Waqar turns 44: A look at some of the 'Toe crusher's' best moments

Pakistan head coach and former pace maestro celebrates his birthday today

PHOTO: REUTERS

Waqar Younis, Pakistan’s pace bowling demon, was a sight for sore eyes in the 90s. His ability to reverse swing the ball at lightning speeds helped him scalp 373 Test wickets and 416 ODI wickets in his career.

Red ball or white, long format or ODI, a Waqar reverse-swing spell with an old ball was simply a nightmare for willow wielders from around the world.

No game was lost as long as Waqar was in the eleven. Numerous jail break wins were witnessed by delirious Pakistan fans in Sharjah, Durban, Lords, Hamilton, Sydney, Auckland, Karachi and Lahore.

Nicknamed 'The Burewala Express', Waqar represents one half of 'The Two W's' - a term coined to describe the bowling partnership between him and Wasim Akram.

Saqlain, Waqar's eid gift to Pakistan fans in 2000



The sight of stumps flying everywhere, batsmen limping with bruised and at times broken toes and the crowd going wild in anticipation made the Burewala Express the poster boy of cricket in the 90s.


Shoaib Akhtar's demolition Durban

He was an inspiration for a whole battery of Pakistan fast-bowlers including Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Zahid, Mohammad Akram and Mohammad Sami.



His vintage performances still chill the spine and can give any batsman goosebumps.

When Amir made Australians walk in and walk out

Waqar’s statistics:

Waqar has taken 373 wickets in the while appearing in only 87 Tests for Pakistan, an astounding figure. Meanwhile, he has accounted for 416 batsmen in 262 ODIs.

Load Next Story