Daily Times

MANCHESTER: It is a general perception that a batsman’s peak years are between the ages of 28 and 35, but obviously Misbah-ul-Haq hasn’t been told about it. In May this year he turned 42, and in the Lord’s Test he proved that age was just a meaningless number, as he went on to become the oldest captain to ever score a Test hundred, and the oldest batsman in the last 82 years to score one. All that in his first ever Test match in England. At the grand age of 42, Misbah is in the middle of an incredible batting run.

It is remarkable that 84% of Misbah’s Test runs have been scored after he turned 35 (3753 out of 4466). Only Graham Gooch and Sachin Tendulkar could score more runs than him after turning 35, though Misbah has a marginally better average than both of them.

Till 2009, though, it was hardly believable that Misbah could go on to have such a long and successful Test career. At the end of that year, he had played just 18 Tests after making his debut in 2001. Eight of those Tests were in 2009 itself, but he averaged just 27.16 from 13 innings in those Tests, with no score of over 70.

All of that changed from the series against South Africa in the UAE, when Misbah scored three fifties from four innings. In 17 series since then (excluding one-off Tests), he has averaged 50 or more in 11, and the average since the start of 2010 has soared to 55.06. It’s a reflection of the overall dominance of batting that six batsmen average more than him during this period (with a 3000-run cut-off).

Unlike many batsmen who move up the batting order as they gain experience, Misbah has stayed at No. 5 and made a success of it as well. Of his 4466 runs, 3992 have come at that position, which is 89% of his aggregate. Only four batsmen have scored more Test runs from that slot, while Misbah’s average of 53.94 at the position compares favourably with most of the batsmen on the list below.

Drilling down a bit deeper into those stats at No. 5, here is a look at how the top batsmen perform depending on when they come in to bat. Given Pakistan’s relatively brittle top order, Misbah had found himself coming in to bat early quite often: 25 times in 89 innings he has come in when Pakistan have been three down with 50 or fewer runs on the board. While he has had a few meaty contributions in these situations, his overall average in these 25 innings is underwhelming – 34.83, with eight fifties, but no hundreds. His highest in these situations is 97, against Sri Lanka in Dubai in 2014, when he came in at 19 for 3. A couple of months earlier against South Africa at the same venue, he made 88 when Pakistan were 48 for 3, his second-highest score in these situations.

He has done much better, though, when Pakistan’s top three wickets have done slightly better: in innings when Pakistan have been between 51 and 100 for 3, Misbah has averaged an impressive 59.05, with four hundreds and eight fifties in 27 innings. His Lord’s century, which came from a team position of 77 for 3, is the lowest entry point from which he has gone on to score a hundred in his Test career so far. His previous lowest entry score had been 83 for 3, when he scored 135 against Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi in 2013-14.

His best numbers, though, have come when the top four have scored more than 150. Six of his ten hundreds have come in these situations, in which he averages nearly 70.

The three tables below compare those numbers with those of Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Steve Waugh and Michael Clarke, the top three run-getters at that position. All three have done better when coming in to bat early, with Clarke having outstanding numbers when coming in before 50: his unbeaten knocks of 329 against India and 259 against South Africa both came from early entries. Waugh averages nearly 60 too from early entries.

What also stands out about these stats is the number of times Misbah has come in to bat at 100 or earlier, compared to the two Australians: for Misbah it has happened 52 times in 89 innings (58%), compared to 43% for Waugh and 44% for Clarke.

Those numbers aren’t necessarily flattering towards Misbah, but what is undeniable is the improvement he has shown throughout his career. Nowhere is that more visible than in his stats against pace. He still shows some discomfort against fast bowling, especially the short stuff, but his average against pace has doubled, from 26.52 to 52.40, though the strike rates indicate he still prefers to bat against spin.

It took Misbah more than 15 years in international cricket to play his first Test in England, but looking at the way he batted and enjoyed the occasion, it seems unlikely he would want to give it up any time soon. The team is performing superbly under his leadership, and his decision to retire from the limited-overs formats should help him retain his hunger and appetite for the game. Already he has scored 1248 Test runs after turning 40, which is third highest of all time, after Jack Hobbs’ 2440 and Patsy Hendren’s 1901. Most of the others who are on the top of this list played their cricket before 1970. Misbah has been an exception to many rules over his international career, and given his recent form and hunger, he could go on and break a few more before he is done.

This article originally appeared in ESPNcricinfo.