Fast bowling. A legacy intertwined in the history of Pakistan cricket.
Whether it was watching Waqar Younis steaming in with the passion and desire to deliver his reverse-swinging, toe-crushing, vigil-ending yorkers, or Wasim Akram bowling another magical delivery that uprooted the stumps of baffled batsmen, or the smooth bowling action of the pioneer of the Pakistani fast-bowling legacy himself, Imran Khan, the average Pakistani fan has seen it all when it comes to the art of pace bowling.
The Pakistani fast bowling legacy has become a source of great cricketing pride for the impoverished nation. Most importantly for the hardcore Pakistani nationalist, it allowed them to engage in fierce competition for the respect of the cricketing world against its long-term arch-rivals, India, historically a producer of quite a few batting greats.
However, it is a legacy that seems to be fading away at an alarming rate.
The days of legendary pacers playing the great game with their hearts on their sleeves is a distant memory, a memory fading away every single year. What we are seeing instead are uninspiring, hesitant and timid individuals who just aren’t doing justice to the famous fast-bowling culture in Pakistan.
We do not see the same motivation and desire to perform as well as possible in the current bunch of Pakistani pace bowlers. Barring ‘that spell’ from Wahab Riaz to Australian Shane Watson in the World Cup this year, it has been forever and a day since a cricket fan last saw a supreme pace-bowling talent from Pakistan.
Even the most optimistic Pakistani cricket lover has now understood that Pakistan is scraping the bottom of a once full barrel for fast bowling talent. However, there are still some dying embers of hope in the hearts of all Pakistanis. It is the hope of one day unearthing another out-of-this-world Pakistani pacer. It is the hope of unearthing a jaw-dropping, awe-inspiring, stump-shattering Pakistani pacer. But most of all, it is the hope of one day unearthing a pacer who can restore Pakistan’s lost glory.
— The reader is a Pakistani student based in Abu Dhabi
