| From a short run-up, this left-handed, former Pakistan | | | | as much of a strike bowler as Waqar Younis, but |
| fast bowler could deliver balls with surprising pace. | | | | was the mainstay of Pakistan's bowling attack for |
| Wasim Akram's run up was distinctive- as was his | | | | most of his career. Wasim's batting- though |
| tendency to shield the ball from the batsman's view | | | | somewhat unfulfilled- proved that he was a capable |
| before delivering it. His main bowling weapon was | | | | lower-order batsman if not a genuine all-rounder. |
| swing and seam at high-speeds. Akram was also a | | | | Akram scored an unbeaten Test double-century and |
| bowling all-rounder, since he also made good | | | | averaged 22.64 runs in Tests. In all, he managed to |
| contributions as an attacking left-handed batsman. | | | | score three Test centuries. |
| Many cricket pundits believe that Akram was the | | | | In ODIs, Akram was even more impressive. He |
| greatest left-arm fast bowler ever to have played | | | | outwitted batsmen 502 times from only 356 ODIs. |
| cricket. | | | | Akram was the first bowler to reach 400 and 500 |
| Born in Lahore, Pakistan on June 3rd, 1966, Wasim | | | | wickets in ODIs. A miserly economy rate of 3.89 |
| Akram was a cricket prodigy. He made his First class | | | | accompanied his fantastic bowling strike rate in ODIs. |
| debut at 18 and made his Test debut in 1985- after | | | | He also plundered 3,717 ODI runs at a decent |
| just one season of First class cricket. That was the | | | | average of 16.52. |
| beginning of 20 years as one of the wiliest fast | | | | Akram's First class career was exceptional as he was |
| bowlers in the modern game. Akram's use of swing | | | | only one of a select few bowlers to take over 1000 |
| and seam was so crafty, that he was able to get | | | | First class wickets. In one-day games, Wasim |
| the ball to swing away (in the air) from a batsman | | | | managed to scalp 881 wickets at an average of 21.91. |
| and then seam (off the pitch) into his pads. | | | | Akram played many of his First class matches in |
| Akram had an impressive record in all forms of the | | | | Pakistan. However, he also had a long stint with |
| game- being a versatile cricketer. He had the | | | | Lancashire in the English County. At the end of his |
| distinction of playing 104 Test matches, from which | | | | career, he also had a brief stint with Hampshire. |
| he took 414 wickets at an average of 23.62. He was | | | | |