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Wasim Akram vs. Waqar Younis vs. Imran Khan

How would you rate them in terms of bowling?

  • Total voters
    40
  • Poll closed .
ankitj

ankitj

Hall of Fame Member
BlazeDragon said:
You might wanna talk about how bowler friendly that era is if you wanna bring that kind of stuff. Besides, Sri Lanka were the minnows back then.
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Probably you have lost track by now, but that bolded argument makes Viv Richards a great batsman for punishing these fast bowlers in the "bwoler friendly" era. ;)

EDIT: wrong thread :unsure:
 
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BlazeDragon

BlazeDragon

Banned
8ankitj said:
Probably you have lost track by now, but that bolded argument makes Viv Richards a great batsman for punishing these fast bowlers in the "bwoler friendly" era. ;)

EDIT: wrong thread :unsure:
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Well I never denied that Viv Richards is a great batsmen then did I? All I said was there would be others that are better than him especially considering he faced less great attacks in his era than most other greats. Don't see how that makes him not great here.

Its as right as it gets. If wanna bring up era here do it all the way don't only bring up things that benefits you and ignore the downsides.
 
weldone

weldone

Hall of Fame Member
zaremba said:
I've wondered for some time about the ideal players for an away match v Mars.

The dust would indeed tend to help the spinners. However, spinners, and particularly spinners from the sub-continent prone to seeking excuses, might struggle to grip the ball in the chilly temperatures (averaging -10C in daytime).

The thin atmosphere means that you can forget about swing, but out-and-out pace would be effective - the ball would really whizz through.

However the low gravity would exaggerate the bounce - tall bowlers may have to bowl a very full length or risk watching every ball sailing over the stumps.

Ultimately I think you want short, quick bowlers who are not reliant on swing, preferably from northern climes. Someone like Harold Larwood.
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:laugh:

However, the first name I remember for 'short, quick bowlers who are not reliant on swing' is Mohammad Sami. But yeah, he'll give in to the low temperature.

What about batsmen though? I guess low gravity would help six-hitters like Sobers much much more than boundary-hitters like Tendulkar and Bradman (though the last two can change their natural game to suit the conditions, shouldn't be problem for them too)...
 
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W

Winsome

Cricket Spectator
Imran > Waqar > Wasim

Well! This is very tough question to rate them we've to choose best, better and good bowler.
If we look at Imran he was a player not only a bowler but also batsman and he brought passion in cricket. His average at peak was just under 15. None can touch at their time of peak to his avg. He had the ability to change the situation of game at any time when he wished. Waqar's avg at his peak was under 21 but is strike rate was marvelous 38 none can touch this strike rate. He was speedstar before Shoaib's arrival. He was the master of swing and reverse swing yorker. Wasim's avg at his peak was under 20. He was the bowler who lifted Fast bowling after Lillee, Marshal and Imran. His run was short but his action was very excellent and versatile. He could bowl at any state of game. His achievement in WC 92 cannot be forgotten.
Wasim picked more wickets in test and Odi but in my point of view Imran and Waqar superior than Wasim.
Mine sequence would be
Imran > Waqar > Wasim.
 
W

Winsome

Cricket Spectator
Comparison of bowlers.

I've select every bowler's peak 6 years to see their performance and results are;

10. Ambrose
189 wkts at an avg of 20.24 with a s.r of 50.8 (1993-1998).
9. Lillee
203 wkts at an avg of 22.17 with a s.r of 45.9 (76-81)

8. Holding
151 wkts at an avg of 21.61 with a s.r 45.9 (81-86)
7. McGrath
286 wkts at an avg of 20.5 with a S/R of 48.1 from 1995 to 2000.
6. Wasim Akram
195 wkts at an avg of 19.87 with a strike rate of 46.4 (1990-95).
5. Hadlee
222 wkts at an avg of 18.76 with a s.r of 46.1 (83-88).
4. Donald
233 wkts at an avg of 19.88
with a s.r of 43.1 (95-00).
3. Marshal
238 wkts at an avg of 18.90 with s.r of 43.1
2. Imran Khan
154 wkts wkts at an avg of 14.85 with a s.r of 40.9 (81-86)
1. Waqar Younus
194 wkts at an avg of 20.02 with a s.r of 38.0 (90-95)

The strike rate of Waqar and the average of Imran was unmatchable at their time of peak.
 
marc71178

marc71178

Eyes not spreadsheets
a) why 6 years and b) the ranking appears to just be subjective, rendering the quoting of figures pointless.
 
Adorable Asshole

Adorable Asshole

International Regular
weldone said:
Absolutely true. You are in gun form in this thread.

For example, he was clearly not giving his 100% in Australia in his worst series down-under (don't remember which year it was, but Gilchrist was involved in a famous chase in that series). I mean anyone who saw Wasim at his best (and understand cricket) would say that he was not bowling at his 50%. He gave in completely to the flat pitches and gun batting lineup, and almost stopped trying...was bowling straight lollypops outside off-stump for a full day as I remember (and similar in the full series). It was not like he was not fully fit or something.

Later on, in an interview with Harsha Bhogle, he admitted that he wasn't enjoying his cricket. But that's not an excuse I'd love to hear from my favorite bowler. That series made it clear in my mind that I would always rate the likes of McGrath or Imran over him (let alone the Hadlees and Marshalls and Barnes of this world). It was not the lack of performance that bothered me (everyone has a pathetic series or two..or more), it was the lack of intent and purpose and commitment from this absolute champion that I didn't quite love.
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99 Hobart?
 
S

subshakerz

Hall of Fame Member
subshakerz said:
First comes Imran. Imran essentially passed every major milestone expected of a true all-time great fast bowler and his record is not far from Marshall, McGrath and Hadlee as complete. His record against the best team of his era, WI, was better than any of his peers. He averaged overall less than 25 against everyone except NZ. His record against the strong Indian batting lineups on pure roads is very impressive. He improved as his career moved along, and was as successful when he came back at reduced pace in 1986 as he was at his pace peak, showing a new mastery of the leg cutter. His bowling peak was actually rated the best of all post-war bowlers. As a bowler, he was calculating and you can sense he pushed himself to respond to bigger challenges. Unlike Waqar and Wasim, whose best performances were mostly in tandem, he has quite a few performances where he simply single handedly sliced through a world class batting lineup. I don't see much in Wasim and Waqar records to compare to his 12-fer against a strong Aussie lineup in 76, he 7-fer against a strong England lineup in 82, his demolition job of India in 82-83, and his 7-fer in the WI in 88. Those are mighty performances.

Wasim comes next. Obviously, the most talented of the bunch, perhaps of any bunch. But the more you look at his record the more you get a sense that he underachieved. Modest records against England, India, Australia and SA. He was supremely skilled with the ball but himself admits that he was not the best planner and often didnt know what ball he was going to bowl next. During the early 90s, this still meant plenty of wickets, but as the years moved on, he remained crafty, great to watch and hard to play but lost the extra gear in pace, the swerve in his reverse and that penetration that he found in his peak years. Batsmen were content to play him out out of respect and lost their wickets at the other end. He lacks standout performances IMO the way Imran had when he could demolish high quality opposition on his lonesome (just one 7-fer against NZ, for example). You get the sense with Wasim that he could have got 100 more wickets if he applied himself better. Still, my favorite.

Waqar comes last. Devestating peak but short in comparison to his whole career. Without his pace after his back injury in 1994, he never could command the same respect the way Imran and Wasim did once they lost their pace. He was the most inconsistent of the lot and while Imran and Wasim were rarely collared, Waqar was smashed on many occasions as per his blasting out bowling style. Probably the best at reverse swing but really only mastered the new ball very late in his career, so I wouldnt call him the complete bowler like the previous two.At a certain stage in the late 90s, his bowling was so poor he found it hard to get in the team. Also benefited like Wasim from playing against minnows and his record against India, Australia, England, and SA is modest.
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I still have the same order.
 
CricketFan90s

CricketFan90s

State Vice-Captain
Imran was better compared to Wasim and Waqar when it comes to handling new ball. Wasim had better longevity as he relied more on deception over speed. Waqar was better than Imran and Wasim when in was in his peak years before injury, once his speed came down he was not that lethal anymore.
 
shortpitched713

shortpitched713

International Captain
CricketFan90s said:
Imran was better compared to Wasim and Waqar when it comes to handling new ball. Wasim had better longevity as he relied more on deception over speed. Waqar was better than Imran and Wasim when in was in his peak years before injury, once his speed came down he was not that lethal anymore.
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Would agree with all, except the numbers say that Imran was pretty clearly even better than Waqar, as the best peak bowler of all time.
 
CricketFan90s

CricketFan90s

State Vice-Captain
shortpitched713 said:
Would agree with all, except the numbers say that Imran was pretty clearly even better than Waqar, as the best peak bowler of all time.
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Check the stats of Waqar Younis from 1990 to 1994 he was the best bowler in the world and took 19 times 5 wickets in 5 years. Wasim and Imran never reached his peak.
 
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