Will Azhar succeed where Misbah failed?

Santner replaces Neesham, NZ waiton Taylor ahead of second Test

KARACHI: Facing a must-win situation, Pakistan will miss the experience of their inspirational captain Misbah-ul-Haq in the second and final Test in Hamilton where Azhar Ali will be leading the tourists.

Misbah, who has returned home from New Zealand because of the death of his father-in-law, will be missing the series finale which the Pakistanis have to win to avoid what will be their first Test series defeat in New Zealand in almost three decades.

The veteran batsman cannot feature in the Hamilton Test which begins from November 25 even if he returns to New Zealand in time because on Monday he was handed a one-match suspension by the ICC for his side’s slow over rate during the first Test against New Zealand last week.

While Misbah was fined 40% of his match fee, the rest of the team was fined 20% after the side was ruled to have been two overs short of its target of 103 overs after time allowances were taken into consideration. Misbah was previously found guilty of a minor over-rate offence during the Oval Test against England in August; this was his second minor over-rate offence in the same format in a period of 12 months, and as per the rules two offences in 12 months equate to fines and a suspension from the immediately subsequent match in the same format.

The charge was laid by on-field umpires Ian Gould and S Ravi, third umpire Simon Fry, and fourth official Shaun Haig. He had only briefly taken the field during New Zealand’s chase on the fourth day and was scheduled to leave the country on Sunday evening. He had made scores of 31 and 13 in the Christchurch Test.

Misbah had previously missed only one Test since he was appointed captain in 2010: he was unavailable for a 2012 Test in Galle, due to a suspension for slow over-rates.

Meanwhile, allrounder Mitchell Santner has replaced Jimmy Neesham in New Zealand’s 15-man squad for the second and final Test against Pakistan, while the status of Ross Taylor for the game is yet to be confirmed.

A decision on Taylor will be taken after he consults a specialist about a growth in his left eye, which New Zealand coach Mike Hesson felt may be affecting his batting and catching. Dean Brownlie, the Northern Districts’ batsman, will join the squad as cover for Taylor.

Santner, one of New Zealand’s biggest positives during their 3-0 defeat in the Tests in India, has made a recovery from a wrist fracture he suffered three weeks ago.

“It’s obviously pleasing to have Mitchell back with the team ahead of the second Test,” national selector Gavin Larsen said. “With him and Todd (Astle) in the team, it gives us the opportunity to play two spinners if required. Mitchell brings all-round ability and is coming off a strong tour of India.

“We’re still waiting on a little more information on Ross before we make any decision on his availability for the second Test. Dean will come in as cover, but we should know more in the next couple of days.”

Neesham, who was left out of the first Test in favour of Colin de Grandhomme, will join Otago ahead of the next round of Plunkett Shield matches.New Zealand took a 1-0 lead in the series against Pakistan by winning the first Test in Christchurch by eight wickets.