Pakistan cricket team is the spiritual birthplace of reverse swing, with the likes of Sarfraz Nawaz and Imran Khan inventing and fine-tuning the art early on while the likes of Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis used it to devastating effect against hapless batting orders. Now in a podcast, Pakistan cricket legend Wasim Akram has revealed how the art of getting the ball to reverse swing demanded contributions — and even sacrifices — from the entire team when fielding.
Akram even said that the Pakistan cricket team threatened to drop ace spinner Saqlain Mushtaq if he did not change his habit of twirling the ball in his palm before bowling. But before Akram got to that threat to Mushtaq, he explained the perception of reverse swing when only the Pakistan cricket team could exploit it.
How Pakistan perfected reverse swing
“In the 90s, nobody knew what reverse swing was. Apparently it was ball tampering. And then suddenly everybody learnt it, so it became reverse swing, thank you very much,” Akram said on the Stick to Cricket podcast while addressing the initial reservations from the wider cricketing world about the bowling technique back in the 1990s.
Former England cricketer Michael Vaughan, who hosts the Stick to Cricket podcast with Phil Tufnell, Sir Alastair Cook, and David Lloyd, asked Akram to explain how to get the ball to reverse swing. He even handed Akram a ball to get the former Pakistan pacer to explain.
Wasim Akram on the art of reverse swinging
The Pakistan cricket legend explained that the art was completely neglecting the rough side of the ball while keeping on shining the ball properly on the other side.
Akram started by explaining what natural conditions are needed to get the ball to reverse swing.
“It depends on the weather, depends on the square, depends how lush the square is, how lush the outfield is. The whole team has to be involved. If it’s reverse swing, if it’s rough side, this one and if one guy giving you one bounce throw, no, no, no, no, no. You got to throw the ball direct to the keeper, direct to the bowler, lesser hands that touch the ball, the better,” said Akram.
Talking about how the weather played a role, the Pakistan cricket legend said: “If it’s a sunny day, then you obviously throw one bounce into the rough. You get little rough on the patches, then you work on your patches.”
Akram said that Younis learnt the art even before he came into the Pakistan cricket team, while he was taught it by Mudassar Nazar.
“HE was the go-to guy even if Imran Khan or Javed Miandad wanted some advice on the field. He was the one who taught me and then Imran was the one who taught me (how to bowl reverse swing),” Akram said.