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Waqar Younis vs James Anderson

Who is the better test bowler?


  • Total voters
    29

Johan

International 12th Man
Ponting owned everyone except Harby in India and Bond in ODIs. He was brilliant - perhaps better than Chappell and Steve Smith (& definitely better than Waugh & Root).
Top ten things that did not happen, the average of 41 in England and the 7 wickets to Kumble are a display of it, not even close to Smith Waugh and Root are both far greater Batsmen against swing and spin, Ponting just is superior against Bounce.

He was very good against seam and swing too although not as good as someone like Tendulkar or Smith obviously.
Need evidence of this. He has some good knocks against swing and seam but his stats against most seamers are meh and inconsistent.

Are these the first names you decided to look up, or did you cherry pick players he did badly against?
I can't think of too many greater seamers/swing bowlers in the 2000s tbh, I thought Anderson but 2000s Anderson was kinda cheeks until 2008, otcourse I can name quite a few other bowlers he struggled with that I won't even consider great but I like Ponting, just not a fan of people pretending he is Viv or something against pace.
 
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PlayerComparisons

International Vice-Captain
Before 2009, Ponting has good series performances against peak Shoaib Akhtar, Steyn, Donald, Pollock, Wasim, Waqar, Ambrose, Walsh, Anderson, Flintoff, Bond, Asif, Simon Jones.

He probably averaged 40+ against most of them head to head as well.
 

flibbertyjibber

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Waqar is like Botham, you need to look at his career as exceptional pre injury and a waste of time once they took hold where as Anderson was useless to start and became greater the older he got.

If you put young Waqar and old Anderson together to make a career youd have one of the greatest bowlers in history. As it is I could say one bowler one day and the other the next as both were superb at different things.
 

Gob

International Coach
Ponting against Seamers and Swingers

Morkel – 129 runs with 6 outs, average of 21.5
Philander – 18 runs with 2 outs, average of 9
Roach – 100 runs with 5 outs, average of 20
Steyn – 144 runs with 4 outs, average of 36
Vaas – 51 runs with 3 outs, average of 17

want me to go on or...?
Could you post his stats against Wasim, Waqar, Pollock, Donald, Ambrose, Walsh, Shoaib etc

You know the really good ones
 

Johan

International 12th Man
Before 2009, Ponting has good series performances against peak Shoaib Akhtar, Steyn, Donald, Pollock, Wasim, Waqar, Ambrose, Walsh, Anderson, Flintoff, Bond, Asif, Simon Jones.

He probably averaged 40+ against most of them head to head as well.
You just know a guy isn't good against pacers when you gotta gas up Flintoff lmfao, tho peak Flintoff in 2005 Ashes dominated Ponting anyway
 

Gob

International Coach
Are these the first names you decided to look up, or did you cherry pick players he did badly against?
Cherry picked obviously. Why the **** else would you conveniently overlooke all the other great bowlers faced by Ponting

I mean all these guys in the list baring Vaas bowled at Ponting when he was way passed it
 

Johan

International 12th Man
Could you post his stats against Wasim, Waqar, Pollock, Donald, Ambrose, Walsh, Shoaib etc

You know the really good ones
I only have access to 2000s stats so can't do most of the list but

Shoaib – 32.5
Waqar – 27.5 (in his elderly years lmao)

I don't know why I'd include Ambrose and Walsh even if I could tbh, not only can I not do it, my case wasn't against him against pace in general but against movement
 
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BazBall21

International Captain
Also I think he should post Roots stats against Cummins, Bumrah, Hazlewood etc

He’s probably trolling tbf.
Bumrah got Root this winter but Root made 4 hundreds against him in the 2021/22 series. I think he struggles more against Cummins and Hazlewood's style. Relentlessly accurate extra bounce outside off and nip backers. Root doesn't always like it when he can't manipulate lengths and his nudging outside off is dicier on bouncy wickets. He's done alright against Rabada who isn't as good at maintaining pressure as the other two.
 

Gob

International Coach
You just know a guy isn't good against pacers when you gotta gas up Flintoff lmfao, tho peak Flintoff in 2005 Ashes dominated Ponting anyway
Haha I don't find much excitement in these comparison **** anymore so if someone tells me that Anderson > Mcgrath so be it whatever float your boat etc

But **** me Ricky Ponting not good against pace that's a new one. What the **** did I watch from mid 90's through most of 00's then. You learn something new everyday I guess
 

PlayerComparisons

International Vice-Captain
Bumrah got Root this winter but Root made 4 hundreds against him in the 2021/22 series. I think he struggles more against Cummins and Hazlewood's style. Relentlessly accurate extra bounce outside off and nip backers. Root doesn't always like it when he can't manipulate lengths and he plays square a bit too frequently on bouncy wickets. He's done alright against Rabada who isn't as good at maintaining pressure as the other two.
According to Johan, it’s the head to head average that matters, not the number of hundreds.
 

Gob

International Coach
I only have access to 2000s stats so can't do most of the list but

Shoaib – 32.5
Waqar – 27.5 (in his elderly years lmao)

I don't know why I'd include Ambrose and Walsh even if I could tbh, not only can I not do it, my case wasn't against him against pace in general but against movement
What part of Ponting's career did you actually see?
 

capt_Luffy

Cricketer Of The Year
Root is vulnerable against Bounce, everybody knows that and acknowledges that.

What's so hard to work your head around Ponting being vulnerable against Seam/Swing?
It's pretty much common knowledge really that Ponting wasn't great against swing. Pretending he was better than Steve Smith is some bullshit I didn't expect here.
 

Johan

International 12th Man
Haha I don't find much excitement in these comparison **** anymore so if someone tells me that Anderson > Mcgrath so be it whatever float your boat etc

But **** me Ricky Ponting not good against pace that's a new one. What the **** did I watch from mid 90's through most of 00's then. You learn something new everyday I guess
again, My case is entirely against movement and not against Pace in general, I quite literally admit he is one of the greatest ever against Bounce and Raw pace, I don't know what you don't get.
 

Johan

International 12th Man
It's pretty much common knowledge really that Ponting wasn't great against swing. Pretending he was better than Steve Smith is some bullshit I didn't expect here.
Yeah, should be obvious that even in his 75 averaging prime he was a 40 odd Batsmen in England that he has vulnerability against swing but I guess some people are too nostalgia blinded.
 

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