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Misbah eyes more silverware

Pakistan skipper looking ahead to World Cup

Having equalled the record-breaking feat of one of his cricket heroes, Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq has set his sights on mirroring and even surpassing the heroic deeds of the other in coming months.

The 40-year-old has told cricket.com.au he was “privileged and honoured” to see West Indies legend Sir Vivian Richards tweet that Misbah’s 56-ball century against Australia in Abu Dhabi last week – which equalled Richards’ record for the fastest in Test history – was “a pleasure to watch”.

But the veteran skipper has been left little time to dwell on his remarkable innings which crowned his team’s two-nil whitewash of Australia in the United Arab Emirates as he is currently leading Pakistan in the first of three Tests against New Zealand in Abu Dhabi.

Should the inexperienced outfit that Misbah captains repeat its recent form and record another Test win, he will overtake his other cricket mentor and former Pakistan skipper Imran Khan as the most successful Test captain in the nation’s history.

And once the current Test and ODI series against the Black Caps is completed next month, Misbah’s attention will turn to the ICC World Cup which Pakistan has not won since Imran famously lifted the trophy at the MCG the last time the event was staged in Australia and New Zealand more than 20 years ago.

“Viv Richards and Imran Khan are the cricketers who when they talk to you even for two minutes you gain massive confidence from their words,” Misbah told cricket.com.au prior to the first Test against New Zealand beginning yesterday.

“I don’t even think that I am equal to Richards.

“He is a legendary player and there is no comparison between us. 

“I can only say I feel privileged and honoured to get words of praise from him.”

Misbah revealed he was unaware of Richards’ record, which was set against England in front of his adoring home fans in Antigua in 1986, and his proximity to it until he was within 20 runs of the milestone even though he had posted the fastest-ever Test 50 along the way.

Nor did he know that former Australian wicketkeeper-batsman Adam Gilchrist had come closest to Richards’ remarkable achievement with his 57-ball hundred, also against England and also on his home ground at the WACA in Perth in 2006.

But with Pakistan unable to play matches at home because of ongoing security concerns and the neutral venue of Abu Dhabi as the backdrop instead, Misbah simply set himself the goal of scoring as many runs as possible from each ball he faced as Pakistan built its huge second innings lead against Australia.

Until a message arrived from the Pakistan dressing room.

“I was just waiting for (batting partner) Azhar Ali to score his hundred and in the interim I was looking to score as much as I could,” Misbah said.

“I was just trying to score maximum runs on every ball.

“But when I crossed 80, someone from team management ran to me and informed about the 56-ball record. I just continued the way I was playing and ended up having this wonderful record.

“To be honest I did not know that he (Gilchrist) had also once scored a hundred off 57 balls. I was not aware of any names.

“Even during the match I was only told that I had to reach three figures in 56 balls to make the record.

“Whoever had done it before was not in my knowledge.”

Like his two heroes from cricket’s golden past, Misbah’s contribution is now measured as much as a leader of men as it is defined by his return at the crease.

Having taken over the Pakistan captaincy in the wake of the spot-fixing scandal of 2010, perhaps the proud cricket nation’s lowest ebb, Misbah’s even temperament and tactical skills have enabled his team to not only restore credibility but become a genuine force, especially in their adopted home conditions.

Their three-nil win over the then number one-ranked Test team England in 2012 was a highlight until the Australia whitewash that came in emphatic style, and which brought Misbah level with Imran and fellow World Cup winner Javed Miandad with 14 wins as Pakistan Test skipper.

Another win over New Zealand will see the right-hander, who cuts a far different figure from the stodgy middle-order player who scored 28 off 88 balls in his first Test innings in Auckland in 2001, assume the mantle of Pakistan’s most successful Test captain in his own right.

And should he opt to continue his career until Pakistan’s scheduled Test series against neighbour and arch-rival India next year and experience success, he will become the first Pakistani skipper to record wins against all nine rival Test-playing nations.

But once the current Test and ODI series against New Zealand is completed, Misbah will allow himself to settle his focus on the one-day game’s premier showpiece in which Pakistan could pose a genuine threat if their recent Test form against Australia is a guide.

“The win against Australia will be a huge morale booster for us ahead of the World Cup,” he said.

“It has indeed increased our confidence levels and now we will play next matches with positive frame of mind.

“Even though the conditions will be different Down Under we can still perform well if we enter the tournament with wins and self-assurance behind us.

“We currently have a series against New Zealand if we win this one as well it will further enhance our confidence.

“It was very important for me to have runs ahead of the World Cup because I was struggling to score runs before the series.

“I made 50 in the first Test (against Australia) at Dubai and then in Abu Dhabi I got the chance to express myself and play with abandon as the team was in good position.”

Asked if he intended to continue his career and lead Pakistan into that hugely anticipated Test series against India, Misbah declined to be drawn claiming the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in February and March was as far as he was prepared to look.

And rather like that record-equalling Test century, it’s his ability to focus solely on the next challenge rather than lift his head to gaze at the milestones approaching that will hold him and Pakistan in good stead.

“I have not given it a thought yet,” he said of the India series.

“Right now my focus is on Pakistan’s cricket until the coming World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

“We as a team are just concentrating on it.

“I have not decided yet whether I will continue to play until the India series.

“As far as records are concerned you cannot break them through a plan.

“I take every match as a new game and when you will perform well the records will eventually tumble.”