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Waqar Younis, a retired Pakistani cricketer, took 35 five-wicket hauls during his career in international cricket. In cricket, a five-wicket haul (also known as a "five–for" or "fifer")[1] refers to a bowler taking five or more wickets in a single innings. This is regarded as a notable achievement,[2] as of October 2024[update], only 54 bowlers have taken 15 or more five-wicket hauls at international level in their cricketing careers.[3][4] A right-arm fast bowler who represented his country between 1989 and 2003, the BBC described Waqar as "one of the most feared fast bowlers in recent cricketing history",[5] while former Pakistan captain Imran Khan said that Waqar was "a thinking cricketer and, at his peak, he was the most destructive bowler the game had seen".[6] The cricket almanack Wisden noted his "pace and swing", and named him one of their Cricketers of the Year in 1992.[7] Waqar was inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame on 9 December 2013.[8][9]
Waqar made his Test debut in 1989 against India in Karachi,[10] where he took four wickets in the first innings. His first Test five-wicket haul came the following year against New Zealand in a match which Pakistan won at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore.[11] He took a pair of five-wicket hauls in a single match against Zimbabwe at the Defence Stadium, Karachi in December 1993.[12] His career-best figures for an innings were 7 wickets for 76 runs against New Zealand at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad, in October 1990.[13] He went on to take ten or more wickets per match on five occasions.[14]
Making his One Day International (ODI) debut in October 1989 against West Indies at the Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium (Sharjah),[15] Waqar's first ODI five-wicket haul came the following year against Sri Lanka in a match which Pakistan won at the Sharjah.[16] He achieved a hat-trick (three wickets in consecutive deliveries), against New Zealand in 1994.[17] His career-best bowling in ODI cricket was 7 wickets for 36 runs, against England at Headingley in June 2001.[18] He took three consecutive five-wicket hauls in ODI matches in November 1990.[19] Retiring from international cricket in 2003 after nearly 14 years,[20] Waqar took 22 five-wicket hauls in Test cricket and 13 in ODIs. As of November 2020, he is joint sixth (with Rangana Herath) overall among all-time combined five-wicket haul takers,[21] and top of the equivalent ODI list.[4]
Symbol | Meaning |
---|---|
Date | Day the Test started or ODI held |
Inn | Innings in which five-wicket haul was taken |
Overs | Number of overs bowled |
Runs | Number of runs conceded |
Wkts | Number of wickets taken |
Econ | Runs conceded per over |
Batsmen | Batsmen whose wickets were taken |
Result | Result for the Pakistan team |
* | One of two five-wicket hauls by Waqar in a match |
† | 10 or more wickets taken in the match |
‡ | Waqar was selected as man of the match |
No. | Date | Ground | Against | Inn | Overs | Runs | Wkts | Econ | Batsmen | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 18 October 1990 † ‡ | Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore | ![]() |
3 | 37.5 | 86 | 7 | 2.27 | Won[11] | |
2 | 26 October 1990 * † ‡ | Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad | ![]() |
2 | 30.2 | 76 | 7 | 2.50 | Won[13] | |
3 | 26 October 1990 * †‡ | Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad | ![]() |
4 | 23.5 | 54 | 5 | 2.26 | Won[13] | |
4 | 15 November 1990 | National Stadium, Karachi | ![]() |
1 | 22 | 76 | 5 | 3.45 | Won[22] | |
5 | 23 November 1990 | Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad | ![]() |
2 | 16 | 46 | 5 | 2.87 | Lost[23] | |
6 | 12 December 1991 | Jinnah Stadium, Sialkot | ![]() |
1 | 30.5 | 84 | 5 | 2.72 | Drawn[24] | |
7 | 2 January 1992 | Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad | ![]() |
3 | 17 | 65 | 5 | 3.82 | Won[25] | |
8 | 18 June 1992 | Lord's, London | ![]() |
1 | 21 | 91 | 5 | 4.33 | Won[26] | |
9 | 23 July 1992 | Headingley, Leeds | ![]() |
2 | 30 | 117 | 5 | 3.90 | Lost[27] | |
10 | 6 August 1992 | Kennington Oval, London | ![]() |
4 | 18 | 52 | 5 | 2.88 | Won[28] | |
11 | 2 January 1993 | Trust Bank Park, Hamilton | ![]() |
4 | 13.3 | 22 | 5 | 1.62 | Won[29] | |
12 | 1 May 1993 | Antigua Recreation Ground, St John's, Antigua | ![]() |
1 | 28 | 104 | 5 | 3.71 | Drawn[30] | |
13 | 1 December 1993 * † ‡ | Defence Stadium, Karachi | ![]() |
2 | 34.1 | 91 | 7 | 2.66 | Won[12] | |
14 | 1 December 1993 * † ‡ | Defence Stadium, Karachi | ![]() |
4 | 21.5 | 44 | 6 | 2.01 | Won[12] | |
15 | 9 December 1993‡ | Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi | ![]() |
2 | 19 | 88 | 5 | 4.63 | Won[31] | |
16 | 16 December 1993 | Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore | ![]() |
2 | 34.4 | 100 | 5 | 2.88 | Drawn[32] | |
17 | 24 February 1994 | Lancaster Park, Christchurch | ![]() |
2 | 19 | 78 | 6 | 4.10 | Lost[33] | |
18 | 26 August 1994 * † ‡ | Asgiriya Stadium, Kandy | ![]() |
1 | 14 | 34 | 6 | 2.42 | Won[34] | |
19 | 26 August 1994 * † ‡ | Asgiriya Stadium, Kandy | ![]() |
3 | 18 | 85 | 5 | 4.72 | Won[34] | |
20 | 6 March 1998† | St George's Park, Port Elizabeth | ![]() |
1 | 23 | 78 | 6 | 3.39 | Lost[35] | |
21 | 14 March 1998 | Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo | ![]() |
1 | 28.2 | 106 | 5 | 3.74 | Drawn[36] | |
22 | 9 January 2002 | Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka | ![]() |
1 | 16.2 | 55 | 6 | 3.36 | Drawn[37] |
No. | Date | Ground | Against | Inn | Overs | Runs | Wkts | Econ | Batsmen | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 29 April 1990 | Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium, Sharjah | ![]() |
2 | 10 | 26 | 6 | 2.60 | Won[16] | |
2 | 1 May 1990 ‡ | Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium, Sharjah (neutral venue) |
![]() |
1 | 9 | 20 | 5 | 2.22 | Won[38] | |
3 | 4 November 1990 | Arbab Niaz Stadium, Peshawar | ![]() |
1 | 6.4 | 11 | 5 | 1.65 | Won[39] | |
4 | 6 November 1990 | Jinnah Stadium, Sialkot | ![]() |
2 | 6 | 16 | 5 | 2.66 | Won[40] | |
5 | 9 November 1990 ‡ | National Stadium, Karachi | ![]() |
2 | 8 | 52 | 5 | 6.50 | Won[41] | |
6 | 9 February 1993 ‡ | Kingsmead, Durban | ![]() |
2 | 10 | 25 | 5 | 2.50 | Won[42] | |
7 | 13 March 1994 ‡ | Eden Park, Auckland | ![]() |
2 | 9.4 | 30 | 6 | 3.10 | Tied[43] | |
8 | 4 October 1996 ‡ | Gymkhana Club Ground, Nairobi (neutral venue) |
![]() |
2 | 8.5 | 52 | 5 | 5.88 | Tied[44] | |
9 | 13 November 1996 ‡ | Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium, Sharjah | ![]() |
1 | 10 | 44 | 6 | 4.40 | Won[45] | |
10 | 26 March 2000 | Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium, Sharjah | ![]() |
2 | 10 | 31 | 5 | 3.10 | Won[46] | |
11 | 17 June 2001 ‡ | Headingley, Leeds | ![]() |
1 | 10 | 36 | 7 | 3.60 | Won[18] | |
12 | 19 June 2001 ‡ | Trent Bridge, Nottingham | ![]() |
2 | 8 | 59 | 6 | 7.37 | Won[47] | |
13 | 12 August 2002 | National Cricket Stadium, Tangier | ![]() |
2 | 10 | 38 | 5 | 3.80 | Lost[48] |
... I'd rather take fifers (five wickets) for England ...