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Greatest Pakistani fast bowler - Wasim or Imran?

Greatest Pakistani fast bowler?

  • Total voters
    102
bagapath

bagapath

International Captain
wasim's stats in england weren't great. neither was his overall record against SA. I dont think he did anything of note against India either. Waqar was bad against australia and terrible against India. But for their stats against SL and NZ, the two Ws could very well be averaging over 25/26 against better teams.
so, imo, it is Imran, all the way!

EDIT: against india, eng, aus, WI and SA imran averages 23.5, wasim 26 and waqar 28.3. these numbers are truly reflective of their respective standards, I believe.
 
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Agent Nationaux

Agent Nationaux

International Coach
Outswinger@Pace said:
I never really saw Wasim at his peak (started watching after WC 1999) and Imran, obviously, not at all in a live match.

However, based on extensive reading on cricket, watching old videos and listening to ardent cricket lovers (including my old man), I have sketched certain opinions about them. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind at least that both are among the all-time great bowlers.

Wasim Akram: A wonderfully talented bloke with a superb wrist position during delivery. That gave him a unique ability to swing it late at high pace generated with a rapid arm-action.

I am however, not convinced, that Wasim was as physically strong (to soldier on during long, tough spells) as Imran or even Waqar, for that matter. Mental resolve and tenacity could be another factor that thinly separated Wasim from Imran Khan. Perhaps, he was so naturally gifted that he never had to work as had as some others. I'm not sure, but if the going got really tough, I'd back an Imran Khan rather than a Wasim Akram to bowl my side to victory.


Imran Khan: By all accounts, one of the most amazing fast bowlers' stories one can imagine. Not a natural fast bowler by any means, he totally altered his action and through sheer guts and hard work, became a great bowler when he was well into his late 20s.

Imran was the trailblazer and a pioneer in a region where the art of fast and swing bowling were practically unknown*. The prevalent perception was that the new-ball bowler was to get the ball old for the spinners and would get 5-6 overs, at best, during the start of the innings. Imran Khan single-handedly challenged that school of reasoning and developed enough pace, swing (conventional and Irish), variations, physical stamina and mental resolve to produce match-winning spells in the sub-continent. No one before him had such an impact on turf wickets in the region.

He led the way and showed something new to the cricketing world - that a sub-continental fast bowler can be a lethal match-winning weapon on the low, dusty tracks of Faisalabad, the bouncy Australian pitches or in wet English conditons. That realisation and motivation alone was sufficient to inspire a generation of cricketers to come.

Another significant factor is that, like a truly great sportsman, Khan improved as he advanced in age and with each tour. His bowling repertoire expanded, he was still quick in his mid-30s (testimony to the man's fitness) and as a captain and new-ball bowler he led from the front.



My inference: For sheer work-ethic, mastery in all conditions and going against the grain ('remember son, opening bowlers help in getting the ball old in sub-continental wickets' 8-)) with such audacity and success, Imran Khan is the superior bowler.

As highly as I rate Akram, I have to say that Khan is the best fast bowler that Asia ever produced. Just my modest opinion and is not to be interpreted as Gospel truth! :happy:


*(Fazal Mahmood and Khan Mohammad, great as they were, played a long time ago to register sufficiently into the general public's imagination. The general identification of the sub-continental public was not quite there.)
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Great post, and welcome to CW. I have always admired Khan for his hard work and his mental toughness. In one of his interviews, he says that the will came from people telling him that he would never be a great fast bowler. I guess he proved a lot of people wrong.
 
smash84

smash84

The Tiger King
bagapath said:
wasim's stats in england weren't great. neither was his overall record against SA. I dont think he did anything of note against India either. Waqar was bad against australia and terrible against India. But for their stats against SL and NZ, the two Ws could very well be averaging over 25/26 against better teams.
so, imo, it is Imran, all the way!

EDIT: against india, eng, aus, WI and SA imran averages 23.5, wasim 26 and waqar 28.3. these numbers are truly reflective of their respective standards, I believe.
Click to expand...
IIRC Imran didn't play against SA.

Which means his average against Eng, Aus, WI, and India comes to 23.5 WAG though.
 
weldone

weldone

Hall of Fame Member
Outswinger@Pace said:
Wasim Akram: A wonderfully talented bloke with a superb wrist position during delivery. That gave him a unique ability to swing it late at high pace generated with a rapid arm-action.

I am however, not convinced, that Wasim was as physically strong (to soldier on during long, tough spells) as Imran or even Waqar, for that matter. Mental resolve and tenacity could be another factor that thinly separated Wasim from Imran Khan. Perhaps, he was so naturally gifted that he never had to work as had as some others. I'm not sure, but if the going got really tough, I'd back an Imran Khan rather than a Wasim Akram to bowl my side to victory.
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Agreed. This is a very good account of Wasim in so few words.

When told to compare the 2 Ws, Imran opined that while Waqar was more hardworking and had better mental stamina Wasim was far more naturally talented than Waqar. No one saw them from closer than Imran in their formative years.
 
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salman85

salman85

International Debutant
I agree with the mental stamina bit,and i too got that from an Imran Khan interview.He mentioned how when things weren't going his way,Wasim was more likely to lose confidence whereas Waqar would come charging in every ball.

Having said that,i have no doubt in my mind that Wasim was more talented than both Imran and Waqar.He was no slouch in terms of fitness either.Waqar had more injuries than Wasim in his career btw,and also,Wasim had to fight diabetes.I remember reading that he used to take an injection before every game.
 
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bagapath

bagapath

International Captain
smalishah84 said:
IIRC Imran didn't play against SA.

Which means his average against Eng, Aus, WI, and India comes to 23.5 WAG though.
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true. the other two played against them though; and i didnt bother to specify that. but our point stands. WAG, really!

in my all time XIs I am not able to accommodate waqar in the first five teams (3 pace bowlers each). wasim makes it to the fourth team. imran is sometimes selected in the first team itself or, if not, he is sure to get a place in the second XI at least. purely as pace bowlers i can see a huge gap between wasim and waqar and a smaller, but clear-cut, gap between imran and wasim.
 
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smash84

smash84

The Tiger King
Ikki said:
If you want to see how good Imran was look at the stats of bowlers in the 80s. This is when there were several all-time great bowlers at their peaks and he was as good if not better than Hadlee and Marshall.
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The year 1989 was definitely one where Imran really started going downhill. If you modify the filter to the end of the year 1988 he has extremely impressive figures.

Bowling records | Test matches | Cricinfo Statsguru | ESPN Cricinfo.

An almost Barnesque average of 17.77 and SR of 43.6
 
smash84

smash84

The Tiger King
bagapath said:
true. the other two played against them though; and i didnt bother to specify that. but our point stands. WAG, really!

in my all time XIs I am not able to accommodate waqar in the first five teams (3 pace bowlers each). wasim makes it to the fourth team. imran is sometimes selected in the first team itself or, if not, he is sure to get a place in the second XI at least. purely as a pace bowlers i can see a huge gap between wasim and waqar and smaller but definite gap between imran and wasim.
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Agree with this too.

It also has to do with the fact that Waqar was quite heavily reliant on his yorker for wickets. I think for bowlers with more than 200 wickets Waqar is the one with the highest percentage od bowled and LBWs. His percentage of such dismissals is somewhere in 50s so I guess being the somewhat uni-dimensional bowler that he was he was bound to suffer from the loss of pace and from injuries
 
S

Satguru

Banned
I cant make a judgement based on cricketing terms because I wasnt even born when imran was at his prime, which really makes me angry at my dumb parents for not doing it sooner :ph34r:

So i guess ill have to pick Wasim, because he was simply the most entertaining bowler ive ever watched. That whippy action is so damn unique and has a strange beauty to it.
And that trademark scream after he knocked a batsman over... so epic :cool:

Also, judging by this video he could probably still get into an international side today looking at the absolutely **** quality of quicks these days:

YouTube - Wasim Akram Bowling after 4 years - Exclusive Video

WAG :notworthy
 
Sanz

Sanz

Hall of Fame Member
Imran needed to be at the top of his bowling/fitness to be among the best. Wasim can come and bowl when he is in his 60s and still be among the best.
 
A

asty80

School Boy/Girl Captain
Wasim FTW, purely as a bowler. Although, it is also because Imran's captaincy clearly overshadows anything else he has done in his career, especially since Pak have never since seen anything like him again.
 
smash84

smash84

The Tiger King
Sanz said:
Imran needed to be at the top of his bowling/fitness to be among the best. Wasim can come and bowl when he is in his 60s and still be among the best.
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asty80 said:
Wasim FTW, purely as a bowler. Although, it is also because Imran's captaincy clearly overshadows anything else he has done in his career, especially since Pak have never since seen anything like him again.
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People are underestimating Imran here quite a bit. Imran has an awesome record against all teams in all countries. At his peak too Imran was the better bowler. Wasim could do more with the ball but Imran was better at wicket taking.

Of course we are only discussing their bowling otherwise it is a no contest and Imran>>Wasim as a cricketer
 
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