Imran Tahir, king of spin.

Imran Tahir is on top of the world after landing the No 1 spot in the ODI and T20 bowling rankings

IT’S become a familiar sight for cricket fans: the bearded bowler bellowing jubilantly as he does a victory lap around the wicket, his arms spread-eagled as yet another batsman, head bowed, lopes back to the changing rooms.

These exuberant celebrations by Proteas spin bowler Imran Tahir have become a real crowd-pleaser in the feverish one-day format – once he even raced out of the stadium after claiming a scalp.

It’s the kind of behaviour you’d expect from a youngster but at 37 Tahir is no spring chicken – although his experience is serving him pretty well at the moment.

He now commands the world No 1 spot in both the one-day and T20 bowling rankings following the Proteas’ recent 5-0 drubbing of Sri Lanka in the ODI series. His valuable 10-wicket haul in the ODIs clinched him the top spot on the one-day table. He was already the No 1 ranked player in the T20 rankings, despite Sri Lanka beating the Proteas 2-1 in the recent T20 series.

“When I started cricket I never thought I’d be the No 1 bowler,” the spinball wizard says. “It’s all the hard work I’ve done and I’m very excited.”

As spin bowlers go, he’s something of an enigma: he’s had limited success in Test matches where many spinners thrive but is a real game-changer in the shorter formats. Most of his success comes from devastating leg-break deliveries and the odd perfectly timed googly.

The Proteas will be hoping their spin sensation will stay hungry for wickets as they embark on their tour of New Zealand. And he got off to a good start. In the opening T20 at Eden Park, Tahir became the second fastest in T20 history to take 50 wickets after Sri Lanka’s Ajantha Mendis, and secured the third-best ever figures by a Protea – his 5-24 following Ryan McLaren’s 5-19 and David Wiese’s 5-23.

Seems there’s no stopping him!