AKISTAN`S rise to number two on the Test table after a gap of almost a decade is cause for celebration. This has come after a display of flair and determination during the just-concluded series against England that Pakistan won 2-0. The national side`s batting effort was led by senior pros Younis Khan, Muhammad Hafeez and skipper Misbah ul Haq. It was Hafeez who rounded off the `home` campaign in the UAE with a polished, at times stylish, innings in the third and final Test. By and large, however, Pakistan`s batting was effective with the trademark Misbah exhibition of purpose that has brought the skipper much respect and success over the last few years the Gulf has been the happy venue of much of his advance.

The famous Pakistani flair came mostly from the bowlers. It was the delightful wrist work of Yasir Shah and the occasional bursts from Shoaib Malik, Wahab Riaz and company that provided the more memorable moments in a series that at one stage appeared to tilt in favour of Alastair Cook`s team. Indeed, it was bad light that denied England a dramatic victory in the first Test of the series, and the determined and ever-threatening `tourists` were very much in it until about halfway into the second Test when the bowling gave Pakistan the decisive edge. The advantage was pushed home and the gritty opposition overcome in the final game of the series to provide fans and cricket officials in the country a reason to rejoice. This is a welcome reprieve in extremely dif fic uit circumstances in which Pakistan has not been able to host big games inside the country. So much was forgotten in the moment of joy; even the severest critics of Misbah and the men under his command thought it necessary to come up with a public statement in their praise. Let the spirit prevail until the beckoning of Pakistan`s next challenge that includes a series against wounded England on their own soil in the summer of 2016.