Pakistan Test Captain Misbah-ul-Haq on Wednesday has received Test mace by International Cricket Council (ICC) at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
According to details, ICC Chief Executive David Richardson handed over the mace to the star player and lauded his contributions to the cricket.
HISTORY! Pakistan captain Misbah Ul Haq is presented with the ICC Championship Test Mace in Lahore pic.twitter.com/bWsSiUmVnH
— ICC (@ICC) September 21, 2016
Talking to media, Richardson said that today is a historical day for Pakistan as the team has been awarded Test mace.
He said, “Youngsters in Pakistan are very passionate and crazy about cricket.”
Meanwhile, Misbah said,”It is a most awaited occasion for me and for the entire team to receive such an honour for the country.”
“We will try to maintain the top Test rank in the future,” he added.
Test mace is given to the captain of the world’s number one Test team and it is for the first time a Pakistani captain has received it.
Pakistan achieved number-one Test ranking for the first time since the current rankings system was introduced in 2003 after it played a two-all draw against England.
Pakistan’s cause was also helped by Sri Lanka, which defeated Australia by 3-0, while a wet ground in Port of Spain denied India the opportunity to defend the top spot as it won its four-Test series against the West Indies by 2-0.
It may be mentioned that the mace was produced by the then British Crown Jeweller, Asprey and Garrard, in 2001, which was commissioned to make a distinctive prize designed to stand out from other cricket trophies.
The designers produced a 90cm silver and gold-plated trophy based on a cricket stump as its shank, topped by an orb that represents the cricket world both geographically and through the inclusion of the emblems of all 10 ICC Members that have played Test cricket.
The mace sits on a wooden base with a silver-plated plaque in front with room for engravings of the sides to hold it.
The mace was valued at œ30, 000 in 2001 and automatically passes from one team to another as results confirm a change of leadership in the ICC Test Team Rankings table.