Shoaib Akhtar, The Rawalpindi Express - Pakistani Fast Bowling Greats

Pakistan, a nation known to produce genuinely talented fast bowlers by the minute, were looking for the next in their long assembly line after Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Aaqib Javed. In the late 1990’s there emerged from the shadows of all these hallowed greats, a bowler who went on to become the fastest bowler the world had ever seen. He was charismatic, vibrant and belligerent yet he was gentle and jovial off the field. In this concluding part of the ‘Pakistani Fast Bowling Greats’ Series I will look at Shoaib Akhtar who blew oppositions away by his sheer pace.

Shoaib Akhtar

Shoaib burst on the scene in the late 1990’s when Wasim and Waqar were still a part of the Pakistan team but they were now ageing stars and Pakistan was on the lookout for a young talent. Shoaib was the perfect embodiment of a fast bowler, he was aggressive, he was quick and always in the face of the opposition batsmen. He loved a battle and he had attitude and he had searing pace to back it all up.

For all his talent Shoaib had a modest start to his test career picking up only 18 wickets after 8 test matches. It was in 1999 that he truly announced himself. First he had a very good World Cup in 1999 in England where Pakistan reached the finals and later in the Asian Test Championship in India. It was in a packed Eden Gardens that he literally blew away two of the finest test batsmen India had ever produced off successive deliveries with his sheer pace, Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar both getting bowled off fast and late swinging deliveries.

Shoaib wanted to be the fastest bowler in the world and he never hid that ambition of his. He achieved his dream when he bowled the fastest ball ever recorded against England in the 2003 World Cup in South Africa when he clocked 161.3 kmph and broke the 100 mph barrier in cricket.

Shoaib played 178 test match wickets in 46 matches while he claimed 247 wickets in the 163 ODI matches that he represented Pakistan in. A bowler of Akhtar’s persona and charisma can never be judged by his numbers alone and the impact that he had on the game goes much beyond mere strike rates and averages and economy rates.

Shoaib and controversies went hand in gloves throughout his career. He was suspended for ball-tampering, suspected of an illegal action, he had conflicts with his own captain, team-mates and the board, he was accused of indiscipline and lack of commitment towards Pakistan, got embroiled in doping scandal not to mention the long list of injuries he suffered.

Shoaib was an enigma, a true showman and a high impact player. Akhtar steaming in from his long run up, his dishevelled mane flowing in his face and his enormously bulging muscles heaving and puffing made for an intimidating sight. The fact that he could hurl the cricket ball at speeds that were almost unimaginable coupled with his in your face attitude made him the most Fantastico sight when in full flow.

Waqar Younis, The Toe Crusher - Pakistani Fast Bowling Greats

As I have written in my previous posts, I am a self-proclaimed fan of the fast bowlers that Pakistan seem to produce on a conveyor belt that seems impossible to stop. In the last post I wrote about the legendary left arm pace bowler, Wasim Akram and in this post I will write about his better half at the bowling crease, Waqar Younis. Lovingly known as the ‘Two W’s’ together they were to rule opposition batsmen right through the 1990’s striking fear in to them.

Waqar Younis

Like Wasim, Waqar too was spotted at a local match and it was the great Imran Khan who was impressed. Waqar made his test debut in 1989, in the same match as Sachin Tendulkar made his debut. He was genuinely quick and made an immediate impression by picking up 4 wickets in that drawn match.

Waqar was lethal with his high speed and the fact that he loved to keep the ball full and on the stumps while swinging it late made him an extremely difficult customer to face. He was also a master proponent of the reverse swing and had the ability to find prodigious reverse with an old ball. Late banana in swinging deliveries delivered at express pace made him unplayable.

Waqar played a total of 87 tests in which he picked up 373 wickets at a stunning average of 43! He claimed 416 wickets in the 262 ODI’s that he played with his high impact pace bowling.

He was embroiled in several controversies during his playing years most relating to accusations which claimed that he tempered the cricket ball so as to make it reverse. He was also banned in the year 2000 for the said offense. He was also the captain of the Pakistan team during their disastrous World Cup campaign in South Africa in 2003 when they failed to even qualify for the super six stage having won games only against the associate nations. He was dumped thereafter along with many senior players including Wasim Akram.

He was a Fantastico character and he has continued to serve Pakistan cricket by imparting his skills as a coach and nurturing the current fast bowling talents in Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Irfan, Rahat Ali and Wahab Riaz.

Waqar’s ability to move the ball colossally in the air and the fact that he targeted the base of the leg stump almost always succeeded in getting the batsman in an ungainly tangle. Delivering toe crushing yorkers at top speed was his speciality and hence he was also nick named ‘The Toe Crusher’. Lasith Malinga, the deadly Sri Lankan fast bowler who is known for his toe crushing yorkers once said that he learnt the art of delivering high speed toe crushers by watching Waqar in action. Waqar could not have got a better tribute than that!

Wasim Akram, The Sultan of Swing - Pakistani Fast Bowling Greats

Pakistan has always been able to produce quality fast bowlers and they have always had my fascination and respect in that particular regard. Some of the best bowlers I grew up adoring were the pace bowlers from the neighbouring country. An Indian cricket fan is always in awe of the fast bowling talent that Pakistan seems to yield on an almost everyday basis! In the post I'll write about the best left arm bowler I've seen and was blessed enough to watch him bowl some extraordinary spells.

Wasim Akram

Wasim Akram came into the Pakistan side when their talismanic player Javed Miandad spotted his talent at a fast bowling trail held in Lahore. Wasim first appeared for Pakistan as an 18 year old in 1984 when he made his ODI debut against the Kiwi side. He would play his first test shortly and claimed 10 wickets in only his 2nd test match.

Known for his quick arm action, Wasim had the ability to both swing and seam the ball and his Fantastico control and high pace made him a genuine threat for any opposition batsman. He was known to conceal the ball during his run-up so that the batsman could not get a view of the ball, especially when he reverse swung the ball. It was almost impossible to play him when the ball began to reverse swing, he was a master exponent of the practise having mastered the art meticulously. Most of his wickets came by the way of bowled and leg before wicket as he had a ripping yorker in his arsenal.

Wasim was the key figure in Pakistan’s World Cup victory achieved under Imran Khan in 1992 in Australia. Wasim blasted a 33 off just 18 balls to propel them to a more than useful score of 249. He would them go on to claim 3 wickets in his 10 overs including the key wickets of Lamb and Lewis, both getting out bowled to the reverse swinging ball. Wasim played 356 ODI matches in total and picked up a whopping 502 wickets with an economy rate of under 4 runs per over.

He was also a very handy lower order batsman who was known for his ability to tonk the ball long and hard. His innings of 257* against Zimbabwe in 1996 while coming in at number 8 stands testimony to his batting capabilities.

He led Pakistan to the finals of the 1999 Cricket World Cup and was their highest wicket taker in the 2003 World Cup but was dumped unceremoniously from the team shortly as Pakistan had failed to qualify for the super 6 stage of that tournament. He claimed 414 wickets in 104 tests at an impressive strike rate of 54.

His control and accuracy while delivering the ball at high speed and the ability to move the ball both ways, in the air and off the wicket made him one of the most dangerous fast bowlers to have ever played the game. He continues to have a positive impact on cricket as a coach, commentator and grooms various young fast bowlers teaching them the finer nuances of the art that he was a master of!!