23rd January 2014

Gets off the plane after after a year of non stop tours as Captain and has a month to rest. But, instead he gets off the plane and goes to play a domestic 4 day match and makes a century. Yes, 100 for him today. Most dedicated player I have seen. The most responsible player in the world. The best player in the world in the last 13 months for sure with the most astonishing of stats. Inzamam when he was captain never played domestic cricket. Misbah does it when his body is getting older and immediately after landing from a tour. Not the first time he is doing it either. This is unreal. Beyond words.

https://www.facebook.com/king.MUH/posts/652428608136175

Trophies Keep Coming for Captain Misbah Author: Analyst Maaz; Views: 2108; Date: 18-01-2013, 03:14;

Misbah ul Haq has won the Presidents Trophy Final with Sui Gas Northern Pipeline as captain against Younis Khan’s Habib Bank Limited. Misbah top scored across all 4 innings with a determined 85 in the first innings against an experienced attack which compromised of names like Umar Gul and Abdur Rehman along with the talented and promising Ehsan Adil who has been called up in Pakistan’s test match squad for the series in South Africa which will get under way shortly. Misbah was adjudged man of the match in the final, for the 18^th time in his career at all major levels combined. This is not the first time he has won the player of the match in the final as he did so in the domestic one day final in 2010 with a century at over a run a ball while captaining Sui Gas in the early part of 2010.

Misbah’s International Captaincy Record across All Formats: Played 59, Won 36, Lost 15, Drawn 7, NR 1

Misbah’s International Series Captaincy Record across All Formats: Won 15 series, Lost 5 series, Drawn 2 series

Misbah’s Pakistan have beaten the number 1 ranked team 3-0 in pressurised circumstances given the events of 2010 spot fixing scandal on neutral grounds

Misbah’s Pakistan have now beaten the World Cup holders 2-1 on their home patch now, although this is in the one day format

When you have a statesmen captain like him who is renowned for being one of the leading intellectual figures in the team who is widely regarded and respected by his teammates, you know the national side is in safe company

The man who has restored Pakistan’s name, image, direction, team environment and respect when they were scandalous, homeless, unwanted and deeply disgraced

The man who has been an unsung hero and genuine saviour in desperate hours of need when the side was rock bottom and down and out

The man who was handed the thankless responsibility of rejuvenating and reviving a broken side on the brink of a Viking burial

With a Masters Degree in Marketing; clearly a well-polished individual, a temperamentally strong thinking player, a trouble free presence, a genuine talent spotter and a leader with renowned man management credentials; you know you are a natural leader in which the team stands in firm hands.

He’s had to wait patiently for his opportunities at the top level. He started his career late due to education. He comes from a more academic background as opposed to the remote areas where many Pakistani players come from. It’s a triumph in itself for a player like that to be able to fulfil his ambitions, despite starting so late and despite never having proper opportunities until there was a major vacancy, when he could have easily pursed a career as a top class professional elsewhere. With not the greatest talent and support in the world he has gone on to statistically match some of the greats in the world game and in Pakistan’s rich, but tainted cricketing history.

Never did he lose confidence or faith when he was out of favour. He always stuck by his self-belief, mental toughness and principles and now holds the highest WIN/LOSS RATIO IN THE HISTORY OF TEST CRICKET BY ANY CAPTAIN

He’s had to cope with 3 different coaches, 2 different chairmen, 3 different chief selectors and yet there has been no major hassle whatsoever. That in itself is worth a mention given its Pakistan Cricket.

As Pakistan Cricket Writer Osman Samiuddin says: ‘There is no shortage of remarkable stories in Pakistan Cricket, but Misbah ul Haq’s is something else altogether’

MUHs Captaincy Timeline

2001

Captained a first class team for the first time (Sarghoda) in only his 4^th season of First class games as a player

2004

Pakistan ‘A’ team captain regularly

Pakistan Patrons Board XI captain

Captained Faisalabad to the final of the Quaid E Azam trophy

2005

Captained Pakistan ‘A’ to triangular series glory

Captained Pakistan Patrons Board XI against an England side

Captained regularly in representative XI games, for example ‘Hanif Mohammad XI’ or ’rest of Pakistan’

2006

Captained Faisalabad to domestic one day title

2008

Promoted to vice captain of Pakistan’s senior side

Captained the Wolves to the final of the domestic T20 championship

Captained Pakistan in an Asia Cup match (Won)

2009

Captained in a 1 off T20 match vs Australia (Won)          

2010

Won Pentangular Cup as captain with Sui Gas

Captained Sui Gas to the one day title

Captained Wolves to domestic T20 final

In contention for Pakistan captaincy in all formats, although eventually overlooked

Named Pakistan Test Captain after the spot fixing fiasco

Drawn a series vs. South Africa (number 2 ranked side)

2011

In contention for being World Cup captain after leading and performing influentially in his first 2 test series as captain and captaining extremely impressively in the domestic arena before that and in the end named vice captain of one day team for the World Cup

Won a test series in New Zealand, a drought breaking one for Team Pakistan having won their first one after 4 years and their first outside the sub continent in 7 years

Named one day and T20 captain as well of Team Pakistan after a coach and captain fall out with the Afridi-Waqar saga

Won a test match comprehensively in the West Indies

Beat Sri Lanka in all formats as captain in the UAE

Convincing 6-0 tours of Zimbabwe and Bangladesh

2012

Whitewashed number 1 ranked test side, first time Pakistan have beaten a number 1 side and inflicted a whitewash outside their home and against the opposition of England

Won the Asia Cup for the 2^nd time in 11 editions in his first tournament skippering

Led an inexperienced side to the final of the national T20 in a 14 team event

2013

Defeated World Cup holders under his leadership in the resumption of Indo-Pak ties in a 3 match one day series

Won Presidents Trophy 4 day title, beating HBL in the final

19 January should be declared as Misbah ul Haq day:-

19^th January 2011 = Misbah survives and remains unbeaten for 226 deliveries in the 4^th innings for a hard fought battling 70* to secure a test series win, Pakistan’s first in 4 years and his first as captain in his 2^ndseries. It was an act of enduring discipline, determined obduracy and dogged persistence which earned him the player of the match award in the process.

19^th January 2012= Misbah thrashes England by 10 wickets in the first test match after the spot fixing scandal between the two. He scored a half century in his only innings and was praised immensely for leadership of the side as they seized the initiative and surprised the best side in the world in emphatic fashion.

19^th January 2013= Misbah will be packing his bags for South Africa having won the President’s Trophy final and being man of the match in it as captain on the previous day.

Extra Facts

Misbah has captained Pak against 12 different teams in at least 1 format or more. He has beaten or drawn at least one series against ALL of those 12 teams in either T20/ODI or Test. Since all 3 formats were introduced Pak have had several different captains and only Misbah has a consistent and proven record in all 3 formats of the game while being captain.

Apart from India and Australia who Misbah is yet to play in a test series, he has drawn or beaten ALL test playing nations either neutrally in the UAE or away– England, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh (beaten) and drawn against South Africa and West Indies.

By the time Misbah and Smith walk out for the toss they would have been undefeated in 12 tests each

Misbah has the lowest % of test match defeats as a Pakistan captain who has captained in at least 10 tests. Only defeated ONCE in 8 series.

Most Test Wins as PakCaptain:Imran (14/48), Miandad (14/34), Wasim (12/25), Inzamam (11/31), Waqar (10/17), Misbah (9/17), Mushtaq (8/19)

By the end of the SA tests Misbah would have captained in more tests than he has played in as a player 

Misbah would be only one of 6 Pakistan captains to lead Pakistan in 20 tests or more out of 30 captains that have led the side since 1952

Record that surely will never be broken: Under Misbah, Pak once won 14 consecutive international matches and 12 consecutive series in ALL FORMATS in 2011/12

Highest win/loss ratio in the history of Tests
2nd Pak captain to be unbeaten for 7 test series in a row
2nd Pak captain to win 4 test series in a row
2nd Pak captain to win 5 tests in a row in 21st century
2nd Pak captain to win the Asia Cup in 28 years
First Pakistan captain in 8 years to win 4/5 matches in a series vs decent side
First Pakistan captain to whitewash England and beat them by a 3 match margin for a test series
First Pakistan captain to win a Test/ODI/T20 on same tour (times 3)
One of 3 Pak captains to win or draw test series vs South Africa
First Pakistan captain to beat India in India in series for any format after nearly 8 years 
First Pakistan captain to beat higher ranked test side after 2 ODI WCs
First Pakistan captain to win test series outside Asia in 7 years
In top 6/30 Pak captains for most Test wins
First Pak captain to beat number 1 ranked side
First Pak captain to beat England outside sub continent in 16 years
Beaten both teams that played 2011 World Cup final as captain in ODI series soon after

Yet no award for him at PCB Awards. Without the head, the body doesn't work.

Misbah ul Haq vs Younis Khan Final Next Month Author: Analyst Maaz; Views: 1042; Date: 19-12-2012, 04:56;

The 2012-13 Presidents Trophy final will be contested at the Gadaffi Stadium Lahore on the 15^th-19^th January. League leaders SNGPL will be led by current national team skipper, Misbah ul Haq while HBL will led by former national team skipper, Younis Khan. The competition round stages concluded in November, but the final was postponed due to the Faysal Bank Twenty20 and the Indian tour. Strangely, the final will be taking place while the next first class competition of the season is taking place in the Quaid E Azam trophy and round matches are also scheduled to take place while the final is in progress. The current domestic structure is a newly introduced one for this season as PCB officials have voiced an interest in re-structuring the domestic set up.

The final is likely to compromise of names including Mohammad Hafeez, Azhar Ali, Umar Akmal, Ehsan Adil, Taufeeq Umar, Asad Shafiq, Ahmed Shehzad, Imran Farhat, Umar Gul, Asad Ali (called up for Indian T20s) and Yasir Shah. In the previous 2 seasons, the final has been held under lights with an orange ball and has been televised. HBL won it in 2010 and PIA won it in 2011 with both finals held at the National Stadium Karachi.

This final will be useful preparation to the national players and there are many of them on show, to get them back into the groove with the longer format after they return from the Indian trip with an eye on the 1^st test in South Africa commencing on the 1^st of the following month from Johannesburg.

Currently, as I post this article, the under-19 departmental 3 day competition final is being played from Rawalpindi between Port Qasim led by Pakistan U19 wicket keeper Saifullah Khan Bangash and ZTBL who have Zafar Gohar in their side. Zafar is a left arm spinner who played for Pakistan in the televised under 19 World Cup quarter final in August against India from the Tony Ireland Stadium in Townsville.

HBLs Ehsan Adil is the leading wicket taker by a seamer in this competition in debut season of first class games for the 6’4 seam bowling all-rounder. He will be in action for HBL in the final. Before that, the Quaid E Azam trophy gets under way on the 26^th. Many international players will be absent for this due to international commitments in India and later in South Africa. However, this gives others an opportunity to stand up and perhaps put their name in the reckoning for the tour of West Indies later in 2013.

Although this President’s Trophy competition is 4 days long, the final will be held across 5 days.

Misbah ul Haq’s side will depart on the 22^nd of January for South Africa ahead of their only warm up on the 25^th of January. The tour will last for 60 days.