Mohammad Zahid: Pakistan's other 100mph man!!

We have a lot of new members on PakPassion and they will have missed the previous thread on this lightning fast bowler, so why not rekindle the discussion.

Way back in 1997 just before Shoaib Akhtar burst onto the scene there was a man called Mohammad Zahid. Everyone who saw Zahid knew he wasnt just fast but he was lightning quick.

Some fans would later argue that Zahid was quicker than Akhtar but Dr Tauseef Razzaq whom worked closely with both Shoaib and Zahid claimed that Zahid was at least as fast as Shoaib himself..



...we all know that Shoaib is a 100mph bowler!

In fact Zahid's pace became a talking point after an over he bowled to the great Brian Lara where he made Lara look like a novice...



Everyone who saw that over and lived to tell the tale has been converted into a Zahid fan. I've never seen it myself (if anyone has a clip them please post it) but I've read plenty of descriptions of it.

Apparently he beat Lara with pure pace for 5 balls before taking his wicket on the final ball of that electrifying over.

That display of express pace even impressed Brian Lara himself whom went on to call Zahid the fastest bowler in the world...



...that's an impressive accolade from Lara who has faced such demons as Waqar and Donald at their peaks!!

Sadly Zahid's story was cut short by a serious injury and no medical support from the PCB (till it was too late anyway).

Mohammad Zahid made a comeback in 02/03 after a few operations on his broken back and during the match the commentators were going on about how he had lost his speed and was a pale shadow of his old self. Despite that he recorded 144.5 kph/89.8 mph during the match!!

Now that speed was recorded by a Zahid whose pace was gone and who was struggling with a back injury!! A Zahid who was clearly slower and more laboured than he had been previously.

Now imagine how fast this guy was before breaking his back if he was registering around 90mph after breaking his back and losing his speed!!

Pakistan and the world lost the chance to see an opening bowling attack with two 100mph bowlers terrorising batsmen from each end.

Just close your eyes for a minute and imagine Akhtar tearing in from one end bowling 100mph thunderbolts and then instead of Sami or Rana. Imagine Zahid flying in and releasing more 100mph sonic booms from the other end!

Oh what could have been...

I dont remember the thread but I watched that World Series. I remmeber we used to post scores of 160 and be able to defend them (akram and saqlain being important factors as well).
Well, the PCB is responsible for shoaib's deterioration by making him bowl on utterly flat tracks; so that makes him their second express pace victim.

Cheer up Merc, ull find someone else

I've said it a thousand times (and I'll say it again)...Pakistan's biggest (cricketing) tragedy.

What could have been.

Shame on PCB!!!!

Such a shame that someone like Zahid was not able to show what he really capable of.

RR the point is how often do two 100mph bowlers come along at once??

And from the same country

i agree with raz.

That's what I meant.

How often do two 100mph bowlers come along for the same country at the same time??

There come and go bowlers with lots of potential but the body refuses to support them. Ian Bishop lost to his body (though he had played more than Zahid) and Ngam I think is a prime example of immense potential.

Bond, if he suffers another major injury, will be added to the list. That just comes with the package of fast bowling. I don't think PCB is as much to blame as bad luck.

This could very well be the post of the week

I would love to see the Video, So can you or anyone upload the video please please please and yeah I heard he was dam good. He also challaged Lara that he will get his wicket. A friend of mine told me once.

being a diehard fan of fast bowling,its one of the saddest things in pakistan cricket.

Carl Hooper also claimed that Zahid was the quickest he'd faced.

I remember that over to Lara, but did he end up getting him out?
Because i remember a ball that had lara trapped in front PLUMB LBW...one of the most obvious decisions ever...and it wasnt given,

His run-up was even longer than Shoaib's! Must have been around 45 yards.

I watched that series and he was indeed very, very fast. He troubled all batsmen with his pace and bounce. The commentators were raving about him. I vaguely remember him bowling to Lara, not whether he got him out etc.

When he last played he was a shadow of a shadow of his former self.

wat kind of injury did zahid have ?

few back fractures............etc............

I agree. I think it is just a case of him being one of those unfortunate injury prone bowlers, whose body could not sustain the pace he was bowling at.

Even after the serious injury, he kept picking up injuries.

I am sure you will find another one in the near future, pak has this trend of finding express bowlers when one dissapears of the scene. But Zahid, man I have watched him in Aus, what an awesome player he was; clean action, scarey speed. I used to sit there and think if only he was indian ..

Can anyone update us on his situation now.....

Heres a Picture of the man:

. . . . . no words . . . . .

for those of you who never saw him bowl or know the full story download this clip credit goes to DM:
http://download.yousendit.com/3BE6E23082EF02E0

enjoy lads!

Too much talk about him on this board and what could have been. Yes, it is a cricketing tragedy but no need to cry over spoilt milk every two months with a new thread posted about him. You might as well just merge the others because its time to move on. This was 9 years ago, now lets focus on the future rather than the past. We cannot change the past, but we can change the future.

Link doesn't work.

how old is he know and what the real truth with his injury?

uzzy dear give me a min here gettting it on justupit .seems like its working now....n iqbal wait for the clip once you watch it you will know what the injury prob was with zahid!

here you go peeps.........
http://media.putfile.com/zahid-another-champion-bowler

&
http://www.JustUpIt.com/b8810c821c0...c6f22306f2b3fef

enjoy!! and listen to aamir sohail at the end he will tell you the exact problem zahid had with his back!!!!

Bit harsh. Perhaps you are not old enough to have seen him play? May affect your opinion of him?

Fact is he existed. Fact is he was lethal. Fact is he was cut short in his prime. Fact is he will be discussed for many years to come.

You cannot rewrite history and pretend that Mohd Zahid never happened. I dont see anyone crying over him - as far as I know he is still alive!!!

ah what a shame.....

good point oxy about how those who were too young then,or not interested in cricekt then.the reason we keep bringing it up is he wasnt just some bowler who could bowl just ball quick,he was the fastest thing i had EVER seen.comparable to shoaib,and i mean shoaib bowling at his fastest. this guy was a lot more than a PROSPECT, he was barring shoaib the most vicious fast bowler ive seen in pakistan and among the nastiest in the world EVER.
it was a stress fracture that got him,same thing that happened to ian bishop who when he started was SO quick,i remember a spell of bowling in west indies to robin smith....one of the fastest spells of short pitched bowling ever.though bishops stress fracture effectivelly ended his carreer by destroying his pace,he still got to play quite a bit.even waqar had a stress fracture but he recovered wella nd also regained alot of pace.the sad thing si that zahid could never recover,wasnt really given alot of attention by the pcb until too late,so it was a great injustice on who couldve been one of our great fast bowlers.it wasnt about potential and "this guy might be the real deal..." he WAS for surewhich is why we keep bringin it up.it was a great injustice along with just bad luck.but theres nothing wrong in talkin about the past bro.infact its good to reminisce(or however u spell it).respect for the past

"Fact is he existed. Fact is he was lethal. Fact is he was cut short in his prime. Fact is he will be discussed for many years to come."

THerefore its a FACTING shame that he was wasted in this manner

thanks buddy but no video

what do you mean no video???? spent 3 hours to get that thing working..have you downloaded it?? if yes then play it on VLC player..........i played it on my windows media and was fine:!!!

i played on Window media player and there is no video

you need to download codes then...go to www.divx.com
or google VLC player n download it

okie, thanks

Was that 11- wicket haul against NZ his debut?

I had the pleasure of meeting Zahid on a few occasions when he played for Liverpool cricket club a couple of seasons ago.

Firstly I must say what a great lad he is. Friendly, down to earth and very honest.

The fact of the matter is sadly, his devastating pace is gone. He will never be the same again and he may get a few games in domestic circles and club cricket overseas, but the days of international cricket and 100mph bowling are gone.

When I watched him for the first time it was noticebale just what a beautiful runup and action he had. He was still bowling decent pace, but nothing to scare international cricketers. After I'd been to watch him a few times he recognised me and I approached him for a chat. He was wearing his Pak green cap proudly, the hairline had receded, but the physique was still there. Tall, lanky, powerful guy with a good sense of humour.

Whilst I regret not doing a full interview of Zahid, I managed to still get a few questions in as he sat with his pads on at Sefton Park cricket club. I asked him about his injury, he said he had been recalled to the Pak team when not fully fit and bowled a lot of overs during Mark Taylors epic triple ton - this basically made his back injury worse and he has never fully recovered from that injury. He was not properly diagnosed or treated and continued to play whilst still not 100% correct. I could sense his pain as he spoke about the injury and whilst he did not mention anybody in particular, I could sense there was some anger there, although he did not have a bad word to say about any individuals.

He also mentioned that playing in the same team as Wasim (PIA) had helped him greatly, thought Pakistan would always produce great players, largely due to the passion for the game.

I asked him how fit he was these days and he showed me a huge strapping on his right leg which basically stretched from his shin right up to his groin, he also said he was having problems with a shoulder injury.

I could have sat and chatted all day to this genius, but sadly for me he was promoted up the batting order and I had to leave for home then.

I met him a few times after that and he was a credit to himself and his country.

Its a tragedy for Pakistan cricket that Mohamed Zahid was not looked after by the PCB and his injury treated in a proper way.

Hey DM bhai,

What was that soundtrack called used in that video?
Nice video actually pretty sad story and good soundtrack to go with it.

The faster the ball, the faster it races to the boundary...
I believe more in line and length than speed.

had this guy played for 10 years i am sure we wud have had another legend on our hands.

I saw him on his peak in world series and also his desbut against NZ i think. the guy took 11 wickets in his first test.

I still beleive that he was quicker than shoaib. and that is saying something !

when you run from 40 odd yarsd and bowl that quick, injuries are inevitable. But i think Ramiz has to take some blame for this tragedy. he made him bowl 11 or 12 overs in think in SL on dead pitches, WITHOUT his bowling shoes. Zahid had lost his kit ans was without his bowling shoes

Rmaiz Raja the make shift captain still played in that test and insisted that he bowled in ordinary shoes. Just so he can win a test and remain captain. Everyone knew he was never gonna be the captain for long. But he gave it a shot neverthless and ended Zahid's career.

Agree I have not seen him play live, I have seen old matches and what not. I am not saying we need to ignore him, but what annoys me is that every two months someone creates a thread about him. Such as "Remember Moh...", "What a tragedy..." and so forth.

Its annoying that people keep talking about him. In my opinion its all lethal. Sami looked threatening when he first came on, Saqlain looked like to become the worlds best spinner, however that did not happen? Its all hindsight, how don't we know that within a year teams may figure him out? Like Asif, he had the x-factor at that time.

Yup he was fast, but no need ot remind us every two months with a a new thread. Or even better, just create a section on the website solely dedicating it too Zahid.

why dont u just ignore the mohamad zahid threads,and let those whod rather talk about it be?

Typical response. I can't ignore the thread when I am on the board. Just clutters up space. My point is that if you merge so many threads together, why not merge this one with all the other Zahid related threads?

I can see only one Zahid thread on the main page.

It works with VLC.

If you find me the Zahid threads and I will merge them.

The only other Zahid thread I can find in the cricket forum hasnt been posted in since 9th October 2005!! That's over 4 1/2 months ago.

Are you visiting a PakPassion in a parallel universe or something??

Not if with pace, you have skill.

DOES any one have the video of over he bowled to lara back in 1997?

typical?ur problem is soo.....meaningless,cluttering up space? you "cant ignore the thread" chalo at least it gives u something to do

On Sunday they showed an interview with Mohammad Akram on Raj TV. Akram was talking about wasted talent for Pakistan and he mentioned Mohammad Zahid.

Akram said that Zahid was the fastest bowler he'd ever seen in his life. So clearly Akram thinks Zahid was faster than Sami, Bond, Lee, Waqar, Donald and Akhtar!

mohd zahid was the granddaddy of em all........thats what my cousin told me...he said even brian charles lara acknowledged him of being the fastest ever bowler he had played at the time...(97/98 !

Hadn't seen this yet, fantastic post Merc, and absolutely love Saj's anecdote. I have said way too much on Zahid here so I won't bore the forum.

I have heard this and know people who have heard this from several Pakistani cricket pros (the Ireland bunch) as well. These are established batsmen and I was struck by how quickly and with conviction they related that Zahid was faster. Don't forget that with his slower-looking action, and after all his multiple injuries, he still clocked 90mph in South Africa - this man certainly bowled at least more than 95mph.

Mohammad Zahid will always be a legend.

He also has to be the pioneer with uni bro.

This has got to be the most depressing post ever. To have one of the fastest ever bowlers ending his career after a couple of years is such a crying shame. But no one will ever know how sad it really is apart from Mo Zahid.

depressing is the best word used....

I will never forget MOhammad Zahid

For someone, who after breaking his back makes a comeback n bowls at 90mph is an achievement within itself. Anyway, if Allah gives talent, then surely he can deprive one of it as well.

k now as I find myself more of a Mohammad Zahid fan than a Shoaib Akhtar fan can sum1 pls tell me the no of test matches mohammad zahid played n some details abt those matches (like the opposition the match was played against)
I'm going to pk today n i'm gona try n get my hands onto the test matches (he featured in) dvds
THX

If u are an indian, i woud say ...YOU DONT HAVE A CHOICE
you have to think, line n length is better then pace

well he played a match against the windies were apparently he terrorised Lara

From Cricinfo:

"Mohammad Zahid is another new lethal fast bowler from Punjab thus keeping alive the Province's tradition of producing fast bowlers. He is said to be a genuine fast bowler produced after a long period of time. He took 11 wkts in his debut test against New Zealand and became the only Pakistani to have taken 10 wkts or more on his debut. Although he still needs some improvement in his line and length, his bowling is really devastating and can tear a batting side into pieces. He picked up a back injury in the tour to Sri Lanka and after his back operation has not yet made his return to the world of cricket. All Pakistan cricket fans hope it wont be long before he comes back to the Pakistan side to strengthen its already formidable bowling attack. (Waheed Bajwa , Jan 1998) "


Test Debut:
http://uk.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/1...-01DEC1996.html

Warm-up match Vs touring NZ side - check out this card:
http://uk.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/1...-19NOV1996.html

How many bowled or lbw there?

that was a one day in austrailia vb series.

in the same series windies had a fast bowler as well..when i say fast i mean super duper quick...same bracket as zahid, pindi.....he was a bit fat though...wonder what happend to him later on since i never actually saw him play for the windies after that tour..and by the he did pick quite a few wickets in the matches he played .

See his record below in ODIs and Test matches. I saw him on TV in his debut series in Pak (Dec 1996). He looked way better than what Asif is right now. Then I saw him in Toronto in Sep 1998 in last 2 matches of Sahara cup. He saw not the same bowler. I heard, that it was more than injuries that ruined his career.

ODIs
http://stats.cricinfo.com/guru?sdb=...elds=viewty pe


Test Matches;
http://stats.cricinfo.com/guru?sdb=...elds=viewty pe

you comparing asif with zahid ? its like comparing apples with oranges ...

I tried to arrange an interview with the captain of one of the club teams that Zahid played for recently, but unfortunately it never materialised. I might try again though.

Would have been some wonderful insight.

*bumped* for YK ...and Amir

You had to bump it again Oxy didn't you.

YK requested it.....

so what more is there to discuss

^ Nothing, I just wanted to read about Mo Zahid and his story, thanks Oxy 4 re-directing.

Any idea where Zahid is these days? Maybe Noddy bhai can shed some light on what Zahid is up to these days. It'd probably be nice if Zahid knows he has a huge fan base on the internet. Maybe a television interview with the fastest bowler ever in cricket wouldn't do him much harm either.

Mohammad Zahid made a comeback in 02/03 after a few operations on his broken back and during the match the commentators were going on about how he had lost his speed and was a pale shadow of his old self. Despite that he recorded 144.5 kph/89.8 mph during the match!!

Now that speed was recorded by a Zahid whose pace was gone and who was struggling with a back injury!! A Zahid who was clearly slower and more laboured than he had been previously.

Now imagine how fast this guy was before breaking his back if he was registering around 90mph after breaking his back and losing his speed!!

Why was he allowed to bowl 15 overs in a 50 over match??

Any chance of a photo of him in action (if you can)

yeh sure
ill try

During his prime how fast was he? i didn't get see him play much but according to many articles he was extremely quick

Another thread on Mohammad Zahid. His quickest ball, measured by DM and lahori, was estimated at 101 MPH.