Misbah-ul-Haq handed a one-game suspension for slow over-rate

Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq is all set to miss the second Test against New Zealand at Hamilton as he has been handed a one-match suspension by the ICC due to his side’s slow over-rate in the first Test at Christchurch. However, Misbah was already set to miss the second Test since he returned home on Sunday evening following the demise of his father-in-law.

The Pakistan captain was fined 40% of his match fees, while the rest of the team members were fined 20% of their fees after the first Test. Pakistan had fallen short by two overs of its target of 103 overs after time allowances were taken into consideration. Misbah is not new to being suspended for slow over-rates. Earlier this year, he was found guilty of a minor over-rate offence during the Oval Test against England. Since this is his second minor over-rate offence within a twelve month period, it equates to an immediate suspension in a subsequent match of the same format.

The umpires who found Misbah guilty of slow over-rate were Ian Gould and S Ravi, third umpire Simon Fry, and fourth official Shaun Haig. In fact, although Misbah was found guilty for slow over-rate, the Pakistan captain took the field only for a brief period of time during New Zealand’s chase in Christchurch as he was scheduled to leave the country on Sunday evening.

In Christchurch, Misbah had a shoddy display with the bat, where he got out for 31 and 13 in the two innings he played.

Incidentally, Misbah had missed only one Test previously since being appointed as Pakistan captain for the very same reason. In 2012, he missed a Test against Sri Lanka in Galle in 2012, and there too, he was suspended for slow over-rate.

The Pakistan side is currently trailing 0-1 in the two-match Test series against New Zealand. They lost the first Test by 8 wickets, where they found their batting in all sorts of disarray against the pace of debutant Colin de Grandhomme.The second Test begins in Hamilton on November 25.