Pakistan could call England its ‘home’

An article in an edition of the Spectator magazine of a few weeks back was headlined: “Why Misbah ul-haq is Pakistan’s greatest Test captain.” As if to confirm the article’s veracity, the 42-year-old went out on day one of the first Test at Lord’s last Thursday and scored a magnificent century, celebrating the feat with a series of push-ups. The article described how Misbah had been a source of strength and stability through a period of turmoil for the country. Like many a cricket fan, I had fears for Pakistan cricket after the terror attack on the Sri Lanka team bus at Lahore in 2009. Since then Pakistan has played its “home” Test series on dead pitches in the dry heat of the UAE in front of virtually no one, as we saw when England toured there in the autumn. So the question needs to be asked: Why doesn’t Pakistan play its home series here in England where they can be guaranteed an audience from cricket lovers, be they Pakistan fans or not. Matches against India on result-producing pitches in Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds and Nottingham would be particularly spicy. Equally, matches against Bangladesh, who are still finding their way into Test cricket, would be worthwhile. More Test cricket for countries not playing enough of it can never be a bad thing.

How long can it be before our own Sam Billings gets a Test call-up? After all, the Kent wicketkeeper/batsman smashed a match-winning 175 out of a total of 324 for the England Lions against Pakistan A at Canterbury on Sunday. Billings has already featured for England in shorter versions of the game. Despite the successes of Joe Root and Alastair Cook, there are still questions over batsmen such as James Vince and Gary Ballance, neither of whom have had particularly propitious summers. The only drawback of a Test call-up is the inevitable loss to the Kent team.

Misbah-ul-haq