Statham was out for a duck after playing a typically venomous inswinging delivery back on to his stumps.

``I'm very excited but in the end what matters is that Pakistan should qualify,'' said Wasim, who later returned to the attack to take two more wickets and help his side to a 97-run victory.

``I think we are going in the right direction,'' he added. ``I would like to dedicate this to all the people who have supported me in the last 18 years.''

The 36-year-old left-arm fast bowler, named by Wisden Almanac as the best one-day bowler of all-time, mentioned two former Pakistan captains as the biggest influences on his career.

``Imran (Khan) was the main man who helped me, and Javed Miandad,'' he said.''

Wasim moved on to 499 victims on Saturday when he had England opener Marcus Trescothick caught by wicketkeeper Rashid Latif and took his tally to 502 by dismissing Dutchmen Klaas Jan van Noortwijk and Jeroen Smits. He made his Pakistan one-day debut against New Zealand in 1984 and has now played 354 limited-overs internationals, more than any other player in history.

The highlight of his career was winning the man-of-the-match award in Pakistan's victory over England in the 1992 World Cup final.

Seven years later he captained the side that lost heavily to Australia in the 1999 final at Lord's. The 2003 World Cup is his fifth appearance in cricket's showpiece event.