Azhar hopes confidence can confound predictions

Pakistan had to wait a week following victory over England at The Oval to have their rise to the No. 1 Test ranking confirmed and they will get only a couple of days to enjoy the accolade before walking out at the Ageas Bowl, on the ring-road-and-retail-park outskirts of Southampton, with the slightly less awe-inspiring billing of ninth-best ODI side in the world.

That’s life in the tightly scheduled world of international cricket, as Frank Sinatra didn’t quite sing: “Riding high in August, shot down in August.” Azhar Ali, Pakistan’s ODI captain, played his part in the Test side’s success, spanking the six that effectively took them to No. 1 (once the elements had nixed India’s chances of a 3-0 win in the Caribbean) and he is hopeful that some of the positivity engendered by the first leg of the tour will bleed through into the rest.

Misbah-ul-Haq has been rightly hailed for his leadership in Tests but even he had his struggles with Pakistan’s 50-over cricket and since handing over to Azhar after the last World Cup results in ODIs have continued to be indifferent. They managed to hold off West Indies as Bangladesh surged through to make the Champions Trophy cut-off last year but now sit outside the top eight, with qualification for the World Cup at stake.

Nevertheless, Azhar was able to enjoy the south-coast sunshine and bask briefly in a little reflected success before turning his attention to the challenge ahead in the five-match series against England.

“Confidence is very high and belief is there, obviously coming in from the Test series, we had a very good couple of months here. We take that confidence into the one-day internationals as well,” Azhar said.

“It is a massive boost and a proud moment for Pakistan cricket and the whole nation is very happy …

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