Misbah questions Pakistan's domestic set-up

Misbah-ul-Haq, understandably, spends a lot of his time in front of the media explaining that not being able to play international cricket at home has adversely affected the Pakistan team. After their defeat in Dubai - a first for them at this venue - he went even further and questioned whether a more rigorous domestic set-up is also needed for them to thrive in conditions which suit them already.

"It may be due to the first-class system. If you are coming through a tough first-class system, playing really tough teams, facing tough bowlers and batsmen, it automatically comes when you play competitive cricket," he said. "Otherwise, if you are in an easy competition, when you are playing top sides, you will struggle. We must make our first class more competitive. That is why we are not mentally strong."

Pakistan's domestic season had not started before this series was played, although they played warm-up matches before leaving for the UAE, but it is a competition in which matches are often shorter than four-days and five-wicket hauls are not uncommon. If it is impacting on members of the international team, then it could explain why their inconsistencies in the batting department, which ultimately cost them a series win against another world No.1.

After scoring 442 in the first innings of the first Test, Pakistan looked a completely different side when they were bundled out for 99 on the first day in Dubai. Misbah knew that innings had cost his side the series.

"We are disappointed given the conditions here," he said. Before the series Misbah made special mention of how his batsmen would be better on these surfaces than they were in Zimbabwe and South Africa because the pitches suited their style of play. Graeme Smith noted Pakistan's batsmen are "far more comfortable with less pace and bounce that they have here."

Still, Pakistan managed to fold in the first innings and slump to 2 for 2 in the second, raising questions about their top-order that were thought to be on their way to being answered after their showing in Abu Dhabi. Khurram Manzoor followed up his century with a pair and Shan Masood made one start and then a duck to ensure the uncertainty in the top two, which has been a long-running issue in Pakistan cricket, exacerbated by Mohammad Hafeez's loss of form, continues.

Instead of looking elsewhere, though, Misbah wants some continuity. "If you keep changing things, it doesn't help. Opening is one of the toughest jobs. You need some experience. Even the best players struggle sometimes. You just need to be patient," he said. "To keep on changing the openers is not the solution. These guys need to learn. They need more chances to understand what Test cricket is."

If they had that, and the grounding from their domestic game, Misbah believes 99 all out could have been avoided and the session that lost Pakistan the Test may never have been. "It was just one session and if we could reverse that then that thing that is associated with us, that we are just so bad in one hour and one session, would not hurt us. We want to improve on that in future. We don't want these sorts of sessions. We need more character, otherwise ups and downs can really hurt the team."

As South Africa showed in their innings and Pakistan did in their second attempt, the pitch in Dubai had runs in it throughout the game. It also had appreciable turn, which Pakistan's spinners were never able to exploit by having a target to defend. Misbah believed even a lead under of 200 could have given Pakistan a chance. "If we had something of 150 or 200 runs in the last innings, the kind of patches and rough on the pitch, the kind of spinners we have, it could have been very interesting."

Firdose Moonda is ESPNcricinfo's South Africa correspondent

Feeds: Firdose Moonda © ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

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In praise of Pakistan's punching bag

Misbah-ul-Haq is often criticised by followers of Pakistan cricket but the youngsters in his team would do well to learn some of his skills

The expression on Misbah-ul-Haq's face the day Pakistan were knocked out of the Champions Trophy in England is difficult to forget. It was a hangdog mixture of acceptance and amusement, when it really should have been one of frustration.

Misbah had been booed by the 'Stani Army and co. despite scoring the team's only half-century in a losing cause. Instead of arrogance, however, he was understanding of the supporters' wrath. "This is how it is in cricket. One day it's zindabad, the next it's boo," he said in Birmingham.

Of the members of that Pakistan side who could be blamed for their elimination, Misbah was quite far down the list. He had scored the most runs in both their substandard showings to that point but still there was something about him that Pakistan's fans did not like. They felt he was too conservative, both with bat and captaincy, and it earned him the nickname tuk-tuk.

Having watched Misbah for a significant part of the last year, it's puzzling that he is so disliked among so many of his own. He is often Pakistan's leading batsman and even when he is not, it is never for lack of trying. And in matters of conduct, there is no doubt he is their marquee man. Misbah leads by example in commitment and temperament and without him Pakistan cricket would be poorer, whether they want to admit it or not.

Today provided another example. For the second time in the Test, Misbah came in with Pakistan in trouble. At 23 for 3, still trailing by 55, they faced an uncomfortable situation against an opponent they were expected to beat by doing not much more than just turning up. Zimbabwe's opening seamers were getting good shape, not as much as in the first innings, but enough to demand concentration from the batsmen.

Misbah's ability to apply himself is what has made him a man for crisis and he showed that again in this innings. He began as patiently as ever, unfussed by the inside edges that Hamilton Masakadza induced. Leaving and defending were his first options, and for the first 43 balls he faced, Misbah used them three times more than he did scoring shots.

His plan was sensible: hang around for long enough and the bad ball will come. Shingi Masakadza delivered the first one when he strayed down the leg side and invited Misbah to nudge it fine. When deliveries such as that were offered, the second part of Misbah's strategy could be employed: hang around for longer and you can begin to dictate proceedings by grinding the opposition down.

Misbah's doggedness meant his opposite number had to do the thinking. In the first innings, Hamilton Masakdza had rotated his bowlers to ensure they stayed fresh. It helped that they picked up wickets often because that motivated them. In the second innings he tried to replicate that but conditions were different; with the track having flattened, the strike bowlers were unable to have much impact.

Masakadza placed a man at short cover, where Mohammad Hafeez had been caught, and bowled with the wicketkeeper standing up. His ideas were solid because he tried to limit the amount of movement the batsmen could make and hoped they would miscue to a close-in fielder.

When that didn't work the spinner came on, bowling the round-the-wicket line that was so effective on day one. Prosper Utseya, however, did not get much turn and posed few problems. Misbah and Younis used the sweep effectively and in so doing, continued to wear Zimbabwe down and gave Masakadza more to ponder.

What followed was not a period of desperate bowling riddled with loose deliveries, but a lull that sets into a Test when one side is steadily wresting control from the other. Zimbabwe's seamers continued to bowl a good line, Utseya occasionally had short leg woken up by an edge but the chances of a wicket grew slimmer.

The slow-burn of Misbah coupled with the experience of Younis, whose role in looking for runs while playing to the pace of his captain cannot be underestimated, took Pakistan towards a position from where they could start to feel comfortable, though Misbah began to look the opposite towards the end of the day. He was nearly stumped after reacting slowly against Utseya, who had drawn him forward with flight. No doubt the tuk-tuk jokes started then.

And then the frustration became too much. For the second time in the Test, Misbah played an out-of-character stroke. In the first innings, he had miscued to short midwicket and this time picked out the cover fielder. Vusi Sibanda was the catcher on both occasions.

Misbah will probably expect more boos today. Some will say he was careless, others that his shot selection was poor and that he threw away a golden chance to score a century. He is unlikely to mind any of that. He won't mind at all if Younis becomes the man to reach three figures because he can see the benefit in that.

Younis had been dropped from Pakistan's one-day plans and he did not get much batting time in the first innings because of a silly error. With a series against South Africa in the UAE next on the agenda, to have him find form can only be good for Pakistan. What Misbah now needs is for some of the youngsters, like Asad Shafiq who is batting with Younis, to learn from his approach.

Paksitan's next generation is a cause for concern. Azhar Ali has immense promise and is beginning to fulfill it but finding an opener to partner the struggling Hafeez has proved problematic. Nasir Jamshed's penchant for fishing outside off stump is worrying and Khurram Manzoor was unconvincing on his comeback. Both those men could do far worse than use Misbah as an example.

Firdose Moonda is ESPNcricinfo's South Africa correspondent

Feeds: Firdose Moonda © ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

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Pakistan's old guard start rescue op

Tea Pakistan 249 and 87 for 3 (Misbah 37*, Younis 29*) lead Zimbabwe 327 (Waller 70, Chigumbura 69, Raza 60, Ajmal 7-95) by 9 runs
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details

All through this Test match, there's been a wait for Zimbabwe's inexperienced team to falter. Sure they bowled well when the pitch was fresh in the first session of the game, but could they do it when the track eased up? They did. Sure they bowled well on the first day, but could their brittle batting stand up to Pakistan's highly rated bowling? They did.

The third day was supposed to be the best day for batting in Harare; would their new-look bowling be able to do the job? They've certainly started well, bagging three early wickets to consolidate on the 78-run advantage they had after the first innings.

The major obstacle Zimbabwe faced on the third day was the experienced pair of Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan, who with some old-fashioned Test batting helped Pakistan erase the deficit. There has been a clamour in Pakistan for inducting more youngsters in the team, but it was Pakistan's two oldest batsmen who revived the side from a precarious 23 for 3.

As in the first innings, Zimbabwe's bowlers produced the early breakthroughs not with magic deliveries but by sticking to the basics of line and length. They still got the ball to curl around a little, but there wasn't any dramatic movement.

The sixth over of the innings, bowled by Tinashe Panyangara, which produced the wicket of Khurram Manzoor showcased their method of operation - pitching the ball up and constantly attacking the stumps, making the batsman play. With several deliveries swerving away in the over, Manzoor decided to shoulder arms to one, which turned out to be a straight ball that thudded into his pads. It looked a touch high but the umpire thought otherwise, and for the second time in the game, Manzoor's innings ended early through a tough decision.

Azhar Ali, who played a vital role in rescuing Pakistan after their top-order failed in the first innings, couldn't do the job this time, as the accurate Panyangara had him trapped lbw for a duck. Neither of the opening bowlers provided any cheap runs, and Panyangara's figures read 7-4-6-2 at one stage.

Mohammad Hafeez has had a forgettable 2013 in Tests, and could have added a golden duck to his string of low scores this year, but his first-ball edge landed short of slips. He didn't last too long anyway, falling tamely after driving a low catch to short cover. His dismissal for 16 left him with a paltry 64 runs in eight innings this year.

That brought together Younis and Misbah, both of whom grafted for much of the second session. They were initially more concerned with preserving their wickets than with piling on the runs, steadfastly defending everything to thwart Zimbabwe's bowlers. Both Misbah and Younis have built their reputation as firefighters, regularly producing their best efforts when the top order had combusted. Their 64-run stand has now neutralised Zimbabwe's bowlers for 24 overs, and the old doubts over whether Zimbabwe can sustain their challenge can't be far from resurfacing.

Zimbabwe's resolve was certainly strong in the morning session, when Elton Chigumbura eased to his third half-century to fatten the slender overnight lead. It was an important innings not just in the context of the match but also for Chigumbura, on whom the pressure to deliver runs has increased in recent times as his bowling has faded.

The lower-order assisted him admirably, as they kept out Pakistan for over an hour, before Saeed Ajmal's variations proved too much for them. Ajmal wiped out the final three wickets to end up with a seven-for, the second of his career.

Siddarth Ravindran is a senior sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo

Feeds: Siddarth Ravindran © ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

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Misbah calls for Pakistan's T20 league

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Misbah calls for Pakistan's T20 league

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View the original article here

Misbah calls for Pakistan's T20 league

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Pakistan's Zimbabwe tour dates confirmed

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The New Zealand great recalls his tours to India, his battle with depression, and speaks of the challenges facing modern-day allrounders

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