With a comprehensive 10-wicket win at The Oval, Pakistan managed a 2-2 finish in the Test series in England to hold on to their No. 3 spot in Test rankings. They have a chance to go to the top of the rankings if Sri Lanka and West Indies either draw or win their respective Tests against Australia and India. If Pakistan do manage to become No. 1, it would be their first time at the top position since the introduction of the official rankings system in 2003.
Pakistan's achievement is all the more impressive as they have not played a Test series on home soil since an armed attack on Sri Lanka's team bus in Lahore in 2009 turned the country into a no-go area for the world's leading Test nations. The United Arab Emirates has since become their adopted base. But for all their success in conditions similar to those on home soil, Pakistan often find themselves facing in the dispiriting position of playing before meagre crowds rather than in front of their own passionate supporters.
"This team deserves that (going to number one) for six years of no cricket at home, sometimes people think it's easy - the UAE suits us, we win - but just living every day away from your country, without your family and friends, and playing every game away from Pakistan, is really difficult. It's mentally tough," Misbah said at the post-match press conference on Sunday (August 14) after Pakistan won the fourth Test against England with more than a day to spare.
"I can only see my mother once a year. I only see my sister once a year. Some of my friends, I could not see for three or four years because of these commitments. We are out of the country all the time. There are a lot of tours and even our home series are in the UAE. We go from West Indies to New Zealand to Australia. It's not easy. But still the team is winning. Still the team is playing competitive cricket.
"There were lots of questions before we came here about whether we could only play in Asian conditions, but we have shown that we are good enough to play even in these conditions. At one stage we were winning this series. I'm really proud of this team and I think that, if we can be No. 1 after all these results, then we really deserve that," the Pakistan skipper said.
Despite suffering back-to-back losses at Manchester and Edgbaston, Pakistan came up with a spirited performance to level the series at The Oval. The Pakistan captain was pleased with the team's ability to overcome the odds and bounce back in style, and was lavish in his praise of his team-mates for delivering when it mattered.
"I am happy with the character shown by the Pakistan team. After two defeats, they fought back in this game and won. This is pleasing for me. This team has character and stood up the occasion, fought hard and levelled the series. Winning this match means a lot," he said.
"The important point is that you should keep believing as a team and individuals. These players have been playing for six years and they have performed in difficult situations. Asad Shafiq, Azhar Ali and Younis Khan have played winning knocks under pressure and our bowling always stands out. We knew that, when the batsmen found form and we were able to combine our performances with the bat and the ball, we could do well. We had belief throughout the series," Misbah said.
Meanwhile, England captain Alastair Cook said his team's performance in the fourth Test proved that they are not consistent enough to be rated as the No. 1 ranked side."At the beginning of this game the talk was 'you can become No.1; you could do all this, you could do all that'. But these four days probably show exactly where we are. We're a good side when we're on it, but there's a few areas we need to improve to make that next step. Consistently over the summer, we haven't scored enough runs at the top of the order. It is frustrating for us as a side. It's a big area we've got to keep working on - and obviously, for us to take that next step to consistency, top-order first-innings runs are vital.
"The lower order have got us out of trouble some of the time and it's great that we've got strength in depth down there. But the majority of the time they should be putting the icing on the cake, not making the cake. There is a hell of a lot of talent in the guys who are playing, but they just haven't got that score. I can't fault the lads' efforts. It's not for lack of that. It's just they haven't been good enough at this precise moment in time, and it's something we have to look at," Cook said.
Calling the 2-2 result as 'a fair reflection' of the series, Cook was pleased with the improved relations between the two sides and he also took positives from Moeen Ali and Jonny Bairstow good performances in the series.
"The relationship between the sides is a lot better than it's ever been. Both sides have made a conscious effort to talk about the cricket and let the cricket do the talking. We knew they were a good side and 2-2 is probably a fair reflection. The series was played hard, but it was played in good spirits," Cook said.
"Moeen has done a fantastic job for us since he came into the side as a batter who bowled a bit. He's had to share a lot of responsibility to do that as part of a five-man attack. He's not a Yasir Shah as a spinner and he probably never will be. But he continues to work incredibly hard at it and he picks up vital wickets.
"Jonny Bairstow has had a great summer. I don't know if he has scored a thousand Test runs this year, but if not, he almost has. And, in these four games, he's kept really well as well. He's made a really good step forward, and he should be very proud of that. There's still a hell of a lot of work for him to do, but the way he's batted and contributed to the side, he can be very proud of a good summer," Cook said.
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