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Wasim Raja
Wasim Hasan Raja (Punjabi, Urdu: وسیم حسن راجہ) (3 July 1952 – 23 August 2006) was a Pakistani schoolteacher, match referee, cricket coach and cricketer who played in 57 Test matches and 54 One Day Internationals for the Pakistan national cricket team from 1973 to 1985.
His younger brother, Ramiz Raja, also represented Pakistan in Tests and ODIs, becoming captain of the national side. Another younger, brother, Zaeem Raja, also played first-class cricket, as did his father, Raja Saleem Akhtar.
During his playing career, Raja was known primarily as a dashing middle-order left-handed batsman, with a characteristically generous backlift and breathtaking strokeplay combining a keen eye with wristy execution. Raja also bowled flat wrist spin with his right hand that was good enough to take 51 wickets in Tests, with his scalps including Clive Lloyd, Roy Fredericks, Glenn Turner and Viv Richards.
In all, he played in 250 first-class matches, scoring 11,434 runs at an average of 35.18, including 17 centuries, and taking 558 wickets at an average of 29.05.
Wasim Raja was born in Multan in the Punjab. His father, Raja Saleem Akhtar, was a high-ranking civil servant. Raja obtained a master's degree in political science from Government College, Lahore. He was captain of the Pakistan Under-19 side.
Raja made his first-class debut for Lahore Green at age 15 (1967) followed by inconsistent early batting tempered by useful bowling. His breakthrough came in the 1970–71 Pakistan U-19 Championship, captaining Lahore with standout all-round displays, 126 vs Sargodha (plus 2/44), six wickets and 70 vs Karachi in the West Zone final, and 5/85 and 4/29 in the final, earning selection as captain of a combined Pakistan U-19 side.
Raja’s first first-class century came in 1971–72: 151 for Punjab University in the Punjab Governor’s Gold Cup final against Rawalpindi, complemented by seven wickets in an innings win. Subsequent scores of 80 and 57 versus a Pakistan XI and a standout all-round display for Pakistan Universities against Public Works Department in Dec 1972 (117 plus ten wickets) propelled him into the national side’s New Zealand tour. He top-scored with 86 on tour debut for Pakistan against Canterbury and, after steady contributions, made his Test debut at the Basin Reserve in Feb 1973, scoring 10 and 41 in a drawn match.
His finest hour in Test cricket was the tour to the West Indies in 1976–77, when he topped the Pakistani batting averages with 517 runs at 57.4 and came second in the bowling averages with 7 wickets at 18.7, behind Majid Khan. He also hit 14 sixes in the Test series, setting a record that has been equalled 4 times but still remains the only instance away from home.[1] He top-scored in both innings of the drawn 1st Test in Barbados, to push the West Indies to within one wicket of their first loss at Kensington Oval since 1935. In their second innings, Pakistan were reduced to 158–9 by Andy Roberts and Colin Croft, a lead of only 144 just over halfway through the fourth day, but a last-wicket stand of 133 with Wasim Bari set the West Indies a target of 306. At the close of the fifth day, West Indies were 55 runs adrift, on 251–9. West Indies won their next 12 matches at Bridgetown, until they were finally beaten by England in the 4th Test in 1994.
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Wasim Raja
Wasim Hasan Raja (Punjabi, Urdu: وسیم حسن راجہ) (3 July 1952 – 23 August 2006) was a Pakistani schoolteacher, match referee, cricket coach and cricketer who played in 57 Test matches and 54 One Day Internationals for the Pakistan national cricket team from 1973 to 1985.
His younger brother, Ramiz Raja, also represented Pakistan in Tests and ODIs, becoming captain of the national side. Another younger, brother, Zaeem Raja, also played first-class cricket, as did his father, Raja Saleem Akhtar.
During his playing career, Raja was known primarily as a dashing middle-order left-handed batsman, with a characteristically generous backlift and breathtaking strokeplay combining a keen eye with wristy execution. Raja also bowled flat wrist spin with his right hand that was good enough to take 51 wickets in Tests, with his scalps including Clive Lloyd, Roy Fredericks, Glenn Turner and Viv Richards.
In all, he played in 250 first-class matches, scoring 11,434 runs at an average of 35.18, including 17 centuries, and taking 558 wickets at an average of 29.05.
Wasim Raja was born in Multan in the Punjab. His father, Raja Saleem Akhtar, was a high-ranking civil servant. Raja obtained a master's degree in political science from Government College, Lahore. He was captain of the Pakistan Under-19 side.
Raja made his first-class debut for Lahore Green at age 15 (1967) followed by inconsistent early batting tempered by useful bowling. His breakthrough came in the 1970–71 Pakistan U-19 Championship, captaining Lahore with standout all-round displays, 126 vs Sargodha (plus 2/44), six wickets and 70 vs Karachi in the West Zone final, and 5/85 and 4/29 in the final, earning selection as captain of a combined Pakistan U-19 side.
Raja’s first first-class century came in 1971–72: 151 for Punjab University in the Punjab Governor’s Gold Cup final against Rawalpindi, complemented by seven wickets in an innings win. Subsequent scores of 80 and 57 versus a Pakistan XI and a standout all-round display for Pakistan Universities against Public Works Department in Dec 1972 (117 plus ten wickets) propelled him into the national side’s New Zealand tour. He top-scored with 86 on tour debut for Pakistan against Canterbury and, after steady contributions, made his Test debut at the Basin Reserve in Feb 1973, scoring 10 and 41 in a drawn match.
His finest hour in Test cricket was the tour to the West Indies in 1976–77, when he topped the Pakistani batting averages with 517 runs at 57.4 and came second in the bowling averages with 7 wickets at 18.7, behind Majid Khan. He also hit 14 sixes in the Test series, setting a record that has been equalled 4 times but still remains the only instance away from home.[1] He top-scored in both innings of the drawn 1st Test in Barbados, to push the West Indies to within one wicket of their first loss at Kensington Oval since 1935. In their second innings, Pakistan were reduced to 158–9 by Andy Roberts and Colin Croft, a lead of only 144 just over halfway through the fourth day, but a last-wicket stand of 133 with Wasim Bari set the West Indies a target of 306. At the close of the fifth day, West Indies were 55 runs adrift, on 251–9. West Indies won their next 12 matches at Bridgetown, until they were finally beaten by England in the 4th Test in 1994.