Cricket: Misbah unhappy with UAE pitches

Misbah Ul Haq in action on the second day of the second Test match at the Shaikh Zayed Cricket Stadium.

Forced to host home series in the UAE since 2009, Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq is looking for a 'real home advantage' as he expressed his unhappiness at the tracks available for their matches in the three Emirates here.
"Every team enjoys home advantage and since UAE is considered our home ground, we should get pitches of our choice," Misbah told Khaleej Times in an exclusive interview on the eve of the third Test match against West Indies at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.
Eager to get more turning tracks, he added: "Although we enjoy a very good record here (in the UAE) but keeping in mind the last two Test matches, I am sorry to say that those tracks were batting-friendly. You need 20 wickets to win a Test match and with a world-class bowling line-up we struggled in both the matches."

"The credit goes to our bowlers for dismissing the visitors twice. Even on the fifth day of the match the pitch in Abu Dhabi was easy to bat on," he claimed.
"It may be due to weather or soil, sometimes we get turning tracks but more often these pitches are a batting paradise. I wish we could get the pitches which suit our bowlers more," Misbah opined.
Pakistan have outclassed West Indies in T20s, ODIs and Tests and while talking about the series, the Captain Cool said: "It is going well for us since we have won all the eight matches played so far (3T20, 3ODIs, 2 Tests) and want to win the third and final Test here in Sharjah."
"It will not be easy for us because West Indies despite inexperience gave us a tough fight in both Tests," he concurred.
Despite their dominance, out-of-favour Shahid Afridi recently said there is no talent in the Pakistan team but the Test captain disagreed with 'Boom Boom's' views by saying: "It is not fair to say that there is no talent. Saeed Ajmal was a match-winner and he is replaced by another classic spinner Yasir Shah. He does not need turning tracks to get wickets. He proved that in England by taking 10 wickets at Lord's," he said to contradict Afridi's statement.
Giving more examples of the talent that is available in the team, Misbah said: "Mohammad Nawaz is another emerging spinner. Imad Wasim, Babar Azam, Sharjeel Khan, Hassan Ali and Sami Aslam have already announced their arrival at the international level. I don't buy this argument that there is dearth of talent in Pakistan."
Pakistan and India are two top ranked Test teams in the world but they played against each other way back in 2007 in Bangalore. There are no signs of the Asian giants facing each other in the near future and Misbah feels: "The players of both the countries want to play cricket, the fans want to see the teams in action but political wrangling is a big hurdle."
liaqat@khaleejtimes.com