Akram's trademark bowling inspires Pakistan

Chasing so many runs is always a difficult task but when Mr Akram is at the helm of the opposing bowling attack the task becomes formidable. Not only does he swing the ball like Nick Faldo swings a golf club, but he bowls at such a pace that free scoring becomes as close to the concept of impossibility as can be achieved on a cricket field. As he sprinted in to bowl the first ball of the fiftieth over, I commented to the gentleman standing next to me that Wasim Akram would be the one bowler in the world who I would least like to face in this situation. Thirteen runs to score with the ball swinging and the field set deep becomes a nightmare when it is Wasim Akram who is the deliverer. Unsurprisingly the Aussies fell short and now face an uncomfortable but challenging final two qualifying matches to progress.

In test matches Akram is feared for his destructive abilities with the new and old ball, and in one-day cricket he can change a game in a matter of deliveries. Who can forget his two swinging thunderbolts in the 1992 World Cup Final when he clean bowled Allan Lamb and Chris Lewis in successive balls. His dismissals of Bevan and Martyn were as crucial today as he single handedly robbed the Australians of any last hopes with two clever, yet typical trademark deliveries.

He is simply a great cricketer who is impressing equally with his leadership abilities in keeping his team united, a job that must be the ultimate goal for a Pakistani cricket captain. If he can accomplish this one crucial factor of team unity I believe the Pakistan team could easily win this World Cup. Apart from their running between wickets, their performance today was outstanding. The captain aside, they have a number of match winning players who can easily make a difference to the outcome of a game and considering Waqar and Mushtaq are sitting on the sidelines, Pakistan must be gaining confidence as quickly as my boys are losing theirs.

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