Misbah to receive ICC Test mace on Sept 21 in Lahore

Published September 9, 2016
Misbah-ul-Haq addresses a press conference at the Oval in London. — AFP/File
Misbah-ul-Haq addresses a press conference at the Oval in London. — AFP/File

The International Cricket Council (ICC) will present the Test mace to Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on September 21.

ICC Chief Executive David Richardson will make the presentation at 10:30am (PST), which will be followed by a media conference at 11:00am (PST), icc-cricket.com reported on Friday.

Pakistan achieved number-one Test ranking for the first time since the current rankings system was introduced in 2003 after it played a two-all draw against England.

Pakistan’s cause was also helped by Sri Lanka, which defeated Australia by 3-0, while a wet ground in Port of Spain denied India the opportunity to defend the top spot as it won its four-Test series against the West Indies by 2-0.

Pakistan is currently sitting on 111 points, one ahead of India, while Australia and England are on 108 points each. The top seven Test sides are separated by just 16 points.

The current Test ranking – known as the ICC Test Championship – encapsulates top 10 Test nations.

Since the introduction of the current ranking system, Australia (number one in three stretches totaling 81 months or over 51 percent of the time), South Africa (thrice, totaling 42 months) and India (twice, totaling 21 months) have primarily outshone.

Pakistan, however, featured as a top team for only two months nearly three decades ago. In the 1952-2003 period, Pakistan was retrospectively rated the top side during August-September 1988.

The ICC recently applied its current rating system to results going back to 1952, prior to which the data available is deemed insufficient for calculation purposes due to the infrequency of matches and the small number of competing teams.

Opinion

Editorial

Digital growth
Updated 25 Apr, 2024

Digital growth

Democratising digital development will catalyse a rapid, if not immediate, improvement in human development indicators for the underserved segments of the Pakistani citizenry.
Nikah rights
25 Apr, 2024

Nikah rights

THE Supreme Court recently delivered a judgement championing the rights of women within a marriage. The ruling...
Campus crackdowns
25 Apr, 2024

Campus crackdowns

WHILE most Western governments have either been gladly facilitating Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza, or meekly...
Ties with Tehran
Updated 24 Apr, 2024

Ties with Tehran

Tomorrow, if ties between Washington and Beijing nosedive, and the US asks Pakistan to reconsider CPEC, will we comply?
Working together
24 Apr, 2024

Working together

PAKISTAN’S democracy seems adrift, and no one understands this better than our politicians. The system has gone...
Farmers’ anxiety
24 Apr, 2024

Farmers’ anxiety

WHEAT prices in Punjab have plummeted far below the minimum support price owing to a bumper harvest, reckless...