Pakistan’s Misbah sees silver lining even after Australia whitewash

Test captain believes there are positives to be taken from the 3-0 defeat

Pakistan Test captain Misbahul Haq said on Saturday that there are positives which can be taken from his side’s whitewash in the three-match series against Australia.

The 220-run loss in Sydney allowed the hosts to claim the series 3-0 after they won the day-night opening Test in Brisbane by 39 runs and the second Test in Melbourne by an innings and 18 runs.

Speaking after the match, Misbah said that the visitors should not be discouraged because there were certain individual performances during the series on which his side could built upon in the future.

“Overall, there were many positives, especially in the batting department, with the performances of Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq, and Sarfraz Ahmed,” he said. “This will be good for their career in the future.”



He added: “A lot of our tail-enders also scored runs which will give them confidence moving forward.”

However, the captain expressed disappointment on Pakistan’s poor bowling performance in the series. “Our bowling is always our strength, but in this series I am a bit disappointed that we couldn’t take 20 wickets in any Test match,” he said.

Pakistan will now go on to play five ODIs against Australia, giving time for 42-year-old Misbah to think about his retirement plans after a poor run with the bat Down Under. “Regarding my future, I will think about it in the upcoming break at home,” he said. “I have always believed that confidence plays a huge role in cricket.



“If your first few innings go well then it is smooth sailing from there.

“Unfortunately, that didn’t happen here for me, so it is a good time now to ponder over my future.”

The Mianwali-born further went on blame his side’s capitulation on the last day at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), where the tourists suffered an innings defeat.



“After the first Test match at The Gabba, we were confident with the way we batted in the second innings, and we did well in the first innings at MCG as well,” he said. “But I think the last day at MCG was the biggest disappointment of the tour. We got demoralised afterwards and were unable to recover.”

Talking about Pakistan’s overall poor run on Australian soil, Misbah called for frequent matches under visiting conditions for the Men in Green to overturn the record. “In order to overturn our poor record on Australian soil, we need to have more frequent matches here,” he said. “It is tough to win Down Under if you are coming here after every five or six years.”

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