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

[vcs]

Having followed a lot of McGrath's career I didn't really see him swing the ball a fair bit very often nor did he reverse swing it too often. His strength lay in that subtle variation.

I don't think it is too much of a myth tbh

I'm thinking of the early part of his career.. when India toured Australia in '99, conditions were generally quite overcast and good for bowling and I remember him swinging it around at that time. Probably did it in England as well around that time.

Examples :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-Je0CDKH-c

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fezEkfXCqhA&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pE2bkfyrOEQ&feature=related

The last one is amazing. He hits the cracks on what is otherwise a pretty decent batting pitch, seemingly at will.

 

[smash84]

yes but this was rare and not very often that he did this.........his usual immaculate line was outside off stump and moving away slightly.

That first video that you post. The one he traps Tendy. The appeal is terrible. Reminds me of Broad. Doesn't even bother looking back at the umpire lol

 

[subshakerz]

To be fair, Donald isn't really comparing these two. He says "When I started playing", and both of them were on the scene some time before McGrath.

The next sentence is "He was the complete, most skillful fast bowler I ever saw and played against."

 

[Spark]

yes but this was rare and not very often that he did this.........his usual immaculate line was outside off stump and moving away slightly.

That first video that you post. The one he traps Tendy. The appeal is terrible. Reminds me of Broad. Doesn't even bother looking back at the umpire lol

Mikey Holding was talking about this during the SL Test series. Apparently this whole business of looking at/facing the umpire when you appeal is a new thing, and when he played it was quite normal to appeal without facing the umpire.

 

[smash84]

yeah but Lady Broad has been warned about such behavior

 

[vcs]

TBF, Broad's annoying habit of not appealing only scratches the surface of his history of bad behaviour and general prickishness.

 

[Howe_zat]

The next sentence is "He was the complete, most skillful fast bowler I ever saw and played against."

Well fair enough then.

 

[smash84]

TBF, Broad's annoying habit of not appealing only scratches the surface of his history of bad behaviour and general prickishness.

you just reminded me how much I despise Broad.

Btw who is a more despicable character? Sreesanth or Broad? Are we allowed to have such a poll on CW?

 

[Spark]

No.

---

Not least (personally speaking now, not as a mod) because it encourages the sort of mindless groupthink cynical "lol let's all laugh at cricketers' personalities when they do something wrong because we're all paragons of virtue ourselves and know everything about them" mentality which I so deeply despise.

 

[Xuhaib]

Akram may have been better at swinging the ball than McGrath, better at bowling yorkers than McGrath, better at bowling lightning quick spells than McGrath and better at making spectators drool than McGrath, but McGrath was better at getting batsmen out. And when we're talking about who was a better bowler, that's all that counts.

Pretty much this though I also don't believe Mcgrath was boring to watch his Lords 05 spell is one of the greatest I have ever seen and I watched an awful lot of Wasim,Waqar and Shoiab

 

[Prince EWS]

Pretty much this though I also don't believe Mcgrath was boring to watch his Lords 05 spell is one of the greatest I have ever seen and I watched an awful lot of Wasim,Waqar and Shoiab

I don't think McGrath was boring to watch either, but I will admit Wasim was better. I just don't think it really matters when you're evaluating a bowler's quality.

It obviously matters a lot when you're talking about your favourite spells, the most enjoyable cricket you've watched, your favourite players etc - but I think people blur this with quality a lot, especially away from CricketWeb.

 

[hang on]

Pretty much this though I also don't believe Mcgrath was boring to watch his Lords 05 spell is one of the greatest I have ever seen and I watched an awful lot of Wasim,Waqar and Shoiab

his spell at lord's in 97 was even better!

2nd Test: England v Australia at Lord's, Jun 19-23, 1997 | Cricket Scorecard | ESPN Cricinfo

 

[robelinda]

YouTube - ‪Glenn McGrath 8/38 vs England - EXTENDED!‬‏

 

[hang on]

u prescient man, u....!

 

[hang on]

No.

---

Not least (personally speaking now, not as a mod) because it encourages the sort of mindless groupthink cynical "lol let's all laugh at cricketers' personalities when they do something wrong because we're all paragons of virtue ourselves and know everything about them" mentality which I so deeply despise.

thanks for bursting my bubble! i'll have u know that i have it on good authority that i am a paragon of virtue.

 

[smash84]

I don't think McGrath was boring to watch either, but I will admit Wasim was better. I just don't think it really matters when you're evaluating a bowler's quality.

It obviously matters a lot when you're talking about your favourite spells, the most enjoyable cricket you've watched, your favourite players etc - but I think people blur this with quality a lot, especially away from CricketWeb.

awta

Also do agree that McG a better bowler although Wasim much more exciting to watch. Also the fact that Wasim could bowl those magical deliveries tends to blur the line for a lot of people. They confuse the ability to bowl magic deliveries with being a better bowler

YouTube - ‪Wasim Akram magic ball to Croft - Incredible‬‏

YouTube - ‪Wasim Akram Magic Ball - To Rahul Dravid‬‏

YouTube - ‪WASIM AKRAM - MAGIC BALL TO ADAM GILCHRIST 2002‬‏

YouTube - ‪Wasim Akram vs Marcus Trescothick‬‏

and as somebody mentions that Wasim's legend will probably grow with time because of youtube since you don't get to see these deliveries being bowled too often.

 

[Spark]

One thing on the McG vid Rob's posted here that I have noticed (on the Atherton dismissal) is how much more spread out the slip cordon is compared to what we see nowadays. Perhaps an indictment on modern slip fielding?

 

[Jarquis]

Akram may have been better at swinging the ball than McGrath, better at bowling yorkers than McGrath, better at bowling lightning quick spells than McGrath and better at making spectators drool than McGrath, but McGrath was better at getting batsmen out. And when we're talking about who was a better bowler, that's all that counts.

Nah brah, it's about honing skills!

 

[Howe_zat]

One thing on the McG vid Rob's posted here that I have noticed (on the Atherton dismissal) is how much more spread out the slip cordon is compared to what we see nowadays. Perhaps an indictment on modern slip fielding?

I don't think so, not really. Firstly, they aren't all that wide, and if they are, it's because they're standing back a bit more to accommodate McGrath's pace. You don't need to stand that far back or far apart for Jimmy Anderson or Zaheer Khan.

Then there's the fact that Australia had a very settled side that had the luxury of practising together for years, knowing how quick their teammates were and not having to shift roles around, etc.

Australia at the time were by far the best anyway, so it's not as though standards have generally slipped across most teams.

 

[Spark]

Hmm, they seem wide to me. Maybe it's just because I've watched tons of us and England playing, both of whom I think have slip cordons which are a bit too compressed.