Pakistan is a nation of hero worshipers. Among their heroes are politicians, pop stars and sportsmen. And then there are the cricketers. Th??ey are not just heroes, but the means by which an average Pakistani goes about his life. And because they live vicariously through their heroes, they like their heroes cool, stylish, arrogant and brilliant. In a repressed society, where the means of repression is based on morality and values and culture, you can’t help but side with the rebels, the outsiders, the ones who constantly have run-ins with authority, the ones who appear to upend the rules and hierarchy created for control.

Nothing reflects an average Pakistani’s fascination with heroes better than the position of the Pakistan cricket captain, the man who in the eyes of an average Pakistani stands up to the dysfunctional and archaic institution that is the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and produces scintillating?? performances on the ground despite the system while thumping their nose at the tools of control — the manager, selection committee, chairman etc. This is why this is the most coveted job in Pakistan cricket. This is why at one point Pakistan had a team full of former captains. This is why in the eleven year period between the 1992 and the 2003 World Cup, Pakistan had 9 captains. This is why, Pakistan’s greatest cricketing heroes are almost always former captains — Imran, Miandad, Wasim, Waqar, Anwar, Inzamam.

It is also then of little surprise when the biggest cricketing hero in Pakistan in recent times is Shahid Afridi, another former captain. The he??ro whose very claim to fame is by smashing the ball as hard as he can, and in the process, not just pulverising the opposition, the MCC rule book, cricketing wisdom but sometimes his own team. Afridi has all the traits of an average Pakistani — impatient, talented, temperamental with a total disregard for rules an??d discipline.

It was in 2010, at the end of one of the various chaotic moments that Pakistan cricket is beset with, when Afridi was asked to take over the captaincy of the national team across all formats. Pakistan were to play 6 Test matches in England, 2 ag?ainst Australia and 4 against England and such is the uniqueness of Afridi’s charm, that it was not he who coveted the captaincy but the chairman of the cricket board who coaxed and pleaded to get him to accept it. In typical Afridi fashion, not dissimilar to when he gets himself out playing a shot that ?has everyone flummoxed; he quit the captaincy after the first test against Australia under bizarre circumstances.

What followed next in Pakistan cricket is a black hole so deep that it would consume and overwhelm?? this piece by its sheer impact. By end of that summer of 6 Test matches, 3 of Pakistan’s heroes, including the captain who replaced Afridi were facing jail time and ban.

It was under these circumstances that another man, another outsider who was far away from the tum??ultuous events of 2009�0, was brought back in to the fold to take over the captaincy, the position that Afridi had rejected, Salman Butt had squandered and every cricketer in Pakistan coveted. Only this man, was not a hero.

Misbah protests to the Mountains, the Oceans, the Stars and the Univer?se, all of whom had conspired against him.

“Imran Khan bowls fast off a sexy run up and can bat, Saeed Anwar caresses the ball to the boundary as if time had stopped for him, Waqar Younis can crush stumps, toes and everything else that stands between him and his yorkers. What can you do that makes you think you can be their hero?�is t?he condescending reply from the powers? that be.

“I am more hard working, dedicated and fitter than anyone else. I am mentally and physically strong, I never give up, I am a fighter, I have fought and struggl??ed my whole life. I live and breathe cricket�responds Misbah innocuously.

“What makes you think those are qua??????????????????????????lities ??they want in their heroes�

“But no one can?? become a great cricketer without those qualities, all those Pakistani heroes had these qualities too, so how come they accepted them?�reasons Misbah, ?ever the voice of reason and logic.

“But they had an X factor. Some could ma??ke the air deviate the ball at the last ??minute to deceive the batsman, some could stop time and place the ball wherever they wanted, some were born Imran Khan. What’s your X factor?�came the reply.

Misbah is quiet, as he takes time to reflect on this latest query. He thinks for a bit and replies in jubilation “I can hit massive sixes. I hit Shane Warne for 2 massive sixes in my first match against Australia. I was the highest scorer in that game as the entire batting line up collapsed around me. I fought a lone battle like a hero�/p>

The Mountains and the Stars look at each other in confusion. The Ocean looks clueless. The Universe looks around and finally responds, ‘Well, no one really remembers this, but you sound like an honest man, so we’ll believe you if you say so. So we’ll give you an opportunity. We’ll give you a shock comeback in 2007 after Pakistan crash out of the World Cup against Ireland, and we’ll give you an opportunity of a lifetime — First World T20 final against arch rivals India and the only man between India lifting the Cup and crushing the dreams of 180 million Pakistanis is you. All their popular heroes will fail, but not you. You claim to be a fighter who can hit sixes and never gives up? Well this is it. This is your chance to become the hero they think they deserve.�/p>

On?? 24th September 2007, Misbah would do all the things he had claimed he could do — he would fight, he would not give up, and as everyone else would crumble around him under the massive pressur?e of playing India in a World Cup final, he would hit his massive sixes to bring Pakistan close to that first World T20 against India of all teams from an impossible situation in a way only a Pakistani hero would. Except for one ball. The one ball that would change history, destiny and while a billion people would cherish that moment, a one eighty million would mourn and it was this one eighty million he was trying to become a hero for. On that day, India got their Harvey Dent in Dhoni, Pakistan got their Dark Knight- the one they would pin all the blame and sins on. The one man who was responsible for all the carnage, the pain, the humiliation of having to lose to India.

In The Dark Knight Rises, Misbah along with his team, left without a home to play cricket, made their exodus to UAE. They built a fortress, and achieved ?the incredible feat of not losing a Test series in 6 years and Misbah in the process becomes Pakistan’s most successful Test captain, going past their greatest cricketing hero. Yet Misbah and his team were never going to get the welcome Muhammad got when he came back to Mecca. This was a man they had rejected and while God helped Muhammad, Misbah, like always found all the forces and powers against him. Team Misbah was just like him — hard working, dedicated, sincere and disciplined. They were never going to win over a nation looking for stumps shattering, Afridi’s silky hair and a time machine to go back to 1992. Everything from their technique, skillset, manhood was up for discussion on TV shows hosting ex cricketers who had successfully managed to erase every memory of their defeats not just on foreign soil but also at home. Indeed, Pakistan lost 6 out of 9 series at home between 1995 and 2001. The 90s teams were hailed as heroes. Team Misbah won 5 out of 9 series at ‘home�between 2010 and 2016. Misbah was described as ‘tuk tuk�preventing the team from being ‘aggressive�

Such was the contempt and distrust, that while every team today wins at home and loses overseas, the ‘home�wins for Pakistan were dismissed disparagingly with “they will be exposed overseas� Misbah’s team knew this??, so they responded with the only way he knew how to — more hard work, more dedication and more training. The team went on a month long boot camp with the military to prepare for their toughest year in Test cricket �2016,  the year they would have to step outside of the deserts of UAE and play on the ‘real pitches�of England and Australia.

It worked. They drew 2� in England, where India and Australia have been ‘exposed�in the past. Misbah, Younis, Azhar, Shafiq, the quartet that had formed Pakistan’s strongest batting line up in years were supposed to get ‘exposed� They responded with a century each. They even became the num?ber 1 team for the first time in their history. The ridicule, criticism and condescension had died.Temporarily. They ??just waited, sharpening their claws in the process, waiting for the next away series for Misbah, Younis, Azhar, Shafiq to get ‘exposed�for they were going to give this team the recognition and appreciation it deserved. They would just go quiet and wait for the team to fail.

Test cricket is brutal. Heroes get defeated. They get crushed. They get blown to smithereens. Imran Khan’s team were bundled out for 107 at Melbourne in their first test in 1990.. Wasim Akram led Pakistan’s greatest generation of cricketers to Australia and came back with a 0� scoreline. Inzamam’s team were bundled out for 72 at Perth. He??roes get forgiven. Heroes help you forget.

Team Misbah lost their first series in over 3 years in New Zealand recently. Then came Australia. The one team Pakistan could never match up to. The one team that had always stomped their foot on their pride and reminded them that their brilliant, mercurial, ta??lented heroes were inadequate to overcome the country’s dysfunction, disarra??y and disorder.

They were blanked 0-3 once again. While the core of the team �the middle order stood up and were able to overcome Australia’s bowling firepower for most part, it was the bowling, considered Pakistan’s strongest suit that would come undone. In failure, Misbah and his team were finally able to make a lot of people in their coun?try happy, the ones who were waiting with bated breath for him and his team to fail. Sport’s double edged sword had sliced through their hearts and crushed it.

In the final scene of The Dark Knight, when Commissioner Gordon is alone with his son, without the public, when he is not Commissioner Gordon but a father, and hi??s son asks him why Batsman is leaving, he tells his son th??e truth — ‘because he is the hero Gotham deserves, but not the one it needs right now.�This time there is no cynicism or facade. This time he expresses hope,  a belief in the goodness of Gotham, a Gotham that deserves Batman, the silent guardian, the watchful protector.

Team Misbah’s golden run might be nearing its end but the team is also changing guard. The crux of the team today are Asad Shafiq and Azhar Ali, two men Misbah had trusted and backed wholeheartedly for the last 6 years. In Australia, both of them demonstrated to the world, but more importantly to their nation, the mettle they are made of. Neither of them excite Pakistanis. They are not the batsmen the crowds throng to watch or ask for an autograph and selfie. Yet in the past year, their toughest in te??st cricket, they demonstrated that they are more than capable of carrying the team forward. Azha??r has a double, a triple to go with a couple of centuries in the last 12 months. Shafiq now is the most successful number 6 batsman in Test cricket, and boasts of hundreds in South Africa, England and Australia �the ultimate crown for an Asian batsman.

Team Misbah also has the next generation of Pakistan cricket. He is a father figure to the likes of Sami Aslam, Babar Azam or even a Mohammad Ami??r seeking redemption. He h?as guided and helped the likes of Yasir Shah, Sarfraz Ahmed, Wahab Riaz find their footing in Test cricket. All of them have along with Shafiq and Azhar have the potential to be Pakistan’s heroes tomorrow. Whether they will be accepted or not is irrelevant because they have learned something by being part of this team. They have become a different set of rebels just like their captain. They are the heroes who don’t need validation from the world. That was always Misbah’s X-factor.

Pakistan is a nation of hero worshipers. Among their heroes are p??oliticians, pop stars and sportsmen. And then there are the cricketers. They are not just heroes, but the means by which an average Pakistani goes about his life. And because they live vicariously through their heroes, they like their heroes cool, stylish, arrogant and brilliant. In a repressed society, where the means of repression is based on morality and values and culture, you can’t help but side with the rebels, the outsiders, the ones who constantly have run-ins with authority, the ones who appear to upend the rules and hierarchy created for control.

Nothing reflects an average Pakistani’s fascination with heroes better than the position of the Pakistan cricket captain, the man who in the eyes of an average Pakistani stands up to the dysfunctional and archaic institution that is the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and produces scintillating performances on the ground despite the system while thumping their nose at the tools of control — the manager, selection committee, chairman etc. This is why this is the most cove?ted job in Pakistan cricket. This is why at one point Pakistan had a team full of former captains. This is why in the eleven year period between the 1992 and the 2003 World Cup, Pakistan had 9 captains. This is why, Pakistan’s greatest cricketing heroes are almost always former captains — Imran, Miandad, Wasim, Waqar, Anwar, Inzamam.

It is also then of little surp?rise when the biggest cricketing hero in Pakistan in recent times is Shahid Afridi, another former captain. The hero whose very claim ??to fame is by smashing the ball as hard as he can, and in the process, not just pulverising the opposition, the MCC rule book, cricketing wisdom but sometimes his own team. Afridi has all the traits of an average Pakistani — impatient, talented, temperamental with a total disregard for rules and discipline.

It was in 2010, at the end of one of the various chaotic moments that Pakistan cricket is beset with, when Afridi was asked to take over the captaincy of the national team across all formats. Pakistan were to play 6 Test matches in England, 2 against Australia and 4 against England and such is the uniqueness of Afridi’s charm, th?at it was not he who coveted the captai??ncy but the chairman of the cricket board who coaxed and pleaded to get him to accept it. In typical Afridi fashion, not dissimilar to when he gets himself out playing a shot that has everyone flummoxed; he quit the captaincy after the first test against Australia under bizarre circumstances.

What followed next in Pakistan ?cricket is a black hole so deep that it would consume and overwhelm this piece by its sheer impact. By end of that summer of 6 Tes?t matches, 3 of Pakistan’s heroes, including the captain who replaced Afridi were facing jail time and ban.

It was under these circumstances that another man, another outsider who was far away from the tumultuous events of 2009�0, was brought back in to the fold to take over the captaincy, the position that Afridi had rejected, Salman Butt had squandered and every cricketer in Pakistan coveted. Only this man, was not a hero??.

Misbah ul Haq was never going to be Pakistan’s hero. The Universe, the Stars, the Oceans and the Mountains had all conspired against him. Pakistan lives vicariously through its heroes, so they need to see them do heroic things physically, like change the course of the wind or make the mountain come to him. They need to see Shoaib Akhtar blow away Tendulkar’s middle stump to accept him as a hero overnight. Misbah attempts to play a short ball from Morkel by awkwardly taking a blow to the body. They need to see Wasim Akram bowl two magical deliveries in a World Cup final. Misbah plays a forward defence without really going forward, by allowing the ball to come to him while he shuffles across and lets it hit the face of his bat instead o?f pushing it towards the gap for a sing??le. He was discarded and forgotten after a few games in 2001�2, a few opportunities he was given while Pakistan team itself was down in the doldrums.

Misbah protests t?o the Mountains, the Oceans, the Stars and the Universe, all of whom had conspired against him.

“Imran Khan bowls fast off a sexy run up and can bat, Saeed Anwar caresses the ball to the boundary as if t??ime had stopped for him, Waqar Younis can crush stumps, toes and everything else that stands between him and his yorkers. What can you do that makes you think you can be their hero?�is the condescending reply from the powers that be.

“I am more hard working, dedicated and fitter than anyone else. I am mentally and physically strong, I never give up, I am a fighter, I have fought and struggled my whole life. I li??ve and breathe cricket�responds Mis??bah innocuously.

??“What makes you think those are qualities they want in their heroes�

“But no o??ne can become a great cricketer?? without those qualities, all those Pakistani heroes had these qualities too, so how come they accepted them?�reasons Misbah, ever the voice of reason and logic.

“But they had an X factor. Some could make the air deviate the ball at the last minute to deceive the batsman, some could stop time an?d place the ball wherever they wanted, some were?? born Imran Khan. What’s your X factor?�came the reply.

Misbah is quiet, as he takes time to reflect on this latest query. He thinks for a bit and replies in jubilation “I can hit massive sixes. I hit Shane Warne for 2 massive sixes in my first match against Australia. I was the highest scorer in that game as the entire batting line up collapsed around me. I fought a lone battle like a hero�/p>

The Mountains and the Stars look at each other in confusion. The Ocean looks clueless. The Universe looks around and finally responds, ‘Well, no one really remembers this, but you sound like an honest man, so we’ll believe you if you say so. So we’ll give you an opportunity. We’ll give you a shock comeback in 2007 after Pakistan crash out of the World Cup against Ireland, and we’ll give you an opportunity of a lifetime — First World T20 final against arch rivals India and the only man between India lifting the Cup and crushing the dreams of 180 million Pakistanis is you. All their popular heroes will fail, but not you. You claim to be a fighter who can hit sixes and never gives up? Well this is it. This is your chance to become the hero they think they deserve.�/p>

On 24th September 2007, Misbah would do all the things he had claimed he could do — he would fight, he would not give up, and as everyone else would crumble around him under the massive pressure of playing India in a World Cup final, he would hit his massive sixes to bring Pakistan close to that first World T20 against India of all teams from an impossible situation in a way only a Pakistani hero would. Except for one ball. The one ball that would change history, destiny and while a billion people would cherish that moment, a one eighty million would mourn and it was this one eighty million he was trying to become a hero for. On that day, India got their Harvey Dent in Dhoni, Pakist?an got their Dark Knight- the one they would pin all the blame and sins on. The one man who was responsible for all the carnage, the pain, the humiliation of having to lose to India.

In The Dark Knigh?t Rises, Misbah along with his team, left without a home to play cricket, made their exodus to UAE. They built a fortress, and achieved the incredible feat of not losing a Test series in 6 years and Misbah in the process becomes Pakistan’s most successful Test captain, going past their greatest cricketing hero. Yet Misbah and?? his team were never going to get the welcome Muhammad got when he came back to Mecca. This was a man they had rejected and while God helped Muhammad, Misbah, like always found all the forces and powers against him. Team Misbah was just like him — hard working, dedicated, sincere and disciplined. They were never going to win over a nation looking for stumps shattering, Afridi’s silky hair and a time machine to go back to 1992. Everything from their technique, skillset, manhood was up for discussion on TV shows hosting ex cricketers who had successfully managed to erase every memory of their defeats not just on foreign soil but also at home. Indeed, Pakistan lost 6 out of 9 series at home between 1995 and 2001. The 90s teams were hailed as heroes. Team Misbah won 5 out of 9 series at ‘home�between 2010 and 2016. Misbah was described as ‘tuk tuk�preventing the team from being ‘aggressive�

Such was the contempt and distrust, that while every team today wins at ??home and loses overseas, the ‘home�wins for Pakistan were dismissed disparagingly with “they will be exposed overseas� Misbah’s team knew this, so they responded with the only way he knew how to — more hard work, more dedication and more trainin?g. The team went on a month long boot camp with the military to prepare for their toughest year in Test cricket �2016,  the year they would have to step outside of the deserts of UAE and play on the ‘real pitches�of England and Australia.

It worked. They drew 2â€? in England, where India and Australia have been ‘exposedâ€?in the past. Misbah, Younis, Azhar, Shafiq, the quartet that had formed Pakistan’s strongest batting line up in years were supposed to get ‘exposedâ€? They responded with a century each. They ??even became the number 1 team for the first time in their history. The ridicule, criticism and condesce??nsion had died.Temporarily. They just waited, sharpening their claws in the process, waiting for the next away series for Misbah, Younis, Azhar, Shafiq to get ‘exposedâ€?for they were going to give this team the recognition and appreciation it deserved. They would just go quiet and wait for the team to fail.

Test cricket is brutal. Heroes get defeated. They get crushed. They get blown to smithereens. Imran Khan’s team were bundled out for 107 at Melbour??ne in their first test in 1990.. Wasim Akram led Pakistan’s greatest generation of cricketers to Australia and came back with a 0� scoreline. Inzamam’s team were bundled out for 72 at Perth. Heroes get forgiven. Heroes help you forget.

Team Misbah lost their first series in over 3 years in New Zealand recently. Then came Australia. The one team Pakistan could never match up to. The on??e team that had always stomped their foot on thei??r pride and reminded them that their brilliant, mercurial, talented heroes were inadequate to overcome the country’s dysfunction, disarray and disorder.

They were blanked 0-3 o??nce again. While the core of the team �the middle order stood up and were able to overcome Australia’s bowling firepower for most part, it was the bowling, considered Pakistan’s strongest suit that would come undone. In failure, Misbah and his team were finally able to make a lot of people in their country happy, the ones who were waiting with bated breath for him and his te??am to fail. Sport’s double edged sword had sliced through their hearts and crushed it.

In the final scene of The Dark Knight, when Commissioner Gordon is alone with his son, without the public, when he is not Commissioner Gordon but a father, and his son asks him why Batsman is leaving, he tells his son the truth — ‘because he is the hero Gotham deserves, but not the one it needs right now.�This time there is no cynicism or facade. This time he expresses hope,  a belief in the goodness of Gotham, a Gotham ??that deserves Batman, the silent guardian, the watchful protector.

Team Misbah’s golden run might be nearing its end but the team is also changing guard. The crux of the team today are Asad Shafiq and Azhar Ali, two men Misba?h had trusted and backed wholeheartedly for the last 6 years. In Australia, both of them demonstrated to the world, but more importantly to their nation, the mettle they are made of. Neither of them excite Pakistanis. They are not the batsmen the crowds throng to watch or ask for an autograph and selfie. Yet in the past year, their toughest in test cricket, they demonstrated that they are more than capable of carrying the team forward. Azhar has a double, a triple to go with a couple of centuries in the last 12 months. Shafiq now is the most successful number 6 batsman in Test cricket, and boasts of hundreds in South Africa, England and Australia �the ultimate crown for an Asian batsman.

Team M??isbah also has the next generation of Pakistan cricket. He is a father figure to the likes of Sami Aslam, Babar Azam or even a Mohammad Amir seeking r?edemption. He has guided and helped the likes of Yasir Shah, Sarfraz Ahmed, Wahab Riaz find their footing in Test cricket. All of them have along with Shafiq and Azhar have the potential to be Pakistan’s heroes tomorrow. Whether they will be accepted or not is irrelevant because they have learned something by being part of this team. They have become a different set of rebels just like their captain. They are the heroes who don’t need validation from the world. That was always Misbah’s X-factor.

This is why there is always so much controversy and drama surrounding great sporting rivalries. Think of Bodyline, think of Kolkata 99. And then there’s the England-Pakistan drama. Both these cricketing nations have higher profile rivalries with Australia and India respectively. This probably explains why this particular rivalry hasn’t always been talked about in the same vein. But one look at any series between these two and the fierceness and intensity is absolutely unquestionable. To say that the cricketing relationship between England and Pakistan is fraught with controversy, discord and drama that would put a soap opera to shame is easy. Yet it would be reductive to understand this narrative as just a conflict between a new nation and their old colonial mas?ters, in a post-colonial world, although it is a vital part of this relationship. If one begins to peel off the layers and tries to understand this relationship, it becomes clear that the most essential element that makes this rivalry so exciting, is that the two parties give each other a lot of importance, fueled by quiet admiration, whether they are always willing to acknowledge this or not.

The story of Pakistan cricket started in England. No, not necessarily with the ??triumph at Oval. But a bit earlier when the Kardars and the Fazals saw the Huttons and the Truemans and began to dream the same sort of success, adulation and ambition for themselves. As the new generations replaced the old and the mantl?e was passed on to Botham and Khan and Gatting and Akram and now to Cook and Misbah, the rivalry lost none of its fervour and intensity. If anything, the narrative came to encompass issues as diverse as neutral umpiring, reverse swing, forfeiture and spot fixing.

The two rival captains �Alastair Cook and Misbah ul Haq add a fresh and interesting twist to this fascinating story. Misbah at 41 years of age, is his team’s oldest captain, and the oldest cricketer playing today is capped at 61 tests. Alastair Cook, on the other hand, at 30 years of age, is already a veteran of 122 test matches, a lifetime of cricket, that saw two Ashes wins, a win in India and a whitewash in Australia. It is incredible that Cook has already seen so much of cricketing troughs and peaks at such young age. One can look at these statistics and can’t help but feel that they have been reversed by mistake. Yet it’s not like Misbah at 61 tests hasn’t seen enough ups and downs of his own. His tenure as captain saw Pakistan lose a test match in Zimbabwe, a familiar whitewash in South Africa, two consecutive losses in Sri Lanka but also test series wins over Australia, Sri Lanka recently. But perhaps, the crowning achievement in his career, and his most significant contribution to England-Pakistan narrative was the 3-0 win in 2012.
The 2012 series wasn’t without its share of controversies, but most importantly though, it was one of the most fascinating ??display of test cricket in recent times. England came into UAE the number one ranked team in the world. This was England’s golden generation under the leadership of Andrew Strauss-Andy Flower.

The 3-0 score line perhaps flattered Pakistan a little. It wa?s a far more intensely fought series, a reflection of how closely placed the two teams are. The defeat had far reaching consequences in England. For the core unit of England’s best team in decades, Cook, Bell, Pietersen, Trott, Anderson, Broad, Swann, all of whom had won the Ashes both home and away, winning in the subcontinent became the ultimate pinnac?le of achievement. There was a hint of “never again�for this generation, who knew just how close they had come to defeat Pakistan on a number of occasions, and how they had squandered it. Test cricket can be brutal. A whitewash stared them in the face instead.

But the same brutal test cricket gives you an opportunity to move on, to pick yourself up, and to start afresh. England’s next assignment was in Sri Lanka and in a two match series, led by star batsman Kevin Pietersen’s brutal onslaught on Sri Lankan spinners, England drew a two match series amidst murmurs that they could have won the series 2-1 in a three match series.
In August 2012 when Cook took over as captain from Strauss?, he had at his disposal two of the best spinners England have had in decades. With Swann and Panesar, Cook lan??ded in India as part of his first assignment, with England not having won in India in 28 years. Test cricket does not allow you a beginner’s level. It throws you at the deep end and challenges you to keep floating. Cook responded by example, amassing 547 runs including three centuries, as England completed a famous 2-1 win.

Ye??t, England landed in UAE with subdued expectations and trepidation. The reason for this being that since adopting UAE as their home venue in 2010, Pakistan are undefeated in eight series, having won four, and drawn four. This and memories of 2012 whitewash meant England were content to be underdogs.

The first match saw Misbah win the toss and Pakist?an amass a mammoth 523, on the back of Shoaib Malik’s career best 245, making his comeback in the test side on the back of a purple patch. Misbah’s Pakistan have grown to develop a very precise strategy and approach, as a response to the team’s shortcomings and weaknesses. The response is quiet, efficient, disciplined cricket which means Pakistan looks to block out t?he seamers/strike bowlers and play them with the utmost of caution and precision. Then look to up the ante when the spinners come along and the seamers tire out.

This method saw them win a test match against South Africa in 2013, and beat Australia 2-0 last year. But what makes this appro?ach very interesting in the context of a Pakistan-England series is that it is uncannily reminiscent of an era in England �the era of F?lower-Strauss from 2009 to 2013.

The Flower-Strauss years are arguably the best years of English cricket in the last few decades. This period saw them win three Ashes series including an overseas Ashes win, a 4-0 drubbing of India at home and a 2-1 win in India. A period that saw England become the number one test team in the world. It is the sort of attritional c??ricket that plays on the opposition’s patience, that looks to tire you into submission, that looks to minimise risks and wait for the opportunities to come before you pounce on the opponent.

It is just the formula Misbah’s Pakistan needed to deal with frequent batting collapses and a weak top order. It is also the brand of cricket that saw the emergence of England’s most prolific run scorer in this era �Alastair Cook. So it was little surprise that he respon??d??ed in the exact same way �a double century and outdid Pakistan at their own game.

Facing a le??ad of 75 runs after spending two days on the field, Pakistan panicked and collapsed in a way only Pakistan can, for 173, leaving England a paltry 99 to win.

Coming in to the series as underdogs, England were suddenly staring at being 1-0 up, but alas the light intervened. Memories of Karachi 2000 flashed in our minds, but England were denied a familiar script when the umpires deemed the?? light unsuitable for play to continue, leaving them tantalisingly short of a famous victory.

The second test match saw Misbah win the toss once again and elect to bat first. The same brand of cricket followed and Pakistan managed 378, the captain himself scoring a hundred. England were very much on their way at 206/3 on a pitch that on Day two and three was offering it’s best self to the batsmen. With no lateral movement or bite from the pitch, a Pakistani fast bowler picked up a slightly older ball, determined to defy nature, with raw pace, reverse swing and the sheer strength of will. Wahab Riaz stepped in to play the role pioneered by Imran, immortalised by Waqar , revitalised by Sh??oaib. The Wahab who toiled away on a similar, lifeless track in the first test match with little to show. The Wahab whose career at 30 years of age is only 15 test matches old, the Wahab who is known for two spells in two World Cup games, both of which saw Pakistan get knocked out in the end.

This is a nation that begrudgingly relinquishes its right to a? functional government, its right to healthcare, education, infrastructure, electricity but feels it has a birth right to have fast bowlers blow away teams. Pace is pace yaar is what they say on the streets in Pakistan. And pace is what Wahab has plenty of to offer. Making his debut in the notorious 2010 tour of England, despite a five wicket haul on debut he was easily overshadowed thanks to Amir and Asif’s shenanigans, both on and off the field. He has played sporadically since then, not having a consistent run either due to injury or selection mismanagement. Yet until a year ago, he wasn’t even a regular ??member of the side, his two World Cup performances proving to be inadequate in a career of over five years. It’s as if his entire career was a tantalising wait for that moment he dreamed of as a Pakistani fast bowler, the moment when the spoiled nation would hug him with joy and satisfaction and the sweet smell of victory. Until now. Until Day three.

In a devastating spell of nine overs in sweltering heat, Wahab pummelled England’s middle order, picking up Root, Stokes and Buttler before Pakistan’s new leg spin prodigy Yasir Shah joined the party. England lost 7 wickets for 36 runs and lost the test match in one session. There was however one more twist in the tale before the formalities could be completed, when Rashid and Wood put up a stiff resistance on Day ??five and this time Pakistan were in a race against time to complete their victory. Fortunately for them, Rashid finally gave in just before the umpir?es might have called off play and Pakistan went 1-0 up.

The third test at Sharjah saw Misbah complete a hat-trick of toss wins and bat first once again. But Pakistan were denied much of an advantage when veteran James Anderson produced a stunning display of skill, guile and intelligence and collaborated with Broad to skittle out Pakistan for a meagre 234 and helping England to a decent 72 run lead while dominating the first two days completely. They had been threatening to do that the entire series. Faced with non-conducive pitches and arduous weather conditions, England’s seamer?s combined to pick up 31 wickets at 24.58 in comparison to English spinners managing 20 at 59.85. They troubled Pakistan with the n?ew ball, and then, to demonstrate their versatility and adaptability, they produced beguiling spells of reverse swing bowling to torment Pakistan at various points throughout the series. In fact, such was Anderson’s proficiency with the old ball on Day three, centurion Hafeez remarked that he had never seen such an excellent display of reverse swing bowling since Wasim and Waqar.

Hafeez himself suffered a few close calls and tough chances to notch up ?a 151, in a scintillating display of elegance and poise when the rest of the team perished around him. This is the sort of innings he had promised to deliver on various occasions before letting his team down. With Misbah and Younis back in the hut, this was the moment Pakistan needed it from him, and this was the moment he responded.

The target of 284 with a day and a half to go was always going to be daunting against the spin twins of Yasir and Babar, who respectively average 17 and 2??0 in the fourth innings of a match. England were bundled out for 156 with only Alastair Cook putting up any resistance.

The 2-0 scoreline at the end of a riveting test series says nothing of how the pendulum kept s??winging for most part of the series session by session. Just like any great sporting encounter, this series provided us with its fair share of ‘what ifs�when England were denied by bad light in the first test match. Placing the decision on light firmly in the hands of the umpires was perhaps the best decision by the ICC especially in the context of an England-Pakistan series, where there is always an off field story to overshadow the cricket. Not this time.

In the historical context of controversy ridden England-Pakistan encounters, where headlines on the Daily Mail are often louder than the cricket on the grounds, it is no surprise that this series, played under the leadership of Alastair Cook and Misbah ul Haq will rank amongst the most controversy ?free ones. Here are two of the most unassuming and dedicated cricketers their nations have produced, keen to speak only in the language of cricket. In fact so focused on performances and excellence are these two teams now under their respective leaders that they unabashedly borrowed from each other, demonstrating indirectly their mutual admiration of each other. James Anderson and Mark Wood tormented batsmen with reverse swing much the same way Wasim and Waqar did at their peak, and Misbah, Younis and Shafiq produced displays of attritional batting reminiscent of Cook, Thorpe, Gooch etc.

In doing so, Misbah and Cook might have written a new chapter in the story. A complex and fascinating rivalry that has often been reduced to a simplistic ‘clash of cultures�narrative, this new chapter that defies all prev?ious ones??, might just be the beginning of a new, yet equally fascinating rivalry.

In part two of the finest cricketing moments of 2010, we look at two underdogs, who stood up against all odds to trium?ph over their more powerful adversaries.

Mohammad Aamer blows Australia away

The Pakistan cricket team has always been considered superbly talented but unpredictable by outsiders. The insiders know the unpredictable tag comes from poor administration, poor first class structure and lack of institutions in cricket. The great Imran Khan repeatedly stressed even during Pakistan’s best victories and strongest teams that the talent on display was despite the system, not because of it.

No other team has demonstrated that to Pakistan better than Australia. Pakistan last won against Australia in a dead rubber in 1995. Since then, they were whitewashed in every series from 1999 onwards till 2009. Through each crushing defeat, Australia instilled it in every Pakistani’s heart that while the talent despite the system might be good enough for other teams, even for a World Cup, it would not be good enough against Australia at test level. It is Australia that has time and again stomped their foot on Pakistan and exposed the frailties and inadequacies in their system, that would otherwise remain well camouflaged by the talent and promise and sporadic victories.

So powerful was the stranglehold of Australia over Pakistan that despite having a lead of over 200 runs in Sydney earlier this year, Pakistan gifted the match to Australia. So powerful was the dominance that it allowed losing captain Mohammad Yousuf to remark after the white-wash that since better Pakistani teams with big players had been white-washed, his team losing was no big deal. So when Pakistan were playing Australia in a ‘home’ series in England in July, everyone expected a 0-2 result.

It was 0-1 after the first test, and Pakistan looked down and out heading to Leeds for the second test. Their captain for the first test, Shahid Afridi, brought out of retirement by the cricket board quickly announced his retirement again, citing his inability to handle the pressure of test cricket. Such was the mental stranglehold of Australia over Pakistan. So when after the first day the score card read Australia 88, Pakistan 148/3, many found themselves questioning whether what they were seeing was real or a dream. The Australian top order were completely annihilated by Pakistan’s opening bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer. In overcast conditions, Australia opted to bat first against two of the best bowlers in the world – one, the tall seam bowler Asif, known for his immaculate line and length, control and movement off the seam and one, the 18 year old left arm swing bowler Aamer, described by Imran Khan as ‘streets ahead of Wasim Akram’.

Together they j?oined hands to produce one of the finest displays of swing and seam bowling in recent times. In the end, the Pakistani batsmen huffed and puffed their way on Day 4 to a 3 wicket victory, chasing 180 with Umar Gul hitting the winnings runs but the victory was set on the first day itself by their opening bowlers. David had finally stood up to Goliath and made his presence felt, Pakistan had finally beaten Australia in a test match in 15 years, It had given the beleaguered cricketing nation to?? make a point to the world that talents like Mohammad Aamer are not produced by the best first class systems in the world, they are born in Pakistan.

Tamim Iqbal puts his name on the Lord’s honour boards, and also the honour of his country in the process.

Bangladesh is the worst ranked team in the world with the worst history of defeats. After every series defeat, their test status is questioned. Every test series they play, one cannot help but notice the hesitance of the opposition, to play against these school boys when they could very well be relaxing. In January 2010, when India toured Bangladesh, their stand in captain Virender Sehwag said quite n??onchalantly that Bangladesh were an ordinary side incapable of being able to compete with India, the number 1 side. So when Bangladesh toured England in May for the second time since attaining test status, the cricketing world naturally did not take it too seriously.

The end result of 0-2 on paper perhaps does gross injustice to one man – Tamim Iqbal. Tamim burst into the scene more than 3 years ago when he tore into the Indian openings bowlers in a World Cup match and helped his team register a shock victory over their stronger neighbours, effectively ending India’s World Cup journey.

Since then, Tamim had shown glimpses of his immense talent from time to time, one of them being an important 85 against England at home in early 2010, a knock during which he smashed their premier spinner Graeme Swann for 20 runs in an over.
? But his critics have often chastised him for throwing it away after good starts, his admirers on the other hand have praised him for getting good starts in a team where?? getting good starts is considered rare.

In the first test match at Lord’s, England amassed 505 and Bangladesh were bundled out for 282 and set to follow on. In walked Tamim Iqbal, after scoring a 55 and throwing it away in the first innings.

He was u??p against James Anderson, one of the best swing bowlers in the world playing in his own back yard and Graeme Swann, considered by many to be best spin bowler in the world today and Tim Bresnan and Steve Finn, the bowling attack?? that has just helped England retain the Ashes. Tamim edged, slashed, hooked, pulled, cut, drove and smashed the English bowlers with disdain in a blistering knock of 103 from 100 balls.

I do not know if the Bangladeshi players feel intimidated playing at the highest level, I do not know whether they consider themselves schoolboys playing against men. But as the 21 year old tore a?nd dispatched the English bowlers to various parts of Lords, it was clear to me that this young man who has talked of his desire to end his test career with a batting average of 50 plus like the Tendulkars and Laras had no fear. Bangladesh did lose the match but I doubt anyone can question the standard of play in an 8 wicket victory for England.

People familiar with Bangladesh cricket are aware of another promising youngster, who has often flattered to deceive – Mohammad Ashraful with his consistent inconsistency. So it was only natural to be wary of the new kid on the block but he was not finished as yet as he allayed those fears in style with another blistering century at Old Trafford in the second test. His twin explosive knocks against the English attack that has just retained the Ashes in Australia and his words after the collapse that followed his century ‘Personally it was great, but the team matters. We didn’t play well after a solid start so I’m not that happy’ sums up a man possessed not only of immense talent but also insatiable hunger, a deadly combination for a sportsman.

Bangladesh and Pakistan are two nations of well over 150 million people each who make the news for terrorism, cor??ruption, political instability or floods.  What these two youngsters were able to present to their respective nations was not merely simple sporting achievements. They were able to present to their beleaguered nations an opportunity to smile and rejoice despite the ill fortune and apocalyptic predictions. It was the vict??ory of David against Goliath, in its truest sense, a true triumph of the human spirit.

Although I was first introduced to cricket back in ?1992, I had very little understanding other than the fact that I was to celebrate like everyone else around me then and not ask too many questions. It was not until 1995 that I began to understand the game a little better, began to understand the concept of bat and ball. Very soon I had also learnt to be jealous of the fact that the best batsman in the world was an Indian. Nope, no way, Saeed Anwar was a better batsman, and soon the world will acknowledge.

?This continued for a couple of years, when I would vociferously argue about Saeed Anwar?s superiority over Sachin Tendulkar and I had good reason too because for a couple of years in the mid 90s, they were neck and neck in terms of the number of ODI centuries. Back then, Desmond Haynes held the re??cord for most ODI centuries and I was hoping Anwar would break his record before Tendulkar and prove to the world that the best batsman in the world played in the Pakistan cricket team. Alas, that was not too be as Anwar suffered a slump in form and Tendulkar went on to not only break the record but leave Anwar way behind in terms of number of centuries.

Around this time, I also realized that not only was Tendulkar ahead of Anwar in ODIs, he was also way ahead of him in Test cricket. Australia toured India around this time for a test series haile??d as Warne vs Tendulkar, the best spinner in the world vs the best batsman in the world. I was obviously on Warne?s side, hoping he would win the battle and prove once and for all that Tendulkar was no big deal. Alas once again Tendulkar broke my heart as he darted Warne all over the park in that series like a school boy and such was the effect of the maestro on Warne that he later admitted to having nightmares of Tendulkar coming down the track and smashing him.

I had to find someone else. This someone else happened to be the burly Inzamam ul Haq, who ha??d been hailed by no less than Imran Khan himself as an equal of Tendulkar and Lara. Yes, I had found my new hero, Inzamam was the best batsman in the world.

My argument this time? Inzamam?s ability to win matches for Pakist??an, his ratio of match winning centuries being much superior to Tendulkar?s. I would listen to Imran Khan speak about Inzamam and then copy those arguments in my case for Inzamam, he was a great player of fast bowl??ing, has so much time, and has tremendous ability to handle pressure.

Everytime he played against Pakistan, I wanted him to fail. I moaned the fact that India never played Pakistan in test matches for ?most part?? of the 90s because I wanted Wasim and Waqar in full flow against Tendulkar. But over the years, as my understanding of cricket developed, I realized that he surely knew how to bat. I realized that by wanting Pakistan?s best bowlers to dismiss him, I had already acknowledged him as a champion batsman, otherwise why would it be so important for Wasim Akram to be able to dismiss Tendulkar? I considered Wasim the best bowler in the world, so the only logical explanation was that Tendulkar was also the best batsman in the world. When young Mohammad Aamer dismissed Tendulkar with an away going delivery in a Champions Trophy match last year, I jumped from my seat. But it was not out of malice, but rather it was the respect and admiration I had for the man that made young Aamer getting that wicket so special.

Tendulkar has hurt me many times, his innings at Centurion against Pakistan in World Cup 2003 ensured in Pakistan?s ouster in the first round. I remember a shot he played against Wasim Akram in the first over, a back of a length ball? bowled by Wasim, which has often given him wickets, timed with perfection and placed with disdain between cover fielders for a four. That was in the first over, and that told me that the champion was at his best today, and that meant he could take the game away from Pakistan. Saeed Anwar had scored a century in that match and Tendulkar was going play a knock to rival that.

As a cricket fan, regardless of which team one supports, one cannot help but admire Tendulkar. Its not just his cricketing prowess but the level of dedication, sportsmanship and au?ra he brings to the game. Just watching him on the field tells us just how much he loves the game.

Today I no longer have to fight any contradictions inside me. In 2004 he was unbeaten on 194 against Paksistan in Rawalpindi when Rahul Dravid declared the innings and it upset me as I knew he deserved a double century that day. I have ??no shame in acknowledging that there is Brian Lara, Inzamam ul Haq, Ricky Ponting and Rahul Dravid, and then a few notches higher, there is Sachin Tendulkar, if not in terms of cricketing talent, then in terms of his impeccable commitment, sheer strength of character and utmost humility.

That sums up Sachin Tendulkar for me. About 12 years back, my Mathematics teacher with whom I used to engage in various cricketing discussions had told me that Tendulkar would one day get 50 centuries. I disagreed vehementl??y, not so much out of disrespect but simply because I could not imagine someone could get to 50 centuries in international cricket. He proved me wrong once again just like he had done on countless occasions before. But today it does not upset me. Instead I am too busy admiring a great achievement by an extremely talented man, who never tried to substitute that talent for hard work.