From Misball to Misbae: Misbah-ul-Haq has become the role model Pakistan cricket desperately needed

Ahead of the start of play on Day 1 of the first Test between England and Pakistan at Lord’s, an almost unrecognisable Misbah-ul-Haq walked on to the field for the toss. This was not the same Misbah who led his team to a 2-0 series win over the same opposition in the United Arab Emirates last year. His clean-shaven look that you always associated him with had been replaced by a groomed beard that added at least five years to his age of 42.

Perhaps the beard was a way to mislead the opposition into believing that he was well past his prime. Perhaps it was to deflect attention away from the man who scored 352 runs in six innings against England in the UAE. However, England skipper Alastair Cook would have seen through it, because Misbah, by no means, looked old, creaky or weathered. Quite the contrary: he looked like a lean and fit forty-something man, with a beard and an agenda.

Despite being in good form in the longer format, Misbah was far from being the centre of attention in the build-up to the first Test. He must have been tired of answering questions about his 24-year-old fast bowler Mohammad Amir, who was returning both to England and Test cricket six years after he was caught spot-fixing in the same country during Pakistan’s tour in 2010. He probably heaved a sigh of relief when he won the toss and opted to bat, delaying Amir’s return and, thereby, the scrutiny of almost 30,000 spectators.

A typical start

He walked in to bat after lunch with Pakistan at a tricky 77/3. He ambled along to two off just 19 balls before he hit his first boundary – a half-hearted hook that clipped his glove and lobbed above the wicketkeeper for four. He got another boundary the same over with a more deliberate stroke, punching Stuart Broad ‘s short delivery through point on the back-foot. Two overs later, he was dropped by Joe Root in the slip cordon on 16.

It was a typical Misbah start – not one that would make you leave whatever you’re doing and rush to the stadium to watch. He was in no hurry and his next two boundaries were only results of poor deliveries drifting down the leg from Steven Finn, which were calmly flicked to the fine-leg fence. You could be forgiven for not even noticing when he reached his fifty, but the observant ones would have seen that he was slowly and steadily settling in and finding the middle of the bat.

Then came that one Moeen Ali over that made everyone notice and look up at Misbah’s score. The right-hander swept the off-spinner as many as four times in the over – two reverse and two normal – and found the rope each time. And all of a sudden, he was in the nineties. A few overs later, he reverse-swept Ali yet again to get to 99. Four deliveries later, he was the third-oldest Test centurion at Lord’s.

Tuk-tuk? Think again

This was also his fifth century after entering his fifth decade of life and eighth as Pakistan captain. Only two other hundreds had been scored when he was not captain. Misbah celebrated with a salute, which he later said was towards the Pakistan flag, before dropping down and doing 10 push-ups, in fulfilment of a promise made to Pakistani army officers in Abbottabad, who had hosted the squad for a training camp ahead of the series.

And to think this man was once known, nay mocked, as "Tuk-tuk", for his leisurely pace of scoring, and "Misball", for his tendency to leave deliveries. In 2014, the then 40-year-old had shut everyone up by scoring the fastest Test century in history, off 58 balls against Australia in the UAE. Two years later, aged 42, he is still his team’s most reliable batsman, along with being a great leader.

The backbone

Misbah has been the backbone of Pakistan cricket ever since he took over the captaincy from following the 2010 spot-fixing scandal. Aged 36 at the time, there were a fair number of pundits who had criticised the decision, including former skipper Wasim Akram. However, Misbah did not harbour any ill-feeling towards any of them. “I know the task assigned to me is not easy," he had said shortly before leading the team for the first time. “However, underestimating me as a captain and batsman is not fair as one always learns with time and improves.”

In six years, Misbah has become the most indispensable member of the Pakistan team and it’s still not often that he gets the credit he deserves. Not only is he still an extremely capable batsman, his cricketing acumen and his composure are second to none. He also has the ability to absorb any criticism or negativity directed towards him or his team and drain it out on the field. After the lows of 2010, he’s the best thing that could have happened to Pakistan cricket and they should hope he’s not going away anytime soon.

From Misball to Misbae, Misbest, and Misbah-ul-legend: Misbah-ul-Haq has become the role model and leader that Pakistan cricket desperately needed.