On This Day - October 25, 1991: Aaqib Javed destroys India with a career best 7/37

[Aman]

Aaqib Javed, former right arm fast bowler, on this day in 1991 demolished India with a brutal spell of bowling in Sharjah.

It was the final of the Willis Trophy. India had won the toss and had elected to field first. Pakistan scored a decent pretty good total of 262 runs, mainly thanks to the pair of Zahid Fazal and Saleem Malik, who scored 98 (retired hurt) and 87 respectively.

India with the batting line-up they had would have certainly looked to challenge this total if it wasn't for one man. Aaqib Javed sank the Indian ship even before it had a chance to float and reduced India to 8-143 with career best figures of 7-37, scripting a 72 run win for Pakistan.

Aaqib Javed's hat-trick as part of that spell

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/_LGmsIL4_fA?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>​

Scorecard: http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/current/match/65946.html

 

[Wattoo]

Amazing bowler

 

[proud_pakistani]

Very under rated bowler I'd say.

 

[DHONI183]

On This Day 25th October 1991: Aaqib Javed destroys India with a career best 7/37

He really liked India, didn´t he? An excellent spell of bowling!

 

[fusebulb]

And not to forget with bought over 'umpires' .... A hatrick with 3 'lbw's ... hmmm.. interesting...

 

[Robert]

He was a proven ball-tamperer. Even Imran said "He's too obvious about it."

 

[MenInG]

<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> 1991. Aaqib Javed's 7-37 including a hat-trick gave Pakistan victory by 72 runs versus India in the Wills Trophy final at Sharjah <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a> <a href="https://t.co/kgeACSRW7h">pic.twitter.com/kgeACSRW7h</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) <a href="https://twitter.com/Saj_PakPassion/status/1187631921611849728?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 25, 2019</a></blockquote>
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[Junaids]

He was a proven ball-tamperer. Even Imran said "He's too obvious about it."

Even Richie exclaimed “Steady On!” when he saw Aaqib ball tampering......

 

[Robert]

Even Richie exclaimed “Steady On!” when he saw Aaqib ball tampering......

I remember that quite clearly.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

He was a proven ball-tamperer. Even Imran said "He's too obvious about it."

Just like every other bowler back then.

 

[Robert]

Just like every other bowler back then.

An extremely large claim to make.

 

[Saj]

And not to forget with bought over 'umpires' .... A hatrick with 3 'lbw's ... hmmm.. interesting...

All 3 looked out to me.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

An extremely large claim to make.

You claimed he's a proven tamperer . When was he ever charged for tampering?

 

[Junaids]

You claimed he's a proven tamperer . When was he ever charged for tampering?

There is a YouTube video. I suggest that you find it and watch the last thirty seconds and you will know whether he was or wasn’t.

To find it yourself just search “Wasim Waqar ball tampering”.

This is the actual footage which was used in court in 1994 in the Allan Lamb defamation claim.

And it culminates in Richie Benaud exclaiming “Steady On!”

 

[Nikhil_cric]

There is a YouTube video. I suggest that you find it and watch the last thirty seconds and you will know whether he was or wasn’t.

This is the actual footage which was used in court in 1994 in the Allan Lamb defamation claim.

And it culminates in Richie Benaud exclaiming “Steady On!”

I have seen that footage. I have also seen Broad, Anderson, Nasser, Bopara tampering the ball over the years. Yet none of them are proven ball tamperers?

 

[Junaids]

You claimed he's a proven tamperer . When was he ever charged for tampering?

I have seen that footage. I have also seen Broad, Anderson, Nasser, Bopara tampering the ball over the years. Yet none of them are proven ball tamperers?

Well, it depends upon what you call “proof”. It’s a bit like when people refuse to accept pre-21st Century speed measurements.

I am a lifelong Lancashire member. I’m well aware of what Wasim Akram taught our quick bowlers - even chubby Ian Austin - to do with the ball to obtain reverse swing.

There is a difference between what you can see on that film - use of a grown fingernail, similar to an Umesh Yadav screenshot that I uploaded a couple of years ago - and people using external implements like a bottle top (Chris Pringle) or sandpaper.

I’m not naive about how the 1990’s Pakistanis swung the ball.

But ironically for this thread, Aaqib actually bowled conventional swing, not reverse, so his actions that were displayed at the Allan Lamb trial ironically did not benefit himself personally.

 

[MenInG]

Fantastic performance by Aaron, always the unsung hero of Pakistan's World Cup win

 

[Corridor of Uncertainty]

Fantastic performance by Aaron, always the unsung hero of Pakistan's World Cup win

His World Cup spell - like most things he did - is severely underrated. Done without any tampering or umpire help.

Those who think he got umpire help in Sharjah have the video available to them to see and judge for themselves. They look pretty clear out. India after this humiliation obviously brought up fixing etc because it was one too many in a row.

Good that now they have squeaky clean IPL to play in.

 

[Junaids]

Aaqib Javed was unlucky for two reasons during his Test career.

Firstly, he was the most obvious age cheat of all. Supposedly he debuted at 16 and was finished by the age of 22.

The reality is that he was a Matthew Hoggard-style fast-medium 132-134K outswing bowler.

He didn't have the searing pace of Waqar Younis, or the darting swing of Wasim Akram. And Ataur Rehman was 5K quicker and 4 inches taller. And Aaqib couldn't bat.

Aaqib should have played every Test in Australia, England, New Zealand and South Africa until Abdul Razzaq emerged in mid-1999.

By my reckoning, he missed:

4 Tests in New Zealand
3 Tests in England
3 Tests in Australia
4 Tests in South Africa

Aaqib ended up with 54 wickets in 22 Tests at an average of 34.70.

His missing 14 Tests would probably have delivered another 50 wickets at an average of around 30, so he would have ended up with around 85 wickets in 36 Tests at an average of around 33.

Which would have been a better reflection of his ability and performance.

Rather similar to Saleem Jaffar, who took 36 wickets in 14 Tests at 31.63 with his own left-arm fast-medium slanted across the batsman.

Rather like Aaqib, he was overlooked for not being as good as Wasim Akram.