Who was the better bowler: Glenn Mcgrath or Wasim Akram?

[AndyZaltzHair]

So that justifies his 93 average there.
Next time you claim someone would be the best player in other sides, you better back that assertion with some real data.

Rubel almost did better than Brett Lee in BD. His average in BD is 103. Can’t decide who to choose in playing XI here.

 

[ataraxia]

Rubel almost did better than Brett Lee in BD. His average in BD is 103. Can’t decide who to choose in playing XI here.

I'd go Rubel; Lee had the benefit of great support whereas Rubel had to lead the attack.

 

[Chrish]

Better question is how much McGrath would have averaged if he had Pakistani slip cordon?

Just kidding! Well not entirely..

 

[Victor Ian]

Hypothesis.

Slip cordon becomes great when they are always getting balls that way. But when you are bowling heaps of lbw or yorker lines, then you catch them unawares and they don't become as good.

or

McGrath (plus support) is why Aussie slips were excellent.

 

[Gob]

Better question is how much McGrath would have averaged if he had Pakistani slip cordon?

Just kidding! Well not entirely..

Ya but he would also have access to bottle tops

 

[Chrish]

You are right, other teams never engaged into ball tempering..

Oh wait !!!!

 

[Chrish]

On a serious note, we do need randomized controlled trials of bottle tops vs sandpaper..

 

[Chrish]

Hypothesis.

Slip cordon becomes great when they are always getting balls that way. But when you are bowling heaps of lbw or yorker lines, then you catch them unawares and they don't become as good.

or

McGrath (plus support) is why Aussie slips were excellent.

Watch any random Wasim video on YT.. it always starts with someone dropping a catch in the slips. It almost seems staged because it was so frequent!

Look to answer the thread, McGrath was a better bowler. In fact he was the best I have seen. But some folks here are rating Wasim as some kind of second rate bowler which is clearly bull excretion. It would have been different had he averaged 25+. He didn’t. Fact that he averaged 23 with 400 wickets and still people think he underachieved is a testament of what a champion bowler he was.

 

[honestbharani]

There's always the Pedestrian One, The Fast but Inaccurate One and the Dangerously Unfit One. Bonus points if someone throws it.

I LOL'd.

TBF, they have been unlucky with injuries. Dhammika Prasad was a genuine talent. Their current guys seem promising enough if they can keep them fit and motivated.

 

[kyear2]

Hypothesis.

Slip cordon becomes great when they are always getting balls that way. But when you are bowling heaps of lbw or yorker lines, then you catch them unawares and they don't become as good.

or

McGrath (plus support) is why Aussie slips were excellent.

Slip fielding is no different from batting and bowling as it requires natural talent and hard work before you get into the middle.

Hence don't believe that giving more opportunities to a poor cordon would make them better.

Additionally, it's a team game and the bowlers obviously are more important as they create the chances, but a great cordon does make them look better.

But again whose fault is it that Pakistan had a poor cordon. I recall a point where Hooper basically was holding a place due to his "potential" but also his catching ability at 2nd slip.

 

[Victor Ian]

New theory. If you bowled slower, like McGrath, slips catches come slower and so are easier to catch.

 

[Gob]

New theory. If you bowled slower, like McGrath, slips catches come slower and so are easier to catch.

Yeah slower it comes the better.that's what they say anyway

 

[Flem274*]

Slip fielding is no different from batting and bowling as it requires natural talent and hard work before you get into the middle.

Hence don't believe that giving more opportunities to a poor cordon would make them better.

Additionally, it's a team game and the bowlers obviously are more important as they create the chances, but a great cordon does make them look better.

But again whose fault is it that Pakistan had a poor cordon. I recall a point where Hooper basically was holding a place due to his "potential" but also his catching ability at 2nd slip.

yep, lots of dubious kiwi openers held their spots because they were amazing in the cordon. mcintosh, how and of course the GOAT of these player types martin 'specialist second slip' guptill.

 

[Nintendo]

yep, lots of dubious kiwi openers held their spots because they were amazing in the cordon. mcintosh, how and of course the GOAT of these player types martin 'specialist second slip' guptill.

All great calls, but none of them compare to pakistan legend Imran "specialist split fielder" Butt.

 

[stephen]

Watch any random Wasim video on YT.. it always starts with someone dropping a catch in the slips. It almost seems staged because it was so frequent!

Look to answer the thread, McGrath was a better bowler. In fact he was the best I have seen. But some folks here are rating Wasim as some kind of second rate bowler which is clearly bull excretion. It would have been different had he averaged 25+. He didn’t. Fact that he averaged 23 with 400 wickets and still people think he underachieved is a testament of what a champion bowler he was.

I don't think anyone in their right mind thinks Wasim was anything less than an ATG. McGrath was simply a step up from any other bowler not named Marshall.

 

[akilana]

Aussie bros love overrating their players so I get the sentiment. McGrath is in conversation for goat with several other bowlers but he wasn’t step above Ambrose, Steyn or Hadlee.

 

[kyear2]

I don't think anyone in their right mind thinks Wasim was anything less than an ATG. McGrath was simply a step up from any other bowler not named Marshall.

I tend to believe Steyn should be included in this conversation as well.

 

[kyear2]

Aussie bros love overrating their players so I get the sentiment. McGrath is in conversation for goat with several other bowlers but he wasn’t step above Ambrose, Steyn or Hadlee.

Yeah, I tend to see it as those 5 in the top tier as well.
Marshall
Steyn
McGrath
Hadlee
Ambrose

Probably a little gap between McGrath and Hadlee. ??‍

 

[Migara]

Yeah, I tend to see it as those 5 in the top tier as well.
Marshall
Steyn
McGrath
Hadlee
Ambrose

Probably a little gap between McGrath and Hadlee. ??‍

I tend to rate Imran above Ambrose

 

[Howe_zat]

yep, lots of dubious kiwi openers held their spots because they were amazing in the cordon. mcintosh, how and of course the GOAT of these player types martin 'specialist second slip' guptill.

D'you reckon? Players being picked for their slip fielding feels like pretty much the antithesis to modern selection which considers fielding to be pretty much an afterthought. Like, people have been moaning about wicketkeeping skill being ever more neglected by selectors for decades.

In Guptill's case it's his one day batting that kept him in the team I'd think.