Fast bowlers, Pakistan’s strongest suit (Part 2)
Imran made his debut in 1971 at Birmingham against England at the age of 18. He was very raw in his debut match as he went wicket-less in that test match. As a result, he was dropped from the side. Khan then spent three years at Oxford University in Britain
and worked really hard in England’s domestic cricket. Imran made his comeback in 1974 against England at Leeds, and took a match tally of 3/110.
Imran Khan went on to become the first Pakistani bowler to take 200 and 300 Test wickets in international cricket. In all, he took 362 wickets in 88 Test matches at a very impressive average of 22 with best figures of 8/58 in a single innings along with
14/116 in a test match – the figure is still the best bowling effort by any Pakistani in a single test match. His tally of 362 wickets included 23 five-wicket hauls and 6 ten-wicket hauls.
Khan learnt the art of bowling on dead and docile wickets at home but still enjoyed a prolific record. He played 38 Test matches in Pakistan and took 163 wickets at an average of 19 with a best of 8/58 in a match. His total tally of 163 wickets in the country
included 11 five-wicket hauls.
Khan played 50 matches outside of Pakistan and took 199 wickets at an average of 25 with best figures of 7/40. His 199 scalps included 13 five-wicket hauls.
Imran Khan also enjoyed a decent ODI record. In 175 ODI appearances, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Khan-c71319 took 182 wickets at an average of 26 with best figures of 6/14 along with a solitary five-wicket haul.
Khan was the main architect of Pakistan’s first Test victory in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 at home in 1982 where Imran took an amazing tally of 40 wickets in 6 Test matches at an average of
13 with best figures of 8/60.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/West-Indies-c760 was the best Test side of his era. Competing with them brought the best out of Imran Khan and his record speaks about his greatness. He countered the mighty West Indians on 18 occasions, taking 80 wickets at a breathtaking average of 21 with
best figures of 7/80. His tally of 80 wickets included 6 five-wicket hauls against the Windies.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755’s only victory in the series at Leeds, he ended up with match figures
of 10/77.
Credit should be given to Imran Khan for the positive attitude of the current crop of Pakistani fast bowlers. He nurtured Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis during their early days and turned them into great fast bowlers.
Wasim Akram
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Wasim-Akram-c96292 is arguably the greatest left-arm fast bowler to have graced a cricket pitch. He had everything you could ask for. Akram had pace, bounce, swing, variety and a great bowling brain. According to Imran Khan, Akram till date was and still is the
most gifted bowler that he has ever seen.
The left-arm champion is the highest wicket taker for Pakistan in both forms of the game. He has gathered 414 wickets in Test cricket and 502 wickets in ODIs. Wasim was the first bowler of the world to take 400 wickets in both forms of the game. Akram has
taken four hat-tricks in international cricket, two each in ODIs and Test matches. He is one of the 3 bowlers to have taken 4 wickets in 5 balls in Test cricket. Previously, MJC Allom (http://www.senore.com/Cricket/New-Zealand-c754) and Chris Old (England) had achieved the feat before Wasim
did it for Pakistan.
He has a phenomenal Test record, considering the fact that he has played most of his cricket on dead wickets in the sub-continent. Overall, he has taken 414 wickets at an average of 23 with a best of 7/119 in a single innings, and 11/110 in a match. His
tally of 414 wickets includes 25 five-wicket hauls along with 5 ten-wicket hauls.
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