Express Striker to Express Pacer: The Potential To Become A Renowned Death Specialist
A tale of a late bloomer speedster making his way up the ladder amongst well-seasoned death specialists.
In a way, the icons the illustrious Pakistan Pace Factory has produced over the course of the various cricketing eras are akin to fine wine. Irrespective of how long it has been since The Two Ws, Imran Khan, Rawalpindi Express, etc hung their boots, odds are a fan who has never watched them live on their TV would still be in awe watching clips of their prime bowling. Odds are no matter how many times a fan watches the iconic Sharjah 1989 spell of Wasim, Lahore 2002 spell of Pindi Express, etc, they would still ponder, “how could he do that?!?!?!”. Odds are your father immediately begins to reminisce about the good ol’ days at the sight of seeing those spells, experiencing a substantial level of déjà vu, as if it is his raison d'être. That is the textbook definition of fine wine; the older the wine is, the more exotic the taste, a literal personification of the saying, “old is gold.”.
Certainly, there are currently active pacers en route to the fine wine road, such as Shaheen Shah Afridi, Hasan Ali, and Mohammad Abbas. Another name one can throw to the ring is Haris Rauf, a 140+ right-arm pacer, dubbed the successor to the original Rawalpindi Express, as Rauf hails from the twin-city. Albeit not the youngest (age 27), Rauf has the aggression and potential to electrify any crowd, and more importantly, Pakistani fans, like the same pacer he is dubbed to succeed did once upon a time. Rauf also has the potential to become a renowned T20 death specialist. Interested in reading the tale of a Pakistani pacer who has the gumption of aging like fine wine? Scroll down to read how his journey has unfolded thus far!
The Unearthing
Rauf hails from Rawalpindi, popularly known as the “Twin City”, as it is adjacent to the capital city Islamabad. In the cricketing world, one would recognize it from Shoaib Akhtar’s, “Rawalpindi Express.”, who holds the record of the fastest delivery for 18 years and counting, a 161.3 kph during the 2003 World, bowled at England’s Nick Knight to complete a maiden over. But, enough with reminiscing about the good ol’ days, let us get back to the topic at hand: Haris Rauf.
In Rauf’s college days, he attended Islamabad Model College for Boys. While Rauf was a part of both their football and cricket teams, he was more interested in football at the time. Rauf also played tape-ball cricket in the streets of Pindi, which is said to be how Mohammad Hafeez and Misbah-ul-Haq broke into the higher caliber cricketing scene. When Rauf enrolled in International Islamic University, he joined their cricket team and started to become more involved with the sport. He also started playing with the traditional hard cork ball.
Rauf’s fortunes changed drastically when his university team coach forced him to appear in the Lahore Qalandars Player Trials in September 2017 at Gujranwala. Rauf was initially reluctant to go, under the belief that he had no chance of advancing forward, and that without any strong connections (known in Urdu as “sifarish”), it would only end up being a bootless errand.
However, destiny had other plans for Rauf, as the coach of Qalandars, Aaqib Javed, took him under the Qalandari wing and offered him a contract. Rauf would move to Lahore to join the Lahore Qalandars Academy. Rauf was then sent to Australia to play in Western Suburbs Cricket Club in Sydney, the same club as former World Cup-winning captain Michael Clarke, having signed a 10-year contract with the club. Rauf made his second-grade debut in the 2017-18 season. In 2018, Rauf played in the Abu Dhabi T20 in the UAE, where he further rose to prominence.
Abu Dhabi T20
Rauf played for the Qalandars in the only edition of the Abu Dhabi T20, which saw other T20 leagues/domestic teams in the tournament, specifically Auckland Aces, Hobart Hurricanes, Boost Defenders, Titans, and Yorkshire Vikings. The Qalandars squad was bolstered by the likes of internationally capped prodigy pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi, a very experienced T20 freelancer in Mitchell McClenaghan, and the great Abdul Razzaq, all whom Rauf would have the opportunity to rub shoulders with. The wickets chart doesn’t paint the entire picture; it was in the final against Titans where Rauf glistened, specifically at the death.
Rauf was tasked with bowling to an internationally capped middle order in Theunis de Bruyn, Heino Kuhn, captain Albie Morkel, and Chris Morris. In only his 4th delivery, Rauf bowled a 141kph sharp bouncer to Kuhn, who attempted to play it across the line to no avail. Two balls prior to the penultimate over, Rauf sent down a 148kph thunderbolt toe-cruncher to Kuhn, who was clueless on how to weather that thunderbolt. Sri Lankan great Mahela Jayawardene was impressed by the speedster.
Rauf would be trusted with defending 19 runs in the final over.
In spite of the spectacle Rauf was putting on, it is always a very perilous decision to bestow upon the honor of conducting the final act on someone playing only his second T20, that too against two power hitters who have played T20 all over the world, and hence have been in situations akin to this often.
Given the experience Albie and Morris boasted, one would argue that this situation on paper was very much a living reincarnation of the Small Doge and Big Doge meme.
First delivery: a 142kph yorker struck straight to the cover point. Second delivery: a 143kph yorker struck straight to mid-wicket for a quick single. Third delivery: an attempted loft off a 145kph yorker, but could only squeeze in another single. Fourth delivery: another 145kph yorker guided toward deep square leg, albeit only mustering a single. Penultimate delivery: 144kph full toss, swing, but a miss from Albie however. Final delivery: 147kph yorker crashing into the off-stumps of Albie, as Rauf conceded only 3 runs in the final over, sealing the title for the Qalandars by 15 runs.
. 1 1 1 . W
Albie Morkel on Twitter would say it was the best yorkers he faced in years, an enormous compliment by someone who has had the honor of facing the likes of Mitch Johnson, Gillespie, Shoaib Akhtar, Malinga, and Shaun Tait throughout the course of his career.
Owing to his spell at the death, Rauf would be snapped up in the PSL4 draft by the Qalandars in the Supplementary category.
New Year, New Me
To start off 2019, alongside fellow Pakistani pacer Salman Irshad, who was also playing club cricket in Australia, had the exclusive privilege of bowling to India’s captain, Virat Kohli as well as KL Rahul and Cheteshwar Pujara, with India touring Australia for 4 Tests, 3 ODIs and 3 T20Is at the time
Rauf also took a picture with the Indian skipper, “I was extremely fortunate that I got to bowl at Virat Kohli in the nets during India’s recent tour of Australia. That experience was amazing as I got to learn a few things and he also gave me some tips which have been very useful for me.” he told Geo.tv
“It was a learning experience for us, Indian coaches and players praised our bowling which was very morale-boosting for us,” he added.
“It is always good to bowl against best batsmen of the world, being told ‘good bowling’ by them was a great feeling for me,”
Rauf's debut PSL season was also a memorable one, finishing in the top 10 wicket-takers list, with 11 wickets at 24.27, including a spell of 4/23 against arch-rivals Karachi Kings to help defend a measly target of 139, taking the scalps of Mohammad Rizwan, Ravi Bopara, captain Imad Wasim, and Sohail Khan respectively.
That same year in December, Rauf got a gig in the BBL to replace an injured Dale Steyn at Melbourne Stars, whom Rauf coincidentally idolized. Unarguably, Rauf’s debut BBL season rose his stock significantly in the cutthroat world of franchise leagues.
Big Bash
Prior to joining the Stars side, he was playing for Glenorchy Magpies in Tasmania’s T20 Premier League, where he had taken the scalp of D’Arcy Short, just a week before his debut. In just his third match for the Magpies, he had taken figures of 4-12 against D’Arcy’s club, Clarence.
The build-up to his debut just showed the heat he was about to introduce to the mix of the then ongoing season. Wicketkeeper Ben Dunk, while speaking to Channel 7 said that “Every batsman that walked over towards his net said, “No thank you, I’ll take the spin net.” “He ended up bowling to no one.”
Steyn had also heard about the thunderbolts Rauf was throwing down in the nets,
"I never even knew Haris was here until I got here," Steyn told cricket.com.au.
"I didn't know much about him and watched him bowl in the nets before the first game he played and he scared everybody."
"He was bouncing guys and eventually they had to go to him and say, 'look, you've got to stop bowling now. We've got a game tomorrow. You can't injure any of these guys.'
The hype Rauf managed to cultivate within the Stars camp by a mere net practice session signified he would have lofty expectations to live up to, and Rauf certainly did create the impact the Stars were anticipating from match one.
Rauf would make his BBL debut against the Brisbane Heat. The standard Rauf had set during the net practice session would already begin to be satisfied, taking 2 wickets in opener Max Bryant and Mitchell Swepson for figures of 6 and 2 respectively. Rauf would finish with figures of 2-20 of his allotted quota.
In the Stars’ next fixture, Rauf took at least one wicket in every over against the Hobart Hurricanes. He finished his quota scalping his maiden T20 fifer and BBL Man Of The Match Award at the Summerton Reserve, with figures of 5-27. His scalps included Ben McDermott, Macalister Wright, Tom Rogers, Qais Ahmad, and Nathan Ellis for scores of 5, 10, 1, 0 and 12 respectively.
Rauf was rested for their next two fixtures following that scintillating spell, and would next play the Sydney Thunder. Recuperating for a brief period did not hamper his form, as Rauf was able to carry on his fiery form from the Canes fixture, scalping a 3fer, with the icing on the cake being all genuine batsmen. His scalps were Thunder skipper Callum Ferguson, Daniel Sams and Alex Ross for scores of 19, 13 and 40 respectively. Ross’ dismissal saw him attempting to loft a 147.2kph length delivery over mid-on, but with his hands high and away and given the speed of the delivery, Ross ultimately mistimed his shot and comfortably allowed the ball to peg his offstump. Rauf finished with figures of 3-24.
Rauf would be rested for the Stars’ next fixture against crosstown rivals Renegades, returning to the fold against the opposition he last played against, the Thunder. A doubleheader day, Rashid Khan had taken the fifth BBL hattrick in history during the afternoon fixture at Adelaide Oval. Rauf would reciprocate Rashid’s magic for the Stars in the evening fixture against the Thunder.
Wicketless in his first 3 overs, it appeared that the inevitable was near, the inevitable being going wicketless for the first time in his BBL career. While a godly figure could extinguish any inevitability he desires to, a traditional human could postpone the inevitability for a certain period at the very least. And postponing the inevitable was the path Rauf chose to take in the final over of the innings with an indelible hattrick. With 5 balls left in the first innings, the Thunder were 144-2, with a set captain Ferguson and Gilkes at the crease. Looking to score last-minute quick runs, Gilkes lofted a slower short delivery by Rauf, with Gilkes being able to get only the elevation on the ball, eventually finding a diving Sandeep Lamichhane, as Gilkes’ innings ended on 41. Next ball, Rauf bowled a 125kph fullish cutter to Ferguson, who shuffled across his stumps to play a mistimed shot, only to help the ball ricochet to his stumps. To seal the hattrick in a trademark manner, Rauf amped up the pace, with a 144.8kph length delivery skidding onto his right pad to pin Daniel Sams LBW first ball, as Rauf delayed the inevitable in the most entertaining manner, finishing with figures of 3-23, with Rauf also sealing his second MOTM award of the season.
Rauf became the first Stars player to take a hattrick, an accolade the likes of capped Faulkner, Malinga, and DJ Bravo were unable to have to their name.
One could say the aggression showcased by Rauf in his final over can be compared with that of a roaring tiger surrounded by agile prey in the wilderness, striking them in one swoop as if they are bowling pins.
A few matches after the hattrick, Rauf received his maiden call-up to don Pakistan colors, against Bangladesh for a 3 match T20I series at Lahore, as a man who believed he had no chance to make the cut at Qalandars’ Player Trials unless he had connections would prove his past self wrong, not by obtaining connections, but by putting the yards in since that fateful day in Gujranwala, to reach the stature of being meritorious enough to be a part of the national squad in the eyes of the selection committee.
International Stage
Rauf made his international debut in the first of the three Bangladesh T20Is, on 24th January, 2020. Rauf’s first international wicket would ripen halfway through his third over, with a 144kph full delivery that crashed into the stumps of Afif Hossain akin to a lightning strike, completing his first international match with figures of 1-32 in Rauf’s allotted quota.
During the 2nd T20I, Rauf cleaned up the stumps of captain Mahmudullah for an even 12 with a quick, full and straight delivery, with Mahmudullah taking a step back to get underneath the delivery to no avail. Along with taking the wicket of the experienced Mahmudullah, Rauf also kept it tight throughout his spells, finishing with figures of 1-27, as Pakistan sealed the series with a 9 wicket win, with the 3rd T20I being a washout.
Even though Rauf’s international debut wasn’t as groundbreaking as his BBL debut, it was not as if it was a forgettable debut, merely that Rauf got a taste of what it is like to play at the international level, where the pressure is significantly amplified given what is at stake, as when you are in possession of the cork ball and are eventually in your bowling stride to bowl the delivery, along with the traditional 163-gram weight of the ball is also the weight of the 216.6 million Pakistanis’ hopes.
About a week later, Rauf returned to Australia to play for the Stars in the BBL Playoffs.
Big Bash Playoffs
Rauf’s purple form played a crucial role in Stars qualifying for the Top 5, as they managed to top the group stage with 10 wins and 4 losses and directly went into the Qualifier, presenting them the option to have another bite at the cherry.
The Qualifier was held at the Stars’ backyard, who would be facing the Sixers. Rauf’s only impact in the Qualifier would be the wicket of Joshua Philippe, who, like Rauf, holds promise. Facing a 144kph short ball, Philippe could only get the top edge on it, which went high up in the air, eventually landing safely in Rauf’s hands, ending Philippe’s innings on 34. However, the Stars would eventually crash to a 43 run defeat.
As a result of the thrashing at the hands of the Sixers, the Stars’ needed their next bite at the cherry to be a sweet one, otherwise, they would have to savor the unsweet aftertaste of their season coming to an unfruitful end. Ironically, the Stars’ opponents for the Challenger would be Sixers’ crosstown rivals, the Thunder, whom the Stars beat on both occasions in the group stage. Rauf played key roles in both encounters, with figures of 3/24 and 3/23 respectively. However, Rauf’s recent form in his last 6 matches was not as impactful, taking a wicket apiece at an average of 29.83 with an economy rate of 7.96.
Fortunately for the Stars, Rauf was reminiscent of his heat during the initial phase of his stint. During Rauf’s first over, he was driven for four by captain Ferguson on the second ball, who used the pace and over-pitched length to his advantage. Next ball, pitching it short, Rauf tilted the high pace in his favor, with Ferguson gloving it to keeper Seb Gotch, as Ferguson essentially solidified being Rauf’s bunny, having been dismissed by him in every Stars encounter during the season. In Rauf’s next over, his next scalp would come in Chris Morris, with Morris trying to take him downtown, exposing all three stumps in the process, as he fell for 21. Given 31 runs to defend in the final over, Rauf dismissed Jay Lenton for 10 in the second delivery with a length slower one, which Lenton launched high up in the air, with Nic Maddinson at deep midwicket sealing Rauf’s 3fer on his second attempt.
Rauf would concede only 2 runs in the final over, and the Stars would go on to win by 28 runs and qualify for their third final, with Rauf finishing with figures of 3-17.
Rauf’s 3fer in The Challenger helped him to become the fastest to 20 BBL wickets, the previous record holder being Mitchell Starc, who reached the milestone in 10 matches, while Rauf bettered him by one.
Unfortunately for Rauf and the Stars, the inevitable came to fruition in the final. The final was reduced to 12 overs per innings due to rain with two bowlers allowed to bowl 3 of the 12 overs. Rauf, being the attack leader was naturally one of the two bowlers. Everything came crashing down at the most crucial juncture, as Rauf had completed a match wicketless for the first time in his BBL career, finishing with figures of 0-36. With a target of 117 for the Stars, they were only able to muster 97/6, with the Sixers becoming the champions for the second time. As a wise man once said, “luck is something that always runs out eventually.” While Rauf’s purple stint was unarguably anything but luck, as cliche a statement it is, every cricketer experiences bad days, and to the dismay of Rauf and the Stars, the bad day just so happened to have occurred in the match that mattered the most. This was inevitable.
Although it would be a sour pill to swallow, the loss does not take away from how much of a breakthrough season it was for Rauf. Rauf finished the season as the fourth-highest wicket-taker, with 20 wickets at an average of 13.40, and an economy rate of 7.05 in his 10 outings. Rauf was also able to make the cut in the BBL’s first-ever official Team of the Tournament. Taking into account what Rauf achieved throughout the season, it would be safe to state that the Pakistan Pace Factory gears are still well-oiled.
In-depth Analytical Breakdown of Rauf's Breakthrough BBL Season
On the surface, one can tell that Rauf had a prolific debut season. But, is there another perspective an in-depth breakdown of his stats can provide? Let's find out. For the purposes of this stats crunching, the top 10 pacers in BBL9 will be used, being Daniel Sams, Chris Morris, Tom Curran, Rauf, Peter Siddle, Wes Agar, Ben Dwarshius, Scott Boland, Chris Jordan, and Jhye Richardson respectively. Rauf's powerplay and death-over stats will be compared with the league average. The quality of wickets taken and pitch conditions will also be taken into account for this analytical breakdown.
The league average for death overs (minimum 24 balls bowled) is 5.17 wickets at 22.38 with an economy rate of 9.74, with Rauf having comfortably superior stats. Five right-arm fast bowlers (including Rauf) bowled at the death, bowling at least 24 deliveries.
Those include Wes Agar, Jhye, Nathan Coulter-Nile, and Steyn, whom Rauf replaced. Rauf was the best bowler of his class in BBL9, with the league average being 4.6 wickets at 17.28 with an economy rate of 7.93. Once again, Rauf is comfortably above average. The venue where Rauf took his hattrick (the MCG), was on a dry pitch, as well as his scalps in Sydney and Carrara, while his lone scalp at Docklands was on a flat pitch.
On the surface, Rauf's powerplay stats appear to be just as good. However, an in-depth breakdown shows that the powerplay is Rauf's worst phase in terms of economy rate, average, and dot percentage, echoing why captain Babar should refrain from bowling Rauf in the powerplay. The league powerplay average (minimum 24 balls bowled) was 3.15 wickets at 36.45, with an economy rate of 8.13, while the right-arm fast pacers powerplay league average (minimum 24 balls bowled) was 3.42 wickets at 33.83, with an economy rate of 8.34. The right-arm fast pacers powerplay stat also includes two additional names in Riley Meredith and Billy Stanlake. Rauf ticks the first two boxes in both stats, however, his economy rate is fairly higher than the average in both instances. Rauf's MCG scalps were on flat pitches, while his scalps in Moe and Carrara were on dry pitches.
WPA is a statistic term devised by the folks over at Cricmetric, which stands for Win Probability Added. One can clearly infer from the data that any wicket Rauf takes has a high probability of being favorably impactful toward the outcome of the game. It is interesting to note that Rauf's Bowling WPA is higher than Sams, the leading wicket-taker for pacers in BBL9. Following the meteoric rise Rauf experienced as a result of his very impactful season with the Stars, coach David Hussey lavished him with praise. “Whatever Haris Rauf does, I hope he actually represents Pakistan for 100 Tests, 400 T20Is & 150 ODIs. He’s brought a different dynamic to our group, he’s tried every game he’s played, he fields his butt off & he’s just fitted in the group perfectly,” Hussey said. It is evident that the Stars management saw a unique spark in Rauf, a spark radiant enough to give them the confidence to sign him as a replacement for his idol, Steyn. And the in-depth numbers further echo what the Stars expected Rauf to bring to the table.
Pakistan Tour of England
On June 12th, 2020, Rauf was selected for the T20I squad that would tour England. Rauf played the entire series but was unable to make an impact in the first two matches, with the first T20I becoming an eventual washout during England’s 1st innings.
In the final T20I, Rauf was able to showcase his death bowling potential at the international level. Given the final over, Rauf had to defend 17 runs to tie the series. First ball, a swing and a miss from Adil Rashid’s willow despite the ball within his range. Second ball, a 144kph yorker right in the blockhole. The third ball was 142kph, swinging into the toes of Rashid, who struck it for a quick two runs. With width on offer on the fourth ball, Rashid attempted an unorthodox shot, only managing a single. With two sixes needed for England to seal the series, the pressure arguably tilted towards England. However, Rauf bowled a slower back of a length with some width, which Curran used to his advantage to launch it for a high six. On the last ball, Curran had to pull a Miandad to seal the series for England. Fortunately for Pakistan, Rauf stuck to his traditional repertoire and opted for a 142kph wide yorker, which Curran was unable to connect, as Pakistan won by 5 runs, and the faith of the 216.6 million Pakistani fans entrusted on Rauf would be paid in sweet dividends, further cultivating his stock in the T20 world, and more importantly, in the Pakistani Cricket world.
The second generation of the Rawalpindi Express is not at all like the original icon. While Shoaib Akhtar needed a very long run-up to find a rhythm, speed, and control, it is the opposite for Rauf. Rauf, with his relatively short run-up, is able to generate a pace of 145+kph. Rauf's bowling arm is not especially delayed upon reaching front foot contact, but because his hand is facing away from the batsman at the junction, it helps him to create extra distance to accelerate the ball, and hence, enables him the capability of bowling fast. His stock ball is a split-finger grip which is generally 140+kph, also utilizing the stock ball for his short/length deliveries. While Rauf also utilizes various other grips to bowl 140+, his split-finger grip is his go-to. Rauf's slower one is a traditional cutter: fingers on the side of the seam and sliding the ball.
While the second generation of the Rawalpindi Express certainly doesn't have the acceleration of that of the first generation, it has the general ingredients that indicate with the proper fine-tuning, it has the potential of becoming a quality product. Although the second generation has just made its debut, it has already showcased that it has the potential to compete with the likes of Bumrah, Archer, Jordan, and Rabada, to become a renowned death specialist, and further establish his name in the cutthroat world of T20 and ultimately age like fine wine, for as only a diamond can polish another diamond. As JFK once said, "......man, in his quest for knowledge and progress, is determined and cannot be deterred."