Misbah one-day specials

[1137moiz]

To start off I don't think Afridi should be replaced as captain because, apart from Twenty20, he's done a decent one-day job since his arrival and it's too close to the WC anyway. BUT Misbah-ul-Haq (or Younus Khan, maybe) should be his deputy, and in this thread I shall explain why contrary to popular opinion Misbah is a fine one-day batsman

2009 was a fairly unspectacular and inconsistent year for the old MBA warhorse. But he played some really fine knocks as well amid the mayhem

1) 76* off 80 (10 fours) v AUS
After a disappointing loss to Australia, Pakistan went to the last match needing a consolation win. They got one, and it was a special partnership between Misbah and Kami Akmal wot did the trick. Pakistan were in some trouble at 56 for 3 in 16 overs, chasing 250--the top total of a sluggish-scoring series, after Watto scored an attritional ton. Misbah came in, turned the tide with some calculated charges against the spinners, and then deftly took the backseat as Akmal began to flourish and gain confidence. Misbah started and ended his innings in a spree of fours, while smartly pinching the ones and twos in between. The partnership was an unbeaten 198

2) 73* off 82 (5 fours) v SL
Another last-match performance from Mr MBA. He came in at 113 for 3, with Younus sedate but steady at the other end. Misbah began pinching the singles and put away the loose balls; when a flurry of wickets fell after Younus' dismissal, Misbah subtly dropped a gear and anchored the end overs, with Rana Naved hitting out. To top it off Misbah took 3 catches as well

3) 79* off 91 (3 fours and a six) v WI
Another last-match special as Pakistan sealed a whitewash in their last series win. Coming in at a solid 88 for 2, Misbah shared a stand of 103 with centurion Younus Khan, notable for good strike rotation and choice shot selection. After Younus' dismissal Akmal arrived to fire off a brief salvo

4) 76 off 70, 3 fours and 4 sixes, v SL
A losing cause this time, as a clinical Sri Lanka mopped off aa dispirited Pakistan in the Asia Cup. Misbah saved some honour with a brutal assault on the otherwise lethal Mendis, clubbing four massive sixes

5) 70* off 62, seven fours and a six, v IND
In the same tourney Pakistan managed to chase a 300-plus target v IND, with centurion Younus (123) and Misbah taking the Indian bowlers to the cleaners, finding regular boundaries and keeping ahead of the tall asking-rate

This thread is just to debunk the myth that Misbah ain't suited to one-dayas. MashaAllah the old feller is a fine one-day middle-order batsman and an inconsistent 2009 shouldn't take that away

[Sledger]

That Asia Cup 70 was his best ODI knock imo which btw I think was his first game as captain.

[The_Real_Deal]

i totally agree with op - misbah should in the odi squad. he's a fine middle-order batsman and can bat with the tail, which was his specialty in 07-08.

great to see him scoring runs and imo should be made v/c in the odi squad.

[MRSN]

Originally Posted by Sledger That Asia Cup 70 was his best ODI knock imo which btw I think was his first game as captain.

yep that was a very good knock under-pressure.This guy has leadership qualities from Day 1

[*sallu*]

Just noticed, Misbah and YK make a good partnership, this test and all those ODIs

Its fun cricket

Problem with Misbah, even in 2-3 of those knocks that you mention is that he stalls the middle overs and makes his strike rate look acceptable by hitting 2-3 sixes in the end

I'd rather he not hit those sixes, but face fewer dots in the middle

[Dare2Dream]

Originally Posted by *sallu* Just noticed, Misbah and YK make a good partnership, this test and all those ODIs Its fun cricket Problem with Misbah, even in 2-3 of those knocks that you mention is that he stalls the middle overs and makes his strike rate look acceptable by hitting 2-3 sixes in the end I'd rather he not hit those sixes, but face fewer dots in the middle

That's very true. And even then, the OP is cherry picking, e.g., his other 2 ODI innings in SL were 9 and 9. The problem is that in the WC on sub continent wickets, teams will be scoring 300+ regularly, Misbah just isn't suited to coming in, hit the ground running and scoring at a fast rate from the get go, and that affects the flow of the whole inning. Once you stall the scoring rate, the pressure is bound to increase exponentially, leaving too much on Umar, Afridi and Razzaq to do in the end.

[anakwalajinn]

Originally Posted by *sallu* Just noticed, Misbah and YK make a good partnership, this test and all those ODIs Its fun cricket Problem with Misbah, even in 2-3 of those knocks that you mention is that he stalls the middle overs and makes his strike rate look acceptable by hitting 2-3 sixes in the end I'd rather he not hit those sixes, but face fewer dots in the middle

I make good partnerships with everyone, as long as they are fun

[Invictus]

Originally Posted by *sallu* Just noticed, Misbah and YK make a good partnership, this test and all those ODIs Its fun cricket Problem with Misbah, even in 2-3 of those knocks that you mention is that he stalls the middle overs and makes his strike rate look acceptable by hitting 2-3 sixes in the end I'd rather he not hit those sixes, but face fewer dots in the middle

This is the issue with Misbah. He simply does not rotate the strike in the middle overs. In the sub-continent our game plan should be simple start with a bang, rotate strike in the middle overs, leave the last 10 overs for Razzaq/Afridi.
Misbah even when in good touch does not look to do that like Younus/Yousuf did when they played together. No matter how much florish he provides in the last few overs those dot balls in the middle will cost us games.
This will be 300 plus scores WC. Ind/SA/Eng/Aus/SL all bat very deep anything under 300 would not faze these teams.

[cric]

if misbah stays longer at crease, razzaq we'll have to play kinda inning to win every time, like he did against SA. which almost impossible.

[talha3]

Something no-ones picked up on yet - Misbah sure does like his 70s. Hit a 70 yesterday and all of these one day knocks are in 70s.

[iHammad]

IMO is very underated player, and will be key for us in the World Cup. He's in good form, and if he performs, then our side is looking solid for WC.

[talha3]

Another thing, Misbah is in the form of his life at the moment, seeing the ball like a football, just like in 2007. Plus he's one of our best pressure players, as he has shown numerous times over the tests, as well as in the t20s against SA.

[iHammad]

I remember that six vs Australia's Nathan Bracken!

[talha3]

The only thing this thread now needs is some video...

ODIS:




Massive shots:


- big 6 off bracken that the above poster is talking about.

[Boi]

He's a pretty good bat in all formats. One criticism I have though is that recently he hasn't been able to rotate the strike enough, which leads to extra pressure building up on other batsmen. This could prove costly when chasing big totals in the World Cup. He is however, a very good pressure player and performs when the pressure is on, just hope his finishing has improved slightly so that we don't have any muck-ups in the World Cup.

[Sunil-Havesacar]

If my memory serves me right, I don't think he made an ODI century yet! It was the first series win since 2006, the last one was under Inzamam ul haq. It should be a Khan skippering the side this world cup, it was Imran Khan under whom we won the 1992!

[talha3]

You can't blame him too much not for scoring a century. He comes in quite low down the order and also his role is to slog at the end. When he has scored big, he's been not out many times.

[anakwalajinn]

lol I remember we all hated him a few months back

REALLY hated him for everything he did and said...

[talha3]

Originally Posted by anakwalajinn lol I remember we all hated him a few months back REALLY hated him for everything he did and said...

what did he say?

[cricket47]

Problem with Misbah is that he wastes too many deliveries and then gets out.. we already have younis to fullfill that area of the game.. where all the batsmen does is waste balls...

Misbah has played some good innings but usually he wastes too many deliveries and puts the pressure on the other players around him.. and they try to up the run rate and fall in the process.. and due to that Misbah is the only one left not out.. and then people start saying he is the best bat in the team.. If he wants to play, then he HAS to rotate strike.. that way evn if he gets out.. he wouldnt have wasted too many deliveries or put undue pressure on other batsmen...

[pakistanigoneaussie]

Better to have him there than fawad or asad

[anakwalajinn]

Originally Posted by talha.raja what did he say?

Everytime there was an article with his quotes, people wen't over it. "I wan't to burn my equipment" "I will retire next year". Etc...

[cric]

Originally Posted by Boi He's a pretty good bat in all formats. One criticism I have though is that recently he hasn't been able to rotate the strike enough, which leads to extra pressure building up on other batsmen. This could prove costly when chasing big totals in the World Cup. He is however, a very good pressure player and performs when the pressure is on, just hope his finishing has improved slightly so that we don't have any muck-ups in the World Cup.

Now i think fan overrating misbah lil. no doubt he's good test batsman. he didn't bat like this first time. he batted better then this in india 2008. where it was almost impossible to get him out. if you tell him do to tuk tuk, he will do that all day, and will never get out. but he is not going to win you many one day matches like this in modern day cricket. infact he will loose you more games.

[alberto]

he can accelerate as he displayed is hitting qualities in t20 2007 where there were harder pitches to bat on.

[GOAT]

Probably our best ODI bat to not have a century to his name. If he gets a game anytime soon, I hope he scores one.

Don't think he has it in him for ODI's anymore tbh, but I didn't think he could be a good captain either..