Waqar Younis
Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Full name | Waqar Younis Maitla | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Batting | Right hand bat | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bowling | Right arm fast | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Role | Bowler | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
International information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
National side | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Test debut (cap 111) | 15 November 1989 v India | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Last Test | 2 January 2003 v South Africa | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
ODI debut (cap 71) | 14 October 1989 v West Indies | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Last ODI | 4 March 2003 v Zimbabwe | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
ODI shirt no. | 99 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Domestic team information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Years | Team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2003-2004 | Allied Bank Limited | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2003 | Warwickshire | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2001-2003 | National Bank of Pakistan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2000-2001 | Lahore Blues | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1999-2000 | REDCO Pakistan Limited | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1998-1999 | Rawalpindi | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1998-1999 | Karachi | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1997-1998 | Glamorgan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1990-1993 | Surrey | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1988-1989, 1996-1997 | United Bank Limited | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1987-1988, 1997-1998 | Multan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Career statistics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: CricketArchive, 11 January 2008 |
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. He is considered to be the best exponent of the swing bowling delivery. 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 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, which will include all professional competitions, such as the 2011 Cricket World Cup.[2]
Early and personal life
Younis was born in Vehari, Punjab in Pakistan and he was educated in Sadiq Public School in Bahawalpur in Pakistan, the Pakistani College in Sharjah and the Government College University in Vehari. He was raised in Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, where his father was a contract worker. He returned to Pakistan during his adolescent years and there, he started playing cricket.
He is married with a son and two daughters and now lives in Kellyville, in North-Western Sydney in Australia.[3] Younis has also worked as a television sports commentator for the Nine Network in Australia and for Ten Sports in the United Arab Emirates.
Cricket and coaching career
Younis began his cricket career in Pakistan, playing for several First-class cricket clubs. However he suffered an injury when he had cut and removed his little finger on his left hand,[4] after he had jumped into a canal. He recovered from this accident and went on to continue his sporting career. He was eventually discovered by former Pakistan captain, Imran Khan and was selected to be part of the national side. The turning point of his career happened in England, during the late 1980s and early 1990s, when he played for Surrey County Cricket Club. There he displayed excellent cricketing performances and attracted attention from the sporting public.
He made his International cricket 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 the wickets of Tendulkar and Kapil Dev. He made an immediate impression with his speed and became known in the cricket media as "Wiki"[5] or the "Burewala Express".[5] Younis along with Wasim Akram opened the bowling attack regularly for Pakistan, becoming a feared and potent attack. His most recognized delivery was an inswinging yorker. At his peak, he developed into a very quick fast bowler and also became famous for achieving a hat-trick in a One Day International match against New Zealand in 1994. During the early periods of 2000, he stayed out of the Pakistan team for a brief period 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 Cricket World Cup. He retired from cricket in 2003 after the Pakistan Cricket Board persistently ignored him for national selection.
In March 2006, he was appointed as the bowling coach for Pakistan.[6] 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.[7][8] He was re-appointed as Pakistan's bowling and fielding coach for their tour of Australia in December 2009.[9]
In February 2010, Younis was appointed the head coach of Pakistan after Intikhab Alam was sacked as coach, due to the low-level of performances of the national side during the tour of Australia earlier that year.[10]
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 Akram, Younis opened the Pakistan bowling attack in the 1990s. Cricket critics and scholars 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 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 inswingers and outswingers in the cricket pitch and in effect both Younis and Akram became successful in taking wickets by this variation of swing bowling. His fastest delivery in cricket was 153 km/ph or 95.1 mph, a delivery he bowled against South Africa in 1993. He was also effective in the use of bouncers or short pitch deliveries; Younis' bowling against South Africa in Sheikhupura in Pakistan, is remembered for his effective use of the short pitched delivery.
Following Pakistan's victory during the Test match series versus England in 1992, the English media were suspicious of the reverse swing delivery. It was relatively unknown to the cricketing world during that period and this led to accusations of foul play by critics, 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.
Award and records
Younis was awarded Wisden Cricketers of the Year[11][12] in 1992 for his sporting achievements. He is also the only bowler to have taken a 5 wickets in an innings in 3 consecutive One Day International matches. He has taken a 5 wicket hauls on 13 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 a fast bowler, Younis scored 1010 Test match runs during his career. As of September 2005, he was the only non-batsman to achieve a thousand runs without scoring a fifty.[13][14]
Younis holds the record for the best strike rate for any bowler with over 200 Test wickets.[15]
Cricket controversies
In July 2000 Younis became the first cricketer to be banned for ball tampering and was fined 50% of his match fee.[16]
There has been some controversy about his date of birth and age. According to ESPN cricinfo sports, Younis was born in 1969[17] and others including Yahoo! Cricket and CricketArchive claims he was born in 1971.[18][19]
References
- ^ Waqar Younis. Cricinfo.com. Retrieved on 2007-01-15.
- ^ Samiuddin, Osman (3 March 2010). "Waqar Younis signs as Pakistan coach". Cricinfo. Retrieved 4 March 2010.
- ^ Waqar swings in for new life on the Hill. Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved on 2007-06-15.
- ^ "World Cup 2006/07 - Fingers optional as Oram pursues dream". ESPN cricinfo. Retrieved 28 February 2007.
- ^ a b Cricket World Cup 2003 - Waqar Younis. BBC.co.uk. Retrieved on 2007-01-15.
- ^ Waqar Younis appointed bowling coach. Cricinfo.com. Retrieved on 2007-01-15.
- ^ Waqar quits Pakistan coach role. BBC News. Retrieved on 2007-06-15.
- ^ Waqar resigns as bowling coach. Cricinfo.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-15.
- ^ Waqar Younis appointed bowling and fielding coach. Cricinfo.com. Retrieved on 2009-12-29.
- ^ "I've left my ego back in Australia, says Waqar". International - The News. Retrieved 28 March 2010.
- ^ "Wisden's five Cricketers of the Year". ESPN cricinfo.
- ^ "Cricketer of the Year 1992 - Waqar Younis". ESPN cricinfo.
- ^ "Pakistan / Players / Waqar Younis". ESPN cricinfo.
- ^ Lynch, Steven (21 March 2005). "Luckless tossers and 1000 runs without a fifty". Cricinfo. Retrieved 9 April 2010.
- ^ "Best career strike rate - Test Matches". Cricinfo. Retrieved 9 April 2010.
- ^ Waqar suspended for ball-tampering. BBC News. Retrieved on 2007-07-01.
- ^ "Pakistan / Players / Waqar Younis". ESPN cricinfo.
- ^ "Yahoo Cricket - Waqar Younis". Yahoo! Cricket.
- ^ "Waqar Younis". Cricket Archive.
External links
- Waqar Younis at ESPNcricinfo
- Waqar Younis at CricketArchive (subscription required)
- Waqar Younis at Yahoo! Cricket
- Pakistan Test cricketers
- Pakistani cricket captains
- Pakistan One Day International cricketers
- Glamorgan cricketers
- Karachi cricketers
- Lahore cricketers
- Multan cricketers
- National Bank of Pakistan cricketers
- Rawalpindi cricketers
- Redco Pakistan Limited cricketers
- Surrey cricketers
- United Bank Limited cricketers
- Wisden Cricketers of the Year
- One Day International hat-trick takers
- Cricket commentators
- Cricketers at the 1996 Cricket World Cup
- Cricketers at the 1999 Cricket World Cup
- Cricketers at the 2003 Cricket World Cup
- 1971 births
- Living people
- Pakistani expatriates in Australia
- Pakistani expatriates in the United Arab Emirates
- Pakistani immigrants to Australia
- Pakistani Muslims
- People from Vehari District
- Punjabi people
- Jat people
- Alumni of Sadiq Public School