Wahab's burst from the past

In a game which is seeing increasing dominance of bat over the ball, with all the rules favouring the batsman and making it all the more difficult for bowlers to dictate, the scene of a tearaway fast bowler pushing the batsmen to the ropes remain one of the rarest moments of sheer joy to genuine cricket lovers.

Just the other day West Indies coach and legendary fast bowler Curtly Ambrose ruefully said that the way one-day cricket's rules are favouring the batsmen teams might as well start using bowling machines rather than bowlers.

And then out of nowhere a Pakistani fast bowler produces a spell of breathtaking brilliance and venom, and you wonder how entertaining one-day cricket would have been if we had a fair battle between the bat and the ball.

Wahab Riaz's two for 54 in the third quarterfinal at the Adelaide Oval yesterday might only occupy a mere footnote in the entrails of ODI bowling records, but for the millions who watched it on TV and those who have followed Pakistan cricket over the years, it was a more than a mere excellent bowling performance; it was a blast from the past.

Remember the final of 1992; how Wasim Akram, the all-time greatest left-handed fast bowler, took Pakistan to an unlikely victory against England with a fearsome spell, removing Ian Botham early before dismissing Alan Lamb and Chris Lewis with two unplayable deliveries? There were shades of Wasim in Wahab yesterday. The left-hander brought Pakistan into the match with two valuable scalps in his first two overs and then took the Mickey out of Australian batting with a barrage of unplayable bouncers. Shane Watson and Glenn Maxwell were on a hiding to nothing as long as Wahab was unleashing his fire. And then there was the inevitable banter between Wahab and Watson – the eye to eye and a few pleasantries exchanged at the middle of the pitch – all heightening the tension.

But unfortunately for Pakistan, and perhaps for the neutrals who were longing for a close encounter after two dull contests on the two previous days, Wahab was waging a lone battle. He didn't have an Imran Khan to fire up the rest of the team, or an Aquib to play the supporting cast or an Inzamamul Haque to help the cause earlier with the bat. All he had was the Pakistan of present – throwing away the initiative with the bat and dropping sitters as the game drifted away.