"Mohammad Zahid's action and arm-swing was a fraction of a second faster than mine" : Shoaib Akhtar

[Abdullah719]

"Mohammad Zahid's action and arm-swing was a fraction of a second faster than mine" : Shoaib Akhtar

Wasim Akram, Shoaib Akhtar and Rashid Latif speaking after the 3rd Test vs WI regarding Mohammad Zahid:

WA: Mohammad Zahid played a couple of matches in the tri-series in 96/97 (Pak, Aus, WI) and in one of the matches he really troubled Lara. He also got 11 wickets on debut against New Zealand. He was really fast. But eventually when they removed me from captaincy, he disappeared and it was a huge loss for Pakistan cricket.

SA: Zahid and myself were bowling in Lahore and I (and others) felt that he was a yard faster than me.

WA: I don't think he was a yard faster but he had more bounce than Shoaib due to a high arm action so it looked awkward.

SA: I compared my action to his, and his action and arm-swing was a fraction of a second faster than mine. He released the ball really fast in the air.

RL: When there is no speed-gun, the keeper has a measure of the speed. I felt that Zahid was faster with fuller and length deliveries while Shoaib was faster with shorter deliveries.

 

[Chief Destroyer]

When there is no speed-gun, the keeper has a measure of the speed. I felt that Zahid was faster with fuller and length deliveries while Shoaib was faster with shorter deliveries.

This is accurate. Zahid had more airspeed. Shoaib got more lift than any bowler due to hyperextension. His arm path was already very large and the action very slingy, the hyperextension just made it lethal.

 

[omairsiddiqui]

Shouldn't they be talking about the Test series?

 

[MenInG]

Shouldn't they be talking about the Test series?

A question was asked and they answered. Have a look at Post#1 and see what you can add to this thread.

 

[Major]

And being tooo fast did no help to zahid. Couldnt even manage to play that many games for pakistan.

Point is, you need to know your body limits and not extend them. Whats the point of bowling too fast when your body wont be able to endure it for more then 10 matches.

It depends on what is ur priority, play 1 match and fulfill the dream of representing pakistan or make your career at international level

 

[AlphaFighter]

And being tooo fast did no help to zahid. Couldnt even manage to play that many games for pakistan.

Point is, you need to know your body limits and not extend them. Whats the point of bowling too fast when your body wont be able to endure it for more then 10 matches.

It depends on what is ur priority, play 1 match and fulfill the dream of representing pakistan or make your career at international level

To be honest, Zahid was criminally neglected by the PCB. I bet the PCB didn't even know about the special talent at their disposal. There should have been a proper trainer, nutritionist appointed for him from day one. He was too skinny, he should have been allowed to develop his muscles and his back muscles which would have helped him against the stress his action placed on his body.

 

[AlphaFighter]

Btw what is Rashid Latif talking about? He never kept to Zahid, In all the matches Zahid played for Pakistan, Moin Khan was the keeper.

 

[Major]

Btw what is Rashid Latif talking about? He never kept to Zahid, In all the matches Zahid played for Pakistan, Moin Khan was the keeper.

side matches, club matches, region matches, first class matches. Alot of matches take place in the country which we dont know about.

 

[Abdullah719]

Btw what is Rashid Latif talking about? He never kept to Zahid, In all the matches Zahid played for Pakistan, Moin Khan was the keeper.

Shoaib was talking about some exhibition match.

 

[Abdullah719]

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6kAQeDSbQIc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>.

 

[Saj]

Really sad as to what happened to Zahid.

If he was around in the modern day, the PCB would be paying for his treatment and who knows maybe his career would not have been cut short.

Saw him bowling last year and he still has that beautiful smooth run-up and action.

 

[Justcrazy]

Zahid was express category , no doubt.

 

[Bilal7]

Just look at the bowlers with great potential that Pakistan has lost over the years to injury or off-field drama. Zahid and Asif being the best examples while Akhtar himself massively underachieved.

 

[Shutdown Corner]

No way Akhtar could gauge arm speed with the naked eye, lol. Thats like measuring a bowler's arm flexion to the degree with the naked eye. Nonsense.

 

[moghul]

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6kAQeDSbQIc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>.

Taylor said that was the fastest opening spell he had ever faced.

 

[AlphaFighter]

Just look at the bowlers with great potential that Pakistan has lost over the years to injury or off-field drama. Zahid and Asif being the best examples while Akhtar himself massively underachieved.

Shoaib did not underachieve. He did whatever he could with his knees.

 

[AlphaFighter]

No way Akhtar could gauge arm speed with the naked eye, lol. Thats like measuring a bowler's arm flexion to the degree with the naked eye. Nonsense.

Every knows Zahid was faster than Shoaib

 

[Romali_rotti]

Every knows Zahid was faster than Shoaib

No recorded fastest speed for Zahid, while it may have been true that Zahid may have been quicker than Shoib before Shoib made his debut but Shoib went on to become the fastest bowler of all time with records to prove it. I saw Zahid in Australia in 95-96 I believe, and he really was nothing frightening like Shoib's spell vs Ponting at the Waca. If memory serves me right, I believe there was a WI quick called Patterson Thompson who played in 95-96 ODI series for WI vs Pak/Aus and he looked much faster than Zahid...

 

[AlphaFighter]

No recorded fastest speed for Zahid, while it may have been true that Zahid may have been quicker than Shoib before Shoib made his debut but Shoib went on to become the fastest bowler of all time with records to prove it. I saw Zahid in Australia in 95-96 I believe, and he really was nothing frightening like Shoib's spell vs Ponting at the Waca. If memory serves me right, I believe there was a WI quick called Patterson Thompson who played in 95-96 ODI series for WI vs Pak/Aus and he looked much faster than Zahid...

That yorker to Lee Germon, there were unofficial reports that the delivery was 105 mph. When Zahid toured NZ with the A team in 1995-96, he was timed at 100 mph on the local speed guns.

 

[joly]

No recorded fastest speed for Zahid, while it may have been true that Zahid may have been quicker than Shoib before Shoib made his debut but Shoib went on to become the fastest bowler of all time with records to prove it. I saw Zahid in Australia in 95-96 I believe, and he really was nothing frightening like Shoib's spell vs Ponting at the Waca. If memory serves me right, I believe there was a WI quick called Patterson Thompson who played in 95-96 ODI series for WI vs Pak/Aus and he looked much faster than Zahid...

couldn't agree more,even in the above video Zahid seems 141-142 at max

 

[Chief Destroyer]

No recorded fastest speed for Zahid, while it may have been true that Zahid may have been quicker than Shoib before Shoib made his debut but Shoib went on to become the fastest bowler of all time with records to prove it. I saw Zahid in Australia in 95-96 I believe, and he really was nothing frightening like Shoib's spell vs Ponting at the Waca. If memory serves me right, I believe there was a WI quick called Patterson Thompson who played in 95-96 ODI series for WI vs Pak/Aus and he looked much faster than Zahid...

This guy?

Lol, relax.

 

[Chief Destroyer]

Just look at the bowlers with great potential that Pakistan has lost over the years to injury or off-field drama. Zahid and Asif being the best examples while Akhtar himself massively underachieved.

Ali Imran Pasha is another gem we wasted.

 

[Chief Destroyer]

During the show, Shoaib says that there were 7-8 bowlers in domestic that were just as fast as him and he thought he had no chance of breaking through. So it was a dream come true when he did.

 

[Romali_rotti]

This guy?

Lol, relax.

I am as relaxed as a cucumber, he did look quicker than Zahid imo.. I didnt say he was a better bowler though ..

 

[ethan hunt]

Someone post his spell against india in toronoto .
Kept hitting tendulkar and dravid on the body and he eventually got through dravid's defense with an express yorker .
No swing on that delivery just that dravid brought his bat down about 5 minutes too late if i remember correctly .
He certainly was very quick . With the sort of action he had its frightening to imagine how quick he would have been with a tapeball .

Having said that i doubt there has ever been anyone as quick as akhtat 2001 -2003.

 

[TalentSpotterPk]

That yorker to Lee Germon, there were unofficial reports that the delivery was 105 mph. When Zahid toured NZ with the A team in 1995-96, he was timed at 100 mph on the local speed guns.

I think he toured with Pakistan Under 19 and he says He clocked 100 mph quite a few times in one match. It was the only venue on the tour where speed gun was fitted.


Zahid on his PP Blog should share those Newspaper Clippings of next morning which he still has with him.


@Saj

 

[Big Mac]

WA: Mohammad Zahid played a couple of matches in the tri-series in 96/97 (Pak, Aus, WI) and in one of the matches he really troubled Lara. He also got 11 wickets on debut against New Zealand. He was really fast. But eventually when they removed me from captaincy, he disappeared and it was a huge loss for Pakistan cricket.

What's with every ex-player thinking it's always all about them?

 

[TalentSpotterPk]

What's with every ex-player thinking it's always all about them?

Once Zahid was told that Mohammad Akram says that Wasim & Waqar did not help younger fast bowlers as they saw them as competitors so what were his (Zahid's) comments ?

Zahid said that he agrees with M Akram and what he said was the truth. Neither of them went out of their way to help anyone, nor did they give youngsters the help and guidance that they should have.



But still Rameez was the Captain and he played unfit Zahid knowing he is not fit and when Zahid told him during match that he is experiencing pain so he should be taken out of attack Rameez's response was Come On its just a niggle, Run in faster.

At that point even Salim Malik intervened and asked Rameez not to bowl him further but Rameez did not listen to him either.



Now if Wasim would have been the Captain than may be he would have acted wisely unlike Rameez. Probably this was what Wasim meant.

 

[pacesensation]

To be honest, Zahid was criminally neglected by the PCB. I bet the PCB didn't even know about the special talent at their disposal. There should have been a proper trainer, nutritionist appointed for him from day one. He was too skinny, he should have been allowed to develop his muscles and his back muscles which would have helped him against the stress his action placed on his body.

Muhammad Zahid said again and again
that it was a match against Sri lanka, rameeez was the skipper, it was against lanka a or whatever i do not know

So Muhammad Zahid was suffering from bad back...despite bad back he was forced to bowl. Then he complained to rameez raja that he is in pain but rameez forced him to bowl, he pleaded again and even Salim Malik asked rameez to not bowl Muhammad Zahid anymore but rameez asked Muhammad Zahid to continue this incident deteriorated Muhammad Zahid's back so much that he was never the same bowler, despite his returnin 1998, he was not that fast

Its funny no one talks about Rameez Raja like that...

 

[Last Monetarist]

WA: Mohammad Zahid played a couple of matches in the tri-series in 96/97 (Pak, Aus, WI) and in one of the matches he really troubled Lara. He also got 11 wickets on debut against New Zealand. He was really fast. But eventually when they removed me from captaincy, he disappeared and it was a huge loss for Pakistan cricket.

Interesting comment by Wasim, as if all credit for unearthing Zahid went to him. If memory serves correct, he only captained Zahid for the C&U series in Australia in 1997. Of course, subsequent events under Rambo ruined Zahid, but it's not as if Wasim did anything to reintegrate him when he was made captain again in 1999.

 

[Savak]

Interesting comment by Wasim, as if all credit for unearthing Zahid went to him. If memory serves correct, he only captained Zahid for the C&U series in Australia in 1997. Of course, subsequent events under Rambo ruined Zahid, but it's not as if Wasim did anything to reintegrate him when he was made captain again in 1999.

Zahid was long gone and past it by then. He next came back in 2002-2003 where he was 26-27 years old and he was around 130-135 km/hr and no longer as good.

 

[Last Monetarist]

Zahid was long gone and past it by then. He next came back in 2002-2003 where he was 26-27 years old and he was around 130-135 km/hr and no longer as good.

As a matter of fact, Zahid played in the Sahara Cup and the subsequent home series against the Australians in 1998 when Aamir Sohail was captain. He disappeared again as soon as Wasim was appointed captain after Sohail was sacked. I don't remember if Zahid got injured again before the tour to India, probably the case.

 

[KyoOne]

He might have been faster, but Shoaib was by far the most skillful express bowler ever.

Conventional swing, reverse swing, bouncers, toe-crushing yorkers, deceptive offcutters - you name it, he had it all.

Had it not been for natural deficiencies (flat foot, degenerative knees, asthma, etc), he would have been greatest bowler of modern era

 

[jnaveen1980]

Brett Schultz was faster than Alan Donald. But Alan Donald had a better career.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ylTvWF4UJ4

 

[kingusama92]

He might have been faster, but Shoaib was by far the most skillful express bowler ever.

Conventional swing, reverse swing, bouncers, toe-crushing yorkers, deceptive offcutters - you name it, he had it all.

Had it not been for natural deficiencies (flat foot, degenerative knees, asthma, etc), he would have been greatest bowler of modern era

And arguably the most entertaining fast bowler of all time.

The days of getting up early or staying up late to watch Akhtar's opening spell remain unmatched. There was also that brilliant little period where Lee, Akhtar, and Bond were all on fire at the same time.

 

[jnaveen1980]

And arguably the most entertaining fast bowler of all time.

The days of getting up early or staying up late to watch Akhtar's opening spell remain unmatched. There was also that brilliant little period where Lee, Akhtar, and Bond were all on fire at the same time.

I have to agree he was a great show man. One of a kind.

 

[Saj]

Zahid was very badly managed by PCB and some of his captains.

Could have been a superb bowler for Pakistan.

When I speak with Zahid regarding his career his eyes fill with tears.

 

[Savak]

Zahid was very badly managed by PCB and some of his captains.

Could have been a superb bowler for Pakistan.

When I speak with Zahid regarding his career his eyes fill with tears.

Hard to say could have. Even during his peak period in 1996-97, he would blow hot and cold. He got a chance in the 3rd ODI vs NZ in Pakistan in 1996 and that was the only ODI match Pakistan lost and Zahid's ineffectiveness played a part. Zahid on that tour to Australia had to be replaced by Shahid Nazir in the finals and when he came back in 1998 (granted his back problems had taken away his speed by now), Akhtar looked more devestating and faster than him on a more consistent basis.

Yes, he was badly managed and criminally neglected. But his action was very demanding. Look at Usman Shinwari, he bulked up, added more muscles to his frame but still had a second stress fracture and there are now question marks whether by changing his action will he remain injury free in the future? Will he be as effective? Will he lose his prodigous swing with the new ball and become another Anwar Ali?

What Pakistan Cricket needs is proper professional biomechanic experts who can spot Action problems early and fix the bowlers in a way where they remain effective and injury prone at the same time.