I think with switching slip cordons, Wasim basically ends up with McGrath-like figures. Suddenly he is equally effective outside off and pitching it up.
McGrath on the other hand, is hit a bit more given that it is his primary mode of dismissal, averaging 24/25. It not just the drops that he will lose, but all the blinders that contributed to his wicket tally.
I wouldn't say McGrath is overrated as much as he was lucky to have ideal circumstances to get great stats, and we unfairly penalise others who lacked those advantages.
It is worth noting
@kyear2 goes on and on about slip importance, even trying to quantify it in terms of runs at one point, but balks when this is applied to a bowler he has already decided is inferior.
This is what is infuriating about you.
You and many others have spent about a decade speaking of how it's not important, it's not impactful, a sentiment obviously shared by the administrators and persons in charge.
It's not a coincidence that teams like Australia and SA, WI has great cordons, it's something that's cultivated and prioritized from early in development.
@peterhrt highlighted how Simpson was initially brought into the team because Lindwall's chances were going abegging, Sobers initially kept his place in the WI team in part because he was taking blinders in the slips, according to him it likely gave him confidence because he knew be belonged, Hooper kept his place primarily because of it, pretty sure it kept Waugh's position safe and Phil Sharpe was selected just because of the speciality.
Conversely in a conversation over a decade ago
@smash84 was arguing that it's not something that teams should base their selections on, ORS has said that it's important, but average is generally good enough.
Anyone who really watched the great Windies or Aussie teams, and saw what Lloyd and Waugh did, knows that isn't true. They didn't just take chances, they created some as well. They also gave the bowlers confidence to keep the ball up, to keep probing for the edge. But that's what's supposed to happen, you support your bowlers.
So to answer your question, certain teams actually built their teams the right way, prioritizing key aspects of the team, and somehow it's an unfair advantage or he was lucky?
The question you should be asking is why wasn't / isn't Pakistan doing the same?
And no one is being penalized, most observers value cricketers as much by the eye test as by the spreadsheet, and Wasim was rated pretty highly. Viv averaged less than Barrington, yet no one with a brain ranks Barrington higher.
So would Wasim's numbers improved with better support? Almost surely... But was McGrath an anomaly? No...
Hadlee, Lillee, the quartet, Steyn, McGrath, Ambrose all had brilliant cordons.
I sometimes wonder if everyone was caught up the the glamour of the big 4 from 80's and totally missed the template that was set.
