Monday 11 March 2013

Waqar Younis

Source(Google.com.pk)
Waqar Younis Biography
 Waqar Younis Maitla (born November 16, 1971) is a famous Pakistani cricketer from Burewala, Punjab, and one of the greatest bowlers the game has known. He attended Pakistani College, Sharjah and Government College, Vehari. Playing as a fast bowler, he took 373 Test wickets and 416 wickets in One-day Internationals. He debuted for Pakistan against India on November 15, 1989. It is noteworthy that Sachin Tendulkar debuted in the same match. His most lethal weapon was the in-swinging yorker, which he managed to produce at will and with a high degree of accuracy, as experienced first-hand by plenty of county batsmen who were unfortunate enough to face him at his peak.

Known as the "Burewala Bombshell", Waqar formed one half of the legendary fast bowling partnership with Wasim Akram. At his peak, most were of the view that there was no better bowler, especially with regards to wicket-taking ability and being penetrative. His tendency to aim for the stumps earned him the highest strike rate of all time, among the bowlers with 200 or more wickets. His blistering pace and toe-crushing yorkers put tremendous fear in the batsmen. Much was expected of him but he stayed out of the team for quite a long time to do his talents and fans justice because of his controversial conflicts with once bowling partner and captain Wasim Akram. His comeback, however, came with him being appointed the Captain of the national side - which he remained so till his side failed to make an impact in the 2003 World Cup. He was forced to retire as the Pakistan Cricket Board persistently ignored him for national selection.

Waqar was one of a long line of Pakistanis (starting with Safraz Nawaz) who mastered the art of reverse swing. It was his partnership with Wasim Akram that took this art to new levels, and their 1992 series versus England will forever be remembered as their signature series. Many sections of the English media could not fathom how an old ball could swing so much and so late, and this led to cries of foul play and the infamous allegations of "ball-tampering" from some quarteres. The passage of time, coupled with the fact that England now have their own reverse swing bowlers, has led to an appreciation of the science and skill behind reverse swing, and most now accept that Waqar was simply ahead of his time.

Waqar Younis is cited alongside Wasim Akram, Allan Donald, Glenn McGrath, Walsh and Ambrose as the best fast bowler of the 90s. While his contemporaries, Donald and McGrath, played most of their cricket on the fast and bouncy tracks of South Africa and Australia, backed up by the spectacular fielding sides, Waqar Younis, on the other hand, had to contend with the slow and docile tracks of the sub-continent, backed by a fielding side that had nothing so distinguished to write about. An astonishing number of Waqar's wickets have been clean bowled or have come from leg-before decisions showing how much he has had to depend on his own efforts to get his batsmen. He will be known for his attacking bowling as against the "line n' length" bowling of the most of his peers. He bowled one of his best balls to Brian Lara, another cricketing legend, which ended with Lara on the ground, his stump flipped 6 feet away. Waqar Younis has some outstanding records. He is the only bowler who has taken 5 wicket haul in 3 consecutive ODIs. He has taken 4+ wickets on 27 occasions in ODIs, which is a record. He has also taken the fastest 50, 300, 350 and 400 wickets in ODI matches and in test matches he has taken the fastest 150, 200, 250, 300, 350 wickets by lesser number of balls bowled.

Although primarily a bowler, Waqar hit 1010 Test runs; he is in fact (as of September 2005) the only man to pass the thousand mark without ever scoring a fifty. He is now married with a son and a daughter. Recently, he has become a television cricket commentator for Australia's Nine Network since a series against Australia and Pakistan
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Saeed Anwar

Source(Google.com.pk)
Saeed Anwar Biography
Full Name:            Saeed Anwar

Date Of Birth:     6th September 1968

Citizenship:         Karachi, Sindh Pakistan

Batting style:      Left hand batsmen

Bowling style:    Slow left-arm orthodox

Place of birth:    Karachi, Sind, Pakistan



Saeed Anwar is a former Pakistani cricketer who was an opening batsman. He is most notable for scoring 194 runs against India in Chennai, the highest in any One Day International. He was an opener for Pakistan and generally opened with aamer Sohail.

Education

Saeed Anwar graduated from NED University, Karachi in 1989 and is an engineer by profession. He was planning to go to the United States for his Master’s studies before becoming a professional test Cricketer.

Personal Life

He faced a personal tragedy in 2001, when his daughter died after a prolonged illness. As a result he turned to religion. He made his return to Cricket after a long hiatus and was one of the most consistent Pakistani batsmen in the 2003 World Cup.

On 15 August 2003, he announced his retirement from Cricket after he was dropped from the squad for the upcoming One-Day International tournament in Sharjah. He devoted his life to preaching Islam across Pakistan with the Tablighi Jamaat. He led the funeral prayers for his former team mate Wasim Akram’s spouse, Huma Akram, in Lahore. He is also believed to be responsible for Yousuf Youhana’s conversion to Islam in 2005. Youhana was the only Christian on the Pakistan cricket team till then and was said to be heavily influenced by Aanwar and the Tablighi Jamaat.

Career

An opening batsman capable of annihilating any bowling attack on his day, Anwar was an attacking batsman in one-day matches and once settled in Test matches, scored quickly and all over the field. His success came from good timing.Anwar became famous for his trademark flick. He was able to lift a ball that had pitched outside off stump for six over midwicket. Anwar’s timing and ability to score quick runs made him a crowd favourite. He was named as a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1997.

Anwar was the first Pakistani batsman to score a century against India on Indian soil in a one-day match. He has the highest Test batting average (59.06) of any Pakistani against Australia, and once scored three consecutive centuries against them. He scored a classic century against South Africa in Durban, which allowed Pakistan to win a Test match for the first time in South Africa.

On 21 May 1997 in Chennai, Anwar scored 194 against India in India in an ODI match. Charles Coventry equalled the feat on 16 August 2009, against Bangladesh. This was the highest individual score by any batsman in the world till Sachin Tendulkar scored an unbeaten 200 against South Africa on 24 February 2010 which later was surpassed by Virender Sehwag’s 219.

Anwar is a member of the exclusive club of batsmen who have scored three successive hundreds in ODIs, with hundreds against Sri Lanka, West Indies and Sri Lanka during the 1993–94 Champions Trophy in Sharjah. He scored two successive hundreds on three other occasions in his career, and was the first batsman to complete this feat in ODIs.

Records

Anwar (194) and Charles Coventry (194*) shared the record for highest individual score in an ODI match. Anwar has scored two or more successive hundreds on four occasions. He holds the highest Test batting average (59.06) of any Pakistani against Australia in Test matches, and made 20 hundreds in One Day Internationals as a Pakistan opening batsman.
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Saeed Ajmal

Source(Google.com.pk)
 Saeed Ajmal Biography
Full name Saeed Ajmal


Born October 14, 1977, Faisalabad, Punjab

Major teams Pakistan, Faisalabad, Islamabad Cricket Association, Khan Research Labs, Water and Power Development Authority


Playing role Bowler

Batting style Right-hand bat

 Bowling style Right-arm offbreak
Saeed Ajmal, an offspinner, received a call-up to the Pakistan squad for the Asia Cup at the age of 30 after an impressive domestic season with Khan Research Labs in 2007-08, during which he took 38 wickets in 12 first-class matches at an average of 29 apiece, and 12 wickets in nine list A games. He made an immediate impression with his subtle variations, unafraid to use the doosra. But his career took off with a series of ODI performances that bewildered Australia in Dubai and Abu Dhabi; he gave away few runs and his doosra was nigh-on unreadable. The ICC called him for his action, though it was cleared soon after. The pressure didn't get to him and immediately after, he played a crucial role in Pakistan's drive to the 2009 World Twenty20 title, regularly bottling up the middle overs with Shahid Afridi. He ended the joint second-highest wicket-taker in the tournament, with an exemplary economy rate as batsmen around the world struggled to pick a big turning doosra or even cope with his changes in flight, pace and angle. Consistent performances in the ODI version have quickly earned him a reputation for choking the runs in the middle overs with clever variations.
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Wasim Akram

Source(Google.com.pk)
Wasim Akram Biography
Claim to Fame: Pakistani cricket fast bowler
DOB: June 3, 1966
Diabetes Type: 1

Regarded by many to be the greatest left-handed fast bowler in the world, Wasim Akram is known for being the face of cricket and a pioneer in reverse swing bowling. Highly respected by his contemporaries for an impressive career, ornamented by an ICC Cricket Hall of Fame induction and with various records broken, Akram is not free from controversy. Accused of ball tampering and match fixing, the cricket champ has struggled to maintain his reputation.

Born in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan to a middle-class family, Akram attended Islamia College where he performed as an opening bowler and batsman. Displaying tremendous talent and flair in Test cricket, Akram attracted the attention of Pakistani All-rounder, Imran Kahn. Kahn would become Akram’s close friend and mentor at the World Championship of Cricket in Australia.

Throughout the 80’s Akram’s fame grew and the cricket world was forced to take note of the talent that Kahn observed in the young bowler. However, in 1988, Akram suffered a pulled groin, the first of many injuries that would slow his development as an athlete and hinder his career. However, in the early 90’s, Akram appeared on the scene recovered and with a faster, more deliberate bowling swing that made the world focus on him again. At the 1992 Cricket World Cup, Akram’s new style of swing proved deadly and the Pakistan National Team won the tournament. The success of the group and the leadership abilities of Akram garnered him the title of “captain,” a distinction he held until his retirement in 2003 after accusations of match fixing arose.

Following his retirement, Akram found himself as a sports commentator for ESPN and other networks, reporting on a number of sports, not just cricket. However, in 2010, Akram entered back into the world of cricket as bowling coach consultant for the Kolkata Knight Riders and as a couch for a number of training camps. The former cricket champ also found great support and gratification in his work as diabetes advocate and spokesperson for Accu Chek. Akram, who was diagnosed with type I diabetes in 1997, speaks openly about his illness and is determined to use his fame to promote awareness and break the stereotype that diabetes can’t be controlled. Akram, in an interview with Complete Wellbeing, stated,” I wanted to help people become aware of the disease and what is available to deal with it. I took 250 wickets after I was diagnosed with diabetes. I monitor my sugar levels every second day before breakfast and after lunch. If I am stressed about something I check my sugar to see how it is affected by stress. As I am in the know about what affects my sugar levels, I am more able to control it.”
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Friday 8 March 2013

Inzamam.Ul.Haq

Source(Google.com.pk)
Inzamam.Ul.Haq Biography
Full name Inzamam-ul-Haq

Born March 3, 1970, Multan, Punjab

Current age 41 years 241 days

Major teams Pakistan, Asia XI, Faisalabad, ICC World XI, ICL Pakistan XI, Lahore Badshahs, Multan, National Bank of Pakistan, Rawalpindi, United Bank Limited, Yorkshire

Batting style Right-hand bat

Bowling style Slow left-arm orthodox


Profile
Inzamam-ul-Haq is a symbiosis of strength and subtlety. Power is no surprise, but sublime touch is remarkable for a man of his bulk. He loathes exercise and often looks a passenger in the field, but with a willow between his palms he is suddenly galvanised. He plays shots all round the wicket, is especially strong off his legs, and unleashes ferocious pulls and lofted drives. Imran Khan rates him the best batsman in the world against pace. Early on he is vulnerable playing across his front pad or groping outside off stump. He uses his feet well to the spinners, although this aggression can be his undoing. Inzi keeps a cool head in a crisis and has succeeded Javed Miandad as Pakistan's premier batsman, but his hapless running between wickets is legendary and most dangerous for his partners. There were no such problems against New Zealand at a boiling Lahore in 2001-02, when Inzamam belted 329, the second-highest Test score by a Pakistani and the tenth-highest by anyone. However, he was then dogged by poor form, scoring just 16 runs in Pakistan's ill-fated World Cup campaign in 2003. He was dropped from the team briefly, but then roared back to form, scoring a magnificent unbeaten 138 and guiding Pakistan to a thrilling one-wicket win against Bangladesh at Multan. He was rewarded with the captaincy of the team, and despite leading them to victory in the Test series in New Zealand, question-marks about his leadership qualities surfaced when Pakistan were beaten in both the Test series and the one-dayers against India. But the selectors persevered with him and this bore results when he took a team thin on bowling resources to India and drew the Test series with a rousing performance in the final Test, Inzamam's 100th. After scoring a magnificent 184, Inzamam led the team astutely on a tense final day and took Pakistan to victory. Since that day, Inzamam has gone from strength to strength as captain and premier batsman. By scoring a hundred against West Indies in June 2005, he kept up a remarkable record of matchwinning centuries, amongt the best of modern-day batsmen. A magnificent year ended with Inzamam leading his team to triumph over Ashes-winning England; personally the series was arguably his best ever. He never failed to make a fifty, scored twin centuries at Faisalabad for the first time, going past Miandad as Pakistan's leading century-maker and joining him as only the second Pakistani with 8000 Test runs. As captain, he never looked more a leader, uniting a young, inexperienced team and turning them, once again, into a force to matter globally. The turn of the year brought contemplation; he missed the Test victory over India at Karachi with a persistent back injury. The subsequent ODI thrashing also raised concerns about Inzamam as ODI captain, none of which were entirely wiped away during ODI and Test wins in Sri Lanka. Pakistan were then beaten comprehensively in the Test series in England though all was forgotten - including Inzamam's own poor form - by events at The Oval. There, Inzamam, astonishingly for a man perceived as so insouciant, became the most controversial figure in cricket for a week, leading his side off the field in protest at charges of ball tampering made by umpires Billy Doctrove and Darrell Hair. They refused to come out at first, then delayed the start before eventually forfeiting the Test, the first time in the history of the game. In Pakistan, he became a national hero, saviour of a country's pride and honour. He was banned for four ODIs and returned to lead the side to a series-win over West Indies followed by a disappointing Test series in South Africa, and then quit the one-day game after Pakistan were eliminated from the World Cup at the first hurdle, an event overshadowed by the death of Bob Woolmer. Even though he expressed his desire to be part of the Test team, Inzamam was not offered a central contract in July and, according to a few, might signal the end of his illustrious international career.

He, however, made that decision himself after signing up for the Indian Cricket League and faced a life-time ban from PCB. He later quit the ICL and made himself available for selection. The second Test against South Africa in Lahore was his farewell game. He fell just two short of Javed Miandad's record for the highest Test aggregate by a Pakistan batsman and 60 short of a career average of 50.
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