Published: Jul 15, 2016, 12:04 AM (IST)
Edited: Jul 15, 2016, 12:29 AM (IST)
Misbah-ul-Haq is forty-two, that part of his life when he should have had five years of experience in the commentary box; or maybe pursued some other profession, spending time with his family. He should not be out there, playing cricket, batting for his country, battling under pressure the way he had done since the beginning of time. And he should certainly not be playing his first Test on English soil at forty-two. At that age they invite people to ring the bell at Lord’s. He had no business taking field today, let alone turning up in England at the helm of a side. ALSO READ: Misbah’s heroics guide Pakistan to 282 for 6 against England
Cricket journalism can be tedious, especially if you are up against mindless run-fests most of the times. But somewhere around the corner there is hope that you might end up witnessing something special. You get to witness history. In a small way you also become a part of history. You get your own “I was there” moment that you tell your grandchildren. Take a moment out from your mundane routine and picture this for a while. He had made his Test debut fifteen years back but have never played in the nation that had given him the sport, let alone the ground we writers refer to as ‘hallowed turf’ and expect everyone to understand.
He is forty-two. I repeat, he is forty-two. Despite having an outstanding seam attack, he bats against Stuart Broad, a man who had scythed through an Australian line-up in the first session of a Test last year.
He walks out at 77 for 3. There is nothing new about that, he has done it many a time, but never at Lord’s. They hurl everything possible at him. He waits, patiently, for the right ball. The fast bowlers stray. He leg-glances. The spinner comes on. He hits him out of the attack. He picks out a woeful-looking Steven Finn.
He loses Younis Khan. And suddenly a nation realises that their captain, the man whose tuk-tuk they have criticised over years, is their key to a fightback. The fans sit nervously. The Barmy Army chants. Asad Shafiq looks reassured at the other end. And Misbah bats.
He does not flow, Misbah. He never has. He has either grafted or attacked throughout his career. The fifty comes with a flick. He is forty-two.
He plays out a maiden to Chris Woakes. There is the occasional edge, but there is nothing to worry, Misbah is in control. When Jake Ball bowls outside off, Misbah is confident enough to guide him towards third-man. ALSO READ: Misbah-ul-Haq becomes 6th-oldest Test player to score a century
Misbah reaches 75. Alastair Cook recalls his only spinner.
Reverse-sweep. Four. Sweep. Four.
Reverse-sweep. Four. Sweep. Four.
No, there is no typo. Four fours in one over, two reverse-sweeps, two sweeps, exactly in that order.
“Mis-bah, Mis-bah…” they chant at Lord’s.
He remains on 91. Seventeen balls pass by. They stop chanting.
He sweeps. There is a top-edge, but there is nothing to worry. They run two. Another sweep yields a single.
“Mis-bah, Mis-bah…”
Another single, to the off, this time off Finn. Ninety-five.
“Mis-bah, Mis-bah…”
On comes Moeen. Shafiq plays out five balls. Misbah gets one ball to inch closer towards the hundred.
It happens, almost in slow motion. It could almost have been an action replay. He kneels down, his flexibility almost impossible for a man of forty-two (read that number again); the bat turns, almost like a wand at the command of some supreme wizard.
The reverse-sweep has four written all over it.
Shafiq has six balls. Finn steams in. Shafiq pulls the second ball for a single.
“Mis-bah, clap-clap-clap, Mis-bah, clap-clap-clap…”
Too short. Outside leg, to boot. Misbah lets it go.
“Mis-bah, clap-clap-clap, Mis-bah, clap-clap-clap…”
Finn, again, the tallest man from either side, runs in. He probably bends his back that extra bit. Or maybe Misbah is a bit anxious. Or maybe I just imagine all that. The ball does not fly to short-leg.
Why is it taking him so long?
“Mis-bah, clap-clap-clap, Mis-bah, clap-clap-clap…”
Down the leg, once again. The tension mounts. The entire Pakistan side is out there, on the balcony.
They do not show the honours board. There will be photographs of it all over the internet tomorrow, with the name of a forty-two-year-old at the bottom.
But for that to happen, he needs another run.
“Mis-bah, clap-clap-clap, Mis-bah, clap-clap-clap…”
Finn runs in. Misbah steers it towards third-man, running for that single and dragging Finn along with him to history books, YouTube videos, and quizmasters’ troves.
The build-up for the series has been tremendous, mostly around Mohammad Aamer. Most conversations have revolved around the contest between Pakistani bowlers and England batsmen, not the other way round. Most discussions revolved around how Aamer would perform on his comeback.
Cricket fraternity wanted Pakistan to bowl first. It did not happen. And after Day One, I am thankful it did not. Aamer making a heroic comeback at Lord’s will be a fairytale, but Aamer, the genius that he is, will have his moments. Misbah will probably not have a second chance here.
If it has still not gone into your veins, your system, let it sink in: Misbah-ul-Haq, forty-two, has scored a Test hundred at Lord’s on his maiden appearance in the country.
The past few years have been tough for Pakistan. The last time they had toured England was back in 2010. Some of those were their ‘home’ matches. In one of the ‘away’ Tests, their captain retired mid-series. In another, the greatest sporting controversy of the year had rocked the world. Three of them — two men, one boy — were suspended. The past few years were probably the darkest phase in the history of Pakistan cricket. They did not play at home. They did not have three senior men. Their off-spinners were taken away, one by one.
They needed a messiah. All they found was a man who had attempted a failed scoop in an ICC World T20 final against India and had thrown it all away. But he was all they had, so they chose him, and backed him despite the tuk-tuk taunts from fans. The fans taunted him despite the fact that Misbah had led Pakistan to a win over Australia in 2014 and Sri Lanka in their den last year. But it did not matter to Misbah, just like it did not matter to him that in the process of bailing his side out many a time, he sacrificed many a limited-overs hundred to save his side, eventually retiring without one. ALSO READ: ENG vs PAK 2016: Is it going to be a bowlers’ series?
Nothing has ever mattered to him, for he was Misbah. He has always been there, at 17 for 3 or 77 for 3 or 177 for 3, batting on, running singles, improvising, building up big scores. He will probably be doing the same when the world resumes following Armageddon.And you will hear, just you did today: “Mis-bah, clap-clap-clap, Mis-bah, clap-clap-clap…”
(Abhishek Mukherjee is the Chief Editor of CricketCountry and CricLife. He tweets at @ovshake42.)
