Pakistan's poster boy

Press conferences, especially pre or post-match, can be many things; routine, mundane, ritualistic. But almost without exception they lack in occasion, meaning and magnitude. All the better, then, when one comes along that evokes a rush of wistfulness and longing, such as that which marked the end of Waqar Younis's illustrious career.

Looking comfortable and relaxed in a snug-fitting beige top with jeans, with family in tow, Waqar's press conference marked the close of a period in which Pakistan's fast bowling richness rivaled, in quality if not quantity, that of the Caribbean pace attacks in the 1970s and `80s. While Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Sami struggle to match up, it merely sharpens the nostalgic images of Waqar's contribution to Pakistan's success for much of the swinging `90s.

He may not have been the granddaddy of reverse swing - Sarfraz Nawaz will undoubtedly put in his two cents here - but he became its most glamorous and potent poster boy. Nobody, not Imran, not Wasim and certainly no-one from the current crop of Pakistan pacers, exploited a battered old ball and 90mph pace, with the "threading a needle" accuracy, as devastatingly as Waqar did. He may not have had the variety of a Wasim (very few do) but if he was a one-trick pony, then what a trick it was. And like his partner in swing, Wasim, his retirement will also evoke a curious and unsettling blend of sadness and relief.

Sadness, definitely, for at his peak, the Burewala Express was a magnificent sight and a destructive force. Sadness, because we will most likely never see another spell like the one Waqar bowled at Durban in 1992-93 against South Africa - a spell which, incidentally, he recalled as one of his most memorable. Coasting along at 159 for 1, chasing a seemingly inadequate 209, Waqar scythed through a batting line-up including Andrew Hudson, Hansie Cronje and Daryl Cullinan, picking up five wickets for 25 runs.

Sadness, because if bowlers in the `90s, as Gideon Haigh has argued, are becoming less ambitious and have been "taut, trained, restrictive and repetitive," then Waqar's attacking raison d'etre was a glorious rejoinder to that notion. Sadness because of the bombast he brought to the game - while his economy rate in Test cricket was 3.25 and in ODIs, almost 5, his strike rates were among the best of all time (43 in Tests and 30 in ODIs) - if he wasn't giving away runs, he was taking wickets.

But there is also relief; because like other Pakistani cricketers, he too stayed on considerably past his peak. Although he developed into a bowler of some nous and skill in his latter years, his effectiveness was never the same. Relief because, as he said himself, he left the game with regrets - some, like the '92 World Cup were unavoidable and thus more painful, but some, like his ongoing rivalry with Wasim, were avoidable and thus annoying.

Relief also because his involvement in player politics brought an era of rampant factionalism and controversy within the Pakistan team. And relief because, during his captaincy, Pakistan lurched from disaster against Australia in Sharjah, to shame in South Africa in the World Cup.

What lies ahead for Waqar? At the press conference, he revealed that an autobiography, predictably and depressingly tell-all in nature, was in the works. Then the media or maybe even, as is strongly rumoured, a stint as bowling coach for the national side. Probably, as is increasingly popular, it will be a combination of both. His success in what PCB Chairman Shahrayar Khan calls his "second innings" will depend heavily, however, on the who's and how's of the PCB power paradigm.

His retirement undoubtedly book-ends an era in which, along with Wasim, he was more often than not the difference between a mediocre Pakistan and an extremely dangerous, if inconsistent, version. He began by stating that, for once, at a press conference, he wasn't under any pressure. Thankfully, for once, we too were present at a press conference with some meaning.