well they have started blocking now

Hafeez fails again. 4/5 games now

Time for the Don to block.

This is like slow death.

We were doing so well until he got to the crease.

I can see run rate climbing to 8 soon

they were going fine before ahmed's wicket
now will take another 5 overs to get going

Amir, you seen this? . Razzaq should join us on JA606

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/top-stories/Misbah-is-responsible-for-all-ills-in-Pakistan-team-Razzaq/articleshow/21309373.cms

Only Misbah will give you a maiden in a batting power play

Umar Akmal has saved misbah for the second time this series

ahead on d/l but silly shot by umar at the end

Boom boom wins the game. What a bloody legend. .

Good win. Misbah and Umar Akmal's innings together won the game- One the anchor role, the other playing at a S/R of 90-100+. That is what is needed in the middle. With an Afridi or whoever else coming in after just in case. The start was pretty good and positive, though the run-out did beg things back a little. People blamed Misbah for all the defensive play by others, yet Nasir, Umar played in a positive manner are people going to congratulate Misbah for that? Or be hypocritical?

Misbah has scored 6 fifties in his last 8 innings. And out of those 6 innings Pakistan have lost two games...Champions Trophy v WI's and RSA.

Great performance. Misbahs high risk tactics working this time against a poor side however a series win is a series win.

Seriously, you guys can be hypocritical at times- All of a sudden we are playing against a poor side when at first we couldn’t even be competent enough in chasing any score, anywhere even against Ireland. But as soon as we win a series, oh it’s a poor side we are playing against.

The PCB said before this series they wanted positivity- The first thing that was required was a series win. We got that.

Then it was a case of playing in a positive manner. Well we lost one game out of 5, chased down two scores which were impossible to do a few months back. The openers have as the series progressed began to give us a good start, play positively, but stupid run-outs have let us down-

The previous game, Misbah scored at a S/R of 100+ which played a huge in us chasing 180+ in 31 overs. This time he played the anchor innings, but the important thing was others around him played positively. Before when others played in a negative manner, Misbah got blamed for that happening- Now that Nasir, Umar have played positively- He deserves credit for that. But most importantly his innings and scores now look good because they are complementing well with those around him who are playing at a high S/R, i.e. Umar Akmal in the middle order.

We Won

Amir, I see where you're coming from. I really do. But there's two sides to every coin. No doubt misbah did well, but there's a massive BUT whenever he plays steady and gives two many dot balls......

His average is stunning. However, have you seen how many times we've changed our middle order batsmen? Batsmen numbers 5, 6 and 7 are under immense pressure constantly because of misbah. That's why we are always chopping and changing them. It is impossible for your 5/6/7 to always perform when the required rate is above 8/9/10 per over. Misbah does these guys no favours whatsoever......

Then when they don't perform because of thd required run rate - we blame them and look at their rubbish average. But if you put if into context if the situation, you'll realise misbah puts these guys in a no win situation.

Seriously, next time misbah bats, put yourself in the mind frame of batman 5, 6 or 7 and tell me what your thinking. Look beyond the stats and look at the overall impact of the team he's having

I understand and agree with you. There are times when it is just no need for him to play in a defensive manner. Pakistan have in recent times collapsed a lot- Playing defensive then is understandable. But then when the team does not collapse Misbah thinks it's still ok to play that ultra defensive mode.

However, as I said Misbah innings look good today why? Because of Umar Akmal's innings. Now imagine Umar batting at 3? That pressure you talk about would not occur.

Reason being look at the S/R today- You'd have Jamshed opener batting at S/R of 90+, Umar 90-100+ and Misbah at a slower S/R but scoring the majority of the runs. Then the batsman at 5 at a S/R of 75-80 with Afridi coming in towards the end just in case. And I'm basing all this on today. So imagine Umar Akmal scoring his innings today at 3? I believe we would have ended up winning before the final over, right? Point I'm trying to make.

Whatever happens Jamshed, Umar want to play attacking cricket. So, put them up higher up the order Jamshed opener, Umar at 3 and let them bat around each other and Misbah. Add the three players scores today, plus ball faces today I believe it is 130 off 140 balls. Imagine that at the top of the order? Umar And Jamshed scoring their 30-40's and Misbah scoring his 50's. England have their anchor man Trott, but they have a right combination batting around him. We need to do the same.

Didn't realise how much I wrote.

But tell us what you think or if you agree?

The way Misbah plays he needs someone like Umar Akmal to come in after him as a safety blanket to up the rate so we will not see him at number 3 or 4. He can't rely on the lottery Afridi and the likes of Amin and Sohail are too inexperienced.

Misbah to be fair has answered his critics but it is still high risk cricket.

An article about 4 teams, none of them England - but posted to the England board. One star.

Zimbabwe v India got a lot of comments.