300 not out for Waqar Younis: “I am still there and am trying my heart out.”

Waqar Younis, nicknamed the Burewala Express, stormed into test cricket in 1989 as one of the most lethal fast bowlers in the world. Reaching 200 test wickets faster than anyone else in the history of the game he was though not an atypical fast bowler.

Unlike his West Indian counterparts who had dominated world cricket with a continuous barrage of short pitched bowling, Waqar pitched the ball up and relied on swing. The kind of swing that is rarely seen and impossible to better. He practically patented the inswinging yorker and in partnership with Wasim added a new dimension to the game with his exploitation of reverse swing.

Disaster struck in the form of a succession of injuries to the back, elbow and shoulder. In 1995/6 he was forced to take a complete break from the game. Some were unsurprised and pointed to the laws of nature. How could a human body survive the physical extortion that Waqar's style of bowling demanded?

An unusually fast run-up coupled with his sideways on action placed an unbearable strain on his body and especially on his lower back. Eventually it could take no more and a stress fracture threatened his career. The Burewala Express could well have drifted out of the game. But he is a determined man, is passionate about playing for his country and thus never gave in.

On the sidelines during the 1999 World Cup and in Australia last year he worked hard and eventually emerged from the doldrums. He may not be the bowler that he was but he is still world class when the rhythm is good. The venomous inswinger may be rarely seen nowadays but a mightily effective outswinger has replaced it.

When he dismissed Mutiah Muralitharan today he had claimed his 300th test wicket. Many have claimed more but few have reached the mark in less test matches and his strike rate of a wicket every 42 deliveries is unsurpassed by the bowling greats.

Speaking to CricInfo today Waqar Younis was delighted: "I am very happy today because it was one of my goals to get 300 test wickets. It came a little late though as I had set a goal of achieving it earlier."

When asked whether it has been difficult keeping the hunger for the game as he languished on the sidelines during recent times he responded: "It has been difficult as I have been injured a few times and I have had to spend time on the sidelines. I have always wanted to play my cricket as hard as it gets and I am still here and trying my heart out. This was one of my one of my landmarks but I just want to play as long as I can"

When asked about the pressure placed on him by the phenomenal number of fast bowlers currently being produced by Pakistan he felt that: "I think that really keeps me going because you always have some youngster sitting on your back. It's kept me going because I wanted to keep going and I want to play more. Its good for me and the team.

Waqar Younis will never touch the heights that he achieved early on but he appears determined to continue and on recent form he still has much to give to this Pakistan side. Few bowlers have provided as much excitement and today's personal landmark is richly deserved.