KARACHI: Cricket is no longer a young man’s game, if you dare to ask Misbah-ul-Haq. Even at the ripe age of 42, the much-respected Pakistan captain is making the art of scoring Test runs a routine affair.

Remarkably, no one in the long history of Test match cricket has managed more centuries than Misbah beyond the age of 40.

Days leading to the start of the four-Test series against England had one Pakistan player in the spotlight for obvious reasons – former spot-fixer Mohammad Amir, and everything else was put, as it were, on the back burner.

The media-hype surrounding the Test redemption of Amir after five years and 11 months following the sordid events of the previous England-Pakistan encounter on the hallowed turf of Lord’s in August 2010 was stunningly shifted to Misbah’s first day of Test cricket on the English soil.

Thus, the 14th of July 2016 will always be enshrined in the annals of Test cricket as the day when Misbah eclipsed Bob Simpson, the recalled Australian skipper of the 1977-78 season, as the oldest captain to score a hundred at 42 years and 47 days.

Simpson was 41 years and 359 days old at the start of the fifth and final Test against India at the Adelaide Oval in January 1978 and made 100 on the second day of the series-deciding fixture (after reaching 54 at stumps on the opening day).

Before Misbah’s unbeaten 110 on Thursday, Simpson held the top two positions in this special category of century-making captains since he was dismissed for 176 on day three in the second Test of the India series at Perth’s WACA Ground.

At the beginning of the match, Simpson was 41 years and 316 days on 16 Dec 1977 and had scored 52 by stumps on day two.

The huge figure of Warwick Armstrong, nicknamed the ‘Big Ship’, occupies the next three spots as the Australian captain in the list with centuries (123 not out, 121 and 158 in descending order) in successive Tests against England in the 1920-21 series Down Under.

He was aged 41 years 209 days at the start of the Sydney Test on 17 Dec 1920, 41 years 237 days when the Adelaide Test began on 14 Jan 1921 and 41 years 265 days on day one of the Melbourne Test on 11 Feb 1921.

What makes Misbah’s case more mind boggling is that the Pakistan stalwart figures in five of the 11 top performances in this unique list. Misbah features in four out of the next five century-makers.

He was 41 years 147 days old when he struck an undefeated 102 on the opening day of the Dubai Test versus England on 22 Oct 2015.

South Africa’s Dudley Nourse, who now sits in eighth place, was batting on 76 at the start of the first Test against England at Trent Bridge on 7 June 1951 before being run out for 208 on the second day.

Misbah completes his dominance of the 40-plus group of captains, reaching triple figures in consecutive Tests against New Zealand and Australia when the Trans-Tasman neighbours toured the UAE in late 2014.

Misbah was 40 years 165 days old when Pakistan hosted New Zealand in the first Test at Abu Dubai on 9 Nov 2014 before compiling an undefeated 102 on the second day, just a few days after a stupendous show against Australia at the same venue.

At start of the Australia Test – which Pakistan won by a record margin of 356 runs – on 30 Oct 2014, the evergreen Misbah was aged 40 years 155 days.

On day two, he compiled 101 and then the fourth day, he savaged the Aussie bowling for an unconquered 101 off mere 56 deliveries to equal the then Test record of the fastest-ever century held by West Indies legend Viv Richards.

West Indies’ Clive Lloyd, for the record, is the only other 40-plus Test captain to score a hundred (he was 40 years 84 days when his side played Australia at Brisbane in 1984 and scored 114).

The durability of Misbah is unmatchable by any yardstick; since turning 40, he has amassed 1244 runs (as on Thursday evening) in 16 Tests at 54.08 with five hundreds and seven half-centuries.

Moreover, Misbah has now hit more centuries as captain for Pakistan, overtaking current chairman of selectors Inzamam-ul-Haq’s seven, and Imran Khan and Javed Miandad who have five apiece.

Misbah is the oldest player in 90 years to score a century at Lord’s since Australia’s Warren Bardsley (43 years 202 days) slammed an unbeaten 193 and England’s Jack Hobbs (43 years 192 days) made 119 in the same Test in 1926.

Hitherto, only Javed Burki and Nasim-ul-Ghani (both scoring 101 in the same innings in 1962), Hanif Mohammad (187 not out in 1967), Mohsin Khan (200 in 1982), Inzamam-ul-Haq (148 in 1996), Mohammad Yousuf (202 in 2006) have managed to reach three figures for Pakistan at Lord’s but unlike Misbah, none played their first Test innings in England.

Misbah also erased a 49-year-old Pakistan record at Lord’s by improving upon 76 made by Asif Iqbal in his maiden Test knock, while batting at No 9 in 1967.

Published in Dawn, July 16th, 2016