Former Pakistan captain Waqar Younis - who was Glamorgan's overseas player in 1997 when they won the County Championship - was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame on Wednesday at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai Sports City before the start of the first Twenty20 International between Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Waqar received his commemorative cap from International Cricket Council (ICC) Chief Executive David Richardson, and duly became the fifth Pakistani after Hanif Mohammad, Imran Khan, Javed Miandad and Wasim Akram to be inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.
A famed exponent of reverse swing, he claimed 373 wickets from 87 Tests and 416 scalps from 262 One-Day Internationals, whilst he was the spearhead of the Glamorgan attack in 1997 when they won the County Championship title, claiming 68 wickets at 22 runs apiece.
During a remarkable week in June 1997, Waqar took 7-25, including a hat-trick, as Lancashire were dismissed at Liverpool for just 51, before returning match figures of 8-34 at Swansea as Sussex were bowled out for only 54 and 67. These amazing spells of top-class fast bowling produced two comprehensive victories for Glamorgan (by 221 runs and 234 runs respectively), and helped to set them on the way towards the Championship title.
During his first-class career - which also saw him play county cricket for Surrey and Warwickshire - he claimed 956 wickets from 228 matches with a best return of 8-17. As far as Trst cricket was concerned, Waqar registered 22 hauls of five wickets or more in an innings, and, on 5 occasions, he took ten wickets or more in a Test. He also boasted the best strike-rate of any bowler with more than 200 wickets in Tests during his playing days - a record only recently beaten by South Africa's Dale Steyn.
His feats in limited-overs cricket were no less impressive, and Waqar is still the only bowler to take five wickets in an innings in three consecutive One-Day Internationals, whilst he also became the fastest to reach the milestone of 400 wickets in ODIs. He also appeared for Pakistan in the final of the ICC Cricket World Cup 1999, and captained his country in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2003.
Having retired from cricket in 2003, Waqar now plies his trade as a coach and commentator. Waqar said of his induction in Dubai: "I'm thrilled to be inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame in front of a lot of my fans here in Dubai."
"Having played some of my early cricket in the UAE, I feel it's fitting that this is the stage for my induction. I would like to express my heartfelt thanks and gratitude to all those people who supported and stood by me during my career, helped me develop as a cricketer, and played a role in making me what I am today. Every international cricketer today would aspire to someday be a member of the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame. The fact that those who nominate and vote for future members are distinguished cricket names themselves, lends this elite band a huge deal of credibility."
"It is a huge honour and privilege to be in the same category as icons like Hanif Mohammad, Imran Khan and Javed Miandad (another former Glamorgan overseas player). I grew up hearing about their exploits and then ended up playing with the latter two, as well as with Wasim Akram. To be in the august company of some of the greatest players the game has ever seen is personally quite exciting for me. A big, heartfelt thanks from me to all the living members of the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame and those from the voting academy, who thought me worthy of this."
Some of the world's current best cricketers will go head-to-head in Cardiff on Wednesday 27th August 2014, in the 2nd Royal London One-Day International as England host India at the SWALEC Stadium. Tickets are still available priced from £55 for adults, £10 for juniors. Call 02920 419 311 or buy online at www.glamorgancricket.com/tickets.
