Talent alone won't win you matches, Misbah tells team

DUBAI: Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq demanded his side put in the hard yards to supplement their undoubted talent after they squandered the opportunity of winning a Test series against South Africa.

Pakistan went down by an innings and 92 runs in the second Test in Dubai on Saturday as the two-match series finished level at 1-1.

It deprived Pakistan of adding to their only other series win over South Africa in 2003 and it once again highlighted their inconsistency after they had won the first Test in Abu Dhabi by seven wickets.

That had followed an embarrassing Test defeat to minnows Zimbabwe last month.

“I think the lack of consistency is because we depend on talent and talent can only help you once or twice but for consistency you need commitment, hard work and attitude,” said Misbah.

“We must accept that after one or two good performances we get relaxed.”

Pakistan's top order once again faltered as they were bowled out for a paltry 99 in the first innings in Dubai, with opener Khurram Manzoor bagging a pair, a week after hitting 146 in Abu Dhabi.

“We need to work hard on mental strength, every innings is a new innings, if you have scored a 200 then the team expects the same from you in the other innings, you can't live on one hundred,” said Misbah.

Misbah also blamed a lack of competitiveness in Pakistan's domestic cricket.

“I have been saying this for a long time that we must make our first-class cricket more competitive, that is why we are not mentally strong, we must improve on that, we need to be good all the time,” said Misbah, 39.

“If a player doesn't come from a strong system he struggles, struggles even in one-day cricket, so we have to look at that.

“I think we are a bit disappointed, given the conditions in this Test. We lost because of one bad session,” said Misbah of Pakistan's dismissal for 99 on day one in Dubai.

“The thing that is associated with us is that we are just so bad in one hour and one session and that hurts us, we want to improve on that in future otherwise such ups and downs can really hurt the team,” added the captain, who praised young batsman Asad Shafiq.

“We can say that he is a developing player and that is very good for us because in the coming years you might not have me and Younis (Khan) so he is the one who can really gather Pakistan. “He is the talent and I hope he can go on and play for a long time.”

Shafiq hit a career best 130 in Dubai and added 197 for the fifth wicket with Misbah (88) before South Africa forced the win.

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Comments (15) Closed

sss

Oct 28, 2013 04:08pm

Great saying agree....

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Asfand

Oct 28, 2013 06:58pm

@sss: Well said Mr Captain, consistency is what is lacking in us

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WeCare

Oct 28, 2013 07:16pm

First time ever I've heard him (Misbah) saying the right thing instead of typical 'boys need to improve' or 'we've learned a lot'. He is correct that our system isn't producing players. It is only some talented players that somehow make into national team and perform in-consistently.

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Ali

Oct 28, 2013 07:39pm

I think it is the bad selection and coaching. If I were the coach, I would have resigned after this loss

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junaid

Oct 28, 2013 08:09pm

There are two categories of talent, aquired and natural. Natural talent takes less effort to be proficient and adjust one's skills on the run, acquired one requires al lot of effort and practice to perform at par. In cricket Miandad is a true example of natural talent (since the time I have seen cricket) and Misbah is an example of acquired talent. In either case to benefit from your talent in a competition is a whole different ball game. In other words, there is no alternate to hard work. Our batsmen have to think/ do exactly like Misbah. He comes to the crease with responsibility and vision and has proven it so far. Everyone is captain of himself. When you are on the wicket ( Batting) you are the captain. The 2nd Test could have been saved had every batsman stayed on the crease as Misbah and Asad Shafique did. I wish Mr Younis Khan could maure up a little. Currently he looks like a lost talent.

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Animal Farm - Desi

Oct 28, 2013 08:26pm

What Pak team needs is a competent psychologist. The team lacks self belief and confidence, just like the whole nation... Maqbool Babri, who helped the team during its only T20 world cup win, could surely would be a great help.

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sherie

Oct 28, 2013 10:49pm

is that a revelation? its not up for debate whether consistency is better than talent, thats how life is. so why would one think its different for cricket? if its a diagnosis, there is a simple self evident solution, so i guess i still dont get what the fuss is about.

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pakfan

Oct 28, 2013 11:52pm

Agree with you skipper, but sometime your most reliable batsmen gets carried away. The way Yonius chased the delivery from Styne in the first innings of the second test was unusual. Also Asad Shafiq's 130 was much more needed in the first innings where he bowled by slogging Tahir's flighted delivery. Something same was also done by Shan in the first innings when he was bowled by Tahir. Looks like lit was just lack of planing that cost us the second test.

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Salman Ali Rai

Oct 29, 2013 04:01am

We would point out that the domestic system is flawed but won't pick the players who actually perform in domestic cricket. We would select players like Manzoor and Shan who have their first class averages in 30's and ignore guys like Harris Sohail, Fawad Alam and Umar Akmal who have their first class averages of 50+. Is anyone noticing the irony here? The easiest way to respond to a loss is to lay the blame somewhere else instead of manning up to these shambolic losses. Good stuff.

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Salman Ali Rai

Oct 29, 2013 04:10am

With due respect, what talent are we talking about? For the last two years we persisted with the likes of Maliks, Farhats and K Akmals and kept losing and once we actually decided to get some young blood in after the Champions trophy, we saw young guns like Shehzad, U Akmal and U Amin playing consistent cricket in the WI tour. On the test arena, Jamshed was given a couple of chances on the most difficult wickets of the world and then dropped for the likes of Manzoor and Shan on dead Dubai wickets? Is this consistency on your part Misbah? As a captain, you don't support young talent showcasing it's natural flair and as a cricket fan, it saddens me.

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Hyder Ali

Oct 29, 2013 04:31am

Sir, Mahender Singh Dhoni is grooming Suresh Raina besides yuvraj singh for no 4 spot in batting order whereas Misbah as usual is talking rubbish. if Misbah was sincere he should have made himself unavailable for Zimbabwe series to allow a young captain to be groomed. A golden opportunity lost. The problem with pakistan cricket is not only their domestic cricket but also their senior citizen cricketers who are never ready to retire gracefully and groom youngsters to take their place. Regards, Hyder

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Anon

Oct 29, 2013 08:52am

I sincerely hope that likes of him take up, after their retirement, the coaching and management of first class cricket in Pakistan. We need someone like him who is headstrong, committed and not afraid of what people might think! Hail skipper!

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Ray

Oct 29, 2013 09:14am

Very wel said. Khurram Manzoor and Shan Masood should be positively briefed about what the team expects from them - one innings isn't enough. For all those who were calling for the head of Asad Shafiq, please for the sake of Pakistan cricket leave the guy alone. He is your best batsman by a long way, just let him play and develop for Pakistan's sake.

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Effy

Oct 29, 2013 12:21pm

Sharjeel Khan again proves his talent by scoring 194 of 124 balls, best opener in pakistan right now, plays like Sehwag, why doesnt he take the selectors to the court for not selecting, they deserve to perish in jail.

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Ali Vaqar Awan

Oct 29, 2013 12:36pm

Its great to see Misbah who is now properly analyzing the situation. Yes indeed our player get complacent after winning a match or two. Also our domestic system is horrible and it needs drastic restructuring. More A team tours should be held so it give our players exposure before debuting in international matches.

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