors gloss over in trying to overplay their hands and talent-spot. No-one gets credit for just doing the obvious and picking the bloke scoring lots of runs or taking lots of wickets but if do something out of the ordinary and by some massive fluke it actually pays off, that's when you get recognised as a captain or an administrator, so a lot more punts are taken than necessary. I think this is even more true in Pakistan because of how Waqar and Wasim were discovered; people are convinced this is the only way. Misbah is the posterboy for logic and patience in more ways than one; he's incorporated this overall style captaincy and his team's selection process.

He also gives the figurative Virat Kohli to those aggression at all costs types who think you have to be macho and dictate terms to your opposition to win cricket games. You yourself have been very critical of his batting style but he's scoring loads of runs anyway by batting his way and working to his own strengths. Better still, the team has been winning under his style which has extended to the other batsmen that are selected and the no nonsense bowling plans. His whole style is measured, calculated and canny rather than aggressive and dominant and a lot of people have a big problem with this because they can't beat their chests and pull their dicks when they watch their team play under it, but it's something I strongly believe in, and it's working.

Haters can, frankly, suck it. I don't like Misbah because I think he's the greatest batsman or captain of all time; I like Misbah because he stands for a lot of the cricket philosophies I hold even just by keeping his place in the side. Every run he scores and every match his side wins is a little win for me and what I believe people get "wrong" about cricket.

 

[Agent Nationaux]

I call dibs on Azhar Ali. Have supported him from the start.

 

[Howe_zat]

 

[r3alist]

I call dibs on Azhar Ali. Have supported him from the start.

A few people have.

I marked him out in the disaster tour in England, his 91no was actually s very good knock, ignored amongst the controversy,

 

[Prince EWS]

Are you laughing at the fact that I decided to make a massive fanboy post or the fact that AN tried to call dibs on a player?

 

[Black_Warrior]

Firstly that is truly a great post.

Yes; he had a poor start and the selectors over-reacted and blacklisted him for years despite the fact that he was regularly showing them how wrong they were by bossing it like the boss he is in domestic cricket. Younis, Yousuf and Inzamam were obviously fair enough; they were better batsmen than Misbah. That's just undeniable. Asim Kamal, aside from being highly debatable anyway, played just 12 Tests, so he was hardly the whole keeping Misbah out.

The reason I mentioned Kamal is because he played consistently in a couple of test series and kept Younis Khan out until the 2004 series against Sri Lanka. He did a decent job.

Beyond that, it was a bit of a joke. Between 2001 and the end of 2006 Misbah played just 5 Tests even though - between them - Faisal, Hameed, Razzaq, Afridi, Malik, Raza, Latif, Adil and Bazid and Kamran Akmal played 80 as #3-6 batsmen. If you take out the keepers and Razzaq/Afridi (as they were offering a proper fifth bowling option; fair enough) you still get 50 Tests played by batsmen obviously inferior to the bloke who played 5. Yeah he didn't do very well in those five but the point is that you should back your blokes who prove they know how to score big runs and give them a chance to adapt instead of panicking and trying random punts; which is what this Misbah era is all about. I have no doubt that his poor treatment not only allowed him to develop his captaincy skills by playing so much as captain but also helped shape his captaincy style by showing him a glitch in the system that needed addressing.

Ok believe it or not, I totally supported when he was picked in 2007 after Inzamam. That is because I had seen a couple of innings in 2002 against Australia and Sri Lanka where he showed the grit and determination that he is known for these days. I agree that his treatment was not entirely just but that is Pakistan cricket. However, it is also true that in the limited chances that he did receive, he did not exactly make it hard for the selectors to drop him.

Look I do not advocate dropping Misbah from the test team. I believe that he adds value to a brittle Pakistani middle order and I am glad he managed to find a place after the Australia tour in 2009-10 when I thought his career was over. My problem is his tendency to go into a shell when Pakistan are in a comfortable position, and then run out of partners and then get out. As I said before, his problem is either block every ball or clear your left leg and smash it out of the ground. He needs to strike a balance when you just drive it down to long on for a single, or pick up a single from the gap at cover.

Take this test for example, in the end he was left batting with the bowlers and Pakistan got bundled out for 256. If he had been a little more active when batting with Azhar Ai and Asad Shafiq in the first innings, and managed to add at least 30 more runs, Pakistan would have scored 280 plus. Now it ultimately did not make a difference to the final result as Pakistan won by 72 runs but be honest, do you really think 140 is a safe total to defend?

This approach did hurt Pakistan in the semi final badly and ultimately created pressure for Akmal and the lower order who couldn't handle it. But after the start Pakistan had, all Misbah had to do was rotate the strike and pick singles and he struggled to do that against Yuvraj Singh.

All I am saying is, just because this is working does not mean its flawless and needs no improvement. My ultimate goal is for Pakistan to become the number 1 team in the world and if this is something that will sooner or later hurt Pakistan in the future. The bowlers won't defend 140 every day, the opposition wont fall like a pack of cards every day.* I am someone who absolutely hates resting on your laurels. I hate that philosophy in life and I think there is no place for that in sports. India did that and the result was 0-8. I don't want Pakistan to start thinking "oh we are winning so everything we are doing must be right, who cares about critics". There is room for improvement and there will always be room for improvement.

He's also a great advocate for selecting proven domestic performers - even from domestic competitions of dubious quality - and sticking with them if they're well ahead of the pack. This is another idea I hold close to my heart and one I think a lot of selectors gloss over in trying to overplay their hands and talent-spot. No-one gets credit for just doing the obvious and picking the bloke scoring lots of runs or taking lots of wickets but if do something out of the ordinary and by some massive fluke it actually pays off, that's when you get recognised as a captain or an administrator, so a lot more punts are taken than necessary. I think this is even more true in Pakistan because of how Waqar and Wasim were discovered; people are convinced this is the only way. Misbah is the posterboy for logic and patience in more ways than one; he's incorporated this overall style captaincy and his team's selection process.

The problem with picking proven domestic performers in Pakistan (especially batsmen) is that more often then not they fail miserably when playing at the international level. This is not Australia where Shield cricket polishes your talent and by the time you get picked, you are a complete test batsman e.g Hussey when he burst in. It is extremely difficult to use the domestic scene in Pakistan as a barometer for assessing talent. However that is a different topic and irrelevant to Misbah.

Haters can, frankly, suck it. I don't like Misbah because I think he's the greatest batsman or captain of all time; I like Misbah because he stands for a lot of the cricket philosophies I hold even just by keeping his place in the side. Every run he scores and every match his side wins is a little win for me and what I believe people get "wrong" about cricket.

Trust me, I am not a hater and I dislike that term because it makes no sense. What I do hate though is when you are termed a hater just because you point out certain issues with something that is going well so far. Inzamam is my most favourite batsman but there were aspects of his batting I did not like..his reluctance to bat up the order at 3, his lack of confidence in his own ability etc. Does that make me an Inzamam hater too?

I don't like this black and white thing we have here where either you absolutely adore someone or hate someone. There are aspects of Misbah's batting which I think add value to Pakistan team, but there are aspects which I think do not add value and need improvement because I think they can cost Pakistan important games.

Ultimately we both are happy with Misbah scoring runs and winning games for Pakistan I guess.

 

[Prince EWS]

Firstly that is truly a great post.



The reason I mentioned Kamal is because he played consistently in a couple of test series and kept Younis Khan out until the 2004 series against Sri Lanka. He did a decent job.




Ok believe it or not, I totally supported when he was picked in 2007 after Inzamam. That is because I had seen a couple of innings in 2002 against Australia and Sri Lanka where he showed the grit and determination that he is known for these days. I agree that his treatment was not entirely just but that is Pakistan cricket. However, it is also true that in the limited chances that he did receive, he did not exactly make it hard for the selectors to drop him.

Look I do not advocate dropping Misbah from the test team. I believe that he adds value to a brittle Pakistani middle order and I am glad he managed to find a place after the Australia tour in 2009-10 when I thought his career was over. My problem is his tendency to go into a shell when Pakistan are in a comfortable position, and then run out of partners and then get out. As I said before, his problem is either block every ball or clear your left leg and smash it out of the ground. He needs to strike a balance when you just drive it down to long on for a single, or pick up a single from the gap at cover.

Take this test for example, in the end he was left batting with the bowlers and Pakistan got bundled out for 256. If he had been a little more active when batting with Azhar Ai and Asad Shafiq in the first innings, and managed to add at least 30 more runs, Pakistan would have scored 280 plus. Now it ultimately did not make a difference to the final result as Pakistan won by 72 runs but be honest, do you really think 140 is a safe total to defend?

All I am saying is, just because this is working does not mean its flawless and needs no improvement. My ultimate goal is for Pakistan to become the number 1 team in the world and if this is something that will sooner or later hurt Pakistan in the future. The bowlers won't defend 140 every day, the opposition wont fall like a pack of cards every day.
This approach did hurt Pakistan in the semi final badly and ultimately created pressure for Akmal and the lower order who couldn't handle it. But after the start Pakistan had, all Misbah had to do was rotate the strike and pick singles and he struggled to do that against Yuvraj Singh.





The problem with picking proven domestic performers in Pakistan (especially batsmen) is that more often then not they fail miserably when playing at the international level. This is not Australia where Shield cricket polishes your talent and by the time you get picked, you are a complete test batsman e.g Hussey when he burst in. It is extremely difficult to use the domestic scene in Pakistan as a barometer for assessing talent. However that is a different topic and irrelevant to Misbah.




Trust me, I am not a hater and I dislike that term because it makes no sense. What I do hate though is when you are termed a hater just because you point out certain issues with something that is going well so far. Inzamam is my most favourite batsman but there were aspects of his batting I did not like..his reluctance to bat up the order at 3, his lack of confidence in his own ability etc. Does that make me an Inzamam hater too?

I don't like this black and white thing we have here where either you absolutely adore someone or hate someone. There are aspects of Misbah's batting which I think add value to Pakistan team, but there are aspects which I think do not add value and need improvement because I think they can cost Pakistan important games.

Ultimately we both are happy with Misbah scoring runs and winning games for Pakistan I guess.

I actually wasn't calling you a hater as such; I was just making a general post about several things people dislike about Misbah that make me like him. It wasn't really aimed at you even though I quoted your post.

 

[Faisal1985]

yeah won't mind England beating SL and India now would make Pakistan series win just a wee bit better.

I don't think India or SL can match Pakistan's spin attack tbh....England will perform better against them...

 

[Agent Nationaux]

It would be nice if Misbah could rotate the strike a little more, but I am very happy at the moment with his performance.

 

[Howe_zat]

Are you laughing at the fact that I decided to make a massive fanboy post or the fact that AN tried to call dibs on a player?

The juxtapostion of the two was just perfection.