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.

 

[Katwalindian]

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.

Shaheen has better odi world cup record than bumrah...so is he better than him?

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Wasim wasn't the best ODI bowler of his era. At least it wasn't clear cut. He did have stiff competition from McGrath and Donald.

Starc was peerless in his era.

But when you factor in his batting at #8 and relatively safe catching as well, I wouldn't argue with anyone who wants Wasim at #8 in an all time World XI

 

[Vikram1989]

Shaheen has better odi world cup record than bumrah...so is he better than him?

Bumrah have 38 wickets at 19 avg. Shaheen have 34 wickets at 21 avg.

 

[Vikram1989]

Should be a very tough choice for limited formats.in the current batsmen dominated era, if the ball does not swing its interesting how wasim will fare.staec advantage s that he always remained at 150 while akram speed declined .starc mostly played with 2 balls and he was very good at death overs.he won the duels even against Russell in the last over.both batting ability is same atleast in limited formats. Starc is better than akram in t20s for sure with his express pace.In odis, more the flatter pitch then starc is better.

 

[BullaKeepsItOpen]

It's hard to compare the two. Waseem is a great of the game and so is Stark in my opinion. But, in terms of impact, especially in tournaments, Starc is way ahead of Waseem. Further, it's hard to have such stats as Starc have in mordern Limited Overs International which favour batsman with batting friendly pitches and whatnot. The introduction of playing 2 new balls have also gone against the bowlers. Fast bowlers could utilise reverse swing with old ball when there was provision of only one ball. It was also pretty hard to hit the old ball as it became soft. I must also add that ball tampering was pretty rampant during the Waseem era - and it was meekly accepted as part of the game.

So, coming to conclusion: Starc and Waseem are both legends, but, Starc > Waseem (More impact in tournaments, batting friendly time, No ball tampering)

 

[kron]

Shami is better than both

Look at WC record

Thank me later

 

[kron]

No question here. Zero doubt
Starc is simply better

 

[Hitman]

Impossible to compare players from the 1 ball era with those players who played in the 2 new ball era. The 2 new ball rule resulting in the absence of reverse swing is the reason for hyper inflated batting averages, unreal huge totals, and has spoiled ODI cricket rotten.​

 

[Ab Fan]

Shami is better than both

Look at WC record

Thank me later

All Indian bowlers have done better than Pakistani bowlers in World Cups.

Pakistani pacers are just king of bilaterals and occasional one off spells by their left arm pacers vs India.

 

[Buffet]

Wasim surprisingly has an ordinary record in WC games. In this list - Wasim has played most games so chances were not an issue.

Avg - 29 -- Nothing to boast here.

ER 4.3(not great for some one with his skills) -- To put it in perspctive, Bumrah with similar skill set has ER 4.2 in current era when 300+ scores are common due to two new balls. Wasim played 30-40 years ago.

SR 40 ( nothing great here as well) - it's not most fans will expect from some one like Wasim.

 

[Buffet]

But ODI's bilaterals were taken more seriously back then. So it was not all about WC games. WC games were much bigger than bilaterals even back then but bilaterals were not just used for experiments. Bilaterals were taken seriously.

We shouldn't be just looking at WC games here to declare Starc was better than Wasim. If it's just based on WC games, Wasim won't figure out in even among the top 10 ODI bowlers, but that's not true. He is comfortably among the top 5 ODI pacers.

 

[charlie007]

But ODI's bilaterals were taken more seriously back then. So it was not all about WC games. WC games were much bigger than bilaterals even back then but bilaterals were not just used for experiments. Bilaterals were taken seriously.

We shouldn't be just looking at WC games here to declare Starc was better than Wasim. If it's just based on WC games, Wasim won't figure out in even among the top 10 ODI bowlers, but that's not true. He is comfortably among the top 5 ODI pacers.

Of course performances in World Cups are relevant. Over a period of a top global event, how a player performs against different opponents overall definitely matters. Wasim was indeed a great bowler no question about it, but surprisingly Starc has outbowled him in global tournaments and that must be recognized.
I remember the same argument not too long ago being used against top Indian batters, and the Indian team before they won a bunch of World Cups. The argument always was bilaterals mean nothing while performances in ICC tournaments count. You can’t keep switching the criteria based on whether or not your player is in discussion.

 

[Cover Drive Six]

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.

This is a lol-worthy post... lol.

 

[harshjoshi87]

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.

Iska jawaab de @mominsaigol

 

[harshjoshi87]

Wasim Akram wins this battle as he has also captained Pakistan while Starc has never been the captain.

 

[BreadPakoda]

Wasim surprisingly has an ordinary record in WC games. In this list - Wasim has played most games so chances were not an issue.

Avg - 29 -- Nothing to boast here.

ER 4.3(not great for some one with his skills) -- To put it in perspctive, Bumrah with similar skill set has ER 4.2 in current era when 300+ scores are common due to two new balls. Wasim played 30-40 years ago.

SR 40 ( nothing great here as well) - it's not most fans will expect from some one like Wasim.



View attachment 158660

Poor Shami deserved to win at least one WC. On the topic, IMO Starc is the ODI GOAT. Greatest ever

 

[Cover Drive Six]

Poor Shami deserved to win at least one WC. On the topic, IMO Starc is the ODI GOAT. Greatest ever

Nah, Starc was just lucky because his captain set the field perfectly for those catches. Otherwise, Starc <<<<< Akram.
Thanks to his captain’s fielding setup.

 

[Deewana Mastana]

2 diffferent eras; Wasim Akram sustained excellence across two decades, including periods with flatter pitches and weaker bowling conditions.

Wasim was a genuine all rounder as well and who could finish games with the bat too and delivered in high-stakes games over and over, often as the senior-most bowler under pressure.

He mastered both conventional and reverse swing, often within the same spell, with surgical control and variation.

He could open with the new ball or bowl at the death, bowling yorkers, slower balls, and cutters before they were mainstream.

Starc is a lethal new-ball bowler and deadly yorker specialist — but arguably less versatile across phases than Akram.

Wasim revolutionized ODI bowling; a pioneer in swing and seam mastery. Starc is world-class, but not revolutionary.

Wasim faced peak batting lineups: Sachin, Lara, Waugh, Jayasuriya, Dravid, Kallis — in an era with no fielding restrictions or DRS and heavier bats.

Starc plays in an era dominated by flat pitches and big bats, yes — but also bowler protection rules (2 new balls, 5 outside the ring after 40 overs), and fielding restrictions.

While Mitchell Starc is arguably the most dangerous left-arm quick of the modern ODI era, Wasim Akram’s legacy is richer, more complete, and more impactful across eras, conditions, and match situations.

Starc might be flashier; Wasim was greater.

 

[mominsaigol]

Nah, Starc was just lucky because his captain set the field perfectly for those catches. Otherwise, Starc <<<<< Akram.
Thanks to his captain’s fielding setup.

Wasim Akram is > Any era starc except 2015.

 

[SportsWarrior]

Starc in ODIs, way better in tournaments. Infact Shami is better than Wasim going by his tournament stats. Wasim was an overall great Bowler. I don’t place much value in Wasim’s overall stats due to questionable way he achieved them and his disgraceful association with match fixing. Just going by talent Wasim was better. If you needed solid and reliable performances consistently l, especially under pressure, Starc is your man

 

[pratiktc]

People are right that with ODI cricket losing volume and space to T20Is hard to compare modern bowlers with 90s and 00s bowlers.

What Starc achieved in 2015 WC campaign which was probably worst for bowlers in terms of pitches and rules is simply unbelievable. Close second would be Shami's mind-blowing 2023 WC run.

Starc then also had a very good 2019 campaign and an efficient 2023 one

I would say Starc is a hair ahead of Akram.

 

[kron]

People are right that with ODI cricket losing volume and space to T20Is hard to compare modern bowlers with 90s and 00s bowlers.

What Starc achieved in 2015 WC campaign which was probably worst for bowlers in terms of pitches and rules is simply unbelievable. Close second would be Shami's mind-blowing 2023 WC run.

Starc then also had a very good 2019 campaign and an efficient 2023 one

I would say Starc is a hair ahead of Akram.

Shami also ahead of Wasim and Waqar and definitely Imran

In odi

It’s the hard truth pill that is difficult to accept for Padosi but this is reality.

 

[kron]

2 diffferent eras; Wasim Akram sustained excellence across two decades, including periods with flatter pitches and weaker bowling conditions.

Wasim was a genuine all rounder as well and who could finish games with the bat too and delivered in high-stakes games over and over, often as the senior-most bowler under pressure.

He mastered both conventional and reverse swing, often within the same spell, with surgical control and variation.

He could open with the new ball or bowl at the death, bowling yorkers, slower balls, and cutters before they were mainstream.

Starc is a lethal new-ball bowler and deadly yorker specialist — but arguably less versatile across phases than Akram.

Wasim revolutionized ODI bowling; a pioneer in swing and seam mastery. Starc is world-class, but not revolutionary.

Wasim faced peak batting lineups: Sachin, Lara, Waugh, Jayasuriya, Dravid, Kallis — in an era with no fielding restrictions or DRS and heavier bats.

Starc plays in an era dominated by flat pitches and big bats, yes — but also bowler protection rules (2 new balls, 5 outside the ring after 40 overs), and fielding restrictions.

While Mitchell Starc is arguably the most dangerous left-arm quick of the modern ODI era, Wasim Akram’s legacy is richer, more complete, and more impactful across eras, conditions, and match situations.

Starc might be flashier; Wasim was greater.

Bowling is much much harder now in modern era

Every aspect of odi points towards Starc being better.

Only thing I could say is Wasim had diabetes and that affected his ability a fair bit. If he was this good with diabetes then without he would have gone down as the greatest odi bower

But that’s just fantasy now.

 

[kron]

But ODI's bilaterals were taken more seriously back then. So it was not all about WC games. WC games were much bigger than bilaterals even back then but bilaterals were not just used for experiments. Bilaterals were taken seriously.

We shouldn't be just looking at WC games here to declare Starc was better than Wasim. If it's just based on WC games, Wasim won't figure out in even among the top 10 ODI bowlers, but that's not true. He is comfortably among the top 5 ODI pacers.

Bilaterals were never taken seriously in odi


Test bilaterals yes always. That is the pinnacle. Other bilaterals in odi were never taken seriously. As much as people want those to be accounted for. It was a tester to work out combinations for the World Cup mostly

Only time it would matter I would say is a year before the World Cup. Anything prior would never be a factor.

Sharjah kiptley cup and so on all meaningless wins.

Asia cup? What happened there even with the goat pak team? Not much.

 

[kron]

This is a lol-worthy post... lol.

Desi fielding in Asia was always suspect

With better fielders may Asian bowlers would average 2 to 3 points lower.

Fitness was taken seriously and intact many Asian teams still don’t take it as seriously as they should

Look at yo yo test results

Pass mark in India Pakistan Lanka is like 17. Level 17

In nz it’s 20 to pass fitness tests related to yo yo

Australia 19
South Africa 19

Desi teams have to accommodate for Rohit Sharma and other

 

[kron]

All Indian bowlers have done better than Pakistani bowlers in World Cups.

Pakistani pacers are just king of bilaterals and occasional one off spells by their left arm pacers vs India.

If it was just one fluke WC then no I wouldn’t rate shami over Wasim. But 3 consecutive WC where he outperforms Wasim then yea no chance then.

Especially last 2023 WC shami was the goat odi bowler in the tournament. What a performance barring one game. That too due to dew and crap

 

[Ab Fan]

If it was just one fluke WC then no I wouldn’t rate shami over Wasim. But 3 consecutive WC where he outperforms Wasim then yea no chance then.

Especially last 2023 WC shami was the goat odi bowler in the tournament. What a performance barring one game. That too due to dew and crap

You are right mate. Shami’s record is phenomenal in ODI World Cups and hard for anyone from any era to replicate.

But I reckon Starc and Bumrah are better ODI bowlers than Shami from this era. Both excellent in World Cups and bilaterals both.

 

[kron]

You are right mate. Shami’s record is phenomenal in ODI World Cups and hard for anyone from any era to replicate.

But I reckon Starc and Bumrah are better ODI bowlers than Shami from this era.

I don’t know man. The way he bowled in 2023 makes me believe he is better than bumrah. Not sure about Starc as he won 2 WC’s. Unfortunately shami only has the champions trophy.

 

[Ab Fan]

I don’t know man. The way he bowled in 2023 makes me believe he is better than bumrah. Not sure about Starc as he won 2 WC’s. Unfortunately shami only has the champions trophy.

Bumrah’s World Cup record is excellent too. That economy rate is leagues better than anyone from his era. People have set unrealistic standards from Bumrah but otherwise he was great in 2019 WC too. I reckon he is ahead of Shami because Shami’s ODI bilateral record is below both and actually around Boult or Morkel level.

 

[kron]

Bumrah’s World Cup record is excellent too. That economy rate is leagues better than anyone from his era. People have set unrealistic standards from Bumrah but otherwise he was great in 2019 WC too. I reckon he is ahead of Shami because Shami’s ODI bilateral record is below both and actually around Boult or Morkel level.

Bilaterals don’t mean crap though but I agree economy matters

 

[Justcrazy]

Its a very tough choice . Starc is bowling on in batting friendly conditions.

I would say Akram is more skilled but on his days Starc creates more impact.

 

[RidiculousMan]

Wasim was more reliable and consistent. Starc had higher peak in his peak moments

 

[Barragan]

Wasim Akram - easy!

Starc has faced weaker techniques and there's been two new balls to work with meaning swing lasting longer than before

Even a pre-injury Shaheen Afridi was destroying these morden batsmen with the new ball

 

[Buffet]

Bilaterals were never taken seriously in odi


Test bilaterals yes always. That is the pinnacle. Other bilaterals in odi were never taken seriously. As much as people want those to be accounted for. It was a tester to work out combinations for the World Cup mostly

Only time it would matter I would say is a year before the World Cup. Anything prior would never be a factor.

Sharjah kiptley cup and so on all meaningless wins.

Asia cup? What happened there even with the goat pak team? Not much.

Bilaterals were taken more seriously than now for sure. Yes, not as seriously as WC or any major tournamanets.

Discussion now got me curious to check performance of some ususal suspects in 90s in QF, SF and Finals of tournaments.

Performance in QF, SF and Finals,

McGrath avg 17, SR 26
Ambrose Avg 18, SR 31
Donald Avg 19, SR 27
...
...
Wasim Avg 24, SR 38

It's surprising Wasim also not looking that great in QF, SF and Finals games taken together( 45 ODIS here so large sample size).

Perhaps I overrated Wasim a bit in ODI format due to being my favourite pacer to watch in 90s. He did do well in 92 WC, but then over all WC record is not that great. Wasim's performance looks mixed in bigger games.

 

[kron]

Bilaterals were taken more seriously than now for sure. Yes, not as seriously as WC or any major tournamanets.

Discussion now got me curious to check performance of some ususal suspects in 90s in QF, SF and Finals of tournaments.

Performance in QF, SF and Finals,

McGrath avg 17, SR 26
Ambrose Avg 18, SR 31
Donald Avg 19, SR 27
...
...
Wasim Avg 24, SR 38

It's surprising Wasim also not looking that great in QF, SF and Finals games taken together( 45 ODIS here so large sample size).

Perhaps I overrated Wasim a bit in ODI format due to being my favourite pacer to watch in 90s. He did do well in 92 WC, but then over all WC record is not that great. Wasim's performance looks mixed in bigger games.

Yea but it’s still bilateral

Never that serious

WC is the only thing that matters at the time

Apart from test cricket