#9 Waqar Younis
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Over the years the game has seen many fast bowlers, but only a handful of them were really fast. Such bowlers sent shivers through the spine of the batsmen on their run-up.
Waqar Younis, Shoaib Akhtar, Brett Lee, Shane Bond, Mitchell Johnson and Dale Steyn were the select few bowlers who consistently bowled above 150KMPH in ODI cricket.
Shane Bond’s career was curtailed to just 82 matches due to various injuries. Akthar and Johnson were consistently inconsistent. Steyn surprisingly has an average ODI record when compared to heroics in the test arena.
Waqar Younis and Brett Lee were the two bowlers who consistently performed in ODI cricket bowling at a rapid pace. Although Waqar in the latter half of his career cut down on his speed due to injuries, he was still quick and nippy.
Statistical comparison: Younis and Brett Lee.
| Player | Waqar Younis | Brett Lee |
| Overs: | 2116.2 | 1864.1 |
| Balls: | 12698 | 11185 |
| Maidens: | 143 | 141 |
| Runs: | 9919 | 8877 |
| Wickets: | 416 | 380 |
| Average: | 23.84 | 23.36 |
| Economy Rate: | 4.69 | 4.76 |
| Strike Rate: | 30.52 | 29.43 |
| 4 Wickets in a Match: | 27 | 23 |
| Best: | 7/36 | 5/22 |
Both Waqar and Lee have taken more than 375 wickets. The average, economy and strike rate is almost identical to that of Lee. But Waqar’s ability to reverse swing the older ball made it really difficult for the batsmen to hit him in the death overs. He had tremendous control in bowling the yorkers and back then it was a regular sight of batsmen getting cleaned up by his pacy in swinging yorkers.
The Burewala Express as he is famously known formed a deadly combination with Wasim Akram. He, along with Wasim Akram terrorized every batting attack in the world. The two W’s were the main reason why the Pakistan team was dominant in ODI cricket throughout the 90s.
Mat | Inns | Balls | Runs | Wkts | BBI | BBM | Ave | Econ | SR | 4w | 5w | 10 |
262 | 258 | 12698 | 9919 | 416 | 7/36 | 7/36 | 23.84 | 4.68 | 30.5 | 14 | 13 | 0 |
Waqar holds the record for the most 5 wicket hauls in ODI cricket. His best bowling spell of 7/36 came against England at Leeds when he shot down 7 English batsmen before the team reached the score of 60.
Pakistan won the 1992 world cup but Waqar missed the tournament due to injury. He lost the 1999 world cup finals against the Aussies. He ended his career without winning any ICC tournaments nevertheless, his legacy will remain forever.
Contenders: Brett Lee, Lasith Malinga, Shane Bond, Shoaib Akthar and Mitchell Starc
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