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[VIDEO] Where does Wasim Akram rank as a fast bowler?

Ab Fan

Ab Fan

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For me, he is the greatest bowler Pakistan ever produced.

No one has received peer-acclaim as much as Wasim did. Where would you rank Wasim Akram as a fast bowler?
 
Only half a dozen bowlers better than him in the history of cricket I reckon- Imran,Steyn, McGrath, Marshall,Handler, Ambrose,Lillee but that's about it. Arguably more talented than any of them though.
 
Had so many tricks up his sleeve. Easily among the top-3 ODI fast-bowlers and a Test ATG too.
 
Overall, top 10 all time. Greatest left arm fast bowler though.
 
BlackShadow said:
Had so many tricks up his sleeve. Easily among the top-3 ODI fast-bowlers and a Test ATG too.
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Top 3 ODI fast bowler? I would argue he is the greatest ever in odis.

Won his team a WC final as well.
 
The most talented fast bowler I have seen in my life, however did not always do justice to that talent.

Also did not help that Pakistan never had the great fielding or batting unit to back him up.

I remember him bowling an ODI spell in NZ once, My God, he was swinging the ball in a way I have never seen it before!
 
Top 10 Test fast bowlers of all time.
2nd best Test bowler from Pak after Imran.

Top 4 ODI fast bowlers of all time alongside McGrath, Waqar and Lee. Probably 2nd behind McGrath.
 
pratiktc said:
Top 10 Test fast bowlers of all time.
2nd best Test bowler from Pak after Imran.

Top 4 ODI fast bowlers of all time alongside McGrath, Waqar and Lee. Probably 2nd behind McGrath.
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That I'll agree with. Imran is the best fast bowler form the entire subcontinent. It's him who taught Wasim and Waqar the tricks of the trade. And in return, neither of them taught any of their juniors the tricks.
 
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Ab Fan said:
For me, he is the greatest bowler Pakistan ever produced.

No one has received peer-acclaim as much as Wasim did. Where would you rank Wasim Akram as a fast bowler?
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The GOAT Pakistani Test bowler/player/ without a doubt is Imran Khan. I believe that debate is covered by another thread. In a way, however, it makes sense t that many people, including former players, would pick Wasim for the All time XI, because no other bowler, including Imran, had the ability to make you feel so much that he could do anything with the ball. The fact that he didn't actually do as much with it as say McGrath, or Imran, when it comes to taking wicket, is another matter.
 
Probably as an apprentice to Fred Spofforth or Sydney Barnes if you would believe some of the posters on this thread.
 
Wasim may be the best or one of the best fast bowlers in test, but in ODIs, he doesn't even come close to the GOAT Mohammad Yousuf he has a average of 1.00, an economy of 3.00! And an unmatchable strike rate of 2.0!
 
Too 5 greatest bowler of all time. My all time favorite, and in my personal opinion greatest fast bowler ever
 
You give Wasim the kind of team fielding / catching that Steyn, mcgrath, etc.. was blessed with, as well as helpful pitches for fast bowling like some of these other bowlers had (swing new ball for longer and reverse swing afterwards) and there is no comparison.

IMO GOAT in ODIs. Greatest left armer in any format. Top 3 in tests.
 
Ab Fan said:
For me, he is the greatest bowler Pakistan ever produced.

No one has received peer-acclaim as much as Wasim did. Where would you rank Wasim Akram as a fast bowler?
Click to expand...

Absolute top flight.

A toss up between him and Alan Davidson as best ever left-arm quick. I'd put Imran fractionally ahead of him as best quick from Asia.

Had a slight dent in his figures against England, curiously. Maybe he spent so much time at Lancs that the England batters learned him a bit.
 
Greatest left hand bowler.
Greatest Pakistani bowler.

Among the quickies your Bhaijaan has seen, he would rate Waz only behind the great Pigeon.

Overall definitely among the Top 10 greatest fast bowlers of all time. A supreme talent. Legend. A handome stud. Gentleman. He will never be forgotten.


Akdum Bakdum The great Wasim Akram :wasim
 
As great a bowler as Sachin was a batsman and Murali was a spinner. All three were among the best ever in their respective fields. However, unlike Sachin and Murali, Wasim was the best in his field in the ODI format.

In tests, I would rank Marshall, Imran and Hadlee above Wasim. In ODIs, Wasim was king.
 
Not the best test bowler from Pakistan however. That was Imran Khan.
 
I would also put Wasim only behind McGrath from the ones I saw, although Waz is superior in odis though.

I think Marshall, McGrath and Hadlee are the only ones I will rate ahead of Wasim as a bowler post 1970s considering all formats. Some may say Imran or Ambrose or a Steyn but I will take Waz over them.

Cricketers like Brain Lara, Viv Richards, Ricky Ponting, Jacques Kallis, Kumar Sangakkara, VVS Laxman all rated Wasim as the toughest opponents they have ever faced.
 
Bilal7 said:
<B>As great a bowler as Sachin was a batsman and Murali was a spinner. All three were among the best ever in their respective fields. However, unlike Sachin and Murali, Wasim was the best in his field in the ODI format.</B>

In tests, I would rank Marshall, Imran and Hadlee above Wasim. <B>In ODIs, Wasim was king</B>.
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I agree with the bold part.
 
I miss the times of Waz and Vicky.... Pakistan was always in with a chance when these two were around. Any sniff of victory and you can bet your bottom dollar that these two will exploit it. In late 90s and early 2000s Pakistan was renowned for winning from unwinnable situations.


Fast forward to Misbah era where we stepped onto the field to earn respectful defeat. Still this useless captain is put on pedestal.
 
Best ODI bowler i have ever seen. However, McGrath was better than him in tests.
 
Ab Fan said:
I agree with the bold part.
Click to expand...

Marshall is undoubtedly the test #1. As for Imran and Hadlee, they are statistically better. However, the difference between these ATG players is so small that it all comes down to personal preference in the end.
 
My whole childhood and earlier part of adulthood (till he retired) revolved around watching his every ball be it test match or ODI. No doubt he never did justice to his talent and never produced the results to match his talent.

In ODI he was easily the best of his time and Macgrath with all his greatness was never the same force in ODI.
There is simply no competitor in ODI to Wasim, he rarely went beyond 4 runs an over no matter what the situation was. There is simply no better sight in cricket that watching him bowl. He was the most gifted fast bowler with ability to bowl differently all the 6 balls.
In swinger, out swinger, reverse swing , yorker, bouncer , slower ball, leg cutter, seamer. Whatever we can think of he managed to bowl them, what more a lover of fast bowling can expect.
He was a sight to behold.
Wish there can be someone like him to entertain the lovers of fast bowling.
 
sohailmm said:
My whole childhood and earlier part of adulthood (till he retired) revolved around watching his every ball be it test match or ODI. No doubt he never did justice to his talent and never produced the results to match his talent.

In ODI he was easily the best of his time and Macgrath with all his greatness was never the same force in ODI.
There is simply no competitor in ODI to Wasim, he rarely went beyond 4 runs an over no matter what the situation was. There is simply no better sight in cricket that watching him bowl. He was the most gifted fast bowler with ability to bowl differently all the 6 balls.
In swinger, out swinger, reverse swing , yorker, bouncer , slower ball, leg cutter, seamer. Whatever we can think of he managed to bowl them, what more a lover of fast bowling can expect.
He was a sight to behold.
Wish there can be someone like him to entertain the lovers of fast bowling.
Click to expand...

And not to forget... Waz near the twilight of his career would bowl off of two or three steps and still manage enough pace that aj kay bachay are getting after running in from the boundary.
 
Bilal7 said:
Marshall is undoubtedly the test #1. As for Imran and Hadlee, they are statistically better. However, the difference between these ATG players is so small that it all comes down to personal preference in the end.
Click to expand...

I would also argue McGrath, Steyn and Ambrose are better bowlers in tests format as well. However, all formats combined, he is in top 3-4 greatest ever bowlers post 70s.

One of the most appreciated, admired and loved bowler the game has ever seen.
 
The best ODI pacer.

Among the top 8-10 test bowlers.

Over all, among the top 5 bowlers.
 
The most skilled fast bowler ever. He had a sharp bouncer and moved the ball both ways at will. His ability to set up the batsman was pure genius.
 
If he were right arm bowler he would be top 10, but because he is left arm, he is top 5.
That being said, he inderperform vs his pedigree, especially in the latter half of his career
 
Hitman said:
That I'll agree with. Imran is the best fast bowler form the entire subcontinent. It's him who taught Wasim and Waqar the tricks of the trade. And in return, neither of them taught any of their juniors the tricks.
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Akram is the greatest bowler from the subcontinent
 
The most amazing ability of Wasim was to get wickets at crucial stages. I've seen him turn matches in Pakistan's favor out of nowhere. Some of his spells were legendary... and I have only seen him since 92.
 
Top 10 in Tests and #1 in ODI’s.

Murali’s impact in the shorter format is overrated.
 
sam_ahm said:
The most amazing ability of Wasim was to get wickets at crucial stages. I've seen him turn matches in Pakistan's favor out of nowhere. Some of his spells were legendary... and I have only seen him since 92.
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That is true.

He could come back at any stage of the game and get wickets.
 
Justcrazy said:
That is true.

He could come back at any stage of the game and get wickets.
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It is a true assertion in a typological sense, ie Wasim could make something of any type of situation, but it is also a woefully incomplete. He could but he didn't as often as one would have liked. There were many Tests were he was ineffective, sometimes unexpectedly so. That's what people like to forget. With Wasim, with Shoaib, even with Waqar.
 
Waqar

Ab Fan said:
For me, he is the greatest bowler Pakistan ever produced.

No one has received peer-acclaim as much as Wasim did. Where would you rank Wasim Akram as a fast bowler?
Click to expand...
Waqar was better for the first half of their careers
 
In terms of pure skill the best fast bowler of them all .Took art and creativity in fast bowling top another dimension being closer to magician than any pace bowler ever.The greatest batsmen like Viv Richards,Lara and Kallis thought he was the hardest to face which speaks for itself.

In ODI's statistically the greatest but in test matches in terms of figures not the equal of Marshall, Mcgrath,Hadlee,Imran and morally Lillee but in my book more complete than any of them.Still I would place him above Hadlee and Imran in tests.Hadlee was not as effective on flat batting tracks while Imran was not as consistent as Wasim in his career who had a disadvantage of bowling in an era when bowlers were restricted to 2 bouncers and over and had substantially better protective headgear.Bolwing with Waqar in his peak arguably stopped him from having better best figures and more 5 wkt hauls.


Combing ODI's to me the best with Mcgrath and Hadlee while in only tests the best with Marshall and Lillee.I accept that even Curtly Ambrose had better test stats but I am giving consideration to all-round skill Anyway very debatable and tentative.
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Brett Lee "Wasim bhai, you are a legend" (video courtesy of OakTree Sports) <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a> <a href="https://t.co/Qra5Wt5o91">pic.twitter.com/Qra5Wt5o91</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) <a href="https://twitter.com/Saj_PakPassion/status/1154474035075379200?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 25, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
The most skillful bowler Pak has produced. Not the quickest but incredibly smart who could out think any batsman. In terms of speed he is not up there with the fastest of them.
 
Sky Sports did a masterclass with him a couple of years ago, he was still swinging the ball around even off a few paces.

One of the greatest bowlers I have ever seen. An artist with the ball, so skilful, a thinking-bowler, a bowler who bowled as per the conditions and as per the opposition.

Legend.
 
The greatest in history, the one name among all fast bowlers in history who will be an automatic pick in the all time Test and ODI XI
 
GOAT.

Nobody can replace him.

We are lucky to have had this kind of bowler.

Thanks Waz!
 
Wasim Akram is my favorite bowler and is a genuine all-time great, but honestly given his talent he underachieved, which is why I think an objective judgment would put Imran Khan as better than Wasim (in tests). 414 wickets in 104 tests at 23 still are great figures but below what other all-timers have achieved.

Wasim relied heavily on his natural gift of control of swing. But as a thinking bowling who outsmarts batsmen, he falls short of the likes of Hadlee, Marshall and McGrath. In his early career, he basically would ask Imran for guidance every over, and even later in his career he mentioned that sometimes he didnt know himself what his next delivery would be.

Also, Wasim simply was not as mentally tough a bowler as Imran or even Waqar. He said himself that on dead pitches he would switch off and often resort to just bowling length outside off. He often let outside captaincy factors affect his bowling standards, such in 1993 in West Indies or 1999 in Australia. Compare that to Imran who never let any outside factor weigh him down and was rarely accused of giving less than 100%.

Wasim was great at building pressure on batsmen but was not capable of singlehandedly destroying opposition compared to his peers. He relied on his world class bowling colleagues to help taking wickets. Wasim only took one 7-fer in his entire career against New Zealand. Imran took two 8-fers and three 7-fers against quality opposition in less tests. Malcolm Marshall had world class bowling colleagues but managed to takes six wickets a test during his peak. The best of the best tend to stand out.

Wasim had an 18-year career, but outside of his career peak from 1990 - 1997 he was not that consistent or great. From 1997 onwards, he had lost his pace and sting, and batsmen would be defensive with him out of respect and because he was so awkward, but he lacked the ability to take wickets consistently.

Nobody doubts his skills with the ball, and he definitely would make an World XI in the post 90s period. But overall, I would place him between 10-15 on the the all-time great bowlers list, and Imran deserves 5-10.
 
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Syed1 said:
I miss the times of Waz and Vicky.... Pakistan was always in with a chance when these two were around. Any sniff of victory and you can bet your bottom dollar that these two will exploit it. In late 90s and early 2000s Pakistan was renowned for winning from unwinnable situations.


Fast forward to Misbah era where we stepped onto the field to earn respectful defeat. Still this useless captain is put on pedestal.
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i'm sorry but with which wasim and waqar did you want misbah to go and exploit victory?

in an unrelated note, i feel sad that today's kids are growing up having never watched wasim akram bowling. it's not the same on youtube. that feeling that him and waqar could win you a game out of nowhere was unmatched. felt amazing to have such a pioneer of the game representing us. biggest travesty is that we failed to win 1999 world cup, although that aussie team was also no joke. alas, as we have seen many times, he is on every "all time XI" list and a highly respected man.

people keep saying they want him to coach with the first time, but that's not whats needed. PCB should set up youth camps with 10-15 year olds and let him work with these kids for 2-3 years. pay him whatever he wants. by the time players make it to the first time, they're past the stage that someone like wasim can teach them.
 
In Test cricket, Imran Khan was better than him. Although, he is our best ODI fast bowler till date. For me he is the second best ODI fast bowler of all time, the GOAT is Glenn McGrath of course in both the formats. In Test format, he can be there in the top 10 Test best fast bowlers list, not sure about his rank though.
 
The most naturally talented bowler I have seen. Amongst the top 10 test bowlers and top 3 ODI bowlers.
 
there will be a complex run down idiot whoz gonna try to prove tht Abhey Kurruvella is much better than wasim akram and how his 499 odi wickets were pure lucky and nothing else. huh

for me and sane people, Wasim is the best of the lot.. easily in top 5 of all times
 
Perhaps a lot of people who argue that Wasim underachieved don't realise he played a third of his career with diabetes. That is no joke and speaks volumes about the man. And that's just one aspect of the context of Wasim Akram's career. The shambolic PCB at the time which played merry go round with the captaincy, which at one time had the team featuring 5 or 6 former captains. Can you imagine the chaos? And finally those comparing him to Steyn, Hadley or Lillee should know they played most of their careers in extremely favourable conditions. For example Wasim averages 17 in New Zealand with a strike rate of 41. In hostile conditions is where Wasim's greatness truly lies, in that he averaged 22 in Pakistan, 20 in Sri Lanka(world champion era), 27 in India(where he didn't play a decade at his peak) and 26 in the west indies (which were a top team during most of Wasim's career). Not to say the other bowlers weren't great in their own right but just giving context to Wasim's achievements. He deserves to stand on the podium as one of the finest exponents of fast bowling. Well deserving of a place in any world xi.
 
Alec Stewart is interesting on the difference between dancing the two Ws.

Waqar had that superfast pace through the air but Stewart could see him for the whole of his run-up and could see the ball for his whole action.

Wasim hid the ball from the batter and had that very fast arm, and often popped out suddenly from behind the ump. For these reasons Stewart puts him 1% harder to face than Waqar.

Of course Waqar was the real hardman vs. England as the numbers reveal.
 
Among the top 5 fast bowlers of all time and the greatest odi bowler of all time
 
I think skill wise he was the best ever. Someone who would instill fear in batsmen mind ( not for pace, but for the cunningness ), Wasim was the best. As far as taking wickets is concerned, he was an underachiever. Also, he wasnt able to get the top order batsmen as others.
 
People are mixing his OD performance with Test Matches.

In OD he was probably the best , but even Saqlain was exceptional in shorter format.

In Test he was outside top 10 .
 
Bradman of fast bowling in ODI cricket. He is the best ODI fast bowler of all time.

Wasn't the best in Test but had his moments.
 
Justcrazy said:
People are mixing his OD performance with Test Matches.

In OD he was probably the best , but even Saqlain was exceptional in shorter format.

In Test he was outside top 10 .
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With an average of 23.xx he was outside top ten? Seriously??

He is easily one of the top 5 or 6. In no particular order... Marshall, McGrath, Lillee, Pollock, WaZ, Imran..
 
Stewie said:
With an average of 23.xx he was outside top ten? Seriously??

He is easily one of the top 5 or 6. In no particular order... Marshall, McGrath, Lillee, Pollock, WaZ, Imran..
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Marshal , Magcrath , Waqar , Lillee , Ambrose, Murali , Warne , Styen , Haddle , Pollock , Donald , Imran

They all have better records than Wasim in Test .

He is in most world XI because he was left handed bowler .

Another thing you are not looking into is strike rate , that should also be considered .
 
Justcrazy said:
Marshal , Magcrath , Waqar , Lillee , Ambrose, Murali , Warne , Styen , Haddle , Pollock , Donald , Imran

They all have better records than Wasim in Test .

He is in most world XI because he was left handed bowler .

Another thing you are not looking into is strike rate , that should also be considered .
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Well it’s not just average or SR there are a lot of other factors one should consider if we want to talk about such stuff, and Was should always place In top 5 no matter what. But since the debate becomes subjective with these so called factors, let’s just agree to disagree..

By the way I didn’t know we were considering spinners in the equation too.
 
Very good but i would like to know how he would have done in this era where tampering isn't allowed and ball don't swing an inch on most pitches.
 
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