London: Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq began his England tour on a cracking note scoring a century on day one of the first Test against England at the Lord’s cricket ground here on Thursday to help his side tide over a difficult situation and set a new world record.
With his 10th Test ton, the 42-year-old Misbah became the oldest cricketer to hit a Test century as captain. He broke the record of former Australian all-rounder Bob Simpson, who scored a century at the age of 41 years and 359 days, in the 1977-78 season.
There were strong speculations in the media that Misbah would announce retirement before setting off for the England tour and this century would put him on a strong pedestal against his detractor.
At the end of day one, Misbah was unbeaten on 110 off 179 balls with 18 fours. Pakistan were 282 for 6 in 87 overs.