LAHORE: Misbah-ul-Haq, Pakistan’s most successful Test captain, was handed the prestigious International Cricket Council Test championship mace by ICC chief executive David Richardson in a graceful ceremony here at the Gaddafi Stadium on Wednesday.

Pakistan topped the ICC Test rankings on Aug 22 after the rain-hit final of the four-Test match series between the West Indies and India ended in a draw in Trinidad.

A week before that, on the country’s 69th Independence Day, Misbah and his men had strengthened their case to snatch the celebrated Test trophy from arch-rivals India by securing a 2-2 draw against England in the four-Test series.

Reminiscing the historical victory during a press conference after the ceremony, the 42-year-old Misbah said: “It was one of the best days in my life — becoming number one. I would like to congratulate everyone. Every player that played, every coach and every selector … everyone who worked hard for this number one spot.

“The last series against England was a real test for our players and everyone performed out of their skins. The way we have played and in the situation we have played, it will always be memorable for us. Though the series ended in 2-2 draw, it was a remarkable contest by all standards.”

David Richardson lauds Pakistan’s remarkable achievement

Misbah, laid great emphasis on successful contributions by his players during Pakistan’s numerous Test wins in the past two years.

“A captain or leader cannot do anything without proper resources. And I have been fortunate that my players have contributed superbly to achieve this prestigious title for Pakistan.”

Misbah, who has record 22 wins in 46 Test matches, is yet to lead Pakistan at home soil. A terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team in Lahore in March 2009 forced an exile on Pakistan with an exception of Twenty20 and ODI series against Zimbabwe in 2015.

“If you look at Pakistan we have been playing outside the country. That has been the biggest hurdle [in the journey to the top spot]. When you are playing at home, the conditions give your players more confidence and they help in their development. We don’t have that.

“Playing conditions in the UAE are a bit familiar to Pakistan but they are not exactly like Pakistan’s. After 2010 whatever the situation was it was tough. From that until now we have been losing our players and strike bowlers for different reasons. That was difficult for me,” the middle-order batsman added.

Despite all the troubles during his journey as captain, Misbah, who boasts 10 centuries and 34 half-centuries in Tests, kept a positive approach.

“There are always tough times, but you have to foresee the good times that succeed them. There are many days in cricket on which you are not satisfied with yourself. There are areas in which you feel that you can perform well. I think these are the points that have given our [Test] team a passion to perform well.”

The Test skipper stressed the necessity to keep improving and vowed to continue with the momentum and keep the Test mace in the country.

Talking about the competitiveness of cricket at the international level, Misbah explained, “We need to develop cricketing skills in youngsters from the grassroots level. We shouldn’t expect from our cricketers to learn the desired skills overnight after they come in the national team.”

To a question regarding whether he was hopeful about leading Pakistan on home soil, the 42-year-old responded, “We can hope for the best! As a player there would be nothing better than playing Test cricket or any other cricket at home. It’s a wish and the rest is on the authorities — ICC and the PCB.”

Pakistan last took on India in a Test in 2007. The two were expected to feature in a full-fledged series in the UAE. However, Indian government’s refusal to grant Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) permission to play Pakistan struck down the tour.

“Last year, we had to play against India and my plan was to retire after that. It is my desire to play against India before I retire because of the involvement of the cricket frenzies on both sides of the border. The love and passion for cricket that is found in the fans makes cricketers from both countries wish to play against each other.”

Meanwhile, ICC chief executive Richardson congratulated the Pakistan team, saying he “always” enjoyed coming to Pakistan because of the passion for the game here.

“This is a remarkable achievement, given Pakistan have played all the series away from home. Congratulations to Misbah, Pakistan team and PCB on making it to number one,” he said.

Richardson appreciated PCB’s initiatives of experimenting with day-night first-class contests and the no-ball rule in the last series against England.

Richardson termed Misbah’s captaincy as one of the main reasons for Pakistan’s progress to top spot in Tests.

“We want Pakistan team to keep challenging itself for these achievements. Hopefully, we will pretty soon reach a scenario where teams will be visiting Pakistan again,” the ICC chief executive stated.

Published in Dawn September 22nd, 2016