Wasim played for at least 10 years at Lancashire, and when he arrived he was just a young lad trying to make his way.

There's probably five or six of us who've grown up with him really and he's regarded as a great friend and a great Lancastrian and that's probably the biggest compliment we can give him.

He'll forever remain 'one of the lads', he's always welcome back and he gets a great reception every time he comes up to Manchester.

As a bowler, his statistics speak for themselves. With over 400 wickets in both the Test and international arenas, he's already a legend.

He's up there with the best. The fact that he was a left-hander undoubtedly made him different and along with Waquar Younis he's probably the best exponent of reverse-swing ever to take the field.

Shy and retiring

My first memory of him was at Trent Bridge in Nottingham, when he was introduced to the players. He sat in the corner of the bar drinking coke and hardly said a word.

The same happened the next morning in the dressing room and over the next four days.

So many of his performances stick in my mind. But one, particularly, stands out.

During the 1992 World Cup final he was on a hat-trick ball and guess who had to face it?

I'd been in for a while and of course, knowing him so well, I knew what he going to bowl.

He knew that, but it didn't make any difference. He was too quick for me and it hit my pad. If it had been straight, then I would have gone and he would have claimed a hat-trick in a World Cup final. It was incredible.

At Lancashire too, his performances were superb. During the 1990 B&H final against Worcester he dismissed Tim Curtis and Graeme Hick within six balls on what was a very slow pitch.

He was bowling at speeds we'd never seen before and the excitement he generated that day will stay with all of us forever.

Proud man

I've no doubt the match-fixing saga has hit him very hard. He's a very proud man and will fight on until his name is cleared.

But there's no sign of him retiring yet. He remains a superb competitor and although he may not be as quick as he used to be he can 'think' a bowler out and he remains supremely dangerous to England's chances on this tour.

You could see that in the first Test. Although he didn't grab a wicket he started to pitch the ball up and began to cause all sorts of problems - just ask Nasser Hussain!

He's a fighter and facing England undoubtedly brings the best out of him. He's great friends with Michael Atherton of course, but when they face each other this week, it'll be warfare.