Misbah embraces new tricks as greatest challenge looms

Old dogs, so the saying goes, are not wont to learn new tricks. Tell that to Misbah-ul-Haq. In December, Misbah was getting to grips with Twitter for the first time, tweeting a video of himself - complete with a rather funky swoosh of a haircut - to prove the account was official. Now, at the age of 42, he is preparing to lead Pakistan at Lord's on his first Test tour of England.

Both fairly momentous, of course, though neither should be surprising, given that in 2014 Misbah up-ended his reputation for batting obduracy by equalling Viv Richards' then-record for the fastest century in Tests. In the six years since he resumed his international career in desperately fraught circumstances, Misbah has developed an impressive habit of defying predictions and exceeding expectations. Even so, he has set himself quite a challenge this time around.

After Pakistan's 2-0 win over England in the UAE last year, there had been suggestions Misbah would retire but here he was, strolling around Lord's, stopping for the occasional selfie, his hair slightly less bouffant and a thick beard in place, perhaps specifically designed to protect him from the blustery weather. One or two grey hairs are starting to show but Misbah, eight months after his most recent Test, continues to resist the onset of winter.

Again, that should be no surprise. Shortly before he was called upon to lead Pakistan out of the darkness of the spot-fixing scandal, Misbah had been contemplating international retirement; but in the postlapsarian world of Pakistani cricket in late 2010, his qualities of experience, calmness and mental strength acquired greater significance. Since then, he has guided the Test team in particular with rare dignity and to no little success.

He faced down criticism right from the start. "I know the task assigned to me is not easy," he said shortly before his first series in charge, aged 36. "However, underestimating me as a captain and batsman is not fair as one always learns with time and improves." Rarely has word been so squarely backed by deed. Should he register three figures in this series, he will move up from 11th in the list of oldest Test centurions, possibly as high as fifth.

Misbah has no previous experience of playing Tests in England, where conditions are demanding enough for those not well advanced into their fifth decade, but said that he felt he needed to be here for his side. If he has to learn a few new tricks in order to survive, so be it. This series could help to define his time as captain, healing over the wounds opened on Pakistan's last tour; or it could be a bridge too far. Either way, Misbah will tap his bat, stand up tall, and face the onslaught.

"My retirement is being discussed every series," he said. "If I am not discussing it, somebody else is. I could have retired at the end of that England series but so much has been said about this being a tough series and we've been playing together the last six years, the same batting line-up. So I thought I really have to take the initiative and come here, as a captain and a batsman also, to face this challenge. Finally I decided, 'okay, I need to be here'. It's a tough series for Pakistan, so I really want to do well here."

Although Misbah and his side have had to live off Test scraps, they are currently ranked No. 3 in the world - one place above England - and have prepared assiduously for this tour. Misbah, typically, set the standard by topping the fitness tests - alongside fellow veteran Younis Khan - at a PCB training camp in May, and Pakistan's players have benefited from a long lead-up into the Test series, initially in the nets at the Ageas Bowl in Hampshire and then gaining useful workouts at Taunton and Hove.

Pakistan's pace attack is expected to ask searching questions with the Dukes ball and Misbah admitted that the changes to England's middle order "could be an area you really exploit as an opposition". But, as Sri Lanka discovered earlier in the summer, the best efforts of the bowlers will fall on stony ground unless the touring batsmen can manage to plough a fertile furrow.

That area of the side is as settled under Misbah as it has ever been - going back to his first Test series as captain, against South Africa in 2010, five of the current top six (Mohammad Hafeez, Azhar Ali, Younis, Misbah and Asad Shafiq) were involved. Misbah sets great store by this continuity and his batsmen have so far adjusted well, albeit against county attacks, with Hafeez the only one yet to pass fifty.

"We arrived here and the conditions were really like we get normally in the UK, it was raining, there was moisture all around on the pitch, so the ball was moving," Misbah said. "So that really helped us, the first ten days were not easy for the batsmen, to get used to the conditions. After that, when we got into the county games, we felt it was a bit easier for us after being in difficult conditions for the ten days. All the batsmen are improving, getting used to the conditions, so hopefully we can translate that into the Test matches."

Amid the hoopla and symbolism of Mohammad Amir's return - "it's a big opportunity for him to perform for Pakistan and win over people again" - there will be another landmark moment in the first Test. Misbah has played three T20 internationals at Lord's, but never a Test innings. Might there be a flutter in the stomach when the 42-year-old freshman first steps out later this week?

"No nerves. That's something you always wait for. It's a big occasion, everybody wants to play at Lord's. If a cricketer has just started playing, it's his wish that he can play at Lord's. It's an opportunity, to perform well here and get respect in the eyes of every spectator and every supporter. These opportunities give you the chance to prove yourself."

The end of road may be nearing but that is surely something Misbah will never stop trying to do.