Really? I reckon he's underrated if anything.
I'll always look at him in the Cricinfo All Time XI and wonder if he's only there because he bowls left arm. Magnificent bowler no doubt, but I do reckon he's probably slightly overrated when compared to other bowlers at the time.
Almost all the batsman who faced him said he was the most skillful, but if we strictly go by stats he wouldn't be as high. Having said that, with the exception of Davidson, there wasn't left-armer who comes close to his level. I'd put him just below Ambrose, McGrath.
awta.
Don't see how Wasim was over rated when he was probably the best left arm paceman ever. He sits comfortably among the other great bowlers of the late 80's and 90's but where he ranks is open for argument but to say he was over rated is being unfair to a top class bowler.
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Even if someone is really good they can still be overrated. People saying someone is overrated doesn't mean they think they're no good, it just means they think they are rated slightly higher than they should be. For instance, Cricinfo viewed him as in the top 3 fast bowlers of all time, while not making room for Ambrose and McGrath even in their second XI. I think that they overrated Akram there personally, but that doesn't mean I don't think he's a great bowler.
Nah they went for variety. If what you are losing is very little then going for variety is reasonable choice. Even if I think Ambrose, McGrath are better bowlers, with lillee, marshall in the side I can see their reasoning.
Personally don't think that they were saying that he was the third best bowler, but rather as Gideon Haigh put it, only two persons can bowl the new ball, so why have three new ball bowlers, and Wasim was one of the two best ever old ball bowlers, plus he also brought in the element of variation with his left hand fast reverse swingers.
Procter for me, no question, more agressive bowler and had greater potential with the bat. Great fielder as well.With regards to the thread, Shaun Pollock's record after 68 tests at the end of 2002 was: 278 wickets taken @ 20.71 with a SR of 54.3
That is a ridiculously good record. He was brilliant against everybody except Australia against whom he averaged 27 with and SR of 66 during this time.
Steyn's greatest strength is his off-the-charts SR, but I do think he has benefited from playing very few ODIs as compared to Donald. Also, Donald's action always seemed to me to be a very high risk one, and I kept wondering why he didn't get injured more often. He was incredibly threatening when on song though. I reckon Donald and him are on same ground. Push comes to shove, I will take Steyn, just because of his awe-inspiring record in India (5 games, 26 wickets @ 20.23 and SR 34.5).
I have another good question: After picking Donald and Steyn for the SA XI, would you pick Pollock or Procter for the third paceman (discounting Adcock by assumption
Procter, was at least the equal of all 3 as a bowler, and definitely a better batsman. South Africa is very rich in quality all rounders. Procter, Kallis, Faulkner, Pollock, Barlow, Rice.With regards to the thread, Shaun Pollock's record after 68 tests at the end of 2002 was: 278 wickets taken @ 20.71 with a SR of 54.3
That is a ridiculously good record. He was brilliant against everybody except Australia against whom he averaged 27 with and SR of 66 during this time.
Steyn's greatest strength is his off-the-charts SR, but I do think he has benefited from playing very few ODIs as compared to Donald. Also, Donald's action always seemed to me to be a very high risk one, and I kept wondering why he didn't get injured more often. He was incredibly threatening when on song though. I reckon Donald and him are on same ground. Push comes to shove, I will take Steyn, just because of his awe-inspiring record in India (5 games, 26 wickets @ 20.23 and SR 34.5).
I have another good question: After picking Donald and Steyn for the SA XI, would you pick Pollock or Procter for the third paceman (discounting Adcock by assumption
Thats the problem with polls like these, they give an unrealistic comparison of the players.
