< >

Who would have predicted that: Waqar Younis 7/36 claims best ODI figures against England before an ugly pitch invasion

by Alastair Symondson & Cricket World Friday 3 July 2020

Pakistan's Waqar Younis celebrates taking the wicket of England's Owais Shah

©Reuters

In our feature series - Who would have predicted that? – we are looking back at matches where there were big upsets or extraordinary individual performances that turned matches on their head.

A similar incident had already taken place in a day-night game at Edgbaston earlier in the series as the crowd stormed onto the ground after perceiving that Pakistan had won the match against England. It caused the game to be delayed by nearly half an hour. A repeat of the incident happened in another Pakistan-England match in the 2001 NatWest series.

Match Summary

England 156 (45.2 overs) - Ben Hollioake 53 (66), Darren Gough* 40 (86); Waqar Younis 7/36 (10), Shahid Afridi 1/19 (4)

Pakistan 153/4 (39.5 overs) - Abdul Razzaq 75 (103), Mohammad Yousuf 24 (74); Darren Gough 2/39 (10), Dominic Cork 2/32 (5.5)

Result - Pakistan awarded the match (opposition conceded)

The 2001 NatWest series is remembered for Australia's 9-wicket victory over Pakistan in a one-sided final. But, it is also remembered for a couple of unpleasant pitch invasions.

It was Pakistan captain Waqar Younis who sparkled after inviting England to bat first. Marcus Trescothick's stumps were in a mess on the very first delivery of the match. It was a slow yorker from the veteran pacer which sneaked between Trescothick's bat and pads.

Fellow opener Nick Knight also perished off Waqar's brute of a delivery which bounced and seamed away as Knight awkwardly edged it to gully. Alec Stewart, Michael Vaughan, Owais Shah, Paul Collingwood and Dominic Cork were Waqar's other scalps.

With a half-century from Ben Hollioake and 40* from Darren Gough, England were successful in somehow stretching the innings till the 46th over and putting 156 runs on the board.

Skipper Younis, who was at the fag end of his career and retired two years later, claimed his best ODI figures of 7/36. These were also the second-best ODI figures by a Pakistan bowler.

Fall of wickets: 1-0 (Marcus Trescothick, 0.1 ov), 2-23 (Nick Knight, 6.1 ov), 3-30 (Michael Vaughan, 10.3 ov), 4-38 (Owais Shah, 12.6 ov), 5-39 (Paul Collingwood, 14.1 ov), 6-51 (Alec Stewart, 16.4 ov), 7-58 (Dominic Cork, 18.4 ov), 8-125 (Ben Hollioake, 37.2 ov), 9-142 (Andy Caddick, 42.3 ov), 10-156 (Alan Mullally, 45.2 ov)

Pakistan had almost reached victory in the 40th over, with just four runs needed to complete the formalities, on the back of 75 from Abdul Razzaq when Pakistan supporters, concluding that their team had won the match, burst onto the pitch, seriously injuring a steward.

Although the pitch was soon cleared, England captain Alex Stewart decided to concede the match, the result of which was a foregone conclusion, for the safety of the players and the match officials.

Fall of wickets: 1-21 (Shahid Afridi, 6.2 ov), 2-34 (Saeed Anwar, 8.4 ov), 3-128 (Mohammad Yousuf, 33.2 ov), 4-147 (Abdul Razzaq, 39.1 ov)

Teams

England - Marcus Trescothick, Nick Knight, Alec Stewart (c & wk), Michael Vaughan, Owais Shah, Paul Collingwood, Ben Hollioake, Dominic Cork, Darren Gough, Andy Caddick, Alan Mullally

Pakistan - Saeed Anwar, Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzaq, Mohammad Yousuf, Younis Khan, Azhar Mahmood, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Rashid Latif (wk), Fazl-e-Akbar, Waqar Younis (c), Saqlain Mushtaq