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Better ODI bowler::: McGrath or Wasim
- Thread starter Maximus0723
- Start date
Black_Warrior
Cricketer Of The Year
In terms of skill and variety, I dont think McGrath even compares with Wasim.
weldone
Hall of Fame Member
This is what Lara has said about Akram - "Over my 15 or 16 years of playing international cricket in Tests and One Day Internationals, Wasim Akram is definitely the most outstanding bowler I've ever faced.".....Of course, he had trouble playing McGrath too, but that's another story...
Furball
Evil Scotsman
He quite clearly does.
tooextracool
International Coach
Yep. He went at over a run a ball on 3 occasions in 170 odd games:
Bowling records | One-Day Internationals | Cricinfo Statsguru | ESPN Cricinfo
Say what you want, but that is damn impressive. Even when Imran took him for 24 of one over he still ended up with fairly respectable figures.
Incidentally he went for less than 1 an over on just as many occasions, 2 of which he bowled out.
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smash84
The Tiger King
Your gut feel isn't too far off the mark I should say.Yeah, but those seem like only a handful of cases. Ambrose has looked impossible to dominate more often than anyone else has. Just saying that on gut feel based on what impressions I have left in my mind (and feel shallow, rather than smugly proud, for not backing that up with 'stats')
^^Ha! ha!
"ust saying that on gut feel based on what impressions I have left in my mind"
That "GUT" feeling is so much correct than stats.
That is exceptional indeed from Ambrose
Here are comparative figures for Wasim and McGrath.
Bowling records | One-Day Internationals | Cricinfo Statsguru | ESPN Cricinfo
http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/en...te;template=results;type=bowling;view=innings
Wasim has gone at or above 6 rpo on 22 occasions in 356 outings. McGrath in 250 outings has gone at 6 or above rpo 21 times. But you have to account for the fact that McGrath and Wasim played much more than Ambrose and McGrath especially played most of his career in a very batsman friendly era. Wasim on the other hand played his career on very very batting friendly wickets most of the time.
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in terms of performance, wasim doesn't compare with mcgrath. performance trumps all. If it was all about skill and potential etc. we'd be hailing Vinod Kambli as second to Bradman.
smash84
The Tiger King
To quote GF. He quite clearly does
ankitj
Hall of Fame Member
Even after accounting for that, Ambrose is truly exceptional. You gotta love that guy. His parsimony in both tests and ODIs is incredible. Would have to say after seeing those stats that Ambrose is somewhat underrated ODI bowler on this forum and in general! WAG.
robinjr
School Boy/Girl Captain
this is exactly the sort of bullocks i hear in so many other forums.
Xuhaib
International Coach
you make Wasim sound like some mid 30's averaging trundler Mc might have the better stats but the difference is not as big as it is being made by you.
smash84
The Tiger King
true
slog sweep
Cricket Spectator
Wasim Akram's ability to weave a little bit of magic when you really needed it, ultimately gives him the edge. His ability to change the momentum of a game, and his brilliance in finals, is well documented. He was just a real game-breaker.
As for Ambrose, he was simply phenomenal and virtually impossible to dominate. He seemed like the type of bowler who took it to another level in big matches, when it really mattered. You had to see some of his performances in One Day finals in Australia, to fully appreciate how great he was. In both 88/89 and 92/93, he produced some epic performances in the finals series, including 5-26 and 5-32, to power the West Indies to victory. All up, throughout his career, he averaged only 17.3 in finals.
In the summer of 92/93, with a little help from Brian Lara, he virtually won both the
Test and One Day series, by himself. Seldom has one man, been so clearly the difference between two teams. You are talking about an opposition batting lineup that featured the likes of Taylor, Boon, Jones, Mark Waugh, Steve Waugh, and Border, and yet they were all completely powerless in the face of the onslaught from Ambrose. Very few fast bowlers in the history of the game, have been as dominant and as influential, as Ambrose at the peak of his powers.
The other guy who probably doesn't get his due in One Day cricket, is Michael Holding. I
remember reading a book about the One Day game at some stage in the 90s, and Ian Chappell rated Joel Garner and Michael Holding as the two best bowlers the game had seen, up until that point. With all of the focus on Garner, the greatness of Holding has been somewhat overlooked. In reality, their records aren't that far apart. In 98 matches, Garner took 146 wickets at 18.8, with a SR of 36.5, and an ER of 3.09. In 102 matches, Holding took 142 wickets at 21.3, with a SR of 38.5, and an ER of 3.32.
They were both great big match players, with Garner averaging only 14.3 in finals, and Holding averaging 19. Even now, you can still make a pretty sound argument, that they deserve to be ranked at 1 and 2 respectively.
As for Ambrose, he was simply phenomenal and virtually impossible to dominate. He seemed like the type of bowler who took it to another level in big matches, when it really mattered. You had to see some of his performances in One Day finals in Australia, to fully appreciate how great he was. In both 88/89 and 92/93, he produced some epic performances in the finals series, including 5-26 and 5-32, to power the West Indies to victory. All up, throughout his career, he averaged only 17.3 in finals.
In the summer of 92/93, with a little help from Brian Lara, he virtually won both the
Test and One Day series, by himself. Seldom has one man, been so clearly the difference between two teams. You are talking about an opposition batting lineup that featured the likes of Taylor, Boon, Jones, Mark Waugh, Steve Waugh, and Border, and yet they were all completely powerless in the face of the onslaught from Ambrose. Very few fast bowlers in the history of the game, have been as dominant and as influential, as Ambrose at the peak of his powers.
The other guy who probably doesn't get his due in One Day cricket, is Michael Holding. I
remember reading a book about the One Day game at some stage in the 90s, and Ian Chappell rated Joel Garner and Michael Holding as the two best bowlers the game had seen, up until that point. With all of the focus on Garner, the greatness of Holding has been somewhat overlooked. In reality, their records aren't that far apart. In 98 matches, Garner took 146 wickets at 18.8, with a SR of 36.5, and an ER of 3.09. In 102 matches, Holding took 142 wickets at 21.3, with a SR of 38.5, and an ER of 3.32.
They were both great big match players, with Garner averaging only 14.3 in finals, and Holding averaging 19. Even now, you can still make a pretty sound argument, that they deserve to be ranked at 1 and 2 respectively.
stephen
Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
McGrath has unparalleled world cup stats. It's one of the reasons I rate him higher than Wasim (who himself had awesome WC stats, just not as awesome as McGrath's).
ODI fast bowling attack (in order of selection) for me is Garner, McGrath, Wasim.
Maximus0723
State Regular
I agree with this. But I must say, the difference b/w them is very marginal. Not like Bradman and the rest. lol
stephen
Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
Just to remind people.
In WC matches.
McGrath, in 39 matches took 71 wickets at 18.19 striking at 27.5 with an econ of 3.96.
Wasim, in 38 matches took 55 wickets at 23.83 striking at 35.4 with an econ of 4.04
McGrath has the most WC wickets (by 16 or 29%!), best WC average, best figures in an innings, best strike rate, is one of only four bowlers to take two five wicket hauls and is the 10th most economical WC bowler. He has also won three out of the four world cups he took part in and picked up player of the tournament in his final WC.
This makes him the best big game ODI bowler (in my books) by a very handsome margin.
In WC matches.
McGrath, in 39 matches took 71 wickets at 18.19 striking at 27.5 with an econ of 3.96.
Wasim, in 38 matches took 55 wickets at 23.83 striking at 35.4 with an econ of 4.04
McGrath has the most WC wickets (by 16 or 29%!), best WC average, best figures in an innings, best strike rate, is one of only four bowlers to take two five wicket hauls and is the 10th most economical WC bowler. He has also won three out of the four world cups he took part in and picked up player of the tournament in his final WC.
This makes him the best big game ODI bowler (in my books) by a very handsome margin.