Cricket: Umar Gul joins 100 Test Wickets Club
Every bowler has a dream to take a wicket for his country in test cricket. When Pakistan’s Umar Gul dismissed Mitchell Johnson in the second innings of the first Test at Lord’s he crossed that dream 100 times over, and reached a milestone that is commendable by all standards. He has made a comeback from career-threatening injuries, defied odds to play for his country and changed his bowling action to remain fit. By taking that 100th wicket, he not only became the 138th player in the world to cross the milestone in test cricket but also the 14th from Pakistan to do so.
The right arm pacer from http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Fazal-c56914 Mehmood who did so in his 22nd Test. Off spinner Saqlain Mushtaq took his 100th wicket in his 23rd test match while Danish Kaneria crossed 100 wickets in his 23rd Test. Former Captain Imran Khan and leg-spinner Mushtaq Ahmed took 26 Tests to reach the 100-wicket milestone.
Many renowned bowlers from http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Saqlain-Mushtaq-c88743 is next in line with 208 wickets in 49 Tests while his spin partner Mushtaq Ahmed is next with 185 wickets in 52 Tests.
Shoaib Akhtar may not have been selected for the test leg of the English tour but the pacer has taken 178 wickets in 46 Tests, which is 1 wicket better than, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sarfraz-c88817 Nawaz‘s 177 wickets in 55 Tests. Former Chief selector and left-arm spinner, Iqbal Qasim took 171 wickets for Pakistan in 50 Tests whereas Fazal Mehmood‘s 139 wickets came in just 34 Tests. Former Coach Intikhab Alam struggled to get 125 wickets in 47 tests while all-rounder Abdur Razzaq took his 100th wicket in his 46th Test.
Besides these 14 Pakistanis, 42 Englishmen, 33 Australians, 18 West Indians, 16 Indians, 11 Kiwis, 2 Sri Lankans and one bowler each from http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Zimbabwe-c3045 have taken 100 or more wickets in Test Cricket.
A look at Umar Gul’s performance shows that he has taken 52 wickets in 11 matches at home while 49 in 16 matches outside Pakistan. Considering, the Australian series is Pakistan’s home series, the wickets he takes here will be counted as wickets at home.
Umar’s best has come against England and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750, he managed to bag six wickets including a five-wicket haul, while he has also taken 6 wickets against the South Africans.
Although the pacer has never taken 10 wickets in a match, he hopes to do so in England, where Pakistan will play 5 more Tests this summer. He may not have been a regular like Danish Kaneria in Tests but he hopes to be one in the future. With Mohammad Asif also nearing the 100 wicket mark - he needs 11 more to do so - Pakistan will have a formidable attack before they take on England in the test series later this month.
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