PAKISTAN is touring the West Indies in times when the hosts are not playing their best cricket. They are rarely seen playing as a unit, the selection policy is in tatters, the best players are being ignored owing to a battle with their cricket board which ought to be the worst set-up in the cricketing world.

But it wasn’t always like this. In fact, there was a time when the West Indies were the best team on Planet Earth. United under the inimitable Clive Lloyd, they won almost everything against every opposition in the 1970s and the ‘80s and were dubbed as ‘invincible’ for their never ending unbeaten run in world cricket.

Pakistan, on the other hand, despite having the services of some great players at the time who also had rich county experience, was still some way behind the West Indies in terms of batting firepower and fast bowling ammunition. However, the one player who constantly took the West Indies on and was a thorn in their side was Wasim Hassan Raja, the lanky left-hander with an unbelievable repertoire of strokes.

He was the one who stood out among his colleagues, along with the mighty Majid Khan, and made them believe that even a team as powerful as the West Indies could be dominated and defeated.

Born on 3rd July 1952 in Multan, Wasim Raja was a former under-19 captain with a reputation of being a ruthless batsman on his day. A left-handed player, he loved to dance down the track to the fastest of bowlers and his lofted drives against them was a spectacle ‘rarely’ witnessed in this part of the world.

Pakistan was all set to host West Indies after 16 years in 1974-75. Lance Gibbs and Mushtaq Muhammad were the only two survivors of the last series played between the two nations in 1958-59.

While Pakistan’s brand of cricket then was pretty old-fashioned, since their priority was to draw a Test match rather than it being result-oriented.

West Indies, on the other hand, were returning from India after winning a closely fought series, and were determined to crush Pakistan in the two-Test series.

It was in the second Test match at Karachi on March 1, 1975 when the 22-year-old Raja, playing in just his 8th Test, displayed his liking for the West Indian pacers. Andy Roberts, coincidentally also playing his 8th Test, was in full cry at the time and had reduced Pakistan to 178-5 when Raja took control.

In a defiant partnership of 68 with skipper Intikhab Alam and another of 128 with wicket-keeper Wasim Bari, Raja went on to score his first Test hundred. A crowd invasion to congratulate Raja turned into the cricket ground into a battle field as police clashed with public for over two hours.

In the West Indies innings, Raja sprained his ankle badly while bowling and had to leave the field. In the meanwhile, Sadiq Muhammad was hit by a full-blooded shot from Vanburn Holder while fielding at short leg and was also forced to go off. When Pakistan went into bat the second time, they were soon in trouble and injured Sadiq had to come out and bat despite lot of discomfort and pain.

Sadiq did manage to save his side from defeat by playing a gritty knock, but when the 9th wicket fell at 253, he was still in his 90s and Pakistan were only 167 runs ahead. Wasim Raja, whose foot was in plaster, then decided to come out with an aim to help Sadiq get a well deserved hundred in front of his home crowd.

Those were the days of 8-ball overs and Sadiq unfortunately blundered with calculation, leaving Raja to play a full over from veteran spinner Lance Gibbs. Greatly hampered in his movement at the crease, Raja was bowled for 1 by Gibbs and Sadiq was left stranded at 98. However, the courageous gesture from both Sadiq and Raja earned them thunderous applause from the packed crowd which was a joy to watch.

When Pakistan toured the West Indies in 1977 for a five-Test series, Raja had blossomed into a marvellous batsman and was in peak form. In the first Test at Bridgetown, Barbados, Raja sporting a beard this time, scored a scintillating 117*, hitting the daylights out of the ferocious West Indian pace attack comprising Andy Roberts, Colin Croft and Joel Garner.

Entering the field with Pakistan not too well placed at 207-5, he stayed till the end to take Pakistan to a formidable 435. He rescued his side again in the next innings with a fearless, priceless 71 in an invaluable 133-run stand with wicketkeeper Bari to thwart a surefire West Indian victory.

Raja topscored in the next Test at Port-of-Spain, with 65 and 84, hitting four sixes but unfortunately Pakistan lost the match. In the fourth Test at the same ground, Raja and Mushtaq played vital roles in Pakistan’s big win that helped the visitors level the series. Raja scored 70 with the help of three sixes, and was also among the wickettakers.

Raja finished the series with an impressive aggregate of 517 runs to his name which was the third highest after Gordon Greenidge (537) and Majid Khan (530). His seven wickets in the series included scalp of West Indian skipper Clive Lloyd, Viv Richards and Roy Fredricks. He also set a record of most sixes in a Test series, 14, which remains intact despite the passage of 40 long years.

“No West Indian fast bowler can get past him in this mood,” said the great Sir Gary Sobers of the left-hander.

When both teams met again at Karachi, Wasim Raja was involved in yet another rear guard action of note. It was December 1980, Javed Miandad was the new captain and Pakistan were heading for a defeat. Coming in at 82-4 in the second innings, Raja scored a fluent 77 and remained unbeaten till the end of the match.

Pakistan is also indebted to Raja for inflicting the first defeat in an ODI on the world champions West Indies in December 1981. Needing 141 to win in a low-scoring match, West Indies were 85-4 when Raja, with his top spin, dismissed four of the last six batsmen and caught the last man brilliantly to see his team through. West Indies lost the match by 8 runs and Raja was named the Man of the Match.

It was ‘double trouble’ for the West Indies on 6th March 1985, ten years after Wasim Raja had walked out to bat against them with a plastered foot. It was the second semi final of the World Championship of Cricket in Australia. Clive Lloyd wanted to make his last ODI appearance memorable, but two Rajas ruined it for him.

Wasim Raja, with his leg-breaks helped in restricting the Windies to just 159, and later Pakistan achieved the target in the 47th over, due to a brisk 60 by younger brother Rameez Raja.

In his 13-year career, spanning from 1972-1985, Wasim Raja played 57 Tests for Pakistan, scoring 2821 runs at an average of 36. Against the West Indies he played in 11 Tests, scored 919 runs at an enviable average of over 57 with two hundreds and five scores of fifty and above. Out of Raja’s 21 ODI wickets, 11 were the West Indians.

Wasim Raja’s father was a high-ranking civil servant. Raja himself obtained a Master’s degree in political science from Government College, Lahore. He studied for a certificate in education from Durham University and later taught geography, mathematics and physical education at Caterham School in Surrey. He was also a coach for the Pakistan Under-19 team, and an ICC match referee in 15 Tests and 34 ODIs from 2002 to 2004.

He would been a great T-20 player had he been alive since his style of cricket perfectly suited the format. The mercurial all-rounder left thousands of his fans shocked with his untimely death in August 2006, just days before Pakistan were to play its maiden T-20 international match in England, that too just 100 miles away from where he was playing an over-50s match for Surrey. Raja suddenly felt dizzy and collapsed and was carried off the ground. A man who had been the darling of crowds wherever he played, left the world rather quietly. He is survived by his wife and his sons, Ali and Ahmad.

The title of Raja was usually given to monarchs or princely rulers during the British Raj in the Indian sub continent. In the cricketing world, the late Wasim Raja was true to his title as there never will be a player like him.

Published in Dawn, April 20th, 2017