Former Pakistan coach Waqar Younis has said captain Misbah-ul-Haqs positive intent and calmness were the principal factors in Pakistans rise to No. 1 in Tests. He added that this was a time when every Pakistani could rejoice and feel proud of the teams achievements.Pakistan recently squared their four-match Test series in England - even as Australia were whitewashed 3-0 by Sri Lanka - to move into the No. 2 position and put the heat on India. After Indias fourth Test against West Indies ended in a draw, Pakistan assumed top spot with 111 points, with India slipping to second place with 110.Its a proud moment for the whole nation, Waqar told ESPNcricinfo. Its a huge moment for Misbah and for the entire team, as all the hard work finally paid off. Its always the ultimate dream to become the No. 1 team in the world, and there is no team other than Pakistan that deserves to be at the top. They suffered a lot in last seven-eight years but they have played outstanding cricket all along.There were a lot of problems in the background - those controversies and especially cricket not being played in the country and the boys being always on the road and away from home. So that is the major part I feel the team should be proud off. We kept moving forward after every hurdle, never stayed down and kept on fighting against all odds. That struggle makes this a remarkable moment for the country.Waqar had two stints with Pakistan as head coach. Between March 2010 and August 2011, he oversaw five series, of which one was won, one was lost and three were drawn. During his second spell, between May 2012 and April 2016, the team won four series, drew one and lost one, results that laid a solid foundation in the teams run to the top. Waqar was replaced as head coach by Mickey Arthur, who joined the team 10 days before the recent England tour.I am honestly touched and, no, its not about taking credit for what I have done. I would rather give full credit to Misbah-ul-Haq, who has shown resilience against his critics and never spoke a harsh word when things were going wrong. People were crushing him down because of his style of play, but now I think those people should be proud as Pakistanis. What else could you want from him? He did everything in his own way and, whether or not people like his way, it is working for the country and has taken us to the top of the world. What else do you want to achieve?It was Misbahs honesty and good intent that made a huge difference. His positive intentions and his characteristics are outstanding. His calmness - I have never seen him cursing his critics. Even though former and current players let him down, he never responded. But look what he has achieved. This is the kind of thing that made him the best. Pakistan is the team that deserves to be the No. 1 side.Pakistan, in the 1990s, had bigger names on paper, many of whom went on to achieve great individual feats for the country. Apart from Waqar himself, Wasim Akram, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Yousuf, Saeed Anwar and Shoaib Akhtar were among the biggest names Pakistan has produced in its cricketing history. But that Pakistan side still did not achieve what the present lot has done - climbing to the pinnacle of the Test rankings.We were very good individually and were different, Waqar said of the teams that he had played in. Its not like we didnt win much, but we were not the No. 1 team. That is why I feel more proud of this present team. Because this team is more gelled, know their role and are very well settled. Of course, these are not yet great players - none apart from Younis Khan has reached that mark - but they have done what we in the 90s were not able to do. This team could easily have fallen short of greatness, but they have achieved it with their hard work and unity.We struggled to step up in limited-overs cricket, which has a reason as well; we didnt change ourselves to adapt to modern cricket. But in Tests it is relatively easier to rise, because it hasnt changed that much. Test cricket has been played for 150 years and it has always been played in one spirit and one style of game. It was easy and of course our experienced players like Younis Khan, Misbah, Mohammad Yousuf, Inzamam-ul-Haq in the last few years have all contributed really well.In recent times, there are so many players who have come through my era. Players like Saeed Ajmal, Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq, Yasir Shah have done a great job to take Pakistan to certain level and it gives me immense happiness for them as I feel like a father figure to them. It gives me goosebumps thinking about what they have achieved. I hope they continue this for long, and keep the countrys name up and alive at the top of the world.Phil McConkey Cheap Jersey . -- New England Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis is retiring after a 16-year career to become the goalie coach for the Los Angeles Galaxy. Lawrence Taylor Jersey .com) - Manchester City midfielder David Silva is expected to miss the next four weeks because of a calf problem. http://www.giantsonlineteamshop.com/evan-engram-jersey-cheap.html . -- San Francisco 49ers linebacker Ahmad Brooks was fined $15,570 by the NFL on Wednesday for his hit on Saints quarterback Drew Brees last Sunday. Odell Beckham Jr Youth Jersey .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. Michael Strahan Jersey .S. -- Nikolaj Ehlers registered a hat trick for the third straight game and Jonathan Drouin had a goal and five assists as the Halifax Mooseheads hammered the host Cape Breton Screaming Eagles 10-1 on Tuesday in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action.RIO DE JANEIRO -- Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike is preparing for a strenuous workout with the next Summer Olympics headed her way.The practice started when she received the Olympic flag Sunday in the official handover ceremony from her Rio counterpart, Mayor Eduardo Paes.I hope the flag is not too heavy, she joked the day before. Although I have trained my muscles to receive it properly.The next three Olympics are in Asian countries that have already held games: Tokyos Summer Games in 2020, sandwiched between Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, in 2018 and in Beijing in 2022.This will come as a relief to the International Olympic Committee after two trying games in Sochi, Russia, and Rio.That doesnt mean theyll be easy, particularly for Tokyo.I dont think that you can ever relax, said John Coates, the IOC member who heads the inspection team for Tokyo. There are some big issues, even for Tokyo.Heres a look at some of them.---THE COSTSThe new national stadium is an example of Tokyos rising costs -- or underestimating costs. The original bill was expected to be $1 billion, but the price soared to three times that much in a design by the late architect Zaha Hadid.Organizers scrapped that design and adopted a new one by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma. The cost will still be at least 50 percent more than the original estimate with completion set for November, 2019.I will not leave white elephants for the taxpayers, Kioke told reporters in Rio, just weeks after being elected Tokyos first female governor. The citizens of Tokyo are the taxpayers. We must have the understanding of the taxpayers about whatever we do.Costs are rising elsewhere, too.The Tokyo organizing committees operating budget was 350 billion yen ($3.5 billion) in the original bid document. But officials say it will be revised upward to account for inflation and unexpected costs.This is the budget for running the games themselves, and does not include building roads and other infrastructure.Tokyo organizers say 50 percent of the venues already exist, though they have not made public the cost for building new venues and preparing the city.Constructing scaled-down venues -- following Rios model -- could still be costly in Japan. The buildings must be earthquake-proof, and Japanese taste might not accept stripped-down architecture.---TRANSPORTATIONTokyo proposed compact games in its winning bid three years ago. But venues have been spread out to save money and take advantage of existing structures.Tokyos games are divided into two basic sectors -- a zone around Tokyo Bay, and a so-called Heritage Zone, which is anchored around the new national stadium.The remaining venues are scattered around, from cycling in Izu, southwest of Tokyo, to soccer venues in Sapporo, Miyagi, Saitama, and Yokohama.Youll travel a lot because there isnt the concentration, Coates said. If you go to the heritage area, theyre all stand-alone (venues) largely.Tokyo has a sophisticated transport system, but its crowded and not particularly foreigner-friendly. Coates said getting around might be morre complex than Rio, which was difficult in a city sliced up by the sea, mountains and poor roads.ddddddddddddThey have a very good transport infrastructure that connects all parts of the city, Coates said. I think theyre up for it, no worry about that, but you cant say its going to be easy.Tokyos narrow roads are a problem, and so are the 3 million who commute daily from the outskirts to the citys center.Well have to ask the citizens for various forms of cooperation, Kioke said.---THE EVENTSFive sports have been added to Tokyos program: baseball-softball, skateboarding, surfing, karate and sport climbing. They enter under new IOC rules that allow cities to propose events from their own games.The new sports will add 18 events and 474 athletes to the program. The Tokyo Games will feature 33 sports and about 11,000 athletes, compared to the usual number of 28 sports and 10,500 athletes.The new sports may give Japan some advantages, particularly in baseball and softball, which are very popular in the country.Japan won 41 medals in Rio, topping its previous record of 38. Look for the home nation to get another medal bounce from being host.The competition schedule is sure to create tension. Evening events in Tokyo will take place in the early morning in North America -- and vice versa. This isnt ideal for U.S. rights-holder NBC. Some events might be moved around to work better on television.Japanese Olympic committee President Tsunekazu Takeda faced a similar problem as the sports director of the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics.Athletes-first must be the concept, he said. We have to be fair to the athletes, but of course I cant make any decisive comments because this has to be negotiated. But I hope the athletes-first concept prevails.---FEMALE POWERTwo female politicians have key roles in directing Tokyos games -- Governor Koike and Tamayo Marukawa, who was recently named Olympic minister by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.Both are former television newscasters, and Marukawa will be the link between Tokyos government and the national government.Koike said Japanese women have done well in sports, but Japanese society has been slower to promote women to leadership positions in business and politics.Women won almost half of Japans 41 medals in Rio -- four gold medals alone in womens wrestling.Our women athletes are having fantastic performances, Kioke said. Unfortunately, the percentage of women legislators in Japan is still low. Ms. Hillary Clinton often refers to a glass ceiling for women. I think weve got an iron ceiling in Japan.---BACH ADVICEIOC President Thomas Bach offered brief advice for Tokyo.Organizing successful games means always being authentic, Bach said. Not taking a blueprint from other games; not thinking you should copy. Make the games a representation of the host country.---Stephen Wade on Twitter: http://twitter.com/StephenWadeAP . His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/stephen-wade ' ' '