Misbah wants to play till he's 50

The recently concluded Test series has been a watershed moment for cricket in Pakistan. The team ushered in the nation’s Independence Day on Sunday with a 10-wicket victory over England to level the four-match series at 2-2. The series has witnessed a dramatic change in fortune for Pakistan. In 2010, Misbah was recalled to the side and handed captaincy on the back of their disastrous and infamous tour of England. But now, with the dramatic win at The Oval, Misbah has clearly turned a corner and on his way to creating a legacy for himself.

And the media in England has surely taken note of his efforts on the field. When quizzed by the BBC about what exactly the future lookd like for him, the Pakistani skipper joked around – “Probably I am ready to (play longer) and we can have a world record when I play till 50.”

The record for the oldest Test cricketer is currently in the name of Wilfred Rhodes of England. Rhodes was 52 years 156 days old when he played the last of his 58 Tests against the West Indies at Sabina Park. It was the famous “timeless” Test and when it ended, he was 52 years 165 days old. The others to play Test cricket despite turning 50 include Bert Ironmonger, WG Grace and George Gunn.

The oldest Test cricketers in their final Test

Name	Country	Date of birth	Test Debut	Age at last Test match
Wilfred Rhodes	England	29 October 1877	1 June 1899	52 years, 165 days
Bert Ironmonger	Australia	7 April 1882	30 November 1928	50 years, 327 days
WG Grace	England	18 July 1848	6 September 1880	50 years, 320 days
George Gunn	England	13 June 1879	13 December 1907	50 years, 303 days

Amongst the current crop of cricketers playing Test matches, Misbah is the oldest at 42 years of age. Younis Khan (38 years), Rangana Herath (38 years), Zulfiqar Babar (37 years), Imran Tahir (37 years) and Adam Voges (36 years) are the others currently playing Test cricket that are 36 years or older.

Over the past six-years, the Pakistani veteran has not just unified the national squad, but also kept them free of scandals that had previously plagued the team. With a series-levelling performance in England, Mishab has made a telling statement to not just the fans of the national side back home, but also to the other teams. Over the next six-months, Pakistan have series’ lined up against West Indies, New Zealand and Australia.

After the series-levelling win, Misbah has been vocal about the team’s fighting spirit. “I kept telling the team that we have to follow the example of great teams who never look behind and keep working hard and that’s what we did” he said. “When you play cricket, you have a lot of difficulties and face a lot of challenges, but through hard work you can achieve the toughest of things.”

After the terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team, Pakistan haven’t been able to host a Test on home soil. This series therefore, has given cricket fans in Pakistan a lot to cheer about and they will be hoping that their beloved skipper continues to play as long as he possibly can.