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Mr_boost
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Post by Mr_boost » 06 May 2009, 4:59 pm

Wasim Akram (وسیم اکرم) (born June 3, 1966 in Lahore, Punjab) is a former Pakistani cricketer. He was a left-arm fast bowler and left-handed batsman, who represented the Pakistani cricket team in Tests and One Day Internationals.

Widely regarded as one of the finest fast bowlers ever, Akram holds world records for the most wickets taken in List A cricket (881), and is second only to Muttiah Muralitharan in terms of ODI wickets (502). He is considered to be one of the pioneers of reverse swing bowling. The revolutionary nature of reverse swing initially resulted in accusations of ball tampering, although reverse swing has now been accepted as a legitimate feature of the game. Akram's later career was also tarnished with accusations of match fixing, although these remain unproven.


International career

Wasim made his Test debut for Pakistani cricket team against New Zealand in early 1985 and in only his second Test he made his presence felt with a ten-wicket haul. Like a few other Pakistani cricketers of his time, he was identified at club level and bypassed first-class domestic competition, entering international cricket directly. A few weeks prior to his selection into the Pakistani team, he was an unknown club cricketer who had failed to even make it to his college team. He was spotted by Javed Miandad, and as a result of his insisting was it that Wasim was given an opportunity to play for Pakistan. Later that season he paired with Imran Khan, who became his mentor, at the World Championship of Cricket in Australia.

Wasim's rise in international cricket was rapid during the initial years. When Pakistan toured the West Indies in 1988, he looked to be the quickest bowler between the two sides. However, a serious groin injury impeded his career in the late 1980s. Following two surgeries, he re-emerged in 1990 as a bowler who focused more on swing and control than speed.



One-Day success



Wasim was instrumental in Pakistan's famous World Cup victory in 1992 in Australia. In the final against England his late flurry of an innings, 33 off 19 balls, pushed Pakistan to a respectable 249 for 6. Wasim then took the all-important wicket of Ian Botham early on, and when brought back into the attack later on, with the ball reverse swinging, he produced a devastating spell which led to Allan Lamb and Chris Lewis being bowled in successive deliveries. His excellent performances earned him the Man of the Match award for the final.

He also captained Pakistan with some success. The high points of his captaincy were the 1996-97 victory in the World Series in Australia, two Test match wins in India in 1998-99 and in 1999, when Pakistan reached the World Cup final for the second time. The low point was the 1996 World Cup in Pakistan and India, when he had to pull out of the crucial quarter final match against India, citing injury. After Pakistan's defeat, there were angry protests outside his homes, 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.

In 1999, he led Pakistan to the brink of victory in the World Cup before they capitulated and were crushed by Australia in the final by eight wickets with almost 30 overs to spare. This was the start of the match-fixing controversies, as people believed Wasim had set up the match for Australia. He was pardoned by Justice Qayyum.

He was Pakistan's top bowler in the 2003 World Cup taking 19 wickets in 7 matches. However, Pakistan failed to reach the "Super Six" phase of the tournament, and Wasim was one of the eight players to be sacked by the Pakistan Cricket Board as a result.

Wasim 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 displays. Since then he has actively sought to be involved in various awareness-raising campaigns for diabetes.



Records


In his Test career, Wasim took 414 wickets in 104 matches, a Pakistani record, at an average of 23.62, and scored 2,898 runs, at an average of 22.64.
In One Day Internationals, Wasim took 502 wickets in 356 appearances, at an average of 23.52, and scored 3,717 runs, at an average of 16.52.
Wasim was the first bowler in international cricket to take more than 400 wickets in both forms of the game, and only Muttiah Muralitharan has since achieved this.
Wasim also held the record for the most wickets in Cricket World Cups — a total of 55 in 38 matches. Australia's Glenn McGrath broke the record during the 2007 World Cup, ending with a final tally of 71 from 39 matches.[13] 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."[14]
Uniquely, Wasim took four hat-tricks in international cricket, two each in Tests and ODIs. He is one of only three bowlers to have taken two Test hat-tricks (the others being Hugh Trumble and Jimmy Matthews), and also one of only three bowlers to have taken two ODI hat-tricks (the others being fellow Pakistani Saqlain Mushtaq and Chaminda Vaas of Sri Lanka). Wasim's Test hat-tricks are unique, since they were taken in consecutive Test matches in the same series, both against Sri Lanka in the 1998-99 Asian Test Championship. Wasim is also one of only two bowlers to have taken both a Test and ODI hat-trick (the other being fellow Pakistani Mohammad Sami).
Playing in a Test against the West Indies at Lahore in 1990-91, he became one of only six players to have taken four wickets in an over during a Test match. In Wasim's case, the feat was not part of a hat-trick, the third ball of the series being a dropped catch, which allowed a single.
Wasim has also achieved the highest score by a number eight batsman in Test cricket — 257 not out from 363 balls against Zimbabwe at Sheikhupura. 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, seventeen.


Retirement


Wasim retired in 2003, after a brief spell with Hampshire in England. Since then, Wasim has taken up commentary and can currently be seen as a sportscaster for the ESPN Star network, and is also running shows on ARY Digital. He is married to Huma Mufti, daughter of Mr. Humayaun Mufti. Wasim and Huma have two sons from their marriage of fourteen years. Wasim has also appeared in Fuzon video as a model.

Akram commentated on the 2009 ICC Womens Cricket World Cup in Australia. Commentating on the Australia v India Super Six Match at the North Sydney Oval among others.
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TNT
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Post by TNT » 06 May 2009, 5:10 pm

Awesome guy! Here's a fan :D

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Mr_boost
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Post by Mr_boost » 06 May 2009, 6:40 pm

TNT wrote:Awesome guy! Here's a fan :D

i knew u will be da 1 TNT :D

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Post by DON » 11 May 2009, 1:34 am

Pakistan will never have a bowler like Wasim Akram and no combination like Wasim and Waqar Younis
An All time favourite

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Post by TurboKam512 » 09 Jun 2009, 4:18 pm

Great player , too bad he got stuck in the gambling rows,
DON , yes i am afraid your absolutely correct they were the most disastorous pair of bowlers in the history of cricket and they remain to this day and a very vary long time to come the Bowling legends of all time
Pak cricket today is a shame and i'm surprised why these two are quite and so out of touch when the country needs them the most
Who the hell is Ijaz butt never heard of him
i'm sure he's a spy from the rival team to destroy the game in our country
lol
God help Pak Cricket

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DON
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Post by DON » 16 Jun 2009, 12:22 am

well, wasim and waqar are busy in commentating...ijaz butt is ex pakistani player...well, both W's know that the team needs their help but if they join PAKISTAN CRICKET BOARD ( PCB ) den after few months or few yrs...they will get into some kind of mess or the other..thats why both of them..even imran khan never got into the PCB management...although we need a good PCB chairman like IMRAN KHAN

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Mr_boost
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Post by Mr_boost » 16 Jun 2009, 9:36 am

TurboKam512 wrote:Great player , too bad he got stuck in the gambling rows,
DON , yes i am afraid your absolutely correct they were the most disastorous pair of bowlers in the history of cricket and they remain to this day and a very vary long time to come the Bowling legends of all time
Pak cricket today is a shame and i'm surprised why these two are quite and so out of touch when the country needs them the most
Who the hell is Ijaz butt never heard of him
i'm sure he's a spy from the rival team to destroy the game in our country
lol
God help Pak Cricket

Turbo .. i think u dont knew but Wasim and Waqar are started giving tips to our bowlers in the presence .. as u can see OMER GUl and PAK who came in T20 Worldcup semi Final .. Thanks to ALLAH and the 2 bowlers..


Regarding IMRAN KHAN den he said b4 dat If they want him as a chairman then he should hav all althorities on the players to keep or not and no 1 will interfare in b/w him .. but PAK BOARD refused :evil:

Inshal Allah They Ill win (Y)



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