Wasim Akram
Encyclopedia
Wasim Akram is a former Pakistani left arm fast bowler
and left-handed batsman in cricketer
and model
. who represented the Pakistan national cricket team in Test cricket
and One Day International (ODI) matches.
Akram is regarded as one of the best fast bowlers in the history of cricket. He holds the world record for most wickets in List A cricket with 881 and is second only to Sri Lankan off-spin bowler, Muttiah Muralitharan
in terms of ODI wickets with 502. He is considered to be one of the founders and perhaps one of the finest exponents of reverse swing bowling.
He was the first bowler to reach the 500-wicket landmark in ODI cricket during the 2003 World Cup. In 2002 Wisden released its only and final list of best players of all time. Wasim was ranked as the best bowler in ODI of all time with a rating of 1223.5, ahead of Allan Donald, Imran Khan, Waqar Younis, Joel Garner, Glen McGratt and Murali.
Wasim has taken 23 4-wicket hauls in ODI in 356 matches he played. On 30 September 2009, Akram was one of five new members inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame
.
, Pakistan on 3 June 1966, to a moderately affluent middle-class family. He was educated at Islamia College in Lahore, where he played as an opening bowler and batsman. Like several other Pakistani cricketers during the 1980s, his inclusion into the national side was at the behest of a senior player in the team, which in Akram's case, was Javed Miandad
.
Akram was diagnosed with diabetes at the peak of his career but despite the initial psychological blow, he managed to regain his form and went on to produce fine cricketing performances. Since then he has actively sought to be involved in various awareness-raising campaigns for diabetes.
He was married to Huma in 1995. They had two sons Taimur and Akbar from their marriage of fifteen years. Huma died of multiple organ failure at Apollo Hospital in Chennai
, India on 25 October 2009.
in England and went on to become their most successful overseas players. From 1988 to 1998, he opened their bowling attack in their ECB Trophy, Benson & Hedges Cup and National League
tournaments. He was a favourite of the local British fans who used to sing a song called "Wasim for England" at Lancashire's matches. In 1998, with Akram as captain, Lancashire won the ECB Trophy and Axa League and finished second in the championship tournament despite losing only five matches in all competitions throughout the season. Apart from the National League second division title in 2003, this was the last time Lancashire won a trophy.
debut for Pakistan against New Zealand
in 1985 and in only his second Test match, he claimed 10 wickets. A few weeks prior to his selection into the Pakistan team, he was an unknown club cricketer who had failed to make it even to his college team. He came to the trials at Gaddafi Stadium
in Lahore in Pakistan, but for the first two days he did not get a chance to bowl. On the third day he got a chance; his performance convincing Javed Miandad
to insist upon his inclusion in the national team. Akram was hence given an opportunity to play for Pakistan, without any significant domestic experience. Later that season he opened the bowling attack with Imran Khan
, who became his mentor at and after the World Championship of Cricket
in Australia.
In the 1987 Cricket World Cup
, when Pakistan played against the West Indies, Akram bowled to Viv Richards
in the late overs of the innings but Richards, who is regarded as the best batsman during that period, struggled against Akram's bowling performances.
Akram's rise in international cricket was rapid during the late 1980s. When Pakistan toured the West Indies in 1988, he looked to be the fastest bowler between the two sides. However, a groin injury impeded his career in the late 1980s. Following two surgeries, he re-emerged in the 1990s as a fast bowler who focused more on swing and accurate bowling.
In 1985-1986 Austral-Asia Cup which involved Australia, India, New Zealand
, Pakistan, Sri Lanka playing in UAE
Sharjah. Wasim Akram with the help of Abdul Qadir destroyed New Zealand batting line up for just 64 in the Second Semi final of Cup.Pakistan won that game with more than 27 overs to spare obtaining one of the biggest wins in Pakistani history.In Final against India he and Imran(Captain at that time) shared 5 wickets between them. His scalps included Dilip Vengsarkar
and Ravi Shastri
.Akram was becoming the darling of swing in Sharjah. His bowls were at times diffcult to read at the later half of innings making batsman busy in problems
In 1987 Reliance World Cup
held for the 1st time in Sub Continent, Akram really struggled in Pakistani Pitches were he managed only 7 wickets with an average of 40+ in 7 matches. Akram played West Indies, Sri Lanka and England twice. All group matches were played in Pakistan.
In 1988-89 Benson and Hedges World Series
he managed well 4-25 against powerful Australia.http://www.howstat.com.au/cricket/statistics/Players/PlayerProgressBowl_ODI.asp.He got his hundredth wicket at CA Sharjah in 1989-1990 Champions Trophy - 2nd Match against West Indies. His 100th wicket was of Ambrose.In that match he took 5 wickets only second time in his career.
On October 14, 1989 at Sharjah
he took his 1st hat-trick against West Indies. All 3 batsman were bowled. Again on 4 May 1990in Sharjah, Akram took his second ODI hat-trick against Australia. All 3 batsmen were bowled this time also.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_One_Day_International_cricket_hat-tricks.
His best years in late 1980s were from 1986-1989 when which he took 100 wickets at 22.71 apiece and economy rate of less than 3.9 run/over with 4 4-wicket hauls. His first two 4-wicket hauls against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh came in bowler friendly conditions of Sri Lanka in 1986.http://www.howstat.com.au/cricket/statistics/Players/PlayerProgressBowl_ODI.asp?PlayerId=0029&Year=1986.
Overall in this time period Akram rose from a young ordinary fast bowler to a dangerous wicket-taker who would move ball on any wicket he wanted to. Till Dec 1991 Akram took 143 wickets in 107 matches with an average of almost 24 and economy rate of 3.84. He took 5 4-wicket hauls. http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/457149.html.
held in Australia, when Pakistan won the tournament. In the final against England, his batting performance during his innings of 33 runs off 19 balls, pushed Pakistan to a respectable score of 249 runs for 6 wickets. Akram then took the important wicket of Ian Botham
early on the English batting innings and when brought back into the bowling attack later on, with the ball reverse swinging, he produced a devastating spell of bowling which led to Allan Lamb
and Chris Lewis
being bowled in successive deliveries in one over. His excellent performances earned him the Man of the Match
award for the final.. In 1993 Akram took 2 consecutive 4-wicket hauls against Sri Lanka in Sharjah in which 7 out of 8 wickets were either lbw or bowled.http://www.howstat.com.au/cricket/statistics/Players/PlayerProgressBowl_ODI.asp.
In 1992-1993 Total International Series in South Africa (Involving Pakistan, West Indies and South Africa) his magic was destructive where he took 5 wickets against South Africa and got his 200th wicket in 143rd match. He now emerged as a dangerous bowler in bowler friendly pitches of South Africa.http://www.howstat.com.au/cricket/statistics/Matches/MatchScorecard_ODI.asp?MatchCode=0868.http://www.howstat.com.au/cricket/statistics/Players/PlayerBowlGraph_ODI.asp?PlayerID=0029.Akram took 46 wickets in calender year 1993 certainly his best year ever in ODI.Another astonishment was average which was less than 19 with an economy rate of less than 3.8 runs / over. He took 6 4-wicket hauls in 1993 most by him in any year. This was the year when he and Waqar were truly mesmerizing.http://www.howstat.com.au/cricket/statistics/Players/PlayerYears_ODI.asp?PlayerID=0029.In 1996 World Cup
he struggled as he missed crucial quarter final match against India which Pakistan lost and went out of the World Cup. From 1994 till 1996 he took 84 wickets in 39 matches. This time period was his golden time
http://www.howstat.com.au/cricket/statistics/Players/PlayerYears_ODI.asp?PlayerID=0029.
From Jan 1992 - Dec 1997 Akram played 131 matches took 198 wickets at mere 21.86 apiece with 14 4-wicket hauls in ODIs.Run rate was also fantastic with less than 3.8 per over. Definitely his best era in ODI cricket.http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/457149.html.
He was Pakistan's best bowler in the 2003 Cricket World Cup
taking 19 wickets in 6 matches. However, Pakistan failed to reach the "Super Six" phase of the tournament and Akram was one of the eight players to be sacked by the Pakistan Cricket Board
as a result.
1.27 , Waqar's
1.60. http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/457149.html.Under his captaincy Pakistan played.He also captained Pakistan with some success. The high points of his captaincy was the 1996–1997 victory in the World Series Cricket
in Australia, two Test match wins in India in 1998–1999 and in 1999, when Pakistan reached the 1999 Cricket World Cup
final. The low point was the 1996 Cricket World Cup
in Pakistan and India, when he had to pull out of the quarter final match against India, citing injury. After Pakistan's defeat, there were angry protests outside his home and riots across the country from angry fans who accused the team of throwing the match and a government inquiry was launched into the failure.
proved to be the deciding factor.
Prior to his retirement, he was one of eight senior players dropped for the Sharjah Cup in April 2003, and was then omitted from the Pakistan squad for the subsequent Bank Alfalah Cup triangular series.
Due to his omission from the team, he did not participate in a farewell match.
Akram fulfilled his contract play for Hampshire until the end of the English season.
and ARY Digital
among others. He did commentary on a variety of sporting tournaments including the 2009 Women's Cricket World Cup
in Australia, the 2009 ICC World Twenty20
in England, the 2009 ICC Champions Trophy in South Africa, and the 2011 ICC World Cup in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
, the Indian Premier League
team for Kolkata
. Sourav Ganguly
was always keen to have Akram as the bowling coach for India, during the former's stint as Indian captain. Although this never happened, his dreams were realised to some extent, when Akram was appointed as the bowling coach for the franchise.
While working for the Kolkata Knight Riders
, he was also responsible for the signing of Pakistani domestic left-arm fast-bowler Mohammad Irfan
.
Akram has also been coaching in Pakistan fast bowling camps; his most notable discovery being the teenage Pakistani bowler Muhammad amir.
and swing bowling
skills, extended to both inswinger
s and outswinger
s. With a very quick bowling action, he could bowl equally well from both sides of the wicket. His mastery of reverse swing with the cricket ball meant he was at his most dangerous towards a bowling innings, and earned him the nickname of one of the "Sultans of Swing", the other one being Waqar Younis.
As well as often being able to find the edge of the bat, Akram would also focus his bowling attack on the stumps
and had a particularly lethal inswinging yorker
. Of his 414 Test wickets, 193 were taken caught
, 119 were taken leg before wicket
and 102 were bowled
. In partnership with Waqar Younis
, he intimidated international batsmen in the 1990s. Together Wasim and Waqar, known as "the two Ws" of the Pakistani team, were one of the most successful bowling partnerships in cricket.
Akram was also skilled with the bat and was regarded as a bowling all-rounder
. He was especially effective against spin bowlers. However, he liked to slog and was criticised for his lack of high scores and giving away his wicket too cheaply for a player of his talent. He did silence his critics and the media in October 1996 when he scored 257 runs not out, of the team's total of 553 against Zimbabwe at Sheikhupura
. He also achieved good scores for the Pakistan team such as his scores of 123 and 45* against Australia to take Pakistan to victory in a low scoring match. His batting was also valuable to the Pakistan ODI side, such as his match winning performance in the Nehru Cup
, when needing six runs and two balls to win the match; he hit the first delivery he faced for six runs and secured the cup.
.
began to appear in the English media, though no video evidence of foul play was ever found. Akram and Younis had been able to obtain prodigious amounts of movement from both new and old cricket balls. The skill of the reverse swing delivery was relatively unknown in England and around the cricketing world during that period.
A far larger controversy was created when critics alleged that he was involved in match fixing. An inquiry commission was set up by the Pakistan Cricket Board headed by a Pakistan high court judge, Malik Mohammad Qayyum
. The judge wrote in his report that:
Fast bowling
Fast bowling, sometimes known as pace bowling, is one of the two main approaches to bowling in the sport of cricket. The other is spin bowling...
and left-handed batsman in cricketer
Cricketer
A cricketer is a person who plays the sport of cricket. Official and long-established cricket publications prefer the traditional word "cricketer" over the rarely used term "cricket player"....
and model
Model (person)
A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art....
. who represented the Pakistan national cricket team in Test cricket
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
and One Day International (ODI) matches.
Akram is regarded as one of the best fast bowlers in the history of cricket. He holds the world record for most wickets in List A cricket with 881 and is second only to Sri Lankan off-spin bowler, Muttiah Muralitharan
Muttiah Muralitharan
Muttiah Muralitharan , often referred to as Murali, is a former Sri Lankan cricketer who was rated the greatest Test match bowler ever by Wisden Cricketers' Almanack in 2002...
in terms of ODI wickets with 502. He is considered to be one of the founders and perhaps one of the finest exponents of reverse swing bowling.
He was the first bowler to reach the 500-wicket landmark in ODI cricket during the 2003 World Cup. In 2002 Wisden released its only and final list of best players of all time. Wasim was ranked as the best bowler in ODI of all time with a rating of 1223.5, ahead of Allan Donald, Imran Khan, Waqar Younis, Joel Garner, Glen McGratt and Murali.
Wasim has taken 23 4-wicket hauls in ODI in 356 matches he played. On 30 September 2009, Akram was one of five new members inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame
ICC Cricket Hall of Fame
The ICC Cricket Hall of Fame "recognises the achievements of the legends of the game from cricket's long and illustrious history". A hall of fame, it was launched by the International Cricket Council on 2 January 2009, in association with the Federation of International Cricketers'...
.
Early and personal life
Akram was born in LahoreLahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
, Pakistan on 3 June 1966, to a moderately affluent middle-class family. He was educated at Islamia College in Lahore, where he played as an opening bowler and batsman. Like several other Pakistani cricketers during the 1980s, his inclusion into the national side was at the behest of a senior player in the team, which in Akram's case, was Javed Miandad
Javed Miandad
Mohammad Javed Miandad Khan , popularly known as Javed Miandad , is a former Pakistani cricketer who played between 1975 and 1996. He is Pakistan's leading run scorer in Test cricket. He has served as a captain of the Pakistan national cricket team...
.
Akram was diagnosed with diabetes at the peak of his career but despite the initial psychological blow, he managed to regain his form and went on to produce fine cricketing performances. Since then he has actively sought to be involved in various awareness-raising campaigns for diabetes.
He was married to Huma in 1995. They had two sons Taimur and Akbar from their marriage of fifteen years. Huma died of multiple organ failure at Apollo Hospital in Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
, India on 25 October 2009.
First-class cricket
In 1988 he signed for Lancashire County Cricket ClubLancashire County Cricket Club
Lancashire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Lancashire in cricket's County Championship. The club was founded in 1864 as a successor to Manchester Cricket Club and has played at Old Trafford since then...
in England and went on to become their most successful overseas players. From 1988 to 1998, he opened their bowling attack in their ECB Trophy, Benson & Hedges Cup and National League
National League (cricket)
The NatWest Pro40 League was a one-day cricket league for first-class cricket counties in England and Wales. It was inaugurated in 1999, but was essentially the old Sunday League retitled to reflect the fact that large numbers of matches were played on days other than Sunday.-Sunday League:The...
tournaments. He was a favourite of the local British fans who used to sing a song called "Wasim for England" at Lancashire's matches. In 1998, with Akram as captain, Lancashire won the ECB Trophy and Axa League and finished second in the championship tournament despite losing only five matches in all competitions throughout the season. Apart from the National League second division title in 2003, this was the last time Lancashire won a trophy.
Test cricket
Akram made his Test cricketTest cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
debut for Pakistan against New Zealand
New Zealand cricket team
The New Zealand cricket team, nicknamed the Black Caps, are the national cricket team representing New Zealand. They played their first in 1930 against England in Christchurch, New Zealand, becoming the fifth country to play Test cricket. It took the team until 1955–56 to win a Test, against the...
in 1985 and in only his second Test match, he claimed 10 wickets. A few weeks prior to his selection into the Pakistan team, he was an unknown club cricketer who had failed to make it even to his college team. He came to the trials at Gaddafi Stadium
Gaddafi Stadium
Gaddafi Stadium is a cricket ground in Lahore, Pakistan. It was designed by Daghestani-born architect and engineer Nasreddin Murat-Khan who also designed Lahore's Minar-e-Pakistan and constructed by Mian Abdul Khaliq and Company in 1959. Following the ground's renovation for the 1996 Cricket World...
in Lahore in Pakistan, but for the first two days he did not get a chance to bowl. On the third day he got a chance; his performance convincing Javed Miandad
Javed Miandad
Mohammad Javed Miandad Khan , popularly known as Javed Miandad , is a former Pakistani cricketer who played between 1975 and 1996. He is Pakistan's leading run scorer in Test cricket. He has served as a captain of the Pakistan national cricket team...
to insist upon his inclusion in the national team. Akram was hence given an opportunity to play for Pakistan, without any significant domestic experience. Later that season he opened the bowling attack with Imran Khan
Imran Khan
Imran Khan Niazi is a Pakistani politician and former Pakistani cricketer, playing international cricket for two decades in the late twentieth century. After retiring, he entered politics...
, who became his mentor at and after the World Championship of Cricket
World Championship of Cricket
The Benson & Hedges World Championship of Cricket was a One Day International tournament held from 17 February to 10 March 1985 in Australia and won by India....
in Australia.
In the 1987 Cricket World Cup
1987 Cricket World Cup
The 1987 Cricket World Cup was the fourth edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup tournament. It was held from October 8 to November 8, 1987 in India and Pakistan — the first held outside England. The format was unchanged from 1983 except for a reduction in the number of overs a team played from 60...
, when Pakistan played against the West Indies, Akram bowled to Viv Richards
Viv Richards
Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards, KNH, OBE is a former West Indian cricketer. Better known by his second name, Vivian or, more popularly, simply as Viv or King Viv Richards was voted one of the five Cricketers of the Century in 2000, by a 100-member panel of experts, along with Sir Donald...
in the late overs of the innings but Richards, who is regarded as the best batsman during that period, struggled against Akram's bowling performances.
Akram's rise in international cricket was rapid during the late 1980s. When Pakistan toured the West Indies in 1988, he looked to be the fastest bowler between the two sides. However, a groin injury impeded his career in the late 1980s. Following two surgeries, he re-emerged in the 1990s as a fast bowler who focused more on swing and accurate bowling.
One Day International
Akram started his ODI career against New Zealand in Pakistan in 1984 under the Captaincy of Zaheer Abaass. He rose to prominence taking 5 wickets in his just 3rd ODI against an awesome Australian side in 1985 Benson & Hedges World Championship who would be future winners of 1987 World Cup.His wickets included that of Kepler Wessels, Dean Jones and Captain Border.Rise to prominence (1983- Dec 1991)
In 1984-85 Rothmans Four-Nations Cup and 1985-86 Rothmans Sharjah Cup he took 5 wickets with a run rate of under 3.50, which was consided to be magnificient even in that times.He started improving his bowling with the passage of time taking help from Senior Pakistani member Imran Khan.In 1985-1986 Austral-Asia Cup which involved Australia, India, New Zealand
New Zealand cricket team
The New Zealand cricket team, nicknamed the Black Caps, are the national cricket team representing New Zealand. They played their first in 1930 against England in Christchurch, New Zealand, becoming the fifth country to play Test cricket. It took the team until 1955–56 to win a Test, against the...
, Pakistan, Sri Lanka playing in UAE
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
Sharjah. Wasim Akram with the help of Abdul Qadir destroyed New Zealand batting line up for just 64 in the Second Semi final of Cup.Pakistan won that game with more than 27 overs to spare obtaining one of the biggest wins in Pakistani history.In Final against India he and Imran(Captain at that time) shared 5 wickets between them. His scalps included Dilip Vengsarkar
Dilip Vengsarkar
Dilip Balwant Vengsarkar is an Indian cricketer and cricket administrator. He was one of the most stylish batsmen of his time, known as one of the foremost exponents of the drive. He was also known by the nickname 'Colonel'....
and Ravi Shastri
Ravi Shastri
Ravishankar Jayadritha Shastri is a former Indian cricketer and captain. He was an all–rounder who batted right-handed and bowled left arm spin. His international career started when he was 18 years old and lasted for 12 years...
.Akram was becoming the darling of swing in Sharjah. His bowls were at times diffcult to read at the later half of innings making batsman busy in problems
In 1987 Reliance World Cup
1987 World Cup
1987 World Cup can refer to:* 1987 Cricket World Cup* 1987 Rugby World Cup...
held for the 1st time in Sub Continent, Akram really struggled in Pakistani Pitches were he managed only 7 wickets with an average of 40+ in 7 matches. Akram played West Indies, Sri Lanka and England twice. All group matches were played in Pakistan.
In 1988-89 Benson and Hedges World Series
World Series Cup
The World Series Cup was the name of the One Day International cricket tournament that took place in Australia every season between Australia and two touring teams from 1979-80 to 1995-96. The tournament was renamed the World Series from 1990-1. This was the very first of the One Day International ...
he managed well 4-25 against powerful Australia.http://www.howstat.com.au/cricket/statistics/Players/PlayerProgressBowl_ODI.asp.He got his hundredth wicket at CA Sharjah in 1989-1990 Champions Trophy - 2nd Match against West Indies. His 100th wicket was of Ambrose.In that match he took 5 wickets only second time in his career.
On October 14, 1989 at Sharjah
Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium
The Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium is in the emirate of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. It was originally constructed in the early 1980s and has been much improved over the years...
he took his 1st hat-trick against West Indies. All 3 batsman were bowled. Again on 4 May 1990in Sharjah, Akram took his second ODI hat-trick against Australia. All 3 batsmen were bowled this time also.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_One_Day_International_cricket_hat-tricks.
His best years in late 1980s were from 1986-1989 when which he took 100 wickets at 22.71 apiece and economy rate of less than 3.9 run/over with 4 4-wicket hauls. His first two 4-wicket hauls against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh came in bowler friendly conditions of Sri Lanka in 1986.http://www.howstat.com.au/cricket/statistics/Players/PlayerProgressBowl_ODI.asp?PlayerId=0029&Year=1986.
Overall in this time period Akram rose from a young ordinary fast bowler to a dangerous wicket-taker who would move ball on any wicket he wanted to. Till Dec 1991 Akram took 143 wickets in 107 matches with an average of almost 24 and economy rate of 3.84. He took 5 4-wicket hauls. http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/457149.html.
Peak Time (Jan 1992- Dec 1997)
Akram was a significant figure in the 1992 Cricket World Cup1992 Cricket World Cup
-New Zealand:-Round Robin Stage:Co-hosts New Zealand proved the surprise packet of the tournament, winning their first seven games to finish on top of the table after the round robin. The other hosts, Australia, were one of the pre-tournament favourites but lost their first two matches. They...
held in Australia, when Pakistan won the tournament. In the final against England, his batting performance during his innings of 33 runs off 19 balls, pushed Pakistan to a respectable score of 249 runs for 6 wickets. Akram then took the important wicket of Ian Botham
Ian Botham
Sir Ian Terence Botham OBE is a former England Test cricketer and Test team captain, and current cricket commentator. He was a genuine all-rounder with 14 centuries and 383 wickets in Test cricket, and remains well-known by his nickname "Beefy"...
early on the English batting innings and when brought back into the bowling attack later on, with the ball reverse swinging, he produced a devastating spell of bowling which led to Allan Lamb
Allan Lamb
Allan Joseph Lamb is a former England cricketer and captain who played for the first class teams of Western Province and Northamptonshire, the latter as an Overseas player...
and Chris Lewis
Chris Lewis (cricketer)
Chris Lewis is an English cricketer, who played for Nottinghamshire, Surrey and Leicestershire in the 1990s. He played in thirty two Tests and fifty three ODIs for England from 1990 to 1998.Lewis was regarded as an aggressive lower-order batsman, fine fast-medium bowler and an able all-round fielder...
being bowled in successive deliveries in one over. His excellent performances earned him the Man of the Match
Man of the match
In sport, a Man of the Match or Player of the Game or Man of the Series award is given to the outstanding player, almost always the one who makes the most impact, in a particular match or series. The term was originally used more often in cricket before being adopted by other sports. This can be a...
award for the final.. In 1993 Akram took 2 consecutive 4-wicket hauls against Sri Lanka in Sharjah in which 7 out of 8 wickets were either lbw or bowled.http://www.howstat.com.au/cricket/statistics/Players/PlayerProgressBowl_ODI.asp.
In 1992-1993 Total International Series in South Africa (Involving Pakistan, West Indies and South Africa) his magic was destructive where he took 5 wickets against South Africa and got his 200th wicket in 143rd match. He now emerged as a dangerous bowler in bowler friendly pitches of South Africa.http://www.howstat.com.au/cricket/statistics/Matches/MatchScorecard_ODI.asp?MatchCode=0868.http://www.howstat.com.au/cricket/statistics/Players/PlayerBowlGraph_ODI.asp?PlayerID=0029.Akram took 46 wickets in calender year 1993 certainly his best year ever in ODI.Another astonishment was average which was less than 19 with an economy rate of less than 3.8 runs / over. He took 6 4-wicket hauls in 1993 most by him in any year. This was the year when he and Waqar were truly mesmerizing.http://www.howstat.com.au/cricket/statistics/Players/PlayerYears_ODI.asp?PlayerID=0029.In 1996 World Cup
1996 Cricket World Cup
The 1996 Cricket World Cup, also called the Wills World Cup after its official sponsors, was the sixth edition of the tournament organized by the International Cricket Council . It was the second World Cup to be hosted by Pakistan and India, and for the first time by Sri Lanka...
he struggled as he missed crucial quarter final match against India which Pakistan lost and went out of the World Cup. From 1994 till 1996 he took 84 wickets in 39 matches. This time period was his golden time
http://www.howstat.com.au/cricket/statistics/Players/PlayerYears_ODI.asp?PlayerID=0029.
From Jan 1992 - Dec 1997 Akram played 131 matches took 198 wickets at mere 21.86 apiece with 14 4-wicket hauls in ODIs.Run rate was also fantastic with less than 3.8 per over. Definitely his best era in ODI cricket.http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/457149.html.
A tough Period with some joys (Jan 1998 till 2003 world cup)
In 1999, he led Pakistan to the brink of victory in the World Cup before they capitulated and was defeated by Australia in the final, by eight wickets with almost 30 overs to spare. This was the start of the match fixing controversies, as critics believed Akram had set up the match for Australia. However, none of the allegations could be proved.He was Pakistan's best bowler in the 2003 Cricket World Cup
2003 Cricket World Cup
-Group stage tables and results:The top three teams from each pool qualify for the next stage, carrying forward the points already scored against fellow qualifiers, plus a quarter of the points scored against the teams that failed to qualify.-Pool A:...
taking 19 wickets in 6 matches. However, Pakistan failed to reach the "Super Six" phase of the tournament and Akram was one of the eight players to be sacked by the Pakistan Cricket Board
Pakistan Cricket Board
The Pakistan Cricket Board is a sporting organization that is responsible for governing all professional cricket including Test cricket and One Day International matches played in Pakistan...
as a result.
Records
He finished with 22 Man-of-the-Match awards in ODIs. In fact, Akram and Shaun Pollock (who also has 22) have the highest number of awards among players whose major suit isn't batting.http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/457149.html.Out of 356 ODI matches he played Pakistan won 199 of them and 66 under his captaincy(He captained Pakistan in ODIs in 109 matches and has one of the best win ratio as a captain).In 199 win matches he took 326 wickets at fantastic 18.86 apiece with a run rate of 3.70 and took 18 4-wicket hauls.http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/457149.html.Captaincy
Wasim Akram captained Pakistan in 109 ODI matches out of 356 he played. Pakistan won 66 matches of them. So he has a win loss ratio of 1.60 which more than Imran'sImran Khan
Imran Khan Niazi is a Pakistani politician and former Pakistani cricketer, playing international cricket for two decades in the late twentieth century. After retiring, he entered politics...
1.27 , Waqar's
Waqar Younis
Waqar Younis Maitla is a former Pakistani right arm fast bowler in cricket and widely regarded as one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time...
1.60. http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/457149.html.Under his captaincy Pakistan played.He also captained Pakistan with some success. The high points of his captaincy was the 1996–1997 victory in the World Series Cricket
World Series Cricket
World Series Cricket was a break away professional cricket competition staged between 1977 and 1979 and organised by Kerry Packer for his Australian television network, Nine Network. The matches ran in opposition to established international cricket...
in Australia, two Test match wins in India in 1998–1999 and in 1999, when Pakistan reached the 1999 Cricket World Cup
1999 Cricket World Cup
-England:-Outside England:-Group A:-Results:-------------------------------------------------------------Group B:-Results:------------------------------------------------------------...
final. The low point was the 1996 Cricket World Cup
1996 Cricket World Cup
The 1996 Cricket World Cup, also called the Wills World Cup after its official sponsors, was the sixth edition of the tournament organized by the International Cricket Council . It was the second World Cup to be hosted by Pakistan and India, and for the first time by Sri Lanka...
in Pakistan and India, when he had to pull out of the quarter final match against India, citing injury. After Pakistan's defeat, there were angry protests outside his home and riots across the country from angry fans who accused the team of throwing the match and a government inquiry was launched into the failure.
Retirement
On 18 May 2003, at the age of 36, Akram abruptly announced his retirement from international cricket, ending a career which spanned 19 years. He had suggested that he was ready to quit several times towards the end of his career, but Pakistan's sub-par performance in the World Cup2003 Cricket World Cup
-Group stage tables and results:The top three teams from each pool qualify for the next stage, carrying forward the points already scored against fellow qualifiers, plus a quarter of the points scored against the teams that failed to qualify.-Pool A:...
proved to be the deciding factor.
Prior to his retirement, he was one of eight senior players dropped for the Sharjah Cup in April 2003, and was then omitted from the Pakistan squad for the subsequent Bank Alfalah Cup triangular series.
Due to his omission from the team, he did not participate in a farewell match.
Akram fulfilled his contract play for Hampshire until the end of the English season.
Media career
Since retiring from cricket, Akram has worked and taken up commentary for television networks and can currently be seen as a sports commentator for ESPN Star SportsESPN Star Sports
ESPN Star Sports is a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company and News Corporation...
and ARY Digital
ARY Digital
ARY Digital, a subsidiary of the ARY Group, is a popular Pakistani television network available in Pakistan, the Middle East, North America and Europe. The ARY Group of companies is a Dubai-based holding company founded by a Pakistani businessman, Abdul Razzak Yaqoob . The network caters to the...
among others. He did commentary on a variety of sporting tournaments including the 2009 Women's Cricket World Cup
Women's Cricket World Cup
The ICC Women's Cricket World Cup is a Women's one-day international cricket competition. The first tournament was held in England in 1973, two years before the first men's ICC Cricket World Cup....
in Australia, the 2009 ICC World Twenty20
2009 ICC World Twenty20
The 2009 ICC World Twenty20 was an international Twenty20 cricket tournament which took place in England in June 2009. It was the second ICC World Twenty20 tournament, following the inaugural event in South Africa in September 2007...
in England, the 2009 ICC Champions Trophy in South Africa, and the 2011 ICC World Cup in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
Coaching career
In 2010, Akram was appointed the bowling coach consultant of Kolkata Knight RidersKolkata Knight Riders
Kolkata Knight Riders is the franchise representing Kolkata in the Indian Premier League, a Twenty20 cricket tournament. Sourav Ganguly led the team in IPL1 and IPL3, Brendon McCullum in IPL2, and Gautam Gambhir in IPL4...
, the Indian Premier League
Indian Premier League
The Indian Premier League is a professional league for Twenty20 cricket competition in India. It was initiated by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , headquartered in Mumbai, and is supervised by BCCI Vice President Rajeev Shukla, who serves as the league's Chairman and Commissioner...
team for Kolkata
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
. Sourav Ganguly
Sourav Ganguly
Sourav Chandidas Ganguly is a former Indian cricketer, and captain of the Indian national team. Born into an affluent family, Ganguly was introduced into the world of cricket by his elder brother Snehasish. He is regarded as one of India's most successful captains in modern times. He started his...
was always keen to have Akram as the bowling coach for India, during the former's stint as Indian captain. Although this never happened, his dreams were realised to some extent, when Akram was appointed as the bowling coach for the franchise.
While working for the Kolkata Knight Riders
Kolkata Knight Riders
Kolkata Knight Riders is the franchise representing Kolkata in the Indian Premier League, a Twenty20 cricket tournament. Sourav Ganguly led the team in IPL1 and IPL3, Brendon McCullum in IPL2, and Gautam Gambhir in IPL4...
, he was also responsible for the signing of Pakistani domestic left-arm fast-bowler Mohammad Irfan
Mohammad Irfan
Mohammad Irfan is a Pakistani left-arm medium-fast bowler, hailing from Punjab. In an interview with Pakpassion, Irfan has confirmed his height is indeed 7'1 inches, after speculations...
.
Akram has also been coaching in Pakistan fast bowling camps; his most notable discovery being the teenage Pakistani bowler Muhammad amir.
Skills in cricket
During his professional career he bowled with genuine speed and hostility. Akram was a man possessed of accurate control of line and length, accompanied by seamSeam bowling
Seam bowling is a phrase used for a bowling technique in cricket whereby the ball is deliberately bowled on to its seam, to cause a random deviation. Practitioners are known as seam bowlers or seamers....
and swing bowling
Swing bowling
Swing bowling is a technique used for bowling in the sport of cricket. Practitioners are known as swing bowlers. Swing bowling is generally classed as a subtype of fast bowling.-Physics of swing bowling:...
skills, extended to both inswinger
Inswinger
An inswinger is a type of delivery in the sport of cricket. It is bowled by swing bowlers.-Grip:An inswinger is bowled by holding the cricket ball with the seam vertical and the first two fingers slightly across the seam so that it is angled a little to the leg side...
s and outswinger
Outswinger
An outswinger is a type of delivery in the sport of cricket. It is bowled by swing bowlers.An outswinger is bowled by holding the cricket ball with the seam at an angle and the first two fingers running along either side of the seam...
s. With a very quick bowling action, he could bowl equally well from both sides of the wicket. His mastery of reverse swing with the cricket ball meant he was at his most dangerous towards a bowling innings, and earned him the nickname of one of the "Sultans of Swing", the other one being Waqar Younis.
As well as often being able to find the edge of the bat, Akram would also focus his bowling attack on the stumps
Stump (cricket)
Stump is a term used in the sport of cricket where it has three different meanings:# part of the wicket# a manner of dismissing a batsman# the end of the day's play .-Part of the wicket:...
and had a particularly lethal inswinging yorker
Yorker
Yorker is a term used in cricket that describes a ball bowled which hits the cricket pitch around the batsman's feet. When a batsman assumes a normal stance this generally means that the cricket ball bounces on the cricket pitch on or near the batsman's popping crease...
. Of his 414 Test wickets, 193 were taken caught
Caught
Caught is a method of dismissing a batsman in the sport of cricket. Being caught out is the most common method of dismissal at higher levels of competition...
, 119 were taken leg before wicket
Leg before wicket
In the sport of cricket, leg before wicket is one of the ways in which a batsman can be dismissed. An umpire will rule a batsman out LBW under a series of circumstances which primarily include the ball striking the batsman's body when it would otherwise have continued on to hit the batsman's...
and 102 were bowled
Bowled
Bowled is a method of dismissing a batsman in the sport of cricket. This method of dismissal is covered by Law 30 of the Laws of cricket.A batsman is out bowled if his wicket is put down by a ball delivered by the bowler...
. In partnership with Waqar Younis
Waqar Younis
Waqar Younis Maitla is a former Pakistani right arm fast bowler in cricket and widely regarded as one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time...
, he intimidated international batsmen in the 1990s. Together Wasim and Waqar, known as "the two Ws" of the Pakistani team, were one of the most successful bowling partnerships in cricket.
Akram was also skilled with the bat and was regarded as a bowling all-rounder
All-rounder
An all-rounder is a cricketer who regularly performs well at both batting and bowling. Although all bowlers must bat and quite a few batsmen do bowl occasionally, most players are skilled in only one of the two disciplines and are considered specialists...
. He was especially effective against spin bowlers. However, he liked to slog and was criticised for his lack of high scores and giving away his wicket too cheaply for a player of his talent. He did silence his critics and the media in October 1996 when he scored 257 runs not out, of the team's total of 553 against Zimbabwe at Sheikhupura
Sheikhupura
Sheikhupura or Shekhupur , formerly Kot Dayal Das or Singhpuria or Virkgarh , is an industrial city in the province of Punjab slightly northwest to Lahore in Pakistan. It is known for its historical places, and is commonly known locally as Qila Shaikhupura, because of the fort in the city,...
. He also achieved good scores for the Pakistan team such as his scores of 123 and 45* against Australia to take Pakistan to victory in a low scoring match. His batting was also valuable to the Pakistan ODI side, such as his match winning performance in the Nehru Cup
Nehru Cup (cricket)
The MRF World Series for the Jawaharlal Nehru Cup was a cricket tournament held in India to celebrate 100th anniversary of Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first prime minister's birth....
, when needing six runs and two balls to win the match; he hit the first delivery he faced for six runs and secured the cup.
Modeling
He had walked in the Pantene Bridal Couture Week 2011 which was an event of Style 360Style 360
Style 360 is an international-standard Pakistani fashion, lifestyle and entertainment television channel. Based in the cities of Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad, the channel provides news of fashion events and happenings both locally and around the globe...
.
Award and records
Akram was awarded Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1993 for his sporting achievements.- In his TestTest cricketTest cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
career, Akram took 414 wickets in 104 matches, a Pakistani record, at an averageBowling averageBowling average is a statistic measuring the performance of bowlers in the sport of cricket.A bowler's bowling average is defined as the total number of runs conceded by the bowlers divided by the number of wickets taken by the bowler, so the lower the average the better. It is similar to earned...
of 23.62 and scored 2,898 runs, at an averageBatting averageBatting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
of 22.64.
- In One Day Internationals, Akram took 502 wickets in 356 appearances, at an average of 23.52 and scored 3,717 runs, at an average of 16.52.
- Akram was the first bowler in international cricket to take more than 400 wickets in both forms of the game and only Muttiah MuralitharanMuttiah MuralitharanMuttiah Muralitharan , often referred to as Murali, is a former Sri Lankan cricketer who was rated the greatest Test match bowler ever by Wisden Cricketers' Almanack in 2002...
has since achieved this.
- Akram also held the record for the most wickets in Cricket World CupCricket World CupThe ICC Cricket World Cup is the premier international championship of men's One Day International cricket. The event is organised by the sport's governing body, the International Cricket Council , with preliminary qualification rounds leading up to a finals tournament which is held every four years...
s, a total of 55 in 38 matches. Australia's Glenn McGrathGlenn McGrathGlenn Donald McGrath AM , nicknamed "Pigeon", is a former Australian cricket player. He is one of the most highly regarded fast-medium pace bowlers in cricketing history, and a leading contributor to Australia's domination of world cricket from the mid-1990s to the early 21st century...
broke the record during the 2007 Cricket World Cup2007 Cricket World CupThe 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup was the ninth edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup tournament that took place in the West Indies from 13 March to 28 April 2007, using the sport's One Day International format...
, ending with a final tally of 71 from 39 matches. On passing Wasim's record, McGrath said, "Wasim Akram, to me, is one of the greatest bowlers of all time. Left-armer, swung it both ways with the new ball and he was so dangerous with the old ball. To go past him is something I will always remember. Probably the other side of the coin is that if you play long enough, you're going to break records here and there."
- Akram took four hat-trickHat-trickA hat-trick or hat trick in sport is the achievement of a positive feat three times during a game, or other achievements based on threes. The term was first used in 1858 in cricket to describe HH Stephenson's feat of taking three wickets in three balls. A collection was held for Stephenson, and he...
s in international cricket, two each in Tests matches and One Day Internationals. He is the only bowler in cricket to have achieved four hat-tricks. He was the third of only three bowlers to have taken two Test cricket hat-tricksTest cricket hat-tricksThis is a list of all hat-tricks in Test cricket; that is, the occasions when a bowler has taken three wickets in consecutive deliveries in Test cricket matches. As of 30 July 2011, a hat-trick has been taken 39 times since the first Test match in 1877, most recently by English fast-medium bowler...
, the others being Hugh TrumbleHugh TrumbleHugh Trumble was an Australian cricketer who played 32 Test matches as a bowling all-rounder between 1890 and 1904. He captained the Australian team in two Tests, winning both. Trumble took 141 wickets in Test cricket—a world record at the time of his retirement—at an average of...
and Jimmy MatthewsJimmy MatthewsThomas James Matthews was an Australian Test cricketer. He bowled leg breaks...
. Akram was also the first of only five bowlers to have taken two One Day International cricket hat-tricks. Akram's Test hat-tricks are significant, since they were taken in consecutive Test matches in the same series, a game played against Sri Lanka in the 1998-99 Asian Test Championship1998-99 Asian Test ChampionshipThe first Asian Test Championship, organized by the Asian Cricket Council was held between 14 February and 17 March 1999. India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka competed in the tournament; Bangladesh could not compete because the ICC had not granted them Test status...
. Akram is also one of only two bowlers to have taken both a Test match and One Day International hat-trick, the other being Pakistan fast bowler, Mohammad SamiMohammad SamiMohammad Sami is a Pakistani right arm fast bowler in cricket who is currently representing the Pakistan cricket team in Test cricket and Twenty20 cricket matches...
.
- Playing in a Test series against the West Indies at Lahore in 1990–1991, he became one of only six players to have taken four wickets in an over during a Test match. In Akram's case, these achievement was not part of a hat-trick, the third ball he delivered to the batting opposition was a dropped catch, which allowed a single run.
- Akram has also achieved the highest score by a number eight batsman in Test cricket when he scored 257 runs not out from 363 balls against Zimbabwe at SheikhupuraSheikhupuraSheikhupura or Shekhupur , formerly Kot Dayal Das or Singhpuria or Virkgarh , is an industrial city in the province of Punjab slightly northwest to Lahore in Pakistan. It is known for its historical places, and is commonly known locally as Qila Shaikhupura, because of the fort in the city,...
. The innings contained 12 sixes which is also a world record for Test cricket.
- He also has the third highest number of Man of the Match awards in Test cricket, with seventeen.
- He has scored the record number of runs in One Day International matches by a player who has never scored a One Day International hundred. His highest score was 86 runs.
Cricket controversies
In 1992, after he had been successful against the English batsmen, accusations of ball tamperingBall tampering
In the sport of cricket, ball tampering is an action in which a fielder illegally alters the condition of the ball. Under Law 42, subsection 3 of the Laws of Cricket, the ball may be polished without the use of an artificial substance, may be dried with a towel if it is wet, and have mud removed...
began to appear in the English media, though no video evidence of foul play was ever found. Akram and Younis had been able to obtain prodigious amounts of movement from both new and old cricket balls. The skill of the reverse swing delivery was relatively unknown in England and around the cricketing world during that period.
A far larger controversy was created when critics alleged that he was involved in match fixing. An inquiry commission was set up by the Pakistan Cricket Board headed by a Pakistan high court judge, Malik Mohammad Qayyum
Malik Mohammad Qayyum
Malik Mohammad Qayyum , Senior Advocate Supreme Court, is the former Attorney General of Pakistan, who was replaced with Senator Latif Khosa when President Pervez Musharraf resigned on 18 August 2008. He became Attorney General following the resignation of Makhdoom Ali Khan...
. The judge wrote in his report that: