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On This Day - June 19, 2002: Shoaib Akhtar tears through Australia at the Gabba with 5/25

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Well the fun part is that <a href="https://twitter.com/ShaneRWatson33?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ShaneRWatson33</a> is still playing and doing great. <a href="https://t.co/3km8EJy8rR">https://t.co/3km8EJy8rR</a></p>— Shoaib Akhtar (@shoaib100mph) <a href="https://twitter.com/shoaib100mph/status/1273938366074142720?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 19, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
Amazing spell and amazing performance. It was unthinkable for a team to beat Australia at the time, that too in Australia.

If I am not wrong, wasn’t this the first series for Ponting as ODI captain?
 
One of the greatest superstars of the game!

Very few in cricket's history have inspired as many young kids as he did. People used to get glued to the TV just to watch his intimidating run-up.

Bowling was out of this world, the fastest this Earth has ever seen by any human.

Will remain the fastest most likely.
 
2002 Shoaib was a ferocious beast. If only he had maintained that level for a few more years.

He was a shell of his former self by 2006.
 
Mamoon said:
Amazing spell and amazing performance. It was unthinkable for a team to beat Australia at the time, that too in Australia.

If I am not wrong, wasn’t this the first series for Ponting as ODI captain?
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No. The ODI tour of SA before this was when Ponting became captain. The Waughs were dropped for that tour.
 
This was stunning victory against Australia in 2002 & honestly I thought Australia & Pakistan will be the 2 top teams at 2003 WC

Sadly Pakistan went downhill after this series & had very disappointing WC 2003 campaign
 
Those couple of matches, Akhtar was cranking serious gas. Was at the top of his game.

Such a shame he did not turn up at all in 2003 world cup when Brett Lee and Shane Bond were firing all cylinders just at the right time.
 
A reminder how good ODI cricket once was. And that the ICC has ruined cricket by tampering with its rules and regulations. two new balls, no restrictions on bat sizes, white ball not swinging or seaming.

250 was more than a competitive score. now 300 minimum is par.
 
Great spell but what I find intriguing is that there was international cricket played in Australia in the month of June.

I mean when was the last time that happened..
 
Mesozoic said:
Great spell but what I find intriguing is that there was international cricket played in Australia in the month of June.

I mean when was the last time that happened..
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They tried playing indoor cricket series in Jun but did not work out well financially - hence it was discontinued

They also played a few test matches in June-July in northern parts of Australia with tropical weather ( Cairns & Darwin wer host cities )
 
What a great bowler he was when he started. Shame that even Brett Lee has achieved more and ended up his career as a more successful bowler than him.
 
another drugs cheat.

pcb supported him through thick and thin during chucking controversy. he repaid the faith by taking steroids and dragging country's name through the mud.

pakistan needed him to step up and take leadership of bowling attack after retirement of the two w's. instead he got involved in fights with teammates and acted as a bad influence on asif. worst of all, turned into a complete ego maniac by focusing on pace at the expense of everything else including career longevity during a peroid when there was a real vacuum in the pace attack. woolmer tried very hard to modify his approach but he would not listen. was let off by tribunal filled by senile apparatchiks. i believe news of the world scandal could have been avoided had shoaib akhtar not been let-off.

for my money, the most selfish cricketer to play for pakistan.
 
warcry said:
A reminder how good ODI cricket once was. And that the ICC has ruined cricket by tampering with its rules and regulations. two new balls, no restrictions on bat sizes, white ball not swinging or seaming.

250 was more than a competitive score. now 300 minimum is par.
Click to expand...

ODI cricket is still great. The 2019 World Cup was probably the greatest World Cup ever.
 
Mamoon said:
ODI cricket is still great. The 2019 World Cup was probably the greatest World Cup ever.
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not at all. I do not like to see slogathons, and i do not like to see world cups being awarded on some clearly horse manure boundary count rule, so no.

and to top it off, no Reserve days in case of rain. In a sport in which cricket is called off in the slightest drizzle and we are playing in one of the wettest places in the world.

So no, the 2019 world cup was NOT the greatest world cup, that is just recency bias.
 
warcry said:
not at all. I do not like to see slogathons, and i do not like to see world cups being awarded on some clearly horse manure boundary count rule, so no.

and to top it off, no Reserve days in case of rain. In a sport in which cricket is called off in the slightest drizzle and we are playing in one of the wettest places in the world.

So no, the 2019 world cup was NOT the greatest world cup, that is just recency bias.
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I was referring to the following aspects: competitiveness and entertainment, and the 2019 World Cup was superb.

There were plenty of close matches and not all of them were high scoring either. The final and the semifinal (India vs NZ) as well as a host of other games would not have looked out of place in the 80s and 90s, and laid to rest a lot of complains about ODI cricket such as flat pitches, very high scores, lack of impact by bowlers etc.

What you are referring to are administrative problems such as lack of reserve days and officiating problems such as the weird boundary rule. That however has nothing to do with the quality of cricket on the field.

The World Cup final is right up there with the 1999 semifinal as the greatest ODI ever, irrespective of the fact that it ended in a lousy manner.

It is not recency bias. You could have asked people in 2008 and 2016 to name the worst World Cup ever and they would have probably said 2007 and 2015.

The 2019 World Cup was a fantastic advertisement for ODI cricket.
 
One of the greatest fast bowling displays in history in any format. That was probably only time I had seen Aussies actually were scared of the pace!!!! Aussie cricketer are extremely stubborn, mentally tough characters, but that day I found them panicking. 260 ish total wasn’t that easy those days, particularly under light, and tougher challenge often bring the best out of Aussie, but that day Aussies resigned from the battle.
 
What a sight this must have been! Akhtar in his pomp.
 
Peak Shoaib Akhtar was probably the best bowler ever imo.

Would I pick him for my team? Probably not.

He was a liability in his career, largely due to his own undoing.

It's a shame because as the video shows, he could bowl at break neck speed with incredible pace and accuracy.
 
Wow, standard of cricket was so high , just look at the line up on both sides. How many all time greats were playing from both sides. Stadium was full, almost . We were a proud cricketing nation, good old days.
 
I saw the game live.

Pakistan were on fire.

They won the series 2-1 against Ricky Ponting's Australia. Impressive stuff.
 
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sweep_shot said:
I saw the game live.

Pakistan were on fire.

They won the series 2-1 against Ricky Ponting's Australia. Impressive stuff.
Click to expand...

Pound for pound; this might have been the greatest ODI series of all times. Despite the fact that 2Ws were old and nearing the end of their careers, Pakistan's ODI attack was the best ever!

Both teams had legends in their XIs.

After the world cup final defeat in 99; Pakistan had a score to settle with the great Aussies.
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OnThisDay?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OnThisDay</a> in 2002. An electrifying spell of pace bowling by Shoaib Akhtar in Brisbane. He took 5-25 from 8 overs as Pakistan thrashed Australia by 91 runs <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a> <a href="https://t.co/QequeGLJXP">pic.twitter.com/QequeGLJXP</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/SajSadiqCricket/status/1538527509335224326?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 19, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
Abstraction1 said:
Peak Shoaib Akhtar was probably the best bowler ever imo.

Would I pick him for my team? Probably not.

He was a liability in his career, largely due to his own undoing.

It's a shame because as the video shows, he could bowl at break neck speed with incredible pace and accuracy.
Click to expand...

And at the same time he could bowl a killer slower ball.

95mph+ thunderbolts at accuracy against legend batters are a treat to watch.
 
What a great sight shoaib was to watch. Even until the day he retired he was still a 150k+ bowler.

The highlights just show the wickets and the odd other delivery but the whole spell ball by ball in this match was superb to watch. Doesn’t get better.
 
How much Pakistan cricket has changed in the last 20 years.
 
This 3 game series along with Pakistan tour of India 2012, 3 game ODIs , is Pakistan's biggest achievements in ODI's
 
sweep_shot said:
I agree.

2012-2013 one was a 3-match series.

2005 one was a 6-match series. It is tougher to win a 6-match series (that too after trailing 0-2).
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2012 series Pakistan batting lineup was dirt garbage keep that in mind while India were World Champions
 
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