The Burewala Express was famed for his ability to reverse swing the ball
Waqar, a former Pakistan captain and current bowling coach of Sunrisers Hyderabad, joined the exclusive club during the first Twenty20 International between Pakistan and Sri Lanka at Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai Sports City whilst former Australia wicketkeeper and Kings XI Punjab mentor, Gilchrist was honoured during the tea interval of the third Ashes Test match between Australia and England at the WACA.
Waqar and Gilchrist become the 70th and 71st male members of the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.
Waqar joins countryman Hanif Mohammad as well as his former team-mates Imran Khan, Javed Miandad and Wasim Akram, who were among the first intake of inductees into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame, while Gilchrist is the 19th male Australia player after Richie Benaud, Allan Border, Don Bradman, Greg Chappell, Ian Chappell, Neil Harvey, Dennis Lillee, Ray Lindwall, Rodney Marsh, Keith Miller, Bill O’Reilly, Steve Waugh, Victor Trumper, Clarrie Grimmett, Frederick Spofforth, Alan Davidson, Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne, to be inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.
Nicknamed ‘The Burewala Express’, Waqar is famously known as one half of ‘The Two Ws’ – a moniker for the fast bowling pair of Wasim Akram and Waqar. A famed exponent of reverse swing, he claimed 373 wickets from 87 Tests and 416 scalps from 262 One-Day Internationals.
The 42-year-old, who was born in Vehari, Punjab, also led his country in 17 Tests and 62 ODIs. In a first-class career spanning a decade-and-a-half, he snared 956 wickets from 228 matches with a best of 8-17.
Waqar’s Test figures bear ample testimony to his brilliance – he registered 22 hauls of five wickets or more in an innings and on five occasions took 10 wickets or more in a match. He also boasted the best strike-rate of any bowler with more than 200 wickets in Tests during his playing days – a record that has since been broken by Dale Steyn. His best bowling performance in a Test came almost 20 years ago, when he registered match figures of 13-135 against Zimbabwe in the first Test at Karachi, having taken 7-91 and 6-44.
His feats in limited-overs cricket were no less impressive. He remains to date the only bowler to take five wickets in an innings in three consecutive ODI’s (On November 4, 6 and 9, 1990). He was also the fastest to the milestone of 400 wickets in ODI’s. He was a member of the Pakistan team that reached the final of the ICC Cricket World Cup in 1999. His best performance in ODI’s came when he led his side against England at Headingley in 2001, as he notched up 7-36.
Having retired from cricket after the ICC Cricket World Cup 2003, Waqar now plies his trade as a coach and commentator.
On his induction, Waqar said: “It is a huge honour for me to be inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame. I simply cannot wait for the day to come. Joining such an elite group will make the experience more memorable.
“I’m truly grateful to the people who’ve considered me worthy of such an honour. I owe a big thanks to those who’ve nominated me – the voting academy and all living members of the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame – as well as my family, my former team-mates and thousands of my fans and supporters who backed me every single time I wore Pakistan colours.”
Gilchrist was one of Australia’s most prolific wicketkeeper-batsmen, having represented his country in 96 Tests in a career that spanned 12 years. He amassed 5,570 Test runs and claimed 416 dismissals behind the stumps, including 379 catches and 37 stumpings. He also captained the Test team on six occasions.
He scored 17 Test centuries and 26 half-centuries, while his best performance with the bat came against South Africa in Johannesburg in 2002 when he scored 204 not out in an innings that saw Gilchrist hit 19 boundaries and eight sixes.
In the 287 ODIs he played, he amassed 9,619 ODI runs, dismissed batsmen 472 times behind the stumps and captained Australia 17 times. He scored 16 centuries and 55 half-centuries and his best innings in the one-day format saw him score 172 against Zimbabwe in Hobart, Tasmania.
Gilchrist was part of the Australia sides that won the ICC Cricket World Cup in 1999, 2003 and 2007, while he was also part of the team that lifted the ICC Champions Trophy in 2006. Gilchrist’s first-class career began in 1992 and when it ended in 2008, he had accumulated 10,334 runs and 811 dismissals as a wicketkeeper.
Gilchrist said of the induction: “I am delighted to be inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame and to be doing it in front of my home crowd on the first day of the third Test is a very special occasion for me and my family.
“I would like to thank all the living Hall of Famers and voting academy who nominated and voted for me to join them.”
