For any other side the banning and eventual imprisonment of its former captain and two best bowlers coupled with the fact that for security reasons the team has to play its ‘home’ matches on foreign soil, an upturn in its fortunes would be more or less impossible.
But Pakistan are not a normal cricket team.
Following a successful tour to New Zealand, Pakistan performed admirably at the World Cup; sauntering to the semi-finals before losing to hosts India.
Since then things have continued to improve under the calm leadership of Misbah-ul-Haq, who at this rate will emulate Imran Khan in captaining his country past his 40th birthday.
If a drawn Test series in the Caribbean was a mild disappointment, a clean sweep of Test, ODI and T20 rubbers with Sri Lanka and Bangladesh showed that Pakistan are beginning to make real progress. Misbah and Younis Khan have provided stability in the middle order whilst the top three of Taufeeq Umar, Mohammad Hafeez and Azhar Ali have all flourished. With the ball Saeed Ajmal reached 50 Test wickets for the year and has a claim to be the best spinner in the world at the moment and Umar Gul and Abdur Rehman have also impressed.
Whilst the opposition has been weak, Pakistan’s re-emergence seems to have momentum and they can be expected to provide a tough test for England when the two teams clash in the UAE from the end of January.
Where next?
The criminally underrated Younis Khan & the criminal negligence of Ijaz Butt
Responsibility and Misbah-ul-Haq
The Ten Commandments of Ijaz Butt
Hope from despair for Pakistan
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