Misbah Targets A Test Series Win Author: Maaz; Views: 765; Date: 17-10-2011, 05:55;

Sri Lanka have gone 11 tests without a victory since Murali’s retirement. Dilshan will be batting in the middle order instead of opening up. Sri Lanka have a 4-2 record in the last 10 tests against Pakistan.Pakistan have not beaten a higher ranked test team for a considerable amount of time. Should Pakistan win this series 1-0 they will narrow the 9 point gap between 5^th and 6^th position on the ICC test rankings significantly. A victory for Misbah before he next loses will give him the highest W/L ratio by a Pakistan test captain of (4). This will be a sufficient sample to illustrate as he will be 12^th most capped Pakistan test captain out of 29 leaders by the end of the series.

The dilemma Pakistan are facing going into this test match is whether to play 3 front line fast bowlers or 2 specialist spinners. Rehman was named in the test team of the year and has been the leading wicket taker under Misbah’s captaincy with 29 wickets in 6 tests. He also adds depth in the batting and helps the tail wag. He has a test match half century next to his name and can attack and defend in equal proportions. In my opinion, he should make the starting line up alongside Ajmal for the aforementioned reasons.

The other dilemma is the number #6 spot. Shoaib Malik is widely regarded as not test match material even by his most diehard fans;however he is in the 15 man squad and possesses an average of 60 against Sri Lanka including both his test centuries as well as providing the calm and composed Misbah with another spin bowling option should they decide to play 3 front line pacers. Therefore, there might be a temptation to play him ahead of Asad Shafiq. However, in my view Shafiq should have priority. Although he only averages 27 from 5 tests, he did start his career with 2 half centuries in his first two test innings against the number 2 ranked South African side as well notching up a half century in the New Zealand alien conditions in just his 2^nd innings. He also played a match saving cameo in the 2^nd test of the same series. It was just in the West Indies where he struggled, but in the ODI leg of the same tour he notched up 2 50s. His composure, temperament and elegance are ideal for test match cricket.

Under Misbah’s captaincy Pakistan’s average first innings total is 332 with an average innings duration of 118 overs.  Previously in the 9 tests before he took over Pakistan’s average first innings total was 214 with a 71 innings duration. This statistic clearly illustrates how things are moving in the right direction for a team eyeing a spot in the inaugural world test championship in England for 2013.

Pakistan have left out Umar Akmal from the test squad. As far as I’m concerned, this move was justified with Umar only scoring 2 50s in his last 22 test innings. Plus, he will benefit from competitive cricket at the domestic level rather than carrying the drinks on the side lines. Asad Shafiq who Mohammad Yousuf regards as one of the most technically correct batsmen he
has seen flourish through the ranks should have priority at the number 6 position. He has fluent stroke play and a better temperament. Meanwhile, the surprise omission was that of Tanvir Ahmed who after taking 6 wickets on a pancake wicket in his debut and making some invaluable contributions lower down the order with his hard hitting has been ignored after being rested for the Zimbabwean tour for experimentation with new comers. Tanvir has been hard done by and should have made the squad ahead of Junaid. Nonetheless, he is in the reserves category.  Mohsin Hassan Khan will be taking over as interim coach for this series which provides the PCB with more time to decide about the new coach to succeed Waqar Younis after he stepped down due to personal reasons.