Pakistan move up to #7 in ICC Test Rankings after beating Sri Lanka [Update Post #116]

[Abdullah719]

Updated ICC Test rankings. Pakistan have fallen to number 8 after losing the series to Australia 2-0 #AUSvPAK #Cricket pic.twitter.com/Bg7iJRw9Wb

— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) December 2, 2019

[Shazzam]

First strike from Team Misbah,

[Asif321]

Srilanka will be a tough series . Lot of chance we wil lose it. Spinners gonna create trouble for our batsmen

[Pakpak]

Misbah is doing well, only one more position to go and we'll be number 9.

[Khan12]

This is just the beginning of the 'dark era' under shameless misbah.

[hafeezrocks]

Never thought a day will come when Pakistan will fall below WI in Test Rankings and at Number 8.

This must be the lowest ever rankings of Pakistan in Test Rankings

[emranabbas]

Positive is we will be number 1 from the bottom soon

[Shafi]

Great job con artist Wasim Khan.

[abhay]

If you think positively. I think it's a blessing in disguise.

[AdamM97]

If you think positively. I think it's a blessing in disguise.

How?

[AdamM97]

I feel like we seriously need Amir back in the Test team. The bowling has potential but is vastly inexperienced, and the decision to fast-track so many youngsters has backfired massively.

[Hawkeye]

People fail to realize that we're here because of.. guess who?

You don't get to #8 after a single series!

Sarfraz and Mickey Arthur combo brought us to our worse in Test cricket. We started losing at home. We were never this bad.


Time to reverse the effects of that dark era.

[abhay]

How?

You know when you have nothing to lose you have everything to gain
It just can't get worse than this. Can it?

[Salma_T]

Some very bad choices but I am pretty sure most of us haven't seen a drawn series in Australia let alone a win. The knee jerk reaction is so alarmist.

[abhay]

How?

And they are still No-1 team in T20s

[Shafi]

People fail to realize that we're here because of.. guess who?

You don't get to #8 after a single series!

Sarfraz and Mickey Arthur combo brought us to our worse in Test cricket. We started losing at home. We were never this bad.


Time to reverse the effects of that dark era.

Ok After SL and BD series we will be no. 9. You can blame Micky and Sarfraz as well.

[Khan12]

People fail to realize that we're here because of.. guess who?

You don't get to #8 after a single series!

Sarfraz and Mickey Arthur combo brought us to our worse in Test cricket. We started losing at home. We were never this bad.


Time to reverse the effects of that dark era.

Didn't misbah leave us at 9 in odi's.

[Barragan]

This is what happens when you select batsmen averaging 38 in FC and hoping he can go on to average 50 or something in Tests - absolutely delusional.

[Nikhil_cric]

Realistically Pakistan are more like a #7 team. Definitely below Sri Lanka but comfortably ahead of windies.

[BlueBeamer]

Waiting for the SL series now. Maybe Sri Lanka will again "fluke" their way to series win just like in SA.

[ak619]

Realistically Pakistan are more like a #7 team. Definitely below Sri Lanka but comfortably ahead of windies.

My first impression is also the same. But then I think that Windies also drew 1-1 with England away and then actually beat them 2-1 at home. Can this Pakistan pull that off? I'm not so sure...

Then again Windies were also whitewashed in Bangladesh and I don't think Pakistan would be whitewashed in Bangladesh. They may lose a test and draw the series but they certainly wouldn't lose the series.

It's difficult to say which is the better team right now between these two.

[Nikhil_cric]

My first impression is also the same. But then I think that Windies also drew 1-1 with England away and then actually beat them 2-1 at home. Can this Pakistan pull that off? I'm not so sure...

Then again Windies were also whitewashed in Bangladesh and I don't think Pakistan would be whitewashed in Bangladesh. They may lose a test and draw the series but they certainly wouldn't lose the series.

It's difficult to say which is the better team right now between these two.

West Indies Vs England in England was 2-1 in favour of England. It wasn't a draw.

[AAli98]

Apart from Baba rest of the team have compromised on there mediocracy & are not willing to improve ie Azha Shafiq.

In the coming years its going to be a straight shootout between pak & ire for 12th spot.

[aukhan]

Thank you King Misbah.

[freelance_cricketer]

It could prove to be a blessing in disguise to get back on track in the test championship

[Pakhs]

They will soon start to climb up the table once they start playing at home. But the biggest problem is playing only 4 tests a year is not going to help.

[Hawkeye]

It could prove to be a blessing in disguise to get back on track in the test championship

Yep.

Looks like people were ignorant about the fact that Mickey Arthur and Sarfraz brought us down to #7 in Tests.

Losing home Tests is never justified.

Good riddance. Now to undoing that darkness.

[Khan12]

If we don't get rid of the rubbish players as well as misbah then i hope we get whitewashed by Sri Lanka so we can build a team. Shameless misbah had done enough damage when he was our captain, now he's on a mission to destroy our team. Never want to see this clown anywhere near our team or any cricket related stuff.

[aloo paratha]

How is Misbah to blame? He's only had one series. We were destined to lose this series, whether the coach was Misbah, Mickey, or any other name you can think of.

The truth is the Mickey/Sarfraz combination is the reason we are so low now. We can call Misbah good or bad in a years time once he's either improved our rankings or not.

[Asif321]

WI will beat Pakistan at home easily
By the way Pakistan dropped down due to Misbah and younis retirements

[Abid Z]

You can blame misbah all you like but the drop in rankings is a combination of retirement of key players and losing at home against teams we should have done better against.

The key thing is how players have not been groomed to enter test arena through junior tours. Our player development from 2015-2018 has been woeful. Not a single world class bowler apart from Abbas and even he is a doubt. Not a single world class batsman apart from babar. If you don’t work on your bench strength you’re always gonna get found out.

[Hawkeye]

How is Misbah to blame? He's only had one series. We were destined to lose this series, whether the coach was Misbah, Mickey, or any other name you can think of.

The truth is the Mickey/Sarfraz combination is the reason we are so low now. We can call Misbah good or bad in a years time once he's either improved our rankings or not.

Thankfully, someone is not blinded by their hate.

The hate is making people think that we dropped to this ranking after a single series!

It's Mickey Arthur + Sarfraz combo that had dropped us to #7 ranking, after losing Tests everywhere, even at home.

Now the task is to undo those effects and start winning from home again.

[Fahdi]

We were at #7 before this. Even though this was one of the most disgraceful performances ever we were still going to lose here and end up at number 8.

[Vidwan Nath]

Can some one tell me why your selectors are not selecting fawad alam. I just checked his average and shocked, its around 58 man... U dont have atg batsmen in your eleven.. still this guy cant find a place in the 15. Is fawad anti pcb or what

[TeymurBlake]

There a whole lot of problems in the Pakistan cricket team right now. The coaching setup have all the eyes locked on them right now. Susceptible selections, lack of desire and whole lot more. Misbah start has been difficult and its not gonna get easier.

[arunpsm]

Its a cliche, but seems Pak has forgotten it; no matter how good ur batting is, you are not going to win a test if you cant take 20 wickets. So invest on strike bowlers, nurture them, then see your rankings improve.

[Vidwan Nath]

I am an indian.. but i dearly hope pakistan to improve ... I love the game of cricket.. and it needs the old pakistan badly

[Kroll]

Yep.

Looks like people were ignorant about the fact that Mickey Arthur and Sarfraz brought us down to #7 in Tests.

Losing home Tests is never justified.

Good riddance. Now to undoing that darkness.

Time, we had a poll.

[ak619]

West Indies Vs England in England was 2-1 in favour of England. It wasn't a draw.

You're right. My bad. Don't know why I remembered it as 1-1.

[TheNeutralist]

Can some one tell me why your selectors are not selecting fawad alam. I just checked his average and shocked, its around 58 man... U dont have atg batsmen in your eleven.. still this guy cant find a place in the 15. Is fawad anti pcb or what

+1

[Barragan]

Can some one tell me why your selectors are not selecting fawad alam. I just checked his average and shocked, its around 58 man... U dont have atg batsmen in your eleven.. still this guy cant find a place in the 15. Is fawad anti pcb or what

Unfortunately, the selectors/coaches/captain think someone with an FC average of 38 is better than the one with 50+.

He should have been in the team a decade ago.

[MRSN]

People fail to realize that we're here because of.. guess who?

You don't get to #8 after a single series!

Sarfraz and Mickey Arthur combo brought us to our worse in Test cricket. We started losing at home. We were never this bad.


Time to reverse the effects of that dark era.

my question exactly.

how can we go to no.8 rankings just after losing one series?

Misbah is not good but Sarfraz and Mickey didn't set the world on fire.

They are actually responsible for this state.

won't blame Mickey though as he lost battle against politics in Pakistan cricket.

[Indiafan]

Imagine if Pakistan wins the test championship from here

[SarfiBabarHaris]

It's Mickey Arthur + Sarfraz combo that had dropped us to #7 ranking,

Lmao!

Misbah gave a team which that was no 6 in rankings. Your are pretending as if Misbah gave a no 1 team to Sarfraz. It all started from Misbah who gave a bottom ranked team to Sarfraz

[MRSN]

We were at #7 before this. Even though this was one of the most disgraceful performances ever we were still going to lose here and end up at number 8.

common sense posts are so rare in this thread. Thanks bhai

[SarfiBabarHaris]

We were at #7 before this. Even though this was one of the most disgraceful performances ever we were still going to lose here and end up at number 8.

We were no 6 in rankings when Misbah left. He is the biggest culprit of all. Can't believe people are not seeing this.

[MRSN]

Lmao!

Misbah gave a team which that was no 6 in rankings. Your are pretending as if Misbah gave a no 1 team to Sarfraz. It all started from Misbah who gave a bottom ranked team to Sarfraz

You are living in a lalaland if you think Pak was this bad before Misbah retiring. Pak were at least unbeatable at home. Under Sarfraz we got whitewashed by a SL rookie team of all teams and even a weak Aus team managed to beat us. We were embarrassing in SA. We were kncoked out by BD in Asia cup. We were almost knocked out by Afg in the world cup.

[SarfiBabarHaris]

You are living in a lalaland if you think Pak was this bad before Misbah retiring. Pak were at least unbeatable at home. Under Sarfraz we got whitewashed by a SL rookie team of all teams and even a weak Aus team managed to beat us.

You are the one who is pretending Misbah gave a top team to Sarfraz. After the retirement of senior players teams take time to rebuild. It was Misbah's fault who didnt groom any proper youngster and gave Azhar and Asad as our mainstays.

Btw this thread is about rankings so here we go:

When Misbah (as a captain) left: Palistan ranked no 6
When Sarfraz left: Pakistan ranked no 7
After this series under Misbah now as coach: We are ranked no 8th

See who is the main culprit?

[SarfiBabarHaris]

If we don't get rid of the rubbish players as well as misbah then i hope we get whitewashed by Sri Lanka so we can build a team. Shameless misbah had done enough damage when he was our captain, now he's on a mission to destroy our team. Never want to see this clown anywhere near our team or any cricket related stuff.

More than the players we need to get rid of our rubbish coach + selector + batting coach. In cricket confidence is key. Due to our legendary coach + selector + batting coach players like Haris Sohail lost complete confidence. Add to it the legendary coach + selector + batting coach told Haris Sohail to pack his bags and go home. Is this how teams are build? What does he have to say for his favorite Ahar Ali then? Go to Mars?

[Varun]

Imagine if Pakistan wins the test championship from here

Haha, only Pakistan are capable of such a reversal in fortunes.

[Khan12]

More than the players we need to get rid of our rubbish coach + selector + batting coach. In cricket confidence is key. Due to our legendary coach + selector + batting coach players like Haris Sohail lost complete confidence. Add to it the legendary coach + selector + batting coach told Haris Sohail to pack his bags and go home. Is this how teams are build? What does he have to say for his favorite Ahar Ali then? Go to Mars?

Exactly, shameless misbah never liked haris evident by the fact when he made his debut he played him at 7 or 8 and use to promote sohail tanvir over him.

[andy0204]

It's nothing to be ashamed of,the fact is Pakistan has to accept they are a below average team and move on.

[SarfiBabarHaris]

Exactly, shameless misbah never liked haris evident by the fact when he made his debut he played him at 7 or 8 and use to promote sohail tanvir over him.

Haris' 3 peak years are lost due of Misbah. At 3 is saying it lightly. 2011-2014 he was in the form of his life but Misbah continued with his yes men.

[Hawkeye]

You are living in a lalaland if you think Pak was this bad before Misbah retiring. Pak were at least unbeatable at home. Under Sarfraz we got whitewashed by a SL rookie team of all teams and even a weak Aus team managed to beat us. We were embarrassing in SA. We were kncoked out by BD in Asia cup. We were almost knocked out by Afg in the world cup.

Yep.

You're talking too much sense to a Sarfraz cheerleader. Mickey and Sarfraz fans think it was perfectly fine and ignorable to keep losing Tests at home.

We're going to reverse this darkness.

[jnaveen1980]

Don't think it is a result of one series. You lost to a no.5 ranked team who were just above you in the ranking before this series.

[Hawkeye]

Don't think it is a result of one series. You lost to a no.5 ranked team who were just above you in the ranking before this series.

Exactly. Context is important.

[Napa]

Pretty rapid descent for a team that was ranked #1 only 3 years ago.

[Plumb]

Yep.

You're talking too much sense to a Sarfraz cheerleader. Mickey and Sarfraz fans think it was perfectly fine and ignorable to keep losing Tests at home.

We're going to reverse this darkness.

Yes its reversing nicely... wait for SL thrashing

[Hawkeye]

Pretty rapid descent for a team that was ranked #1 only 3 years ago.

But Sarfraz and Mickey Arthur are supposed to be our saviors.

[WhenSultansBowled]

Heartbreaking stuff.

Can't say didn't see it coming.

The question is: can we fall lower than this?

Series against SL is a key series. And Pakistan are the underdog against SL.

[silentkiller187]

Heartbreaking stuff.

Can't say didn't see it coming.

The question is: can we fall lower than this?

Series against SL is a key series. And Pakistan are the underdog against SL.

First test at home in god knows how many years coming next, the pressure is definitely on if we do not perform at home, things will get a lot lower.

[Haripotter]

Time to switch back to hockey

[King_Kohli]

8 is Azar lucky number
When Azhar Ali got Charge of ODI team then down to 8 Position in rankings, exactly same in tests now,

[Hyperion66]

I kinda feel bad for @Relic , passionate and devoted fans like him deserve a better team.

[Shazzam]

RIP @Relic I hope you get over this loss soon.

[Syed1]

Misbah is just getting started

[Relic]

RIP @Relic I hope you get over this loss soon.

Don't be a sheep

[Relic]

Don't think we can realistically go lower than 9 so we'll only go up from here.
This is actually a blessing in disguise
We now have a good opportunity to get rid of the dead weight and bring in some new blood. As we have 4 tests coming up, this is the best opportunity to test out our new players and we can prepare them for the Eng Series in mid 2020.

I'm hopeful for our future

[Saj]

Terrible but this is what happens when there has been an obsession with T20 cricket and the PSL.

Dark days with more to come.

[Hyperion66]

Imagine if Pakistan wins the test championship from here

Teams don't win test matches by fluke so if they actually manage to do that it will be one of finest comebacks in the history of sports.

[Hyperion66]

But Sarfraz and Mickey Arthur are supposed to be our saviors.

It only shows how much Misbah and Younis contributed not just by scoring, they literally held the team together, now without them in the middle even veterans like Azhar and Shafiq looks lost.

[MMHS]

Realistically Pakistan are more like a #7 team. Definitely below Sri Lanka but comfortably ahead of windies.

I tend to dis agree - I have seen WIN V England series and part of , WIN v IND & WIN V AFG as well.

In a proper 3-4 Test series, WIN will beat PAK almost every where. The equation doesn't work like whose who (results against other teams) - WIN got us all-out for 43, then lost both Test in BD by some margin.... we managed to lose to AFGs, a month later they were robbed by WIN .....

indirect comparison is often misleading because different team offers different proposition - WIN batsmen will play PAK bowlers and vice verse. After Lyon show with Pink ball, I don't think PAK batsmen are going to figure out Rakeem's off-spinners and straight one too easily, fast bowling comparison is not even a contest.

It's not that conclusive as you are suggesting.

[HappyWarsFan]

I tend to dis agree - I have seen WIN V England series and part of , WIN v IND & WIN V AFG as well.

In a proper 3-4 Test series, WIN will beat PAK almost every where. The equation doesn't work like whose who (results against other teams) - WIN got us all-out for 43, then lost both Test in BD by some margin.... we managed to lose to AFGs, a month later they were robbed by WIN .....

indirect comparison is often misleading because different team offers different proposition - WIN batsmen will play PAK bowlers and vice verse. After Lyon show with Pink ball, I don't think PAK batsmen are going to figure out Rakeem's off-spinners and straight one too easily, fast bowling comparison is not even a contest.

It's not that conclusive as you are suggesting.

Not too long ago we beat Win 2-1 in WIN, and nearly 3-0 if it wasn't for 81 all out. But that team did have Misbah and Younis, but they were past their prime. Still probably better than this group of joker's.

[Heisenberg111]

I tend to dis agree - I have seen WIN V England series and part of , WIN v IND & WIN V AFG as well.

In a proper 3-4 Test series, WIN will beat PAK almost every where. The equation doesn't work like whose who (results against other teams) - WIN got us all-out for 43, then lost both Test in BD by some margin.... we managed to lose to AFGs, a month later they were robbed by WIN .....

indirect comparison is often misleading because different team offers different proposition - WIN batsmen will play PAK bowlers and vice verse. After Lyon show with Pink ball, I don't think PAK batsmen are going to figure out Rakeem's off-spinners and straight one too easily, fast bowling comparison is not even a contest.

It's not that conclusive as you are suggesting.

hahaha nice try, WI hasn't beaten Pakistan in a test series since 2000, a series they only won after Billy Doctrove cheated and gave Jimmy Adams a reprieve..

[emranabbas]

my question exactly.

how can we go to no.8 rankings just after losing one series?

Misbah is not good but Sarfraz and Mickey didn't set the world on fire.

They are actually responsible for this state.

won't blame Mickey though as he lost battle against politics in Pakistan cricket.

The reason we were winning at home was because of misbah and younas khan

Misbah grooming Azhar and shafiq for the past 10 years is the reason we are in this state because both have failed and are unable to replace misabah and younas

So it's only misbah to blame.

[MMHS]

Not too long ago we beat Win 2-1 in WIN, and nearly 3-0 if it wasn't for 81 all out. But that team did have Misbah and Younis, but they were past their prime. Still probably better than this group of joker's.

No, you’ll be beaten comprehensively by WIN - I have seen enough cricket to have a feel of that. Last series that was won by PAK, was almost 3 years back - that too for an absolute stupidity by their No. 11 in last ball - but, that’s not the key.

The key differentiator is those four players were instrumental in that series win - Misbah the Captain, who is a master of attritional cricket on sluggish wicket both as Captain & batsman; Azhar Ali who played two painstaking hundreds but sucked the blood out of WIN pacers and two bowlers taking 40 of the 60 wickets.

Now, Misbah & Amir are retired, Azhar is hanging as Captain (unfortunately) while Yasir is better batsman than bowler. In contrast, Holder has turned into a fantastic performing Captain and 3-4 of their younger players have matured nicely - Hetmayer, Hope, Chase, Dorwich. Add to that the inclusion of Rakeem, who’ll bat at 9. You figure out your chances with your good cricket sense.

The last Adelaide Test actually doesn’t tell the real picture - couple of hours timely rain and a miracle by Yasir (backed by unusual fielding laps by Aussies), has kept the score line somewhat respectable- if you think losing by innings to 3 wickets is respectable, but that’s probably the bench mark these days.

In reality, with 150 overs bowled in 5 sessions, Aussies would have declared at 2nd dinner with Warner 401+*, Aussies close to 700, and then after following on; 3rd night rain took out 15-16 overs under lights, so despite losing Babar early, PAK ended the day respectfully (again) at 39/3 ..... otherwise, it would have ended at 72-6 or 74-7.

It’s timely rain that saved PAK talent from innings defeat by Warner alone - we may keep mincing words here.

[Saj]

The harsh reality is 7/8 is about right because Pakistan at this time is a damn awful Test team.

[Heisenberg111]

No, you’ll be beaten comprehensively by WIN - I have seen enough cricket to have a feel of that. Last series that was won by PAK, was almost 3 years back - that too for an absolute stupidity by their No. 11 in last ball - but, that’s not the key.

The key differentiator is those four players were instrumental in that series win - Misbah the Captain, who is a master of attritional cricket on sluggish wicket both as Captain & batsman; Azhar Ali who played two painstaking hundreds but sucked the blood out of WIN pacers and two bowlers taking 40 of the 60 wickets.

Now, Misbah & Amir are retired, Azhar is hanging as Captain (unfortunately) while Yasir is better batsman than bowler. In contrast, Holder has turned into a fantastic performing Captain and 3-4 of their younger players have matured nicely - Hetmayer, Hope, Chase, Dorwich. Add to that the inclusion of Rakeem, who’ll bat at 9. You figure out your chances with your good cricket sense.

The last Adelaide Test actually doesn’t tell the real picture - couple of hours timely rain and a miracle by Yasir (backed by unusual fielding laps by Aussies), has kept the score line somewhat respectable- if you think losing by innings to 3 wickets is respectable, but that’s probably the bench mark these days.

In reality, with 150 overs bowled in 5 sessions, Aussies would have declared at 2nd dinner with Warner 401+*, Aussies close to 700, and then after following on; 3rd night rain took out 15-16 overs under lights, so despite losing Babar early, PAK ended the day respectfully (again) at 39/3 ..... otherwise, it would have ended at 72-6 or 74-7.

It’s timely rain that saved PAK talent from innings defeat by Warner alone - we may keep mincing words here.

Yeah, in your fantasy only will WI beat Pakistan. Pakistan is not BD which will be bundled out for 43,lol. Have some self respect, you are supporter of a minnow team which is ranked below Pakistan in all formats.

[jnaveen1980]

Pakistan is always a team that is banking on individual brilliance even in Test matches. Sure there are many times they collectively clicked. This team lacks that. No real dominating batsman. No real dominating bowler. So things don't automatically fall like it used to. Before the test series some even were very hopeful that they could turn the tables because of raw pace attack. No magic balls. No magical spells. Cricket has become much more professional in the last 15 to 20 years. May be in shorter format you can catch teams by surprise with one maverick performance. But in longer formats where you need to multiple sessions they are not up for it.

[Shazzam]

Don't think we can realistically go lower than 9 so we'll only go up from here.
This is actually a blessing in disguise
We now have a good opportunity to get rid of the dead weight and bring in some new blood. As we have 4 tests coming up, this is the best opportunity to test out our new players and we can prepare them for the Eng Series in mid 2020.

I'm hopeful for our future

Some inspiring words from the man who took it hard the most. Brilliant post. May you continue to have faith when the chips are down.