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Waqar Younis Maitla (Urdu: وقار یونس, born 16 November 1971) is a former Pakistani right arm fast bowler in cricket and widely regarded as one of the best fast bowlers of all time.
He was best known in cricket for his ability to reverse swing a cricket ball at high speed when bowling at the cricket pitch. He took 373 Test wickets and 416 One Day International wickets during his career. Younis has the best strike rate for any bowler with over 200 Test wickets. He worked as a bowling coach with the national side from 2006 to 2007.
Younis was appointed as the head coach of the Pakistan cricket team on 3 March, 2010.[1] His managerial contract with the Pakistan Cricket Board will take part in all forms of cricket, right up to December 2011, that includes the 2011 Cricket World Cup.[2]
Early and personal life
Younis attended Sadiq Public School in Bahawalpur, Pakistan, Pakistani College in Sharjah and Government College in Vehari.
He is married with a son and 2 daughters and now lives in Kellyville, in North-Western Sydney, Australia and is a coach at a local cricket club.[3] Recently, he has become a television cricket commentator for Australia's Nine Network.
Cricket career
Younis made his debut for Pakistan against India on 15 November, 1989, in the same match that Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar also made his debut. Younis took 4 wickets in the drawn match including wickets of Sachin Tendulkar and Kapil Dev. He made an immediate impression with his speed and became known in the cricket media as "Wiki"[4] or the "Burewala Express".[4] Later, along with Wasim Akram, Younis opened the bowling attack regularly for Pakistan, becoming a feared and potent attack. His most recognized delivery was an in-swinging yorker. At his peak, he developed into a quick fast bowler and also became famous for achieving a hat-trick against New Zealand in 1992. Younis holds the record for the best strike rate among bowlers with 200 or more Test wickets. During the early periods of 2000, he stayed out of the Pakistan team for a long time allegedly due to suspension and conflicts with bowling partner and captain Wasim Akram. His return to cricket came with him being appointed the captain of Pakistan, a position he held until his team failed to make an impact in the 2003 World Cup. He retired after the Pakistan Cricket Board persistently ignored him for national selection.
In March, 2006 he was appointed as the bowling coach for Pakistan.[5] He resigned from this position on 6 January, 2007 in protest against the Pakistan Cricket Board decision to retain him only for the Test series against South Africa and not for the subsequent series of five One Day International matches.[6][7] He was re-appointed as Pakistan's bowling and fielding coach for their tour of Australia in December 2009.[8]
Skills in Cricket
Younis is one of several Pakistani fast bowlers, beginning with Sarfraz Nawaz, who have been successful at bowling reverse swing. In partnership with Wasim Akram, Younis opened the Pakistan bowling attack in the 1990s. Many attribute Younis and Akram to be one of the most effective fast bowling partnerships in cricket, due to their ability to swing the ball at high speed. The ability to reverse swing and his speed led to him becoming one of the most talented fast bowlers in modern cricket.
Younis explained his ability to reverse swing by the manipulation of an old ball; with one side shiny, one side rough, the ball would move in the opposite direction to conventional swing. This led to Younis having the ability to bowl in-swingers and out-swingers in the cricket pitch and in effect both Younis and Akram became successful in taking wickets by this variation of swing bowling. He was also effective in the use of bouncers or short pitch deliveries; Younis' bowling against South Africa in Sheikhupura, Pakistan, is remembered for his effective use of the short-pitched delivery.
Following Pakistan's 1992 series versus England, the English media, were suspicious of the then unknown cricket skill of the reverse swing delivery. This led to cries of foul play and allegations of ball-tampering by some individuals. However, cricket officials found no evidence of foul play and the skill of the reverse swing delivery has been accepted in cricket.
Despite his qualities as a fast bowler, he was expensive at times and sometimes lacked the consistency of bowlers such as West Indian fast bowler Curtly Ambrose and Australian fast bowler Glenn McGrath. This may be partly due to the mentality of his former captain, Imran Khan, who prioritised aggression and speed rather than concentrating on bowling accurately.
International records
Younis is the only bowler to have taken 5 wicket hauls in 3 consecutive One Day International matches. He has taken 5 wicket hauls on 27 occasions in One Day International matches. In terms of deliveries bowled, he has taken the fastest 50, 300, 350 and 400 wickets in One Day International matches and the fastest 150, 200, 250, 300 and 350 wickets in Test matches.
Although primarily as a fast bowler, Younis reached a 1010 Test match runs during his career. As of September 2005, he was the only non-batsman to achieved a thousand runs without scoring a fifty.
Younis has the best strike rate for any bowler with over 200 Test wickets.
Cricket controversies
In July 2000 Younis became the first cricket player to be banned for ball tampering and was fined 50% of his match fee. [9]
References
External links
| Bowlers who have taken 400 One-Day International wickets |
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