PAKISTAN already lead the series with a well-contested victory in their 400th Test at Dubai and obviously aim to seal the series here with another win in this three-match series. And this is a possibility, of course, considering the way the West Indians on this tour have been performing so far.

The game starting today will indeed have plenty of bearing on how successfully Jason Holder’s men recover to avoid the series loss.

The way the West Indians fought back on the last three days of the Dubai Test after being left with a sizeable lead to chase must have given them heart and encouragement to do better in the remaining matches.

I must say that left-handed Darren Bravo’s century in quest of saving the game or to win it was one of the best displays of temperament, patience and batsmanship in a well-paced and a controlled innings. In the end his country lost but not disgraced.

A sensational flying catch off his own bowling by Yasir Shah to dismiss Bravo spoiled the tourists party but only just.

That brings me to the question of a captain’s decision to enforce the follow on or not against the opposition. In my column during the Dubai Test, I wrote that Misbah-ul-Haq, the Pakistan captain was right not to enforce the follow on and there were people who did not agree with me. Of course they have their prerogative to do so.

There are indeed a lot of factors involved when making a decision to enforce a follow on or not. The weather, the pitch, the state of the game, time left in the game, the lead and the strength of the opposition is all taken into consideration before taking a decision.

In a five-day match, the side batting first have a lead of 200 runs minimum can ask the opposition to bat again, which is what the law says.

In the old days, not much cricket was played and there was not much pressure or fitness problem for the players or for that matter not much money involved. The pitches were uncovered and the wear and tear very common, so the captains went for it.

Now things have changed since the commitments are manifold. In modern day cricket the captains do not risk injury to players and prospect of their key bowlers being ruled out of the series with serious hamstring or exhaustion.

In Pakistan’s decision to bat again Misbah knew there is plenty of time, more than two and a half days and a lead of 222 runs to play with and add another 180 or so to take the game away from the tourists. But his plans and that of his team suffered severe setback when they batted irresponsibly in the second innings to get out cheaply. No one expected this will happen. But it is a game of cricket and strange things do happen in it.

The anger and anxiety that followed as Misbah’s men struggled to bowl the tourists out for the second time before the eventual outcome showed up on the faces of the fans as well as the players. And Misbah was honest enough to admit it later.

Three days of dull cricket and suddenly 16 wickets on the fourth day on a flat pitch by Devendra Bishoo turned the match on its head. If this had not happened, the match would have ended on a dull and dreary note.

Michael Clarke, the former Australian captain, in his entire Test career as captain only once enforced a follow-on.

Ricky Ponting, Steve Waugh and England’s Andrew Strauss on many occasions batted again instead of asking the opposition to follow on and still won matches.

If I was Misbah, I would also do the same as the Pakistan captain did.

In Test history, a team asking the other to follow on has also lost Test matches and surprisingly it was Australia every time, twice against England and once against India. I well remember how Ian Botham smashed a hundred after England were asked to follow on in 1981 at Headingley. That was really so fascinating.

I would highly recommend the followers of cricket to read ‘The Art of Captaincy’ by Mike Brearley who was a psychoanalyst by profession and a successful leader of England, to understand what cricket is all about.

In my experience, I have come across many international cricketers who happened to be the top men of the game but a poor student when it came to explaining the finer points of the game. One experiences that every now and then with some of the players commenting on the game on television and radio these days.

It is not everyone’s cup of tea to understand cricket’s finer points and its unpredictability. It comes naturally, whether you are a player or a follower of the game. What makes the game even more exciting is the fact that it is not only an art and a science but also a subject which has logic and philosophy about it to ponder and then come to an agreement.

Also, any team having a triple century scored in a Test has never lost. The other good news is that Younis Khan is available for the match today.

Published in Dawn, October 21st, 2016