Re: Style over statistics (Wasim Hassan Raja)
Just got this nice article which is clearly showing the class of this stylish player especially against mighty WI!
Wasim Raja: The classy southpaw who personified elegance
By Abhishek Mukherjee
July 4, 2013, 11:20 am
http://st1.cricketcountry.com/wp-content/uploads/cricket/image_20130704111459.jpg
Wasim Raja was a man oblivious to the numbers, but always rising to the occasion when the situation demanded the most. A master in adversity, poetry in motion, and a svelte teenage hero in appearance, Raja’s cult following has been matched by few others © Getty Images
*The suave Wasim Raja was born on July 3, 1952. Abhishek Mukherjee pays tribute to one of the most underrated cricketers Pakistan has produced.*The early 1980s was when the India-Pakistan rivalry had taken off, culminating in the fierce contest of the late 1980s and the 1990s. Despite the situation, a few names actually managed to attain popularity on the Indian side of Wagah: the exuberant Wasim Raja being one of them. Along with Wasim Bari he even made it to popular movie lines as the iconic one from the blockbuster Namak Halaal!The word ‘outstanding’ is so overused these days that it has almost lost its meaning. Raja was a really outstanding cricketer. Not only did he bat with panache and lazy elegance – dominating opposition of any quality at will – but he also thrived under the most adverse of circumstances, often getting out almost lazily when things went easy for him.
If Javed Miandad was your perpetually hungry street-fighter and Zaheer Abbas was your graceful run-machine, Raja was the languid genius who could do whatever he wanted to with the bat. He probably got bored of the ease with which he could handle pace: he often ended up batting without pads at the net against the tearaway Imran Khan of the early 1970s. The Pakistani fast bowler had to admit that Raja was “in a different class altogether and was already batting with a maturity beyond his years.”
One may think that he was so talented a batsman that the urge to pile up runs mechanically had never struck to him as fun, which resulted in him not getting the stature he deserved. For him batting was never a war: it was always a walk in the park, or maybe a moody glance while sitting at a riverside café. The loose, low stance, the uncannily high back-lift, the unreal hand-eye coordination, the impossibly flexible wrists — everything about his style was attractive.He often seemed to stay grounded till the ball was released, giving one the expression that he was simply not interested: then, suddenly those bored eyes lit up, the static feet suddenly gained lightning speed, and the ball raced to the boundary or even soared over it.
When the willowy frame walked down the pavilion steps to enter the green he could well have passed for a protagonist from a Hollywood blockbuster: the first few buttons were always undone, the collar was always up, the sleeves were always rolled up to the elbow, the walk was invariably a swagger, and the beard (or the moustache: basically whatever facial hair he felt like) simply added to the carelessly handsome features. When it came to being a matinee idol Raja could have given Imran a run for his money any day. “Wasim Hasan Raja truly was a raja”, said an awestruck Gideon Haigh.
His fans were many. The list even included Wasim Akram, later a heartthrob across generations: “As a teenager, I used to go and watch all the games in which Wasim Raja used to play. He was a crowd favourite not only because of his hard-hitting abilities but because he was a charismatic character. He was an idol of most of the youngsters in the 70s and 80s.”
Let us also not forget that Raja was an outstanding fielder — probably the best Pakistan fielder of the era – specialising at cover or cover-point, and one of the fastest runners between wickets. He was also a more than competent leg-break bowler (who occasionally bowled medium-pace as well) who even opened bowling for Pakistan. And yet he ended up playing a lot less matches than he should have: 57 Tests and 54 ODIs hardly do justice to the talent Raja was born with.
David against Goliath
Raja’s Test numbers do not look impressive at all: 2,821 runs at 36.16 from 57 Tests with four hundreds are rather ordinary, as are 51 wickets at 35.80. His First-Class batting numbers are even worse (did I say he enjoyed a challenge?) – 11,434 runs at 35.18 from 250 matches (which included a couple of stints for Durham). His bowling was a notch better, though – he had picked up 558 wickets at 29.05 with 31 five-fors and seven ten-fors – which probably suggest that he was a better bowler than batsman.
These are gross numbers, though. Let us dig a bit deeper into his performances:
[TABLE=“width: 391”]
Wasim Raja – batting
M
R
Ave
100s
against West Indies
11
919
57.44
2
against others
46
1902
30.68
2
57
2821
36.17
4
Clearly he thrived against the stronger oppositions. His Tests against West Indies were played over a period from 1976 to 1981 — during their ascent into the world of cricket. It was an era when the fearsome attack consisting of Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, Joel Garner, and Colin Croft terrorised batsmen all over the world (Croft was later replaced by Malcolm Marshall) — and it was against this attack that Raja had thrived.
But that was an analysis of Raja’s career alone: how did he fare when compared to his contemporaries against the most fearsome pace attack of all time? Eminent cricket historian and analyst Arunabha Sengupta does an excellent analysis from which these insightful numbers can be found.
[TABLE=“width: 414”]
Based on Tests from April 21, 1976 to April 29, 1995
Excludes 11 Tests that involved Packer-hit weaker sides
Minimum qualification: 500 Test runs
Top batsmen against WI
M
R
Ave
100s
Wasim Raja
9
763
58.69
1
Martin Crowe
7
544
45.33
3
Mark Waugh
14
947
45.09
3
Bruce Laird
6
540
45.00
-
Graham Gooch
26
2,197
44.83
5
Robin Smith
15
1,028
44.69
3
Kepler Wessels
8
670
44.67
1
Steve Waugh
16
1,020
44.34
2
Majid Khan
9
684
42.75
1
Alec Stewart
10
716
42.11
2
Dilip Vengsarkar
18
1,179
42.10
4
Geoff Boycott
9
663
41.43
1
Sunil Gavaskar
12
813
40.65
3
**As is evident Raja was head and shoulders above his contemporaries (the table also busts a few myths regarding the greats against the West Indians, but that is not the topic of this article) during West Indies’ unbeaten streak (they had only lost the controversial series in New Zealand in 1978-79 during this stretch of close to two decades).
**
But what about runs scored at the lion’s den?[TABLE=“width: 414”]
Based on Tests from April 21, 1976 to April 29, 1995
Excludes 11 Tests that involved Packer-hit weaker sides
Minimum qualification: 300 Test runs
Top batsmen in WI
M
R
Ave
100s
Steve Waugh
6
461
76.83
1
Mohinder Amarnath
6
697
63.36
2
Wasim Raja
** 5**
** 517**
** 57.44**
** 1**
Michael Atherton
5
510
56.67
2
Allan Border
10
796
53.06
1
Majid Khan
5
530
53.00
1
Mark Waugh
9
607
50.58
2
David Gower
9
746
43.88
1
Graham Gooch
11
864
41.14
2
Alec Stewart
9
647
40.43
2
Once again, Raja passes his exams with flying colours. He had emerged as one of the champions against quality fast bowling – yet few people acknowledge the fact. It must be remembered that he was not a grafter — in fact, his runs were scored in magical exuberance: seldom has a batsman combined flair and effectiveness to such an extent.Early days
Raja came from a family of cricketers: his father Raja Saleem Akhtar was a leg-break bowler who played First-Class cricket; Raja’s younger brother Zaeem played First-Class cricket as well, and the youngest brother Ramiz went on to captain Pakistan in Tests and played exactly the same number of Tests that Wasim had.
Wasim Raja made his First-Class debut at the age of 15. Playing at Lahore against Karachi Blues he scored 11 in each innings; he was soon appointed as the captain of the Pakistan Under-19 side (which, as we know, has often included Test players). Even in his teens he was considered a prodigy and one for the future.
While still in college Raja scored 151 (his maiden First-Class ton) for Punjab University (from where he did a Master’s in political science) against Rawalpindi at Lahore — a match that the students went on to win by an innings. He also followed it with seven for 117, and was an obvious choice to play for Punjab against a Pakistan XI at Lahore. He shone with 80 and 57, and picked up two wickets to boot. With a 117 and ten for 100 against Public Works Department at Lahore he was selected for the New Zealand tour that season at the age of 19.Coming of age
Raja had a sound start to the tour and was selected for the first Test after he scored an unbeaten 43 and picked up nine for 85 against Northern Districts at Hamilton. He had an innocuous debut at Wellington: he scored ten and 41 and did not pick up a wicket. He finished the series with 109 from three Tests at 27.25, but picked up four wickets at 14.75 including three for 32 in the fourth innings at Auckland.
After an ordinary home Test against England at Lahore Raja was selected for the England tour of 1974. After he was left out of the first Test at Headingley humdinger Raja became the centre of attention for the first time in his career in the second Test at Lord’s.
All was well till rain began with Pakistan at 51 without loss. Then the Sun came out and baked the uncovered pitch. Under conditions virtually impossible for batting Derek Underwood made an absolute mockery of the match: from 71 without loss Pakistan collapsed to 130 for nine before Intikhab Alam declared on Day One. Coming out at 91 for three against a rampant Underwood Raja scored a 38-ball 24 with four fours before Tony Greig plucked his catch out of thin air. The runs were not too many, but there were glimpses of his ability to handle the champion spinner.
After England took a 140-run lead (they batted under near-perfect batting conditions) Underwood had Pakistan in trouble once again. Raja strode out at 77 for three and played an uncharacteristically dour 142-ball 53 to put up what Wisden called a ‘masterly display’. He added 115 for the fourth wicket with Mushtaq Mohammad.
However, Pakistan were ‘trapped’ by rain yet again and were exposed to Underwood. The duo resisted, but once Raja fell Pakistan collapsed from 192 for four to 226 all out. There were protests from the Pakistan camp and perhaps justice was served when the last day was washed out with England requiring only 60 more runs with all their wickets intact.
Underwood had routed Pakistan twice with figures of five for 20 and eight for 51; however, Pakistan went into the third Test with the knowledge that they had a supremely talented batsman in their ranks — a youngster who could handle Underwood under the toughest of conditions.First taste of West Indies
The West Indians arrived in Pakistan, fresh from their victory on Indian soil. After an ordinary first Test at Lahore Raja scored a sparkling hundred (the first of his career) at Karachi.
It was a saga of two stylish batsmen outdoing each other. First it was Majid Khan, fifth out scoring exactly 100 — with his side on 178. Then Raja took over: coming out at 170 for four he scored 107. Seldom had Karachi seen an innings so spectacular — which is saying something given that there had been a Majid hundred earlier in the innings.
The southpaw eased into a strong bowling attack spearheaded by Roberts: he did not bludgeon the balls — he seemed to caress them with those lithe wrists, and the ball seemed to find its way to the fence. Pitch invasions after players reaching personal landmarks are common. This, however, was an innings so spectacular that the crowd invaded the pitch to congratulate Raja. The police had to clear the ground.
Raja tore his ligament while fielding but limped out to bat at eleven in the second innings to allow Sadiq Mohammad to reach his hundred. It did not happen: his motion restricted, Raja was cleaned up by Lance Gibbs and poor Sadiq was left stranded on 98.
The West Indians realised he was special: they would learn more with time.The World Cup innings
Raja averaged 22.34 with the bat from 54 One-Day Internationals (ODIs), but his finest hour came in the World Cup innings against West Indies at Edgbaston. Led by Roberts the fast bowlers choked the Pakistanis — including Majid, the stand-in captain, who batted brilliantly but struggled to rotate the strike. Raja walked out to bat at 140 for three and suddenly everything changed: the same bowlers who looked so dominating and miserly suddenly looked helpless against Raja’s amazing footwork and breathtaking strokeplay.
Raja added a spectacular 62-run partnership with his old partner-in-crime Mushtaq. Both men flew between wickets, converting ones into twos.Raja’s panache combined with Mushtaq’s cheek unsettled the mighty Caribbean attack. Raja’s 57-ball 58 eventually helped Pakistan reach 266 for seven. It was a winning score and Sarfraz Nawaz had West Indies down at 166 for eight, but Deryck Murray, with some assistance from Keith Boyce and Roberts, pulled off one of the biggest heists in World Cup history.
Taming the lions at their den
Without a doubt Raja’s finest hour was against West Indies on the 1976-77 tour. Few people in history have matched Raja’s series tally of 517 runs at 57.44 and seven wickets at 18.71 from five Tests. In fact, John Reid is the only other man to have scored over 500 runs at a 50-plus average and have taken over five wickets with a sub-20 average in a series.
The strangest bit about the performance is perhaps the fact that he achieved all this in his characteristic laidback fashion. Rob Steen wrote on The Guardian: “That [Wasim] Raja never once emitted even the vaguest sign of giving a fig for figures [during the series mentioned] made it all the more extraordinary.”
Raja batted at seven in the first Test at Kensington Oval. The attack consisted of Roberts and the debutants Garner, and Croft. Coming out to bat 207 for five Raja lifted his side from 271 for seven to 435: he scored 117 not out and had managed to provide Pakistan, somewhat unexpectedly, the control of the match.
West Indies were back to normal after conceding a 14-run lead. The pace trio hit Pakistan hard and they slumped to 158 for nine from 102 for two. It was then that Raja assumed control of the match along with Bari: the duo put on 133 in 110 minutes before Raja fell to the off-breaks of Maurice Foster.
The 260-minute 117 with 12 fours and a six was backed up by a 180-minute 71 with five fours and two sixes. The match ended in a thriller with the fast bowlers saving the match as time ran out with the hosts nine wickets down. The West Indies were tired of the sight of this ubiquitous thorn in their flesh. There was more to come, though.
Queen’s Park Oval was another matter. A snarling Croft wrecked the Pakistan batting line-up picking up eight for 29 and Pakistan were bowled out for 180. It did not matter to Raja, though: in a contest that would have driven most spectators to ecstasy Raja stood among the ruins, dominating a partnership of 82 with Majid and eventually falling for a 160-minute 65 with seven fours and two sixes.
The hosts secured a 136-run lead but kept on making inroads in the Pakistan line-up yet again. Raja came to the forefront again, scoring a 180-minute 84 with seven fours and two sixes. This was the fourth consecutive innings in which he had top-scored. West Indies chased down a target of 205 — but not before Raja had broken the 97-run opening partnership. Raja’s effort meant that despite his superlative spell Croft had to share the Man of the Match award.
Raja failed in the draw at Bourda but was back in business at the fourth Test in Queen’s Park Oval. The Test, typically referred to as “Mushtaq’s Test” (the Pakistan captain scored 121 and 56 and picked up five for 28 and three for 69) saw Raja play a capable support act: in the second innings he top-scored with a quick-fire 70 with six fours and three sixes to put the target out of West Indies’ reach and later completed the rout with three for 22.
Come Sabina Park and West Indies took advantage with a first-innings lead of 82: they seemed to be cruising towards a huge victory at 182 without loss when Raja dismissed Roy Fredericks and Viv Richards in quick succession and followed things up with Clive Lloyd’s wicket — eventually finishing with three for 65. Then, up against a 442-run target, Raja walked out to bat at 138 for five.
The 115-run partnership that followed was magical: Raja and Asif Iqbal put up 115 in 95 minutes of breathtaking strokeplay. Raja dominated the partnership with 64 and Pakistan folded for 301 after his dismissal. Thus ended one of the greatest series performances in the history of the sport— that too against arguably the strongest team of all time.
An awestruck Majid later said during the series Raja could “hit a six when he liked” during the series. It is not every day that someone could leave Majid gaping, but Raja *was *special. Haigh added to the quote that “liking was the essence of the effort”.
Raja ended up hitting 14 sixes in the series against the most fearsome of attacks. In the process he went past Denis Lindsay’s tally of 12 sixes against Australia in 1966-67. Till date nobody has hit more sixes than Raja in a series.
Later years
As always Raja probably found the ‘lesser’ teams unworthy of a challenge. He simply did not put in an effort: picked for the six-Test series in India in 1979-80 Raja once again stood alone amidst ruins: he scored 450 runs at 56.25 with five fifties (including two nineties); Javed Miandad with 421 at 42.10 was the only other batsman with an average over 30 (discounting the one-Test effort by Taslim Arif).
He was back against his old adversaries at home in 1980-81, though: West Indies took the series 1-0, but Raja managed to pull off 246 runs at 61.50: once again he stood like an immovable rock and the West Indians could not dismiss him more than four times in the entire series.
His career faded thereafter barring a few performances here and there: he scored a career-best 125 in 207 balls with 17 fours and two sixes at Jullundur in 1983-84: these runs were scored out of 183 during his stay at the wicket. Still not content he picked up four for 50 in the Indian innings, but the Test petered out to a draw.
His final series was the New Zealand tour of 1984-85: after scoring 29 from three innings and going wicketless Raja was dropped after the first two Tests. Pakistan lost the series 0-2 and Raja did not play another Test. His Test career had come to an end at 32.
He played domestic cricket in the next season and then quit First-Class cricket for good, scoring 129 and picking up three wickets in his last match against Karachi Blues at Lahore. Two seasons later, however, he made a surprise comeback for a one-off match for National Bank of Pakistan. He failed with the bat and did not bowl, and did not play a match again.
The man
As it happens with the grandest of personalities, Raja could not come to terms with the bureaucracy, age-old hierarchy, and politics and marred Pakistan cricket of his era. There were inevitable clashes with the board, leading to him being overlooked when it was well-known that few Pakistan cricketers have performed this well under adverse conditions.
It is said that the much-coveted post of the Pakistan captain had always eluded him because he had once refused to hang out a senior’s socks to dry. He was not one to give in to the board and its quixotic demands – a stand that perhaps made him resign as Pakistan coach in 1999 and even settle down in England.
He later became an International Cricket Council (ICC) match referee, officiating in 15 Tests and 34 ODIs in span between 2002 and 2004. Raja had a heart attack while playing against Buckinghamshire Over-50s Second XI for Surrey Over-50s Second XI at Marlow and passed away on August 23, 2006, leaving the cricket world stunned.
Obituaries came in from all corners. Even Javed Miandad, never a person generous in his praises, commented: “We grew together and played our cricket not only as team-mates but also as opponents. He [Raja] was not only a true sportsman but a thorough gentleman. We have been involved in some of the best matches. It is sad to lose a great cricketer, a good sportsman and a true ambassador of the country.”
The Pakistanis of the era were an outstanding lot: there was the charismatic natural leader in Imran; Miandad, the one with a knife tucked inside his sleeve; Mushtaq, the wiliest of foxes; the gentle yet cavalier Asif; the mercurial Sarfraz; the effervescent Majid; the efficient Bari; and Intikhab, all experience and wisdom.
In between this ensemble cast was a man, oblivious of the numbers but always rising to the occasion when the situation demanded the most. A master in adversity, poetry in motion, and a svelte teenage hero in appearance, Raja’s cult following has been matched by few others.
(Abhishek Mukherjee](http://www.cricketcountry.com/cricket-editor/Abhishek-Mukherjee/editor-78/page/1)* is a cricket historian and Senior Cricket Writer at CricketCountry. He generally looks upon life as a journey involving two components – cricket and literature – though not as disjoint elements. A passionate follower of the history of the sport with an insatiable appetite for trivia and anecdotes, he has also a steady love affair with the incredible assortment of numbers that cricket has to offer. He also thinks he can bowl decent leg-breaks in street cricket, and blogs at Abhishek’s blog. He can be followed on Twitter at *http://www.twitter.com/ovshake42)
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