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| Full name | Wasim Hasan Raja father | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1952-07-03)3 July 1952 Multan,Punjab, Pakistan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 23 August 2006(2006-08-23) (aged 54) Marlow, Buckinghamshire, England | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Left-handed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Leg spin | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| National side |
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| Test debut (cap 67) | 2 February 1973 v England | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last Test | 25 January 1985 v New Zealand | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ODI debut (cap 11) | 11 February 1973 v New Zealand | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last ODI | 10 March 1985 v India | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source:ESPNCricinfo,4 February 2017 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Wasim Hasan Raja (Punjabi,Urdu:وسیم حسن راجہ) (3 July 1952 – 23 August 2006) was aBritish Pakistani schoolteacher,match referee, cricket coach andcricketer who played in 57Test matches and 54One Day Internationals for thePakistani 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 brother,Zaeem Raja, also playedfirst-class cricket, as did his father,Saleem Akhtar.
Wasim Raja was born inMultan in thePunjab. His father was a high-rankingcivil servant. Raja obtained amaster's degree in political science fromGovernment College, Lahore. He was captain of thePakistan Under-19 side.
He settled in London after marrying an Englishwoman, Ann. From 1989, Raja studied for aPGCE atDurham University, where he signed up for the cricket team.[2] He had a spell teaching geography, mathematics and physical education atCaterham School in Surrey. He was also a coach for the Pakistan Under-19 team, and anInternational Cricket Councilmatch referee in 15 Tests and 34 ODIs from 2002 to 2004.
He died of a heart attack inMarlow, Buckinghamshire, England, in August 2006 while playing cricket for the Surrey over-50s side. He is survived by his wife and his sons, Ali and Ahmad.
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 flatwrist spin with his right hand that was good enough to take 51 wickets in Tests, with his scalps includingClive Lloyd,Roy Fredericks,Glenn Turner andViv 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.
His finest hour in Test cricket was the tour to the West Indies in 1976–77, when he topped the Pakistanibatting averages with 517 runs at 57.4 and came second in thebowling averages with 7 wickets at 18.7, behindMajid Khan. He also scored 14sixes 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 drawn1st Test inBarbados, to push the West Indies to within one wicket of their first loss atKensington Oval since 1935. In their second innings, Pakistan were reduced to 158–9 byAndy Roberts andColin Croft, a lead of only 144 just over halfway through the fourth day, but a last-wicket stand of 133 withWasim 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 the4th Test in 1994. He was a cricket teacher atHaslemere Preparatory School from 2004 to 2006. There is a memorial plaque there in his honour. He is also remembered in the northeast of England, playing for Durham CCC, before the county was awarded first-class status.
With Adam Licudi,Cornered Tigers: History of Pakistan’s Test Cricket from Abdul Kardar to Wasim Akram, 1997, 300 p.
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