Who was overall the better cricketer? Wasim Akram or Glenn McGrath?

[Harsh Thakor]

Both Wasim Akram and Glen Mcrath were geniuses as bowlers even if they differed like chalk and cheese.Mcgrath was the metronome ,Wasim the magician.No pace bower ever surpassed the control of Mcgrath or the wizardry of Wasim.Mcgrath posessed the skill of a programmed robot while Wasim had the creativity of a musical composer.No bowler ever could produce so accurately the right delivery to bowl to an opponent as Glen while no paceman posessed such a wide repertoire as Wasim.

Statistically in test cricket as a bowler Mcgrath overpowered Wasim with a great haul of wickets,better strike rate and bowling average.Mcgrath had a higher percentage of top order scalps.However more great batsmen found it more daunting to face Wasim with his great variety mastery of reverse swing and deceptiveness.The likes of Viv Richards and Gavaskar rated Wasim the hardest they ever faced as well as the giant Brian Lara and Jacques Kallis.Wasim also had half his scalps on flat sub-continent pancakes.Mcgrath received much more support from the field than Wasim who was often let down by slip fielders.I would always back Wasim to make the crucial breakthroughs more than Mcgrath .Still the likes of Dravid and Tendulkar felt Mcgrath was more challenging..Wasim had a considerably better record with the bat having scored a couple of test centuries.After the initial part of his career when he showed great promise Wasim lost his consistency as a batsmen .

In ODI's Wasim had a better haul and was morally the better performer.In the start and death overs Wasim was more lethal with his great swinging yorkers.

Unlike Mcgrath Wasim also led his team for a considerable tenure that to successfuly.

In the end by a whisker as a cricketer I would root for Wasim considering his greater capability with the bat and being more morally impactful with the ball.Considering only test cricket this would still be my verdict.I feel if both played in a single team Wasim would be the more impactful.Mcgrath had the advantage of playing for a considerably stronger team and in more favourable conditions.

STATISTICS COMPILED FROM S.RAJESH OF CRICINFO

WASIM AKRAM

With 326 ODI wickets in wins, Akram is next only to Muralitharan in this regard. He's clearly one of the greatest matchwinners in ODIs, averaging less than 19 at a run rate of 3.70. Among bowlers with at least 150 wickets in wins, only four bowlers have a better average.

Best bowling averages in wins in ODIs (Qual: 150 wickets) Bowler ODIs Wickets Average Econ rate 4+ wkts
Saqlain Mushtaq 93 188 15.84 3.78 11
Glenn McGrath 171 301 17.94 3.65 15
Muttiah Muralitharan 191 347 18.08 3.63 21
Waqar Younis 149 278 18.76 4.33 21
Wasim Akram 199 326 18.86 3.70 18
Allan Donald 108 195 19.05 3.96 10

Akram's genius and his ability to burst through batting line-ups is obvious from the fact that he has taken two hat-tricks in Tests and ODIs, the only bowler to do so. He finished with 22 Man-of-the-Match awards in ODIs, which isn't anywhere near Sachin Tendulkar's 61, but it's a significant number considering the fact that ODIs are usually dominated by batsmen. In fact, Akram and Shaun Pollock (who also has 22) have the highest number of awards among players whose major suit isn't batting.

And then there's the small matter of Akram the captain. In the 25 Tests in which he led Pakistan, they won 12 and lost eight, and his reign included a series win in England, and clinching the Asian Test Championship. His ODI record was impressive too: a win-loss ratio of 1.6, which is the joint-highest for any Pakistan captain who led in more than 50 games.

Highest ODI win % for Pakistan captains (Qual: 50 matches as captain) Captain Matches Won W/L ratio
Wasim Akram 109 66 1.60
Waqar Younis 62 37 1.60
Inzamam-ul-Haq 87 51 1.54
Imran Khan 139 75 1.27
Javed Miandad 62 26 0.78


Not surprisingly, Akram remains one of the most potent matchwinners in Tests for Pakistan. In the 41 wins that he was a part of, he took 211 wickets at an average which compares well with the best in the business.

Best bowling averages in Test wins (Qual: 200 wickets) Bowler Tests Wickets Average Strike rate 5WI/ 10WM
Muttiah Muralitharan 53 430 16.03 42.6 40/ 18
Malcolm Marshall 43 254 16.78 38.1 17/ 4
Curtly Ambrose 44 229 16.86 44.4 13/ 3
Waqar Younis 39 222 18.20 35.0 14/ 4
Dennis Lillee 31 203 18.27 39.0 17/ 6
Shaun Pollock 49 223 18.30 47.5 9/ 1
Wasim Akram 41 211 18.48 42.3 13/ 2
Anil Kumble 43 288 18.75 44.4 20/ 5


GLEN MCGRATH

home 1993-2007 66 131 2638.1 788 6483 289 8/24 10/27 22.43 2.45 54.7 11 2 view innings
away 1994-2005 55 106 2161.1 655 5551 260 8/38 10/78 21.35 2.56 49.8 18 1 view innings
neutral 2002-2002 3 6 75.2 27 152 14 4/41 7/59 10.85 2.01 32.2 0 0

in Australia 1993-2007 66 131 2638.1 788 6483 289 8/24 10/27 22.43 2.45 54.7 11 2 view innings
in England 1997-2005 14 28 578.1 145 1683 87 8/38 9/82 19.34 2.91 39.8 8 0 view innings
in India 1996-2004 8 16 313.2 123 703 33 4/18 7/121 21.30 2.24 56.9 0 0 view innings
in New Zealand 2000-2005 6 12 241.4 87 552 30 6/115 7/89 18.40 2.28 48.3 1 0 view innings
in Pakistan 1994-1998 5 9 201.0 49 589 19 5/66 5/106 31.00 2.93 63.4 1 0 view innings
in South Africa 1994-2002 8 14 305.2 95 685 29 6/86 8/49 23.62 2.24 63.1 2 0 view innings
in Sri Lanka 1999-2002 4 7 108.1 34 292 10 3/38 4/78 29.20 2.69 64.9 0 0 view innings
in U.A.E. 2002-2002 2 4 36.0 12 74 10 4/41 7/59 7.40 2.05 21.6 0 0 view innings
in West Indies 1995-2003 10 20 398.5 118 1035 50 6/47 10/78 20.70 2.59 47.8 6 1 view innings
in Zimbabwe 1999-1999 1 2 54.0 19 90 6 3/44 6/90 15.00 1.66 54.0 0 0

 

[DuckMaster]

Liked Akram better.

 

[hadi123]

http://www.pakpassion.net/ppforum/s...n-McGrath-vs-Wasim-Akram-Who-was-better/page4
Similar thread already exists @mods

I would say Wasim Akram but as I didn't get the chance to see much of them I have to admit there may be an element of bias there

 

[Zaz]

Akram was a genius To do the things he did with the ball as a left armer you have to be once a generation type of bowler

In 150 years of test cricket how many left arm fast bowlers are even comparable?

McGrath performance and stats wise was more consistent and took wkts against all comers inc the best batsmen in the team and everywhere

It depends what you prefer aestically pleasing skill and flair or metrimone accuracy and relentless performance?

 

[Robert]

Better cricketer? Obviously Wasim as he was capable of hitting test centuries and fifties, while McGrath was a taileneder.

If you want to compare them purely as bowlers, then McGrath.

 

[Harsh Thakor]

Better cricketer? Obviously Wasim as he was capable of hitting test centuries and fifties, while McGrath was a taileneder.

If you want to compare them purely as bowlers, then McGrath.

combining ODI's with tests?

 

[ind_win]

If ever there was a bowling machine which could take the shape of human beings with great accuracy, like Termainator Schawarznegger, it has to be Mcgrath. Hardly, he ever let down his team. And mostly he used to walk the talk by taking out and targetting the opposition best batsman. These will not show in statistics. So, any list without Mcgrath for an ATG test team is worthless, in my opinion.

 

[Hasan123]

Unfair to compare them as cricketers when Wasim was a better batsmen so of course you would take Wasim due to that.

But as pure bowlers I would go with McGrath.

 

[Harsh Thakor]

combining ODI's with tests?

Was not Wasim the most difficult to face like Viv , Sunny or even Lara felt?

 

[TM Riddle]

Mcgrath- Better bowler
Akram- Better cricketer

 

[Hitman]

When we compare Sachin and Ponting as ODI cricketers, do we take into count that Sachin has more than 150 ODI wickets? A player's secondary discipline counts for zilch while rating him unless he has a descent enough average in that discipline.

On topic, it depends from fan to fan, and cricketer to cricketer. I believe they will be pretty divided in their opinion while comparing both of them. As for me, McGrath would be my first pick among any fast bowler I have seen till date. Mind you, he is not my favorite, but I definitely rate him the best.

 

[WengerOut]

In A vs B comparison, if it is clear as daylight that A is better, there is only other way to bring B into contention. The intangibles like talent, underachievement, pay to watch etc.

 

[Robert]

combining ODI's with tests?

No clue about ODIs, I pay them very little mind.

 

[Chrish]

In 150 years of test cricket how many left arm fast bowlers are comparable?

Alan Davidson

 

[Robert]

Alan Davidson

Aye. Indeed when Wasim came onto the scene this was the first comparison drawn.

 

[Ab Fan]

McGrath in tests, Waz in ODIs.

 

[Zaz]

Alan Davidson

Yes one Exactly my point

 

[Sidilicious]

As a bowler, McGrath was better. Dont think anyone can doubt that.

But yeah, I enjoyed Wasim Akram's bowling more. But that doesnt make him a better bowler.

 

[Rana]

McGrath is GOAT.

 

[Yossarian]

Having a far stronger batting lineup that constantly puts large totals on the scoreboard enables the captains to employ attacking fields against opposing batsmen facing scoreboard pressure, which in turn helps the bowlers. Having teammates with superior catching and fielding skills helps that further.

Whilst the reverse is the case for bowlers playing in teams with weak batting lineups and weak catching /fielding.

And on top of it all, a team with a strong batting lineup facing a team with a weak lineup usually means that the stronger batting lineup teams bowlers are likely to be bowling in two (opposing teams) full innings with potentially 20 wickets up for grabs per Test match.
In contrast, a team with a weak batting lineup facing a team with a strong batting lineup usually means that the weaker batting lineup teams bowlers are more likely to be bowling in only one, or one and a bit, (opposing teams) innings with potentially less than 20 wickets up for grabs.

For example:

Strong Australian batting lineup constantly puts up 400+ scores resulting in the opposing (weaker) batting lineup batsmen constantly under pressure as wickets are regularly tumbling. And thus more likely to put up lower scores, resulting in 1st innings deficits. If the same is repeated in the 2nd innings, the Australians are more likely to declare (if batting first), or win by only losing a few wickets.
Either way, it's likely that the Australians would have bowled out the opposing (weaker batting lineup) team twice, and thus the Australian bowlers taking 20 wickets, whilst the opposing (weaker batting lineup) teams bowlers may not have had the opportunity to bowl out the Australians twice, and thus would have taken less than 20 wickets in total.

It may sound confusing, but think about it.

 

[DRsohail]

Wasim Akram with out any doubt.

 

[Yossarian]

^^^ re-my previous post.
In football for example, if there were two strikers with similar abilities, but one playing in a strong team with a strong defence, strong midfield, and quality attacking wingers, means that his team is likely to be attacking more often, and due to having better quality players, creating more chances for the striker.

Whereas the striker in the weaker team will find that his team is on the defensive most of the time, and his teammates creating fewer chances for him.

Hence, even though both strikers may have similar abilities, the one playing in a stronger team, with better quality teammates, is likely to score far more goals than the striker in the weaker team.

 

[Gilly]

^^^ re-my previous post.
In football for example, if there were two strikers with similar abilities, but one playing in a strong team with a strong defence, strong midfield, and quality attacking wingers, means that his team is likely to be attacking more often, and due to having better quality players, creating more chances for the striker.

Whereas the striker in the weaker team will find that his team is on the defensive most of the time, and his teammates creating fewer chances for him.

Hence, even though both strikers may have similar abilities, the one playing in a stronger team, with better quality teammates, is likely to score far more goals than the striker in the weaker team.

So basically I'm as good as McGrath too if you look at my teammates.

 

[Joseph Gomes]

McGrath, not even a comparison. McGrath is arguably the GOAT bowler in both tests and ODIs. Akram isn't even in top 10 for test bowlers, he isn't even the best from Pakistan.

 

[WengerOut]

^^^ re-my previous post.
In football for example, if there were two strikers with similar abilities, but one playing in a strong team with a strong defence, strong midfield, and quality attacking wingers, means that his team is likely to be attacking more often, and due to having better quality players, creating more chances for the striker.

Whereas the striker in the weaker team will find that his team is on the defensive most of the time, and his teammates creating fewer chances for him.

Hence, even though both strikers may have similar abilities, the one playing in a stronger team, with better quality teammates, is likely to score far more goals than the striker in the weaker team.

Another counter argument would be, in a strong team with strong bowling attack, wickets will be split among bowlers. Still he is great.

 

[Invincible Gujjar]

Wasim akram everyday and twice on sunday.He is the GOAT.Who would want to watch that boring trundler.Pace is pace yaar.

 

[Bhaijaan]

Glamour and hype aside, McGrath is a dream bowler for any team. Stats don't lie and he is right up there. While Wasim surprised you with his skill, McGrath simply ended games with his first burst of pin point accuracy and just enough movement to get the lbw/catch in the slip cordon.

Warne was a genius and a big match bowler. But over the 10 year long unprecedented dominance of Aussies in world cricket, McGrath played the biggest part in my opinion. He demoralized opponents. You just never felt a chance against a team which had McGrath opening the spell.

 

[Robert]

Glamour and hype aside, McGrath is a dream bowler for any team. Stats don't lie and he is right up there. While Wasim surprised you with his skill, McGrath simply ended games with his first burst of pin point accuracy and just enough movement to get the lbw/catch in the slip cordon.

Warne was a genius and a big match bowler. But over the 10 year long unprecedented dominance of Aussies in world cricket, McGrath played the biggest part in my opinion. He demoralized opponents. You just never felt a chance against a team which had McGrath opening the spell.

Warne certainly benefitted from McGrath continually knocking the top off the order.

 

[BlackShadow]

Most non-Pakistanis would always choose McGrath over Wasim. Almost all dream XIs prefer McGrath, and that's for a reason.

 

[BlackShadow]

Wasim akram everyday and twice on sunday.He is the GOAT.Who would want to watch that boring trundler.Pace is pace yaar.

Said no one except Pakistanis.

 

[dravidthewall]

Glen mcgrath

 

[Yossarian]

Warne certainly benefitted from McGrath continually knocking the top off the order.

In other words, as per my post above, having better quality teammates, and thus playing in an overall better team, benefits a player and thus improves his stats. Whereas the same player, playing in a team with lesser quality teammates, and therefore an overall inferior team, will not benefit in the same manner, and thus will likely have inferior stats.

 

[Yossarian]

So basically I'm as good as McGrath too if you look at my teammates.

You need to acquire some comprehension skills.

 

[IMMY69]

In my opinion it is Wasim Akram and for one obvious reason.

 

[Hitman]

Most non-Pakistanis would always choose McGrath over Wasim. Almost all dream XIs prefer McGrath, and that's for a reason.

That's not true. Most All Time XI have Akram instead. And that I believe is because he was a left armer.

 

[BlackShadow]

That's not true. Most All Time XI have Akram instead. And that I believe is because he was a left armer.

I would disagree, I have seen several All Time XIs, and McGrath is always the chosen one.

Even Younis Khan chose McGrath over Wasim.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">�� "It's a hell of a strong team...seriously!"<br><br> �� Former <a href="https://twitter.com/TheRealPCB?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TheRealPCB</a> captain Younis Khan picks his All Time XI!<br><br>Thoughts? ��<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LoveLords?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LoveLords</a> <a href="https://t.co/iaZDgd5q76">pic.twitter.com/iaZDgd5q76</a></p>— Lord's Cricket Ground �� (@HomeOfCricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/HomeOfCricket/status/979011019908485120?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 28, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[Bhaijaan]

Glen mcgrath

That’s also wrong. Wasim is among the most respected and highly regarded players among peers. For some reasons or the other I have seen more top batsmen naming Wasim as the best in their time rather than McGrath. Maybe because he troubled them more and made them look stupid.

 

[Hitman]

I would disagree, I have seen several All Time XIs, and McGrath is always the chosen one.

Even Younis Khan chose McGrath over Wasim.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">�� "It's a hell of a strong team...seriously!"<br><br> �� Former <a href="https://twitter.com/TheRealPCB?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TheRealPCB</a> captain Younis Khan picks his All Time XI!<br><br>Thoughts? ��<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LoveLords?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LoveLords</a> <a href="https://t.co/iaZDgd5q76">pic.twitter.com/iaZDgd5q76</a></p>— Lord's Cricket Ground �� (@HomeOfCricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/HomeOfCricket/status/979011019908485120?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 28, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Look at the ones prepared by Cricinfo and Wisden.

 

[jaf348]

Wasim isn't even the best bowler from Pakistan while McGrath is the 2nd best bowler of all time after Marshall (in tests) for me.

 

[Joseph Gomes]

That’s also wrong. Wasim is among the most respected and highly regarded players among peers. For some reasons or the other I have seen more top batsmen naming Wasim as the best in their time rather than McGrath. Maybe because he troubled them more and made them look stupid.

I haven't seen anybody picking Akram over McGrath outside Pakpassion or FB pages with Pak fans.

 

[Hitman]

I haven't seen anybody picking Akram over McGrath outside Pakpassion or FB pages with Pak fans.

You're speaking of cricketers or fans?

 

[Joseph Gomes]

You're speaking of cricketers or fans?

Fans. I don't have the lists of all time XIs of retired cricketers to form an opinion. However on neutral forums I always see McGrath ahead of Akram (ie. Reddit)

 

[BlackShadow]

You're speaking of cricketers or fans?

Check out XIs of former or present Cricketers. McGrath is pretty much the Bradman of such teams, always there, no matter who chooses the side.

 

[Bilal7]

Wasim Akram; Better bowler and far better batsman and captain. Fielding was on par, I think.

 

[Bhaijaan]

Wasim's only become a favorite on PP in last couple of years. Back in the day everyone put Waqar and Imran both ahead of him

 

[iniqbal223]

Obviously Wasim Akram

If McGrath was 50/50 in bowling, Wasim was 47/50 in bowling.
Wasim can bowl in any condition, any position, any over.
While Wasim strategy mainly to attack stumps to get maximum number of lbws /bowled, McGrath on the other hand, creates hell lot of chances for behind the wicket.

 

[the_outsider]

Objectively it has to be McGrath.

But personally, I enjoyed watching Wasim more.

If I have to make a comparison: McGrath's bowling was a science - precise and methodical. But Wasim's bowling was like artistry.

 

[Ab Fan]

Comparing the contemporaries: -

Tests:-

McGrath
Ambrose
Wasim
Donald
Waqar
Pollock
Walsh

Odis:-

Wasim
McGrath
Pollock
Ambrose
Donald
Waqar
Walsh

Overall:-

McGrath
Wasim
Ambrose
Donald
Pollock
Waqar
Walsh