Mitchell Starc versus Wasim Akram in ODIs/LOIs: Who is better?

[Ted123]

Mitchell Starc has 244 wickets at avg of 23 in ODIs. He has dominated two World Cups, one of them was arguably the greatest World Cup performance, winning his team a World Cup and also winning player of series. He was great in 2019 World Cup too.

Wasim Akram has 502 ODI wickets at avg of 23.5 in ODIs. He was excellent in 1992 World Cups and won his team the World Cup with his all round performance in Finals.

Record in World Cup:-

Starc 65 wickets, Avg 19
Wasim 55 wickets, Avg 24

Wasim was excellent in 1992 WC but pretty poor in 1987 and 1996 WC too. Starc was poor in 2023 WC but arguably better in both 2015 and 2019 WC.

One point to note is that Starc is playing in an era where ODI matches have significantly reduced and T20I are taken over. So, if we include ODI + T20 wickets both for Starc because instead of 5 match ODI series in 90s, we now have 3 ODIs + 3 T20Is these days in the same time period, here is Starc’s wickets tally:-

323 wickets, Avg 23.5

So, in this era where priority is given to world tournaments, Starc stands at a pretty good sample size in white ball cricket too and two phenomenal world cups.

How would you compare them and who is a greater white ball bowler of the two?

 

[Kianig89]

There will never be another Wasim Akram to quote Nasser Hussain "Wasim Akram is the greatest left arm fast bowler to play cricket"

 

[Ted123]

There will never be another Wasim Akram to quote Nasser Hussain "Wasim Akram is the greatest left arm fast bowler to play cricket"

Isn’t that nostalgia? The usual trend of getting overexcited with certain players. Ultimately, it is the performance that should count and this is a comparison between two quality fast bowlers of their respective era.

 

[The Bald Eagle]

Prime Starc was a beast but when it came to swinging the ball then Wasim had an edge over him.

 

[Bhaijaan]

Starc has a way of rising to the occasion. In tournaments he’s proven himself to be among the most deadly weapons ever deployed. Outside tournaments Wasim was still great while Starc a nobody.

 

[mominsaigol]

Starc has a way of rising to the occasion. In tournaments he’s proven himself to be among the most deadly weapons ever deployed. Outside tournaments Wasim was still great while Starc a nobody.

Starc had a much better team and much better captains that's why.

After 2015's purple patch he was a very ordinary bowler, he wasn't anything special in 2017, 2019 etc etc

However in 2021 and 2023 he benefitted greatly from facing NZ which typically folds against aus 24/7, and pat Cummins has always set up the perfect field settings for him.

Cummins and finch have literally turned Marsh into a top quality bowler simply due to top quality field settings.

I'm not taking away anything from the bowler, he's obviously responsible for bowling according to field settings but starc benefitted from it.

Wasim akram had to deal with idiots including himself as he wasn't a particularly sharp mind while captaining either. Nothing much you can do if the field setting is poor, case in point pak vs usa.

The super over could have been avoided if Babar had been more intelligent on the field, the final delivery wouldn't have gone for 4, similarly, Deapite Amir bowling wides, A rubbish field set ensured 6 extra runs for usa.

Oh and let's not forget how he always use to put chacha at slips, Chacha who has never caught a damn thing in his life.

 

[Ted123]

Starc has a way of rising to the occasion. In tournaments he’s proven himself to be among the most deadly weapons ever deployed. Outside tournaments Wasim was still great while Starc a nobody.

Starc has 250 odi wickets at 23 and he is a nobody?

 

[Ted123]

Mitchell Starc in 2019 World Cup:-

Wickets - 27
Avg - 17

I wish everyone has such mediocre bowler who was leading wicket taker of the tournament.

 

[mominsaigol]

Mitchell Starc in 2019 World Cup:-

Wickets - 27
Avg - 17

I wish everyone has such mediocre bowler who was leading wicket taker of the tournament.

No one is saying he's an ordinary bowler. I'm a huge fan of stark and pretty much anyone who represents Australian cricket.

However comparing him to wasim isn't fair and no genuine fan, not even fans from Australia would put stark > Wasim.

Mcgrath is 100% >>>>>> Wasim but not stark.

Stark is a smart and intelligent bowler with a killer inswing, however he benefits alot from having a very sharp captain with extremely sharp fielders.

From 2015 to 2019, some of the blinders and tight fielding being displayed by Australia was downright insane, to top it off finch and Cummins were masterminds on setting unique fieldsets for each batter focusing on their weak points.

It was the same for 2023 where after 2 maulings, Australia pulled their socks up.

Wasim akram dealt with plenty drop catches, plenty of misfield and the fact that besides imran Khan, none of his other captions set good field settings for him.

Otherwise wasim was a better odi bowler. On his best days he's simply >>>>> Stark at his absolute best and that includes 2015.

 

[Ted123]

No one is saying he's an ordinary bowler. I'm a huge fan of stark and pretty much anyone who represents Australian cricket.

However comparing him to wasim isn't fair and no genuine fan, not even fans from Australia would put stark > Wasim.

Mcgrath is 100% >>>>>> Wasim but not stark.

Stark is a smart and intelligent bowler with a killer inswing, however he benefits alot from having a very sharp captain with extremely sharp fielders.

From 2015 to 2019, some of the blinders and tight fielding being displayed by Australia was downright insane, to top it off finch and Cummins were masterminds on setting unique fieldsets for each batter focusing on their weak points.

It was the same for 2023 where after 2 maulings, Australia pulled their socks up.

Wasim akram dealt with plenty drop catches, plenty of misfield and the fact that besides imran Khan, none of his other captions set good field settings for him.

Otherwise wasim was a better odi bowler. On his best days he's simply >>>>> Stark at his absolute best and that includes 2015.

Everything was going good but that last line tells us how much you are overrating Wasim in this comparison because Wasim never dominated in a World cup the way Starc did in 2015.

 

[Bhaijaan]

Starc has 250 odi wickets at 23 and he is a nobody?

Outside world cups, in bilateral cricket he’s not a constant threat like a Bumrah.

 

[mominsaigol]

Everything was going good but that last line tells us how much you are overrating Wasim in this comparison because Wasim never dominated in a World cup the way Starc did in 2015.

I'm not overrating wasim, wasim has 18 wickets at an avg of 18 in 1992 world cup and was the leading wicket taker of the event, plus his winning spell contributed to pakistan winning a final and 1992 pakistan was a medicore team. They weren't as good as pakistani fans make them out to be.

Wasim, And imran carried followed by one gem of an innings played by inzi in semi's.

Furthermore wasim has 502 international odi wickets at an avg of 23.

Stark on the other hand has a tied wicket tally in 2015 22 wickets alongside trent Boult. However stark had a much much superior team.

In 2015 Steve smith, Warner, finch, maxwell, Watson bossed everybody especially Steve smith. 2015 Australia would wipe the floor with 1992 pakistan in all departments due to having such a star studded batting lineup.

In stark career not only does his wicket tally not come anywhere close to wasim his economy is at 5 compared to wasim's 3. Idc which era you are playing in, but an eco of 5 is nothing special. Stark post 2015 has never been good in bi laterals. Just decent. He only switches on for cups.

2015 aus was carried by batting barring that one group stage nz game with Stark inflating his numbers vs NZ in both games. Infact against 2015 England Stark wasn't anything special, Finn and Marsh bowled better then he did.

Lastly stark played that cup in hone conditions whole wasim played it in foreign conditions. Big big difference as Australia has pace friendly and bouncy wickets.

 

[mominsaigol]

I'm not overrating wasim, wasim has 18 wickets at an avg of 18 in 1992 world cup and was the leading wicket taker of the event, plus his winning spell contributed to pakistan winning a final and 1992 pakistan was a medicore team. They weren't as good as pakistani fans make them out to be.

Wasim, And imran carried followed by one gem of an innings played by inzi in semi's.

Furthermore wasim has 502 international odi wickets at an avg of 23.

Stark on the other hand has a tied wicket tally in 2015 22 wickets alongside trent Boult. However stark had a much much superior team.

In 2015 Steve smith, Warner, finch, maxwell, Watson bossed everybody especially Steve smith. 2015 Australia would wipe the floor with 1992 pakistan in all departments due to having such a star studded batting lineup.

In stark career not only does his wicket tally not come anywhere close to wasim his economy is at 5 compared to wasim's 3. Idc which era you are playing in, but an eco of 5 is nothing special. Stark post 2015 has never been good in bi laterals. Just decent. He only switches on for cups.

2015 aus was carried by batting barring that one group stage nz game with Stark inflating his numbers vs NZ in both games. Infact against 2015 England Stark wasn't anything special, Finn and Marsh bowled better then he did.

Lastly stark played that cup in hone conditions whole wasim played it in foreign conditions. Big big difference as Australia has pace friendly and bouncy wickets.

@Ted123

Just to further clarify, Marsh took 4/5 wickets vs England. Mitch Marsh took them lol. It shows how advantageous Australian ground is to bowling.

Infact for that cup, check shark's numbers when he played in New Zealand and check them when he played in Australia. Excluding the nz games since NZ is his favourite team and hence is an outlier, in the same way NZ is an outlier for Bumrah.

 

[mominsaigol]

Anyway I actually like this thread. Hopefully Indian stay away from this one as I can't stand to see their unintelligent comments invade this thread.

Both bowlers are goats and have won odi world cups for their respective countries.

 

[The Bald Eagle]

Starcs form declined a bit over years while Cummins improved, overall a good comparison a leftie vs another leftie legend

 

[BouncerGuy]

LOL... funny comparison... Wasim all the way...

 

[Ted123]

I'm not overrating wasim, wasim has 18 wickets at an avg of 18 in 1992 world cup and was the leading wicket taker of the event, plus his winning spell contributed to pakistan winning a final and 1992 pakistan was a medicore team. They weren't as good as pakistani fans make them out to be.

Wasim, And imran carried followed by one gem of an innings played by inzi in semi's.

Furthermore wasim has 502 international odi wickets at an avg of 23.

Stark on the other hand has a tied wicket tally in 2015 22 wickets alongside trent Boult. However stark had a much much superior team.

In 2015 Steve smith, Warner, finch, maxwell, Watson bossed everybody especially Steve smith. 2015 Australia would wipe the floor with 1992 pakistan in all departments due to having such a star studded batting lineup.

In stark career not only does his wicket tally not come anywhere close to wasim his economy is at 5 compared to wasim's 3. Idc which era you are playing in, but an eco of 5 is nothing special. Stark post 2015 has never been good in bi laterals. Just decent. He only switches on for cups.

2015 aus was carried by batting barring that one group stage nz game with Stark inflating his numbers vs NZ in both games. Infact against 2015 England Stark wasn't anything special, Finn and Marsh bowled better then he did.

Lastly stark played that cup in hone conditions whole wasim played it in foreign conditions. Big big difference as Australia has pace friendly and bouncy wickets.

Wasim’s performance in 1992 World Cup was good but he played 5 world cups and failed miserably in 1987 and 1996 World Cup. He was only decent in 1999 World Cup.

Starc On other hand has played 3 world cups and he was better than Wasim’s best World Cup of 1992 in both the world cups.What Starc did in 2015 on batting friendly pitches was just exceptional. Those were literally 300+ pitches and he was the a different beast in the tournament. Below attachment is the comparison of WC performance vs non minnows for Wasim and Starc, there is a gulf of difference.

Wasim avg - 29
Starc avg - 19

Now, if you are talking about overall wickets tally, ODI cricket has reduced massively in last 10 years as compared to 90s and 2000s where a lot of ODI cricket was played. T20s have actually taken over ODIs and Starc has played enough ODI + T20 games to warrant a comparison with Wasim.

Starc has 245 ODI wickets and 80 T20 wickets, so about 325 LOI wickets warrants the longevity argument too.

Starc is among the leading wicket taker of his era and so was Wasim. Nowadays, ODI cricket is played lesser so it’s a different debate but Starc played on flat pitches, big bats and free hit rule era and despite that, his average is still same as Wasim. Again, Wasim’s economy rate was 3.9 which when put into context the era he played wasn’t standout either. Ambrose and Pollock had much lower ER ,i.e 3.4 and 3.6 respectively. Pollock debuted almost a decade later to Wasim and had better economy than him.

 

[Ted123]

LOL... funny comparison... Wasim all the way...

If we look at purely World Cup performance against non minnows, Wasim doesn’t really stand out among his contemporaries and there are many modern era pacers who are better than him. Several pacers are better than Wasim and it basically fizzles out the whole hype and nostalgia created due to watching Wasim bowl as kids growing up for a lot of fans.

Starc - 54 wickets, Avg 19
Wasim - 38 wickets, Avg 29

 

[BouncerGuy]

Thread is not about Bumrah so do not derail the thread here

 

[Ted123]

Wasim’s World Cup record is simply not great. He averages 29 in World Cup at ER of 4.3 against non minnows. He is highly rated only due to the World Cup Final performance.

Talking about bilaterals, not much to choose between them there also. Wasim has 500 ODI wickets which is highest from his era at avg of 23. But Starc also has 325 LOI wickets at avg of 23.

Nowadays, ODIs are played a lot lesser and instead T20Is have taken over ODIs. So, it only makes sense to include T20Is with ODIs and then compare wickets tally. Moreover, bilaterals in today’s time has lost its importance.

Remember, Starc debuted in 2010 and he is still playing in 2025 so he has ticked the longevity argument.

 

[Justcrazy]

If you ask those who played the game at highest level including Australian greats , all will unanimously name Wasim Akram to be better.

If you ask the posters here to name there best playing XI in OD , majority will have Wasim Akram , none will have Starc.

So we have The best players in business and common audience , having same view.

That answers the question.

 

[Ted123]

If you ask those who played the game at highest level including Australian greats , all will unanimously name Wasim Akram to be better.

If you ask the posters here to name there best playing XI in OD , majority will have Wasim Akram , none will have Starc.

So we have The best players in business and common audience , having same view.

That answers the question.

That’s because these guys are still playing international cricket. Right now, the cricket analysts are mostly the ones who have retired and played in the same era as Wasim Akram.

10 years later, you ask a David Warner or Virat Kohli or anyone who is still active today, they would choose Mitchell Starc. At that time, preference would be given to Steyn/ Anderson/ Starc/ Bumrah and not the active players at that time.

 

[Varun]

After all these years, Starc has only played 127 ODIs.

If he was a player in the 1990s, he would have played close to 300.

 

[Buffet]

After all these years, Starc has only played 127 ODIs.

If he was a player in the 1990s, he would have played close to 300.

That's why citing longevity of older era players in ODI and expecting the same from the current era player does not make any sense.

Earlier players played only 2 formats. Now it's 3 formats with ODI has been mostly replaced by T20. T20 has become the more popular format now. but we are still playing ODI, so we have 2 limited overs formats now.

Focus should be what players actually did as long as they have big enough sample size.

 

[Justcrazy]

That’s because these guys are still playing international cricket. Right now, the cricket analysts are mostly the ones who have retired and played in the same era as Wasim Akram.

10 years later, you ask a David Warner or Virat Kohli or anyone who is still active today, they would choose Mitchell Starc. At that time, preference would be given to Steyn/ Anderson/ Starc/ Bumrah and not the active players at that time.

What will happen is uncertain , the thread is made for now , answer is for now.

 

[sweep_shot]

Wasim Akram easily.

Wasim is one of the top 3 pacers of all time.

Wasim also has 500+ ODI wickets. Starc has less than 300.

 

[Justcrazy]

That's why citing longevity of older era players in ODI and expecting the same from the current era player does not make any sense.

Earlier players played only 2 formats. Now it's 3 formats with ODI has been mostly replaced by T20. T20 has become the more popular format now. but we are still playing ODI, so we have 2 limited overs formats now.

Focus should be what players actually did as long as they have big enough sample size.

But we also have to consider that bowling 10 overs , you have to make more effort , where as in 20 20 you have to bowl only 4. You can give more into it.

 

[sindhiboy]

Starc's wickets to match ratio is alot higher, but then again, so is Haris Rauf's and Shaheen's.
Its hard to compare ODI bowlers from two totally different eras. ODI batters in the 90s were alot more defensive and did not give their wicket away so easily, it was a totally different game.

I guess Wasim will always be the most rated odi seamer due to his longevity and impact on the game, was a pioneer of modern day white ball bowling variations and tactics.

 

[Buffet]

But we also have to consider that bowling 10 overs , you have to make more effort , where as in 20 20 you have to bowl only 4. You can give more into it.

Impact in match, be it 10 overs or 4 overs. If you can impact the match then you can impact the match.

Flip side for more effort is that you have 24 balls to make an impact vs 60 balls.

 

[Buffet]

I guess Wasim will always be the most rated odi seamer

Among the bowlers who played at the same time, McGrath was superior.

 

[Ab Fan]

Starc is better and more impactful. People won’t accept it only due to nostalgia.

Wasim is a top bowler but if not for his WC Final knock, he was same as Waqar and other pacers from 90s not named McGrath. His WC performance is nothing to write about. He has longevity but Starc also has enough for his era. He is leading wicket taker of this era and better average in World Cups.