England vs Pakistan 2016: 5 player battles to watch out for

#4 Stuart Broad vs Misbah-ul-Haq

Pakistan’s coolest customer would be battling against England’s most penetrative bowler

Stuart Broad’s emergence out of James Anderson’s shadow has been one of the hallmarks of England's cricket over the past couple of years. His wicket-taking juggernauts of 8/15 (vs Australia at Nottingham, 2015) and 6/17 (vs South Africa, Johannesburg, 2016) set aside, Broad’s performances over the past couple of years have leapfrogged astronomically, and he is all set to lead the English attack – as he has already done on a few occasions in the past – in the first Test at Lord’s in the absence of James Anderson.

The 30-year-old’s nagging lines and lengths along with the movement that he extracts – both off the pitch as well as in the air – and the bounce that he gets due to his 6’5” stature makes him a lethal bowler. Having said that, it must also be mentioned that howsoever attacking an option that Broad might be, in this series, he may be up against a monk, who has built his repertoire around patience, both on and off the field. The architect of Pakistan’s restoration to the days of their former glory, or maybe to a part thereof, Misbah-ul-Haq has been one of the unsung heroes of Pakistan cricket.

4352 runs from 61 tests at 48.89 and the record for the second-fastest century (in terms of the number of balls faced) in Test cricket (off 56 balls) elucidate the 42-year-old’s prowess with the willow. That he is still active in the international cricket, despite being an able limited-overs cricketer and a useful employee for the T20 franchises all over the world, shows how much he cares about Pakistan’s cricket and dreams of taking it to the pinnacle of the cricketing landscape. The battle between England’s most penetrative bowler and Pakistan’s most patient batsmen would be interesting to watch.