The greatest left arm fast bowler - part 1
A few would dispute on http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Wasim-Akram-c96292’s credibility as the greatest left arm fast bowler in the history of the game. Real artists, who made the red cherry talk like no one else, had ever done.
The left arm champion swung the ball both ways at pace. He had everything in his armory; pace, bounce, cut, in swinger, out swinger, and a lethal bouncer followed up by a deceptive slower delivery. A remarkable control over seam and swing, and can generate
that amount of pace with such a short run-up, almost unheard of. Mark http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Taylor-c92915 Once said, “He is the only bowler who will pitch four different deliveries on the same spot and let them do four different things. Never, in the modern age, had a bowler explored
more that could be done with a cricket ball.
It is not only the talent and hard work you give in cricket. A great bowling brain can really give strength to your effectiveness. Wasim regarded Malcolm http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Marshall-c74817 as the greatest fast bowler of all-times. He said, “When I started my career, I used to look
at Malcolm Marshall. It was the way he ran. He used to pick up weaknesses of the batsman in two deliveries. I picked up his bowling brain.
In the era of the 70’s and 80’s fast bowling was looked at with different perception. They use to bang it in short, and let it bounce at the batsman. There was an intimidation factor which accounted for fast bowlers taking many wickets, with the exception
of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Imran-c64193 and Hadlee. Wasim totally changed the thinking of the 80’s. He was the bowler who didn’t only rely on intimidating the batsman, but getting them off the pitch with his skills.
He was more effective on dead pitches. He brought life to even the most dead tracks. He had a stint with http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Lancashire-c806 in 1989 which helped him in gaining control over the new ball. Sometimes he moved a single delivery both ways. In the ODI cricket series,
coming in later overs with his toe crushing Yorkers was lethal. His deadly bowling always shifted the momentum in favor of the bowling side.
In his early ODI matches, he was hammered by Jeremy Coney and Ashantha de Mel in the last overs. His mentor Imran Khan said to him, “Learn to bowl Yorkers boy." Imran’s wish was his command. He was so talented that when told to do something he would practice
the trick in the nets, twice or thrice, and would master it. In the next match Ashantha’s off-stump was uprooted with a toe crushing Yorker.
Remember that 1992 world cup final. The delivery he bowled at Allan Lamb. It came into the right hander and left him late to take the off-stump. A delivery described by Richie Benaud, “Left arm around the wicket, cleaned Allan Lamb, and perhaps so to England.
This is unusual action and direction to come left around at that pace."
In a test match, in Karachi in 2000, Wasim Akram was bowling to Michael Atherton. He went to his mark, began his run, and lost a hold of the ball during his run-up. He didn’t go back to his mark, but picked up the ball where it fell and bounced it at Atherton,
hitting his helmet. The commentators were shocked at how a bowler could do this.
In a test match at Karachi, in 1994, Wasim Akram came to bowl and hit Mark Waugh on the helmet, who fell to his knees. The commentators were shocked at how a bowler could extract this level of a bounce at dead wicket.
Sachin Tendulkar was facing Wasim Akram at Sharjah in 1994 on a dead wicket. The very first delivery of the innings took him by surprise. It pitched at the good length area and struck Sachin on the helmet.
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