Since the advent of Test cricket almost 150 years ago, there have been 105 instances when a bowler has taken more than 50 Test wickets in a calendar year. As the number of Test matches played every year has increased significantly over time, so has the number of bowlers who cross the 50 wickets mark in any given year. It has become an unreliable index for judging a bowler’s performance. A better indicator of a bowler’s ability, therefore, may be his incisiveness, as evidenced by his strike rate which determines the number of balls required to obtain each wicket. When the selection is limited to only those bowlers who have achieved the 50 wickets milestone with a strike rate of under 40 balls per wicket, this list of 105 cases narrows down to just 13. On 10 of these occasions the successful bowler was a paceman while in 3 instances it was a spinner who performed this feat.

Heading the list, with the best strike rate in any calendar year, is the Pakistani paceman Waqar Younis. In 1993 Waqar took 55 wickets at a strike rate of just 29.43 balls per wicket, the only instance when a bowler in this exalted list of 105 has achieved a strike rate of under 30 balls per wicket for any given year.

It can be seen from the list that the first time that a bowler took took 50 wickets in a year with a strike rate of under 40 balls per wicket was in the English summer of 1912, when a 39 year old SF Barnes took 39 wickets in the triangular tournament between England, Australia and South Africa, after having already snared 22 victims in 3 Tests earlier in the year, while touring Australia with the MCC. His strike rate of 36.01 balls per wicket stood unchallenged for 82 years until a young tear away from Pakistan, called Waqar Younis, bowling toe crushing yorkers that swung in late, obliterated this record.

Three bowlers have achieved this distinction more than once. Dale Steyn had a big catch of 74 wickets in 2008 at a very impressive strike rate of 35.75 balls per wicket. Two years later in 2010, Steyn got 60 wickets, striking every 38.89 balls. Kagiso Rabada took 57 wickets in 2017 at a strike rate of 37.85 and repeated this feat in the following year, in 2018, when his tally was 52 wickets with a strike rate of 38.11. Mutiah Muralitharan took 52 wickets in 2005, with a wicket every 39.29 balls, and then followed it up with a massive haul of 90 wickets in 2006 at 39.04 balls per wicket. 2006 was a special year because two bowlers from the 50 wicket plus list, Mutiah Muralitharan and Makhaya Ntini, had strike rates of under 40 balls per wicket, the only time that this has ever happened.

For Waqar Younis his special year of 1993 began at Seddon Park, Hamilton in New Zealand, in the solitary one-off Test there. He took 9 wickets for just 81 runs in the match as New Zealand, needing a mere 127 runs to win in their second innings, were bundled out for a paltry 93 with Waqar Younis and Wasim Akram taking 5 wickets apiece. Waqar reached a personal milestone of 100 Test wickets during this spell. His 9 wickets came at a strike rate of 27.66 balls per wicket.

This was followed by a three Test series in the West Indies. Waqar captured 19 more wickets during this three Test outing off just 583 deliveries. His Test exposure for the year wound up with a three Test home rubber against Zimbabwe in which Waqar was in lethal form. In the first Test at the DHA stadium in Karachi he took 13 wickets for just 135. Remarkably, 12 of his 13 victims were either clean bowled or trapped leg before wicket as they had no answer to his late in-dipping yorkers delivered at a fearsome pace. This was reverse swing bowling at its bewitching best. In the next Test at Rawalpindi Waqar was again in superb form. He took 9 wickets for 88 runs, and along with Wasim Akram triggered a Zimbabwean meltdown in which they collapsed from 135 for 1 in their second innings to 187 all out, leaving Pakistan victorious by 52 runs. Waqar’s fine form continued in the rain affected, drawn 3rd Test in Lahore where he took 5 wickets for 100 runs in Zimbabwe’s only innings. All told, he had 27 wickets in the series with a strike rate of 29.03 balls per wicket. In four of the five innings that he bowled in during this rubber Waqar harvested five wickets or more, while he snared four victims in the remaining fifth innings.

By the end of this halcyon year, Waqar Younis had taken 148 wickets in 26 Tests at an average of 18.55, and a career strike rate of 36.29 balls per wicket. His partnership with Wasim Akram produced a fast bowling pair that was peerless in its ability, a duet that demoralized and decimated opposition with consistent ease and class.

Waqar’s figures for the year 1993 alone were 55 wickets at an average of 15.24 and a strike rate of 29.43 balls per wicket. For bowlers taking over 50 wickets in a year, this strike rate remains unmatched even today, over 30 years after Waqar first wrote it into the record books.

Apart from the strike rate another factor that gives more insight about the incisiveness of a bowler is their bowling average, which informs us how cheaply they were able to dismiss opposing batsmen. When we consider the bowling averages of this short list of bowlers who have taken 50 Test wickets in a calendar year at a strike rate of under 40 balls per wicket, we find another Pakistani at the head of this list as well. In 1982 Imran Khan took 62 wickets at the miserly average of 13.29 runs per wicket. The next most tight-fisted was SF Barnes in 1912, whose 61 Test wickets that year cost him 14.15 runs each. Waqar Younis is the third most parsimonious bowler with his 55 wickets in 1993 being obtained at 15.24 runs apiece.

The year 1982 was the one in which Imran Khan staked a claim to be accepted as both the best pace bowler and the premier all rounder of the cricketing world. When the year started Imran had taken 144 Test wickets in 36 Test matches at an average of 28.34 runs per wicket.

Pakistan were scheduled to host Sri Lanka for the first ever series of Test matches between the two countries. Some of Pakistan’s senior players, including Imran, were unwilling to play under Javed Miandad and wanted a change in the captaincy. They boycotted the first two Tests but were persuaded to return for the third and final Test on the understanding that Miandad would step down from the captaincy at the end of the series. Imran returned with a bang, pulverizing the Sri Lankan batsmen with his speed and movement to return figures of 8 wickets for 58 runs in the first innings and 6 for 58 in the second. His match figures of 14 wickets for 116 runs were a new Pakistan best, a record that has now stood for over 40 years.

Imran was appointed as the captain to replace Javed Miandad for the team’s tour of England. He reveled in his new responsibility. He began the contest against England with a scintillating performance in the opening Test at Edgbaston, capturing 7 wickets for 52 in the first innings and adding 2 more in the second, to return match figures of 9 for 136. He captured 4 further wickets in the second Test at Lords which Pakistan won. In the third Test at Headingley, Leeds, Imran took 5 wickets for 49 runs in the first innings and 3 for 66 in the second, for match figures of 8 wickets for 115 runs. Altogether, he captured 21 wickets in the series at an average of 18.57 runs apiece. He was easily the most outstanding bowler from either side. His speed, movement both in the air and off the wicket, along with his control over line and length were truly impressive. Added to this was a mature and responsible batting performance that netted him 212 runs at an average of 53.00 runs per innings. His captaincy was also thoughtful and inspiring as he brought out the best in the players under him.

Following the summer series against England, Pakistan hosted Australia for a 3 Test home rubber. Pakistan whitewashed Australia 3-0, with the spinners, primarily Abdul Qadir, being the destroyers in chief. Imran took 13 wickets for 171 runs, at an average of 13.15 runs per wicket.

A series against arch rivals India followed, which showcased Imran at his brilliant best. He started with 3 wickets for 68 in India’s only innings in the drawn opening Test at Lahore. In the second Test at Karachi, Imran took 3 cheap wickets for 19 runs in the first innings as India folded for just 169. After a strong Pakistani reply of 452, India batted a second time needing 283 runs to avoid an innings defeat. Imran simply ran through a dejected and demoralized Indian side that had no answer to his pace and guile. Bowling both at his fastest and his skillful best, Imran produced an awesome display of unplayable reverse swing to take 8 wickets for 60 runs in the second innings, and return match figures of 11 wickets for just 79 runs. During his second innings exploits Imran also became the first Pakistani bowler to reach the 200 Test wickets milestone. These were the only two Tests of the series versus India that were played in 1982. The remaining four Tests of this rubber stretched into 1983 and Imran’s performance in them does not count towards his wicket tally for 1982. In the two Tests staged in 1982, Imran took 14 Indian wickets for just 147 runs at the incredible average of a mere 10.50 runs per wicket.

Imran’s total tally for 1982 was 62 wickets for 824 runs, at an average of just 13.29 runs apiece. He took five wickets in an innings on five occasions and 10 wickets in a match once. He twice captured 8 wickets in an innings during this year. His last bowling performance of 1982, when he took 8 for 60 in the Indian second innings at Karachi, was the first of a run of four successive 5 wicket hauls in consecutive innings in the following year, which would be the first time that any Pakistani or Asian bowler had achieved this feat.

Statistics can be deceptive. The number of wickets taken by bowlers in any year will be heavily influenced by the total number of matches that they played. Hence, it is essential to introduce additional criteria that can better assess penetrative power and incisiveness so that a more representative picture of the bowler’s true worth can emerge. It is therefore very heartening that when strike rates and averages are factored in, the lists are headed in both instances by bowlers from Pakistan.

Dr Salman Faridi is a senior surgeon, poet, sports aficionado and an avid reader with a private collection of over 7000 books.

salmanfaridilnh@hotmail.com