Misbah-ul-Haq, the Pakistan captain, has ruled out a knee-jerk reaction to his side’s defeat despite two of his senior batsmen, Mohammad Hafeez and Younis Khan, having been muzzled by England’s bowling attack this summer.
With a series victory now out of the question for the tourists, Thursday’s fourth Test at the Oval represents a chance to finish up all square but before then come some hard questions over the batting for Misbah and his head coach, Mickey Arthur.
Hafeez averages 17 in the series and fell cheaply to two limp shots in Birmingham, while Younis, the country’s record Test run-scorer, averages 20 and has now gone eight innings without a half-century for what is the longest barren stretch of the 38-year-old’s 107-cap career.
Misbah said: “It is a concern, especially Younis Khan. We know he is a top performer, our leading scorer and has played such an important role in Pakistan’s Test cricket. Him not scoring runs is a concern but there is no doubt he could come back at any stage, any time. We believe in him.
“Hafeez is also out of touch and not scoring. This is the time to sit and think about what we have to do. Instead of panicking, we really need to come up with some solutions. The next game is important and we have to back each other and come into it with some positivity.”
If the pair’s form is a concern for the Pakistan brains trust, then they can at least reflect on one positive from Birmingham in the shape of the 20-year-old opener Sami Aslam with the left-hander, whose 70 in the second innings followed 82 in the first, looking the part in what was his first Test outside of Asia.
Misbah said: “He really played tremendous knocks in both innings. He was under pressure in the first innings playing a good bowling attack in their own conditions but he showed his temperament. And in the second innings also, so the way he handles it is good to see. It’s good to find this kind of opener for Pakistan.”
Asked how we could lift his side for the Oval, Misbah replied: “The good thing is this match is gone now and we can still win and draw the series. That’s what we have to think, we cannot do anything about the game that has just gone now. The Oval is a good batting track and helps the spinners, so we need to get our confidence back.”
