Xuhaib
International Coach
Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq's comments to the media after his team completed a whitewash over England in the Test series:
"I can't describe in words how important this series was for us. Winning 3-0 is really a wonderful achievement for this team"
"I'm really pleased with the way the team has performed. It's the first whitewash that we have completed in a long, long time. Credit goes to the team - it's really a wonderful achievement for us."
"When I use the word team, it means everybody in the team - all 25 people. Everybody is important - the selection committee, the cricket board - they all have a contribution somewhere in the team."
"We were expecting England to have problems here because of the slowness of the wickets here."
"Our bowlers bowled really well on these wickets. We were not expecting these sort of results, but our spinners and our bowlers were outstanding and they just outclassed their [England's] batting lineup!"
"It was a big ask for our team. We just came out from such big problems - and the way the team has emerged out of it and the way it is progressing, I think it's wonderful."
"Everybody had been just ignoring Pakistan cricket and Pakistan team and a lot of things were being said about the team. It just shows that we are a powerhouse in the cricketing world. Now it's time to give importance to Pakistan cricket team again."
"Playing away from home is another challenge and this team loves challenges. We do have this in our minds and we are focussed to prove ourselves outside Pakistan. I think this team already has - if you see our performances in New Zealand, those conditions are not easy for us but this team performed really well - in the West Indies and in New Zealand as well. We're looking forward to going to South Africa and Australia - we just want to do well. These players really love challenges. We aim to do well everywhere."
"A lot of youngsters are coming in are really improving their game. Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq are doing really well. Mohammad Hafeez is doing well. Bowlers are doing really well - we have good fast bowlers and good spinners."
"It's all about your mindset. You have to adjust your mindset accordingly. If you go to England or Australia, you just have to be ready for what you're going to face there. If you're good enough players, you can perform everywhere."
"If you get the other team out with a lead less than 100, you are still very much in the game because the team batting fourth are always going to face problems here due to the slowness of the wicket - it starts to turn more. So that was our aim - to just restrict the first innings lead. I think the bowlers did a wonderful job to get them [England] out for 141. After that, Younis Khan and Azhar Ali gave a wonderful performance with the bat. Those two innings played the main role in getting us back in the game."
"The most important thing in any sport or any field of life is that once you have achieved success and victory, that's it - it's gone in the past. If you keep resting on your laurels, you cannot improve.
"So this is a message for the team and for everyone else that this [Test] series has ended, and now we have have to think about the future - the upcoming one day series and the T20s. If we keep thinking about our victory [in the Test series], we wouldn't be able to continue our good performances. I think this is the only way to improve your performances as an individual and as a team. Win a series or a match, then forget it and focus on the next series. What you have achieved is your past - your future and your present is more important."
"Our aim was to play good cricket and try and beat the top team in the world. We were all mentally prepared. We all believed we could do it. We were not expecting the result to be 3-0 though. But we believed we could win the series."
"One Day is a different ball game. No doubt England are a very good team in one days too - and they will try to come back strongly, especially after this [Test] series. We'll need to be fully prepared for that and we'll have to play even better cricket if we want to win the one day series."
"As far as the DRS is concerned, it's a great help for the players and the teams. But I think they need to work more on its accuracy. The more accurate it is, the better. Need to improve it a bit."
"There are quite a few things in life that seem to be very difficult until you achieve them. When you achieve them once or twice, it boosts your self-confidence. The kind of match that we won in Abu Dhabi - we were not expecting such a turnaround. After that match, I don't think the team will ever think that we can't win. We have the belief that someone or the other will perform."
"The youngsters have a huge contribution in our team's recent performances, especially Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq. It's there for everyone to see the kind of innings they played in crunch situations, particularly their partnership in Abu Dhabi. It brought us back in the game. And then in this match, we could have been all out for 45 had Asad Shafiq not scored 45 in that situation! It was a tough time and he drove the team to 99 - it was an extremely good innings. Later in the second innings, Azhar Ali again played a match-winning innings. So I think this is how stars are made. This is how players are made whom the team can rely on."
"It's message for all that we are back in cricket. Our performances should be recognised by the world."
"It seems all too easy from the outside. We have been playing here and we are well-aware of the type of wickets here. We know how difficult it is to manage your strike rates and to score runs here, and how you have to build your innings. World class batsmen have played here, but if you see the strike rate - it has remained 2 or less than 2. People used to criticise us when we played at a strike rate of 2.5. You can't get the right idea about these things from the outside. It's when you play, you get the idea. I think England must have realised this now. You can't play like that here. The pitches are quite different here - and credit goes to Pakistan that they did well here despite all that."
"The ICC and all the playing nations should think over it and try to revive international cricket in Pakistan. For how long can the Pakistani cricketers play like this? We go home for 4 days and then we go outside to play our home series! I think it's been a year since I last spent a full month at home. I think it's really difficult for the cricketers and also for the people in Pakistan - they miss international cricket there. Just look at the enormity of the crowd in the [domestic] T20 matches there."
"I think it's a serious matter. The government and the ICC should take it seriously and think over it."
wub Misbah.
"I can't describe in words how important this series was for us. Winning 3-0 is really a wonderful achievement for this team"
"I'm really pleased with the way the team has performed. It's the first whitewash that we have completed in a long, long time. Credit goes to the team - it's really a wonderful achievement for us."
"When I use the word team, it means everybody in the team - all 25 people. Everybody is important - the selection committee, the cricket board - they all have a contribution somewhere in the team."
"We were expecting England to have problems here because of the slowness of the wickets here."
"Our bowlers bowled really well on these wickets. We were not expecting these sort of results, but our spinners and our bowlers were outstanding and they just outclassed their [England's] batting lineup!"
"It was a big ask for our team. We just came out from such big problems - and the way the team has emerged out of it and the way it is progressing, I think it's wonderful."
"Everybody had been just ignoring Pakistan cricket and Pakistan team and a lot of things were being said about the team. It just shows that we are a powerhouse in the cricketing world. Now it's time to give importance to Pakistan cricket team again."
"Playing away from home is another challenge and this team loves challenges. We do have this in our minds and we are focussed to prove ourselves outside Pakistan. I think this team already has - if you see our performances in New Zealand, those conditions are not easy for us but this team performed really well - in the West Indies and in New Zealand as well. We're looking forward to going to South Africa and Australia - we just want to do well. These players really love challenges. We aim to do well everywhere."
"A lot of youngsters are coming in are really improving their game. Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq are doing really well. Mohammad Hafeez is doing well. Bowlers are doing really well - we have good fast bowlers and good spinners."
"It's all about your mindset. You have to adjust your mindset accordingly. If you go to England or Australia, you just have to be ready for what you're going to face there. If you're good enough players, you can perform everywhere."
"If you get the other team out with a lead less than 100, you are still very much in the game because the team batting fourth are always going to face problems here due to the slowness of the wicket - it starts to turn more. So that was our aim - to just restrict the first innings lead. I think the bowlers did a wonderful job to get them [England] out for 141. After that, Younis Khan and Azhar Ali gave a wonderful performance with the bat. Those two innings played the main role in getting us back in the game."
"The most important thing in any sport or any field of life is that once you have achieved success and victory, that's it - it's gone in the past. If you keep resting on your laurels, you cannot improve.
"So this is a message for the team and for everyone else that this [Test] series has ended, and now we have have to think about the future - the upcoming one day series and the T20s. If we keep thinking about our victory [in the Test series], we wouldn't be able to continue our good performances. I think this is the only way to improve your performances as an individual and as a team. Win a series or a match, then forget it and focus on the next series. What you have achieved is your past - your future and your present is more important."
"Our aim was to play good cricket and try and beat the top team in the world. We were all mentally prepared. We all believed we could do it. We were not expecting the result to be 3-0 though. But we believed we could win the series."
"One Day is a different ball game. No doubt England are a very good team in one days too - and they will try to come back strongly, especially after this [Test] series. We'll need to be fully prepared for that and we'll have to play even better cricket if we want to win the one day series."
"As far as the DRS is concerned, it's a great help for the players and the teams. But I think they need to work more on its accuracy. The more accurate it is, the better. Need to improve it a bit."
"There are quite a few things in life that seem to be very difficult until you achieve them. When you achieve them once or twice, it boosts your self-confidence. The kind of match that we won in Abu Dhabi - we were not expecting such a turnaround. After that match, I don't think the team will ever think that we can't win. We have the belief that someone or the other will perform."
"The youngsters have a huge contribution in our team's recent performances, especially Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq. It's there for everyone to see the kind of innings they played in crunch situations, particularly their partnership in Abu Dhabi. It brought us back in the game. And then in this match, we could have been all out for 45 had Asad Shafiq not scored 45 in that situation! It was a tough time and he drove the team to 99 - it was an extremely good innings. Later in the second innings, Azhar Ali again played a match-winning innings. So I think this is how stars are made. This is how players are made whom the team can rely on."
"It's message for all that we are back in cricket. Our performances should be recognised by the world."
"It seems all too easy from the outside. We have been playing here and we are well-aware of the type of wickets here. We know how difficult it is to manage your strike rates and to score runs here, and how you have to build your innings. World class batsmen have played here, but if you see the strike rate - it has remained 2 or less than 2. People used to criticise us when we played at a strike rate of 2.5. You can't get the right idea about these things from the outside. It's when you play, you get the idea. I think England must have realised this now. You can't play like that here. The pitches are quite different here - and credit goes to Pakistan that they did well here despite all that."
"The ICC and all the playing nations should think over it and try to revive international cricket in Pakistan. For how long can the Pakistani cricketers play like this? We go home for 4 days and then we go outside to play our home series! I think it's been a year since I last spent a full month at home. I think it's really difficult for the cricketers and also for the people in Pakistan - they miss international cricket there. Just look at the enormity of the crowd in the [domestic] T20 matches there."
"I think it's a serious matter. The government and the ICC should take it seriously and think over it."
wub Misbah.
