The bald details of the Third Test at Roseau state that Pakistan beat the West Indies by 101 runs, the Man of the Match being Roston Chase. Yet Pakistan may as well have been playing Merthyr Tydfil Seconds such was the intense focus on just two individuals.
In a match when the two finest Pakistani batsmen of the past decade both departed Test cricket, the result of the game was of secondary importance. Not to proud skipper Misbah ul-Haq or the venerable run machine, Younis Khan, of course. To them, a victory and series win would signify job done.
There have been a lot of jobs done in recent years. In the last four years, Pakistan have lost just three series – in Sri Lanka, Australia and New Zealand – out of fourteen, and it’s a shame that much of their success has come under the radar. The dominance of India on and off the pitch, and the UK media’s obsession with the Ashes at the exclusion of all other cricket, have contributed, and then there has been the enforced ban on internationals on home soil as a result of a bunch of idiotic terrorists.
Then there was the ignominy of seeing their former captain and two of his young protégés sent to jail for match-fixing which put the whole nation in the global sporting doghouse. Ironically it was that crime which enabled Misbah in 2010 to finally meet his destiny and lead the side his talents had long merited.
He retires just a few weeks short of his 43rd birthday having led Pakistan to more victories than anyone before him, having been rejected many years ago for being too old! What seemed to count against him, despite prolific seasons in domestic cricket, was that he didn’t make his first-class debut until the age of 24. He was picked back in 2001 to play in Auckland, making little impact in a win fashioned largely by a second innings century by a certain Younis Khan and the bowling of Mohammad Sami and Saqlain Mushtaq.
Only four more appearances came in the next six years but he came good with the bat against India in late 2007. In his first 19 Tests, he averaged a mediocre 33 but since assuming the captaincy his average has leapt to 51. He hasn’t smashed loads of centuries but those invaluable 50s have come in mighty handy. Furthermore it’s been his nous and experience as leader which have dragged Pakistani cricket from the gutter to challengers in all forms of cricket. He was no slouch in limited overs either, although it was a shame his final innings should end with such an ugly slog sweep.
Younis’s career also finished with a mistimed sweep but he leaves with just about every Pakistan Test batting record to his name. Earlier in the series he became the first man from his country to reach 10,000 Test runs, although his last three-figure score was his 175 not out at the SCG in January. He was one of the very few players in the world to have converted most of his 50s into hundreds. His world-class average of 52 is superior to that of giants such as Border, Ponting, Gavaskar and Richards.
While his career wasn’t without controversy, occasional ill-discipline and disputes with officials and management, it is telling that Younis Khan commands considerable respect not only in Pakistan but across the cricketing world. He may not boast the swashbuckling charisma of Javed Miandad, the weight (in more ways than one) of Inzamam, the political smarm of Imran Khan or the ego of Shahid Afridi but Younis has been a shining example for any youngster looking to bat with traditional virtues such as patience, shot selection and cool-headedness. Maybe too inward-looking to be a successful skipper, Younis has nevertheless been the rock in Pakistan’s middle-order. His partnerships with Misbah were so vital to the team’s rise up the Test rankings. OK, so he was hardly a giant of the 50- or 20-over game, but Pakistan’s batting will surely suffer in his absence. With Misbah gone, too, the hole begins to resemble a deep crater.
But that is not their problem. It’s the PCB’s. Instead we should celebrate the massive contributions to Pakistan cricket made by this pair of batsmen over the past two decades.
