Cricket: Akhtar a weapon of mass destruction

By RICHARD BOOCK

One of the more fanciful notions during the build-up to next week's first test has been the suggestion that Pakistan will not be as potent in New Zealand as they are at home.

The theory is that the panicky Pakistanis will struggle to adjust to the more seam-friendly pitches and self-destruct in an unseemly procession of flashing blades, in much the same way as India folded last summer.

The only flaw in the argument is that Pakistan's bowling attack, unlike the Indian model, has balance and depth, and should be capable of harnessing whatever assistance the New Zealand curators might provide.

If there is one exception in their attack, it is fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar.

He is a man with a reputation for bowling so quickly that he renders the pitch surface redundant, occasionally unleashing toe-seeking missiles at more than 160km/h.

Akhtar works on the basis that there's no need to bother with the pitch when you can reduce the stumps to matchwood before the batsman has moved, and his arsenal includes a finely tuned yorker that carries signature status around the world.

Stephen Fleming will remember the one that defeated him at Manchester in the 1999 World Cup semifinal, although there's a suggestion that the first he saw of it was on the big-screen replay as he trudged off.

Then there were the scenes at Lahore last year, when Akhtar laid New Zealand's batting lineup waste, taking career best figures of six for 11 as Fleming's side were pummelled by an innings and 324 runs.

Showing his appetite for the hunt, Akhtar was immediately among the New Zealanders, demolishing the stumps of Matt Horne, Mark Richardson, Fleming, Chris Harris and Chris Martin, and trapping Brooke Walker leg before.

Only a week or so earlier the tearaway from Rawalpindi had captured career best figures of six for 16 in the opening match of the one-day series, including the last five wickets of the innings as New Zealand collapsed for 122.

But whatever impact Akhtar has made with the ball, his suspect action and disciplinary record put him among the most controversial cricketers in the game these days, right up there with Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne.

Reported on three occasions for a suspected illegal action, Akhtar was cleared on the basis of a study conducted by biomechanics specialists, who concluded that the illegalities were an optical illusion brought about by an extraordinary degree of hyperextension in the bowler's arm.

Akhtar has been a regular customer for the Code of Conduct chiefs, who have suspended him for a variety of offences during his six-year career, the most recent for using abusive language against South Africa's Paul Adams.

The suspension of one test and two one-day internationals, imposed after match referee Clive Lloyd noted his poor record over the previous 12 months, forced the speedster to miss the first two matches of last week's series against New Zealand.

Akhtar also ran foul of authorities in Zimbabwe last year, receiving a one-match ban for throwing a beer bottle into the crowd, and a reprimand from the match-referee after being charged with ball-tampering.

The warning didn't have much effect. In May this year he was again charged with ball tampering, after which match referee Gundappa Viswanath banned him for two matches and relieved him of 75 per cent of his match-fee.

Akhtar, whose 161km/h delivery during last year's ODI against New Zealand at Lahore is the fastest clocked, had earlier been dropped from the team after a poor World Cup and was taken back only after receiving a very public warning from Pakistan board chairman Tauqir Zia.

"Regardless of whatever the selectors might think or plan, in my book, if Shoaib can't improve his attitude and become more focused on cricket, his career is over," said Zia at the time.

"The board and myself have supported him all along and spent a lot of money on his welfare, even when match officials reported his action.

"He was allowed a lot of latitude because we thought he was a genuine match-winner, but he let the country down badly in the World Cup."

If the tongue-lashing had any effect it wasn't immediately apparent.

Akhtar was in the headlines again this year, startling fans and team-mates by suggesting in a newspaper interview that he would be a much better bowler if he played for Australia.

"Imagine if I was playing for Australia with Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie softening them up, then I come on - I'd have got more wickets than anyone ever," he said.

"When I play for Pakistan with Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis, they are in decline.

"They were great but they're not match-winning bowlers any more. So I have to make it all happen on my own."

Waqar didn't waste any words with his response: "It might have been better for Pakistan if he had been born in Australia."

SHOAIB AKHTAR'S RECORD

Born: August 13, 1975, Rawalpindi

Nickname: Rawalpindi Express

Major teams: Agriculture Development Bank, Pakistan International Airlines, Rawalpindi Cricket Association, Somerset, Khan Research Labs, Durham

Test debut: v West Indies, November 29, 1997, Rawalpindi

Tests played: 28

Wickets: 107 at 25.09 average.

Highlights: 6 bags of 5 wickets in an innings, 10 in a match once.

Best figures: 6-11 v New Zealand, Lahore, May 2003, five bowled, 1 lbw

ODI debut: v Zimbabwe, Harare, March 29, 1998

Games played: 95

Wickets: 155 at 21.44

Highlights: 3 bags of five wickets in an innings

Best figures: 6-16 v New Zealand, Karachi, April 21, 2002

RECORD v NEW ZEALAND

Tests: 1, 6 wickets at 1.83.

ODI: 15 games, 29 wickets at 17.86