Mohammad Sami, Wahab Riaz, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain - who wins the battle of the sprayguns?

[Savak]

All the bowlers mentioned in this list are among the most expensive bowlers with the reputation to horribly spray it around all over the place on their worst days.

If you had no choice and were forced to pick atleast one bowler from this list, which bowler would you pick from this list to bowl for you in a pressure game or you feel will have the mental toughness and self belief to handle the pressure of the must win game when the game is in the balance?

 

[The Bald Eagle]

Poll added Guys!

 

[DeadlyVenom]

From this list

I'd take Wahab Riaz.

 

[Rana]

Wahab was pretty good when the stakes were high. He’s got some great performances for Pakistan in ICC tournaments.


The others have nothing of note in ICC events. Rauf in his first 50 over tournament went for 500 runs lol

 

[sweep_shot]

This thread cracked me up.

I think Wahab wins this one.

 

[The Bald Eagle]

Ashok Dinda, Wahab Riaz and Prasidh Krishna

 

[Rana]

Wahab and Sami at their peak had serious pace

Sami must have clocked 97-98mph around the 2001-2004 period

Wahab I have seen hit 97mph live.

Rauf’s fastest I think is 93-94. Right now he’s barely touching 145kmh regularly.

 

[sweep_shot]

Wahab and Sami at their peak had serious pace

Sami must have clocked 97-98mph around the 2001-2004 period

Wahab I have seen hit 97mph live.

Rauf’s fastest I think is 93-94. Right now he’s barely touching 145kmh regularly.

Sami was very fast. I think he also took 2 hat-tricks.

Saw young Sami live. He was fun to watch.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Wahab was a hard-worker, he just didn't have alot of natural talent. But you could never doubt his effort which was 100%. He bowled some long, fast spells on those docile UAE pitches under the sweltering sun.

 

[Rana]

Hasnain just turned out to be a mummy-daddy pacer. More on good vibes and Korean looks.

Just never took off. Really sad.

 

[Usman Chadda]

Wahab Riaz wins this by a country mile.

He bowled some really good spells in Test cricket, something which the other three don’t have.

Sami had potential but that average just speaks for itself.

 

[sweep_shot]

Wahab Riaz wins this by a country mile.

He bowled some really good spells in Test cricket, something which the other three don’t have.

Sami had potential but that average just speaks for itself.

I think you misunderstood the thread.

Thread is about who wins the spraygun contest (i.e., who bowled erratically the most).

 

[Obaidd]

Tests: Wahab Riaz
ODIs and T20s: Wahab Riaz

 

[CricVet]

Here I was thinking that it was about the worst of the lot

I agree with the most: best Wahab, worst Hasnain

 

[Kianig89]

Haris rauf the ultimate humilist

 

[BouncerGuy]

hahah.... What a thread... I think Wahab has earned the title with a lot of hardwork... Still remeber hislegendary delivery to Smith..

 

[BouncerGuy]

If you ask about bottler, then Haris rauf has been the greatest one so far here.

 

[BunnyRabbit]

Sami, Haris, Hasnain and Wahab all four are notorious for throwing the matches away for their teams in pressure situations. Sami and Wahab did quite well in domestic though. Rana Naved was another similar one but without any pace.
Shoaib Akhtar easily wins among Pakistan's fastest who wouldn't bottle under pressure. He rates much higher than these spray guns. Apart from Shoaib, I'd take Mohammad Irfan who was also just as fast as Wahab and Hasnain yet had much better control. Hasan Ali is better than all four IMO even if he isn't as fast but has a reputation of being a spray gun and can't do worse than these 4

 

[RidiculousMan]

Wahab Riaz is the worst

 

[JibranAnsari]

Once the two new balls rule was introduced, bowlers like gul and wahab riaz started struggling. Sami had great basics but just but enough bowling IQ.

If i had to pick one, i would pick sami.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Wahab and Sami at their peak had serious pace

Sami must have clocked 97-98mph around the 2001-2004 period

Wahab I have seen hit 97mph live.

Rauf’s fastest I think is 93-94. Right now he’s barely touching 145kmh regularly.

Sami's legit. fastest was 156.4 kph but he did clock 164/162 which were considered speed gun errors.

Rauf officially clocked 159 once but otherwise his 2nd fastest was 154.5 kph.

Hasnain around 155.7 kph.

Wahab's speed you are quoting is likely from CT 2013 where the speedgun at the venues were not synchronised with Hawkeye.

I think his fastest on Hawkeye was 96 mph.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Wahab was a hard-worker, he just didn't have alot of natural talent. But you could never doubt his effort which was 100%. He bowled some long, fast spells on those docile UAE pitches under the sweltering sun.

You can't bowl that fast without natural ability.

Wahab was very lanky, strong, durable and with enough twitch fibres to sustain bowling quick .

But often his bowling technique would fall apart and he had very little bowling IQ.

All of these guys were physically very gifted.

But they didn't have the best techniques/technical support and honestly they are all as dumb as rocks when it comes to bowling IQ

And the one guy who had the ability to clock 150 kph, had a technically strong action and had very good bowling IQ at a young age ended up being a match fixer

 

[NishanKonar]

Sami's legit. fastest was 156.4 kph but he did clock 164/162 which were considered speed gun errors.

Rauf officially clocked 159 once but otherwise his 2nd fastest was 154.5 kph.

Hasnain around 155.7 kph.

Wahab's speed you are quoting is likely from CT 2013 where the speedgun at the venues were not synchronised with Hawkeye.

I think his fastest on Hawkeye was 96 mph.

Always take these speed gun readings with a pinch of salt

Today Starc clocked 176 kph !

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Always take these speed gun readings with a pinch of salt

Today Starc clocked 176 kph !

That's obviously a one off speed gun error. The others I mentioned, Ive seen these bowlers clock similar numbers.

 

[Rana]

Sami's legit. fastest was 156.4 kph but he did clock 164/162 which were considered speed gun errors

He definitely bowled 97-98mph in an away ODI series against England in 2003. There is footage of him bowling absolute heat against Michael Vaughan, scary bowling.

I was at the oval in 2013 when Pakistan played West Indies. Wahab 100% clocked 97mph. You could hear the thud of the ball across the ground. Phenomenal ball!

 

[Nikhil_cric]

He definitely bowled 97-98mph in an away ODI series against England in 2003. There is footage of him bowling absolute heat against Michael Vaughan, scary bowling.

I was at the oval in 2013 when Pakistan played West Indies. Wahab 100% clocked 97mph. You could hear the thud of the ball across the ground. Phenomenal ball!

Yeah. That is in that 97-98 range . And that series is the legit. Fastest I've seen him bowl.

For Wahab, he got a lot of lift too, unlike Sami.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

You can't bowl that fast without natural ability.

Wahab was very lanky, strong, durable and with enough twitch fibres to sustain bowling quick .

But often his bowling technique would fall apart and he had very little bowling IQ.

All of these guys were physically very gifted.

But they didn't have the best techniques/technical support and honestly they are all as dumb as rocks when it comes to bowling IQ

And the one guy who had the ability to clock 150 kph, had a technically strong action and had very good bowling IQ at a young age ended up being a match fixer

You're right, it was probably lack of bowling IQ more than anything else.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Once the two new balls rule was introduced, bowlers like gul and wahab riaz started struggling. Sami had great basics but just but enough bowling IQ.

If i had to pick one, i would pick sami.

Sami was useful in ODI but he benefitted from playing in that era where you didn't have the two new balls. In today's era, someone like Sami would be taken apart alot like how Haris Rauf often is

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

When Wahab was on, he was a joy to watch. 2011 World Cup semi-final, 2015 World Cup quarter-final...infact, he has delivered some super clutch performances in World Cup matches, I can think of a few other matches against Zimbabwe (2015) and Afghanistan (2019) where he delivered with bat and ball.

 

[mrtaim3]

For me it has to Sami. Wahab still had really good performances in Tests especially in UAE and NZ/AUS and was smartest of the lot.

Sami had so much potential. He had raw pace, neat action, short run-up, good control. He had everything but a working brain. PCB has wasted so many good players with their inability to groom highly talented individuals coming from humble backgrounds.

 

[Double Trouble]

The title should be the biggest bottler so i feel it’s defo rauf. Wahab & Sami won games when required whilst Rauf.

 

[TeymurBlake]

It's depressing seeing Hasnain in this list considering he still has time to turn around his career but is very unlikely to.

 

[JibranAnsari]

Sami was useful in ODI but he benefitted from playing in that era where you didn't have the two new balls. In today's era, someone like Sami would be taken apart alot like how Haris Rauf often is

Mohammad sami wasnt much of a reverse swing exponent like gul and riaz, both relied a lot om reverse to get their wickets.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Mohammad sami wasnt much of a reverse swing exponent like gul and riaz, both relied a lot om reverse to get their wickets.

I know but he was still able to find success during that era just by relying on his pace. In this era, where teams just go after bowlers after the 35th over if they have wickets in hand he would have been destroyed by top batting line-ups

 

[DeadlyVenom]

When Wahab was on, he was a joy to watch. 2011 World Cup semi-final, 2015 World Cup quarter-final...infact, he has delivered some super clutch performances in World Cup matches, I can think of a few other matches against Zimbabwe (2015) and Afghanistan (2019) where he delivered with bat and ball.

Same in test matches too, when he blew hot he was awesome. He had some sizzling performances particularly in the UAE where unfortunately wickets column didn't take into account the quality of his bowling at times.

If you look at his stats ( not average or sr) in terms of raw wickets it's quite surprising he played so little for Pakistan and took so few wickets. He should have achieved more.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Same in test matches too, when he blew hot he was awesome. He had some sizzling performances particularly in the UAE where unfortunately wickets column didn't take into account the quality of his bowling at times.

If you look at his stats ( not average or sr) in terms of raw wickets it's quite surprising he played so little for Pakistan and took so few wickets. He should have achieved more.

Doesn't get enough credit for those UAE spells. That was such a thankless job.

 

[TheSultan]

I’m assuming the question is about white ball - I’d take Sami any day - he was decent in white ball and even in our pathetic 2007 WC campaign, bowled decently. He was one of the quickest bowlers bowlers of all time. I personally thought Bob and Inzi managed him poorly.

Even in tests, I refuse to believe if managed properly, he couldn’t have been a lot better than he was.

wahab had his moments

 

[pillionrider]

Sami must have clocked 97-98mph around the 2001-2004 period

I've watched Sami at Bangalore, 2007. Had a view side-on to the pitch, as those were the cheapest tickets back then for guys skipping college.

He was so fast. I had never seen anything close to that kind of pace and we were also in awe of Yuvraj who hardly looked rushed.

 

[Rana]

I've watched Sami at Bangalore, 2007. Had a view side-on to the pitch, as those were the cheapest tickets back then for guys skipping college.

He was so fast. I had never seen anything close to that kind of pace and we were also in awe of Yuvraj who hardly looked rushed.

Yes, and there was no doubt on his action either

Lee and Akhtar both had been called up at least once to clear their actions

Sami in that era was legit and unquestionably bowling 95mph+ with a clean/smooth action

 

[Nikhil_cric]

I've watched Sami at Bangalore, 2007. Had a view side-on to the pitch, as those were the cheapest tickets back then for guys skipping college.

He was so fast. I had never seen anything close to that kind of pace and we were also in awe of Yuvraj who hardly looked rushed.

Yeah. Side-on you can really see who is quick and who is not.

I think that was the thing with Sami. Unless he found swing, he never really rushed any batsman with good hand eye.

That too on the truest Indian pitch .

He didnt have the height or the snap in his release to get that ball to rear up from a length and he was too full anyway.

That was also peak Yuvraj

 

[DeadlyVenom]

I've watched Sami at Bangalore, 2007. Had a view side-on to the pitch, as those were the cheapest tickets back then for guys skipping college.

He was so fast. I had never seen anything close to that kind of pace and we were also in awe of Yuvraj who hardly looked rushed.

Modern batsmen aren't too troubled by pace. I can't remember Sami being able to move the ball off the seam or in the air. Nor did he have change-ups in length or generate bounce off a good length.

He was expressiv, but thats all he had. He could run through sides at domestic FC level but at test level he didn't have any strings in his bow to make an impact.

 

[imshally81]

Yes Wahan Riaz is big spraygun.... But haris is from another planet

 

[ghalib kichlu]

Usman shinwari was another one
Musa khan was another disaster
Sohail khan was a one innings wonder

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Best Mohammad Sami spell that I can remember - the 2010 Sydney Test vs Australia. The infamous Sydney Test, arguably one of Pakistan’s greatest traumas at the hands of the Australians, in a long list of traumas they have given us.

A lot of people remember Asif’s 6-fer from the first innings, which was the highlight, but people forget that it was actually Sami who reduced Australia to 10-3 with a magnificent opening spell. He dismissed Phil Hughes, Watson, and Ponting, he was bowling at a rapid pace, getting bounce, and even some movement off the pitch. The ball he bowled to dismiss Watson was an absolute peachhh.

Still can’t believe we lost that test match. One of the many reasons I’ll never forgive Kamran Akmal.

 

[pratiktc]

Sami on rare occasion would get some outswing and surprise himself also

 

[Justcrazy]

Haris is the most brainless bowler I have seen.

 

[Abid Z]

Sami was a fabulous bowler. Unfortunately just unlucky for two reasons. Firstly he had Akmal as a keeper secondly he had quite poor captains. Tours that he could have made a mark on (England 2001 he was injured). (Australia 2010 was really unlucky). Often he appeared wayward when the ball would swing too much in places like Dambulla. Off stump deliveries would end up as clips off the leg stump line.

Rauf is one of the worst bowlers to play for Pak.

Wahab was ok in short bursts if used properly. Text book definition of a spray gun.

Husnain seems to have better control last time I saw him but he appears to have gone missing. You can’t always tell though in 4 overs of t20


Rauf is thé worst of the lot.

 

[kron]

Poll added Guys!

Has To be wahab riaz surely

In odi that spell vs Watson alone propels him to the top out of these 4.

Wahab was a very good bowler in odi and even t20. In tests one thing I liked about him is the fact that he never compromised on pace. Always bowed quick and for long periods.

He just lacked a game plan and accuracy to excel in tests.

 

[sithb]

Haris Rauf. Absolutely hopeless bowler.

 

[sithb]

Still can’t believe we lost that test match. One of the many reasons I’ll never forgive Kamran Akmal.

That was the match where kamran did his great wicketkeeping masterclass. Even as a neutral , always felt he fixed the game. That kind of incompetence can't be explained otherwise.