Waqar Younis - the greatest exponent of ‘Banana Swing’ - Part 1 - Opinion
It all began far away from this determined bowler from Vehari. His run up was smooth and silken. He used to hold the ball tightly with two fingers on the seam. His turn around sent down alarm bells to the man at the other end with a willow in hand. The eyes would always be locked onto the stumps. The batsmen who witnessed him ready to rear in, gulped at what was impending. Then came the most enthralling site that one could witness from 22 yards away. He ran in, and ran in with such ferocity that the site became part of cricketing folklore. As soon as the feet would kiss the popping crease, in came a whirling action resulting in the leather being deployed with sheer pace. The stumps were eventually rattled, as the ball dipped in after pitching inches outside of the off stump. Then came the roaring celebrations from arguably, the finest fast bowler of all time.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Thomas-George-Burrows-c93472 as well. There wasn’t a more thrilling site in world cricket in the 1990s or the early 2000s, than witnessing Waqar Younis bowl with impunity. With an average in the region of the mid 20’s for both ODI and Test cricket, Waqar had constructed an extraordinary career and bowled with a knack of taking wickets from nowhere.
Pakistan looked like a different outfit when he was on the field, and epitomized the art of fast bowling. The seemingly bottomless quiver of fast bowlers that http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Curtly-Elconn-Lynwall-Ambrose-c51793 were other combinations which sent down shudders through batting line ups around the world. Yet, Waqar Younis, with his new ball partner, formed the only bowling pair which could manage to wreak havoc on any batsman, at any time, and in any given situation.
Waqar was not a bowler who relied on conditions to make him efective, as compared to modern players such as http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Brian-Charles-Lara-c48471 being floored in Karachi after being fatally late on a 'Younis Yorker', being one of the images that Test lovers will fail to forget.
Continued in Part 2...
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