LAHORE: Hailing the Pakistan team for its superb show against top-ranked England in the three-Test series, former coach and captain Javed Miandad said the best thing about the current outfit was the timely performances from the players throughout the contest which earned them a whitewash over the tough adversary.
Talking to Dawn, Miandad said: “Though the atmosphere and conditions were in favour of the Pakistan team, the best thing in my opinion which brought us victory was the timely performances of our bowlers and batsmen who applied themselves according to the situation which is the hallmark of all big teams.”
He said it was great to see all the batsmen including Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq, Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq and Mohammad Hafeez rising to the task at crisis times which was a huge plus for the team.
“After being bowled out for just 99 in the first innings, the bowlers brought the team back into the match and then our batsmen displayed maturity and skill to ensure a winning total for the side which goes out to show that they are playing like a unit,” Miandad said.
The master batsman said the conditions in the UAE were quite similar to those in Pakistan and the team also availed the opportunities to seize a series win.
Miandad had special praise for skipper Misbah-ul-Haq who, he said, led the team from the front with a cool head to keep the momentum going.
“Misbah’s leadership and the mesmerising spin of Saeed Ajmal and Abdul Rehman sank England and they had no answer to Pakistan's attack,” said Miandad.
Miandad, however, had some reservations about Pakistan’s fielding and said had the third Test match ended either in a draw or defeat for Pakistan, the fielders would have been mainly responsible for it.
When asked to comment on the Umpires Decision Review System (UDRS), Miandad shied away from giving his views on the subject.
To yet another question regarding the future of head coach Mohsin Hasan Khan, Miandad said he had given his opinion to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) over that and he could not speak about it in the media.
In the end, Miandad warned that England could stage a good comeback in the One-day Internationals series which begins from Feb 13.