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Wasim Akram vs Dale Steyn: Who is the better overall bowler in Tests and ODIs

Who is the better overall Bowler?

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QalandarFan

QalandarFan

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After my Steyn vs Jimmy one sided thread I wanted to create this thread since there was a lot of debate going on about Steyn vs Wasim.

Wasim Akram is considered the best left arm fast bowlers of all time in the world. Having mastery over swing and reverse swing, he is known as the Sultan of Swing. He has scalped over 900 wickets in his 19 years long international career. All in all a dream player to have for any team.

Dale Steyn is widely known as one of the greatest right arm quick's in the history of the game. He is regarded as one of the best quick's of the game and compared with the likes of McGrath and Donald. So far in 12 years he has scalped 583 wickets in his combined Test and ODI career.

So the question is if you had to pick one bowler in your team for both ODI's and Test (they have to be the same one bowler) who would you pick?

Wasim-Akram1.jpg 153098.2.jpg

Mods can we please add a poll? [MENTION=138508]aloo paratha[/MENTION]
 
For me Wasim was the greastest fast bowler of all time! In test Wasim played 59 of his 104 matches in Asia on dead pitches and still averaged 22 in Asia! Whereas Steyn has only played 22 matches but still averages 22! Wasim averaged 20 in Tests from 1990-97. In ODI's for me Wasim is the easy pick. So overall if I had to pick one bowler out of both of these guys in my ODI and Test team I would pick Wasim Akram.
 
[MENTION=100918]Square Drive[/MENTION] [MENTION=79064]MMHS[/MENTION] [MENTION=138318]Belawal2014[/MENTION] [MENTION=47617]Red Devil[/MENTION] [MENTION=46929]shaz619[/MENTION] [MENTION=138254]Syed1[/MENTION] [MENTION=141114]Hasan123[/MENTION]

What are your thoughts?
 
Wasim Akram. He was quick, could move the ball both ways, and could reverse at the tail-end.
 
It's a no brainer for me because Wasim Akram was the most complete fast bowler in history and the most versatile. He should move the new ball, reverse the old ball, take you out with yorkers/bouncers, great in favourable and not so favourable conditions, plus he was a left armer as well! an absolute dream. No disrespect to Steyn though.
 
Wasim>Steyn in tests

Wasim>Daylight>Steyn in ODIs

IIRC in last ODI/T20 series Steyn was benched for Rabada :yk
 
It's obvious for me too, but in my other thread yesterday so many people were saying Steyn is better than Wasim!
 
Wasim in ODIs and Steyn in Tests! That would be an awesome combination!
 
QalandarFan said:
[MENTION=100918]Square Drive[/MENTION] [MENTION=79064]MMHS[/MENTION] [MENTION=138318]Belawal2014[/MENTION] [MENTION=47617]Red Devil[/MENTION] [MENTION=46929]shaz619[/MENTION] [MENTION=138254]Syed1[/MENTION] [MENTION=141114]Hasan123[/MENTION]

What are your thoughts?
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I never saw Wasims career but the things I have seen wasim do with the ball and the way he is talked about I'll go with Wasim
 
QalandarFan said:
It's obvious for me too, but in my other thread yesterday so many people were saying Steyn is better than Wasim!
Click to expand...

I think most people were talking about Steyn being better than Wasim in Tests, which is a valid argument to make, not Steyn > Wasim overall.
 
Not sure why these comparison threads are popping out of nowhere these days

Becharas have nothing to do while waiting for the ODI series to start
 
On topic, Swing ka King over Dale Steyn any day, as far as overall concerned
 
Wasim. Steyn and Wasim are comparable in tests, but in odis Wasim is far ahead.

I know tests is what makes you an Atg but one dayers are still important.

So all in all Wasim wins.

Sent from my BLU LIFE ONE X using Tapatalk
 
QalandarFan said:
After my Steyn vs Jimmy one sided thread I wanted to create this thread since there was a lot of debate going on about Steyn vs Wasim.

Wasim Akram is considered the best left arm fast bowlers of all time in the world. Having mastery over swing and reverse swing, he is known as the Sultan of Swing. He has scalped over 900 wickets in his 19 years long international career. All in all a dream player to have for any team.

Dale Steyn is widely known as one of the greatest right arm quick's in the history of the game. He is regarded as one of the best quick's of the game and compared with the likes of McGrath and Donald. So far in 12 years he has scalped 583 wickets in his combined Test and ODI career.

So the question is if you had to pick one bowler in your team for both ODI's and Test (they have to be the same one bowler) who would you pick?

View attachment 69318 View attachment 69319

Mods can we please add a poll? [MENTION=138508]aloo paratha[/MENTION]
Click to expand...

Loved Akram growing up, but the fixing saga made me lose interest in most cricket for a while and it was never quite the same.

Don't care for ODIs or SA for that matter, so Akram would be the intuitive option.

Still, Akram played in an era that was significantly less batter friendly even if he bowled to specific better batters. His ability to be the most dangerous bowler on roads of Asia is worth mentioning but Steyn didn't learn from Imran or Waqar, or have much experience on dead pitches but still managed to be destructive in India for example.

Even if he wasn't, the numbers are no joke. Most of his career, he hasn't had a Waqar or an Akhtar to apply pressure on the other end, and his superior numbers say a lot more than Akram's.

But obviously, if it's both formats, there's no comparison between Akram and Steyn.
 
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Steyn in test and Wasim in ODI.
Steyn over Wasim all formats put together.
It is an easier era to bat and harder to bowl.
 
QalandarFan said:
For me Wasim was the greastest fast bowler of all time! In test Wasim played 59 of his 104 matches in Asia on dead pitches and still averaged 22 in Asia! Whereas Steyn has only played 22 matches but still averages 22! Wasim averaged 20 in Tests from 1990-97. In ODI's for me Wasim is the easy pick. So overall if I had to pick one bowler out of both of these guys in my ODI and Test team I would pick Wasim Akram.
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Wow that is so great of Steyn. He didnt grow up in Asia but quickly learned the art to bowl on these pitches. But Wasim and co didnt have as much success away from home in England and SA even though the pitches should have helped his swing.
It is easier to go from flat pitches to swing pitches but Wasim failed to show improvement. It is harder to suddenly bowl in Asia for bowlers from non Asian countries yet Steyn adapted so fast. That is why he is so much better than Wasim. Steyn is up there with Mcgrath and Marshall. Wasim is in the next bracket of bowlers.
 
OP, you're on a spree of creating one-sided threads.

I mean, even the parosis would blindly take Wasim over Steyn in ODIs. Steyn isn't that good in LOIs.

It's competition in Tests indeed, where Wasim is still a bit better.
 
Steyn definitely greater than wasim in tests. Wasim underacheived in the longer format considering how exceptionally talented he was. Steyn is more like Imran/Marshall who were brilliant in tests and good/decent in ODI's. Wasim is the second best bowler if you consider both formats though. I'd put only Mcgrath ahead.
 
Nikhil_cric said:
Steyn definitely greater than wasim in tests. Wasim underacheived in the longer format considering how exceptionally talented he was. Steyn is more like Imran/Marshall who were brilliant in tests and good/decent in ODI's. Wasim is the second best bowler if you consider both formats though. I'd put only Mcgrath ahead.
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Dont say that here because it will hurt a lot of Wasim fans feelings. But yes it is true Steyn and Mcgrath were better test bowlers. Mcgrath was a better ODI bowler too.
 
sivaji said:
Dont say that here because it will hurt a lot of Wasim fans feelings. But yes it is true Steyn and Mcgrath were better test bowlers. Mcgrath was a better ODI bowler too.
Click to expand...

Yeah also even in ODI's in the last 10 years, only Starc is well and truly above Steyn. Steyn's record is just as good as Johnsons and the Morkels. Averaging 25 in the format in this era of flat ODI pitches is no joke either. Also averages 17 with an ER of 6.7 in T20I's. It was actually much better before he got thrashed in the latest WT20. He's not "bad" in any format and unnecessarily gets a lot of flak here.
 
Dale Steyn for me. He had to mostly play in the era of flat tracks and yet, able to maintain godly stats. He helped his team achieve #1 Test team and that speaks a lot about his achievement. He's the better Test bowler than even McGrath.
 
Wasim overall. He was much better in ODIs but he underperformed in Tests. It didn't help that Pakistan only played 6 Tests a year for most of his career, but Wasim's match fixing also had a negative impact.

Wasim is the more skilled bowler but in Tests I think you can make a very strong case for Steyn over Wasim. Wasim was more talented than even Imran and Marshall, but his numbers don't match it.. He was perhaps the most complete fast bowler. He should've had at least 500 Test wickets. He basically ended up with 100-150 wickets less than he should've taken.

Steyn in Tests has been phenomenal considering the era he plays in today.
 
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Hard to separate the man from his work with Wasim. Shame really. Anyway, Steyn is a better test bowler so there's a reasonable case to vote for him. My memories of Wasim are tainted and I recollect him choking in difficult series against Australia and South Africa.
 
Nikhil_cric said:
Yeah also even in ODI's in the last 10 years, only Starc is well and truly above Steyn. Steyn's record is just as good as Johnsons and the Morkels. Averaging 25 in the format in this era of flat ODI pitches is no joke either. Also averages 17 with an ER of 6.7 in T20I's. It was actually much better before he got thrashed in the latest WT20. He's not "bad" in any format and unnecessarily gets a lot of flak here.
Click to expand...

That is true although I would like to add that technology is the only one thing that has helped bowlers. They can find out batsmen fault and weakness by watching his videos and many other things.
 
QalandarFan said:
Rubbish! What a joke!

He averages 25! In this day and age on the flat wickets, small grounds, kookaburra balls, and huge bats that's no joke. Only ATG can average that much!
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How many matches has he played? He averages 26 and has played only 110 matches or so over a period of 10 years because he usually wasn't good enough to get picked. He has only 3 5ers.
 
Steyn is a GOAT in tests and good in odis.

Wasim is a GOAT in odis and ATG in tests.
 
Overall Wasim Akram is better.

Dale Steyn is better in Tests without doubt given the current scenario in world cricket. Wasim was a magician with great talent. Steyn was a grinder who bowled far better than his potential.
 
Wasim wins this quite comfortably because of the gap between the two in LOIs.
 
So Akram the greatest bowler in tests is not as good as someone not even in the top 10 in the history of the game. I am very confused.
 
Those who are saying steyn is better than Wasim generally or even in tests don't have a clue about cricket...

A bit like me saying Kallis is better than Tendulkar...
 
Not sure if some of the kids here watched Akram right from his debut. They must have just watched those you tube clips. Akram started as an average fast bowler who was carted around like nobody for first few years. Only towards the of 80s, he built some muscles and his shoulders got stronger and with shorter run up, he started bowling better. Yes he was overall a great fast bowler and best ever left arm fast bowler if you consider his whole career and if you include his odi and wc achievement. When you compare test career of both steyn and wasim, you could see the greatness of steyn in the very first of his international years. He has been consistently good through out his career. He not only bowls well in swinging condition, he bowled well in subcontinent conditions as well. Being a right arm fast bowler and beating the batsmen is more difficult than left armer beating the batsmen. Left arm bowler gets the natural advantage as pretty much most of the batsmen are more comfortable playing right arm bowler than lefty. If you consider their test achievement and the way they bowled throught their test career. I would say Steyn is slightly better in that. Averaging 22 in this era of batsman friendly conditions is not difficult. If you consider odi, steyn has under achieved, wasim beats him by big margin there. Here I have not considered any of those external tactics that wasim used or accused of doing in 90s.
 
cricketfanfromaz said:
Could you please elaborate why you consider waasim better than steyn in test?
Click to expand...

1. Most complete fast bowler of all time - had all the skills with the new and old ball, so was better than any other bowler when it came to taking the pitch out of the equation because he was the most skillful...

2. Peer analysis, most of the top batsman like Lara, Kallis Allan Border, Viv etc rate him the best and toughest bowler they faced

3. Played half of his matches on the flattest wickets of all time.

4. Averages under 30 in all countries except one whereas Dale Steyn it's two

Dale Steyn above Waqar Younis but below Wasim Akram.

More fair comparison would be Wasim Akram v Malcolm Marshall who are the 2 GOAT.
 
Steyn > Wasim in Test
Wasim > Steyn in ODI

I will take Wasim over all. Only one bowler I will take over Wasim when it comes to over all, McGrath. Ambrose is also right up there , but I will take Wasim over Ambrose in over all.
 
yasir_shah said:
More fair comparison would be Wasim Akram v Malcolm Marshall who are the 2 GOAT.
Click to expand...

Marshall and Steyn is a better comparison. Not so gun in ODI, but pretty much top 3-4 in test.
 
Wasim would have even worse ODI figures and test figures had he played these days.

Wasim is nowhere near GOAT in tests. It is between Mcgrath, Marshall and Steyn.

In ODIs, Wasim has a case to be GOAT but Mcgrath was a better ODI bowler overall and in WCs too.
 
yasir_shah said:
Those who are saying steyn is better than Wasim generally or even in tests don't have a clue about cricket...

A bit like me saying Kallis is better than Tendulkar...
Click to expand...
If anyone who has no clue about cricket then it is you.
 
Wasim Akram...Not even a discussion here. Wasim was a more complete bowler, when you combined both the formats, there isn't a bowler who had more variety than him. Steyn is excellent, I would have both Wasim and him for tests but in ODI, Steyn hasn't been that consistent. So Wasim all the way for me. He is my favorite cricketer from Pakistan.
 
yasir_shah said:
Those who are saying steyn is better than Wasim generally or even in tests don't have a clue about cricket...

A bit like me saying Kallis is better than Tendulkar...
Click to expand...

Steyn has a magnificent average playing between 2005-2016 whereas Wasim played between 1992-2004 when the wickets were less fat and bats were smaller.
 
Wasim is daylight ahead of steyn in ODI's

For tests it's very comparable and steyn might slightly edge ahead once he finishes his career if he keeps his record how it is or improves it..
 
big_gamer007 said:
Wasim is daylight ahead of steyn in ODI's

For tests it's very comparable and steyn might slightly edge ahead once he finishes his career if he keeps his record how it is or improves it..
Click to expand...

Wasim isnt daylight ahead in odis. He pkayed in helpful conditions in an era of no t20.
 
Nikhil_cric said:
Yeah also even in ODI's in the last 10 years, only Starc is well and truly above Steyn. Steyn's record is just as good as Johnsons and the Morkels. Averaging 25 i
n the format in this era of flat ODI pitches is no joke either. Also averages 17 with an ER of 6.7 in T20I's. It was actually much better before he got thrashed in the latest WT20. He's not "bad" in any format and unnecessarily gets a lot of flak here.
Click to expand...

The standard steyn has set for himself due to his performances in tests means his ODI record gets vastly under valued..
 
Is it just me or Steyn is just not that good in limited over cricket and Wasim was like absolutely legendary match winner with ball and very useful with bat lower down the order...I mean I have seen this guy winning matches single handedly in 1 spell prime example being WC Final.

Steyn and Wasim are compareable in Tests but still I will take wasim based on his sheer skills.
 
sivaji said:
Wasim isnt daylight ahead in odis. He pkayed in helpful conditions in an era of no t20.
Click to expand...



Wasim was a very clever bowler with all the varieties in his arsenal for ODI's he is far ahead of steyn.. You can attribute it to shorter grounds, Bat size, bouncer restrictions, free hits and what not but eventually comparing records Wasim is by far the better ODI bowler..
 
sivaji said:
Wasim would have even worse ODI figures and test figures had he played these days.

Wasim is nowhere near GOAT in tests. It is between Mcgrath, Marshall and Steyn.

In ODIs, Wasim has a case to be GOAT but Mcgrath was a better ODI bowler overall and in WCs too.
Click to expand...

akilana, how do you rate hadlee ?
 
Executioner said:
Steyn has a magnificent average playing between 2005-2016 whereas Wasim played between 1992-2004 when the wickets were less fat and bats were smaller.
Click to expand...

Wasim Akram played half of his matches on the flattest wickets in the country whereas Dale Steyn played in seaming, bouncy wickets in SA. Can you imagine Wasim Akram's career record if he was playing home matches there?

As for bat sizes, Wasim Akram's bowling skills are second to none so no problems there...
 
Steyn is so far ahead of Wasim in tests. His averageis ATG level and his SR is daylight ahead of Wasim. It meant he flattened opposition fairly quickly. It is like a ATG batsman having a SR in 80s.
 
yasir_shah said:
Wasim Akram played half of his matches on the flattest wickets in the country whereas Dale Steyn played in seaming, bouncy wickets in SA. Can you imagine Wasim Akram's career record if he was playing home matches there?

As for bat sizes, Wasim Akram's bowling skills are second to none so no problems there...
Click to expand...
I dont need to imagine wasim on bouncy wickets in an easier era. He was rubbish in SA and England. Why did he fail so badly there?
 
Chrish said:
akilana, how do you rate hadlee ?
Click to expand...

Mchgrath, marshall, steyn
Hadlee, lillee, imran
Wasim, donald, ambrose

Honesly you can put the 2nd and 3rd group altogher in one group.

But the first group is ahead for few reasons. They adapted to different conditions quicker.

Some days, I put Hadlee in the first group. No others get in there though.
 
sivaji said:
Mchgrath, marshall, steyn
Hadlee, lillee, imran
Wasim, donald, ambrose

Honesly you can put the 2nd and 3rd group altogher in one group.

But the first group is ahead for few reasons. They adapted to different conditions quicker.
Click to expand...

tbh Hadlee's record is near perfect as well. You might wanna look closer
 
cricketfanfromaz said:
Not sure if some of the kids here watched Akram right from his debut. They must have just watched those you tube clips. Akram started as an average fast bowler who was carted around like nobody for first few years. Only towards the of 80s, he built some muscles and his shoulders got stronger and with shorter run up, he started bowling better. Yes he was overall a great fast bowler and best ever left arm fast bowler if you consider his whole career and if you include his odi and wc achievement. When you compare test career of both steyn and wasim, you could see the greatness of steyn in the very first of his international years. He has been consistently good through out his career. He not only bowls well in swinging condition, he bowled well in subcontinent conditions as well. Being a right arm fast bowler and beating the batsmen is more difficult than left armer beating the batsmen. Left arm bowler gets the natural advantage as pretty much most of the batsmen are more comfortable playing right arm bowler than lefty. If you consider their test achievement and the way they bowled throught their test career. I would say Steyn is slightly better in that. Averaging 22 in this era of batsman friendly conditions is not difficult. If you consider odi, steyn has under achieved, wasim beats him by big margin there. Here I have not considered any of those external tactics that wasim used or accused of doing in 90s.
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I know right. There are like 10 bowlers from Steyn's time who average 22 or less with the ball in tests.
 
Chrish said:
tbh Hadlee's record is near perfect as well. You might wanna look closer
Click to expand...

Sorry i editted my post before you replied and must have missed it. Please check. I agree he is up there in the first group.
 
sivaji said:
Mchgrath, marshall, steyn
Hadlee, lillee, imran
Wasim, donald, ambrose

Honesly you can put the 2nd and 3rd group altogher in one group.

But the first group is ahead for few reasons. They adapted to different conditions quicker.

Some days, I put Hadlee in the first group. No others get in there though.
Click to expand...

Donald and Ambrose belong in the 1st group.
 
cricketfanfromaz said:
Not sure if some of the kids here watched Akram right from his debut. They must have just watched those you tube clips. Akram started as an average fast bowler who was carted around like nobody for first few years. Only towards the of 80s, he built some muscles and his shoulders got stronger and with shorter run up, he started bowling better. Yes he was overall a great fast bowler and best ever left arm fast bowler if you consider his whole career and if you include his odi and wc achievement. When you compare test career of both steyn and wasim, you could see the greatness of steyn in the very first of his international years. He has been consistently good through out his career. He not only bowls well in swinging condition, he bowled well in subcontinent conditions as well. Being a right arm fast bowler and beating the batsmen is more difficult than left armer beating the batsmen. Left arm bowler gets the natural advantage as pretty much most of the batsmen are more comfortable playing right arm bowler than lefty. If you consider their test achievement and the way they bowled throught their test career. I would say Steyn is slightly better in that. Averaging 22 in this era of batsman friendly conditions is not difficult. If you consider odi, steyn has under achieved, wasim beats him by big margin there. Here I have not considered any of those external tactics that wasim used or accused of doing in 90s.
Click to expand...

Look, i can see about 20 or so bowlers averaging 22 or below in tests.

123.JPG
 
sivaji said:
Mchgrath, marshall, steyn
Hadlee, lillee, imran
Wasim, donald, ambrose

Honesly you can put the 2nd and 3rd group altogher in one group.

But the first group is ahead for few reasons. They adapted to different conditions quicker.

Some days, I put Hadlee in the first group. No others get in there though.
Click to expand...

Agree with most of you say, but I would put in this order for tests:

Lillee McGrath Marshall
IK Steyn Ambrose Donald Hadlee
Akram Willis Garner Holding
Waqar Gillespie Botham Dev Anderson Walsh
 
big_gamer007 said:
The standard steyn has set for himself due to his performances in tests means his ODI record gets vastly under valued..
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This is true. Most bowlers get hit around a lot in ODI's these days and he's not been exceptional in this format but he's more than held his own here as well.
 
Steyn in tests
Akram in ODIs

Overall, Akram is a better bowler than Steyn because Akram, the ODI bowler, is way ahead of Steyn, the ODI bowler. However, Steyn, the test bowler, is marginally better than Akram, the test bowler.
 
For all his undoubted talent Akram didn't get enough get good batsman on a consistent basis, btw I knew this anecdotally but someone kindly did the research and proved it, for example Akram played against Sachin in 7 tests but never got him out, this is equivalent to Lillee never getting Viv in tests.
 
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