Wahab Riaz, the Pakistani fast bowler, was at his destructive best, as he took three wickets in a fiery spell on the third day in the second innings of Sri Lanka on Sunday. Riaz grabbed 3-10 to derail Sri Lanka’s second innings, to left Sri Lanka in tottering on 34-5 at the stumps.
But, during his fiery spell, he also did some buzzard things, world Cricket has never witnessed before.
During his spell, at one point Wahab Riaz missed his run-up and aborted the delivery five times in a row. The incident occurred as the left-arm pacer attempted to deliver the 5th ball of his 19th over – 111th over of Sri Lanka’s first innings. Riaz’s struggles left wicketkeeper-captain Sarfaraz Ahmed and coach Mickey Arthur visibly upset. While Sarfaraz didn’t say a word, Arthur having had seen enough, stood up and walked back into the dressing room.
Having made his Test debut in 2008, Riaz already holds the unwanted record of most no-balls for overstepping, as he has crossed the 100-mark already.