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Pakistan's captain, Misbah-ul-Haq,
has just turned 39 and he was asked at his side's introductory media
conference ahead of the Champions Trophy how he would celebrate it.
"Just going for practice," he said.
There have been more exciting birthdays, but there have been few more
wisely spent. What Pakistan need more than anything is a quiet time in
their first appearance in England since a spot-fixing scandal in 2010
ended with three of their players serving custodial sentences and their
reputation once again dragged through the mud.
Even as Misbah tried to give an impression of solidity, the headlines
were again suggesting that all was not well. As he sat down, attention
centred upon the suspension
of the PCB's chairman, Zaka Ashraf, by the High Court in Islamabad
pending investigations of what Justice Shaukat Siddiqui called a
"polluted" election process.
Once that had been digested, talk turned to Asad Rauf's protestations of innocence
after he had been withdrawn from the Champions Trophy umpiring panel
amid media reports in India that he was under police investigation as
part of the IPL betting scandal.
Pakistan's supporters must despair of better times. Their side will
invariably possess volatile talent and their supporters can be expected
to be out in force, especially in Birmingham, where they play two of
their three group matches, against South Africa and India. Just for
once, though, they would benefit from a lot less fun and a lot more
sense.
Their warm-up matches have not augured well. They were rained on in
Scotland and in Ireland they came perilously close to becoming the first
Full Member nation to lose a series to an Associate. Ireland drew
the first game thanks to Kevin O'Brien's blistering 84 from 47 balls in
Clontarf and then seemed to have the second match won only for Kamran
Akmal and Wahab Riaz to pull off a spectacular run chase.
Misbah, having experienced Ireland and Scotland, is probably the only
Champions Trophy captain to arrive in England thinking that when it
comes to the swinging ball things can only get easier.
"I think coming from Pakistan it's really difficult to adjust to the
conditions, especially the weather," he said, "but we have played a game
in Scotland and then in Ireland two games, so it really helped us to
acclimatise here, especially now it's really cold here also.
"In Ireland especially, the ball was really moving in the air. So
everybody has suggested that, and they're ready to just face those sort
of conditions. I think in England especially it will be better than
Ireland, so I think mentally everybody is ready and now getting ready
for this tournament."
Misbah has been a solid upholder of the faith in such taxing times for
cricket's itinerant nation. There is a staunchness about him that goes
down well after the reign of Salman Butt, who initially charmed the
English media with his sharp wit and well-modulated accent, but who
became regarded as a latter-day snake-oil salesman after a tabloid
newspaper sting led to the captain and two fast bowlers, Mohammad Asif
and Mohammad Amir, bringing shame upon Pakistan cricket.
Birmingham's large number of Pakistan supporters should help them feel
at home, their loyalty never wavering despite constant slights upon it.
The final group match against India on June 15 sold out in three hours
and, in a group also containing South Africa and West Indies, there is
every chance it could prove critical to at least one of the side's
chances of reaching the semi-finals.
"I'd say it's special for us because a lot of fans here are for the
Pakistan cricket team," Misbah said. "I haven't played before here, but
Pakistan really had a good record here. Even in the last series,
Pakistan won a Test match and played really well. We're really looking
forward to enjoying these games."
Pakistan's Edgbaston record is actually not remotely as spectacular as
Misbah imagines. In all competitions, they have won six, lost nine and
drawn three. They lost their last Test in Birmingham against England
three years ago and also lost their last ODI on the ground in 2006.
Misbah has never lost at Edgbaston - but then he has never played at
Edgbaston.
He was right about his 39th birthday, though, even if the rain did affect his attempts to practice.
David Hopps is the UK editor of ESPNcricinfo
Feeds: David Hopps
© ESPN EMEA Ltd.
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