Banana Swinger: Waqar Younis
On the fine morning of the 15th of November, 1989, in Karachi, a toss was thrown for a Test match played between http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750. In team rosters, there were a couple of new names for both the teams. That match was
drawn, but will always be remembered for two debutants in that match and legends to be in coming decades. Refreshing ones memories, the match saw the debuts of two greats: Sachin Tendulkar and Waqar Younis. Both players ,though belonging to entirely different
departments of the game had something in common. It was their commitment to the game, hard work and natural talent that made them out standing. Waqar retired in 2003, and Sachin is still in run machine mode, but both will remember their debut, where Waqar
crisply bowled Sachin.
Waqar earned his reputation of a long run up, right arm not just fast, but very fast bowler. It was not only speed that he relied on but his natural ability to swing the ball. He had a slinging action, which helped him to swing
and make the ball talk. With his express pace, he has troubled the best ones in the business. He was a nightmare for the batsman, and tail-enders wouldn’t even dare thinking to hit him. Wickets cart wheeling were a frequent sight when Waqar use to bowl. If
it was not a wicket dismissal, batsmen were the wrapped on the pads, or to be precise, the toes. This earned him the reputation of a toe crusher.
Waqar was deadly accurate for most of his spells and hardly decrease in speed, when in full rhythm. He was seen as one of the best exponents of reverse swing, combined with lethal speed. Most of the fast bowlers bowl quick at the
expense of line and length, however this master was different. Bowling closer to the wicket, with low arm, slinging action, he was hard to compete with. Unlike other bowlers, Waqar could bowl a Yorker with ease, and that was not his only weapon. He could reverse
swing the ball at high pace, and could catch the opposition by surprise with his deadly bouncers. It is said that bowling is all about working in a pair, and Waqar and Wasim were just the right template for bowling in pairs.
It was Imran Khan’s reign when Waqar started his career, and Imran introduced Waqar, to the world by saying “if he shows good temperament, he can be the best fast bowler of all time.” After this, Waqar had shown the temperament
that http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Imran-c64193 was talking about and he proved to be the world’s best. This rare talent was picked up Surrey County in 1990, where with immediate effect he was in the headlines for all the good reasons. In his first season for the County, he took 90 odd wickets
and was breaking the feet of opposition batters. His team members in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Surrey-c851 remember him as a nice bloke, but with a ball in his hand, and running from the side screen, he was lethal.
Bowling Stats:
Test
Matches Played: 87
Wickets: 373
Economy: 3.25
Strike Rate: 43.4
One Day
Matches Played: 262
Wickets: 416
Economy: 4.68
Strike Rate: 30.5
Tags: