Pakistan's fast bowlers appreciation thread

[Faisal1985]

Different Strokes | Cricket Blogs | Cricinfo.com

 

[Faisal1985]

The aim of the thread is to just appreciate the bowling greats that have come out of Pakistan. One way to do it would be to rank them. The world can not and does not deny the bowling talent that Pakistan has produced over the years and still continues to do so with its latest Mohammad Amir. Not only those who came to the international stage and proved their ability but also to remember those who came showed what they were capable of and then were never looked upon for reasons other then cricketing...Mohammad Zahid's name comes to mind.

Anyhow, i read this article on cricinfo and that basically led me to create the thread...

Different Strokes | Cricket Blogs | Cricinfo.com

Ranking based on my limited knowledge/like dislike and so on..


Waqar Younis
Imran Khan
Wasim Akram
Shoaib Akhtar
Sarfraz Nawaz
Mohammad Asif
Aqib Javed
Mohammad Amir
Umar Gul

 

[BoyBrumby]

Oooo. Shoaib above Sarfraz & Asif? Likes a bit of pace I does, but that's a bit of a stretch for my pound.

 

[Hurricane]

Aamir seems to have developed his ability to swing and seam the ball in the last 6 months or so. Either that or he was just operating in conditions not suited to this type of bowling initially.

He is awesome.

In one thread he was getting votes as the third best bowler in the world which is phenomenal for his age.

 

[Faisal1985]

Aamir seems to have developed his ability to swing and seam the ball in the last 6 months or so. Either that or he was just operating in conditions not suited to this type of bowling initially.

He is awesome.

In one thread he was getting votes as the third best bowler in the world which is phenomenal for his age.

A lot has to do with the amount of catches that were dropped off of his bowling in SL tour last year and then NZ and even Australia...in all those series he had the top order of teams struggling to great measures...especially in NZ i remember he regularly got the top order batsmen out by getting them bowled....

 

[Faisal1985]

The reason i rated him highly is for his peak. He was deadly during his peak and even though Asif and Sarfraz are up there...i just feel that Akhtar deserves a higher ranking for what he brought during an era when most tracks were becoming and still are becoming batsmen's paradise. The way he bowled against in England in Pakistan in the 2005 series really puts him ahead of others in that regard. Asif is not nearly as effective as him on roads...The guy lost stamina and other problems with him are not a secret for anyone but still clocking 90+ is no small acheivement...so overall barring all the negatives about his personality and only on the basis of his bowling skill..i rate him quite highly..

 

[Noble One]

I would swap Gul and Amir. No doubt Amir has the big career ahead, but Gul is the current leader of the two based on career achievements.

Above list is missing Fazal Mahmood too. I would place him at number 4.

 

[kingkallis]

The aim of the thread is to just appreciate the bowling greats that have come out of Pakistan. One way to do it would be to rank them. The world can not and does not deny the bowling talent that Pakistan has produced over the years and still continues to do so with its latest Mohammad Amir. Not only those who came to the international stage and proved their ability but also to remember those who came showed what they were capable of and then were never looked upon for reasons other then cricketing...Mohammad Zahid's name comes to mind.

Anyhow, i read this article on cricinfo and that basically led me to create the thread...

Different Strokes | Cricket Blogs | Cricinfo.com

Ranking based on my limited knowledge/like dislike and so on..


Waqar Younis
Imran Khan
Wasim Akram
Shoaib Akhtar
Sarfraz Nawaz
Mohammad Asif
Aqib Javed
Mohammad Amir
Umar Gul

Add Fazal Mahmood to this list.

 

[Faisal1985]

Guys i am a 90s boy..so forgive my ignorance for the brilliant bowlers of 70s and 80s....however, i admit i knew Fazal Mehmood and just missed out on his name there....

 

[Faisal1985]

I would swap Gul and Amir. No doubt Amir has the big career ahead, but Gul is the current leader of the two based on career achievements.

Above list is missing Fazal Mahmood too. I would place him at number 4.

Just feel Gul is too fragile and gets injured too much Amir looks tougher and has everything in him....i am so surprised (touch wood) that Amir is playing test cricketing for quite some time now and has bowled so many long spells with not an inch of a drop in his speed or zip so far....brilliant so far...

Gul even when he started out had one good outing and then got injured and had to alter his action and so on...on the basis of natural talent..Amir is ahead imo.

 

[Fusion]

Love them Pakistani pacers! My rankings (based on their entire Test careers, not just their current or high peaks):

Imran Khan
Wasim Akram
Waqar Younis
Fazal Mahmood
Sarfaraz Nawaz
Shoaib Akhtar
Mohammad Asif
Mohammad Amir
Umar Gul
Aqib Javed

I think Waqar had the best peak of not just a Pakistani, but any bowler in Test cricket history. However, Imran and Wasim IMO achieved more cumatively. I expect Asif to pass Shoaib/Sarfaraz/Fazal at the end of his career. The player that has the biggest ceiling is Amir of course. He's just getting started and needs time, but when all's said and done he has the potential to crack the top 3. Long way to go though. As for Aqib, never rated him as a Test bowler.

 

[Faisal1985]

Is he holding a cigarette in that picture lol...


But yes looked at his stats and that average of 24 is pretty good...but the strike rate seems quite high at 70...



Waqar has the best Strike Rate..its freakish 43....

 

[Noble One]

Strike rates need to be considered in context. Even some of the very best bowlers of the 1950's such as Davidson, Statham and Lindwall only managed strike rates hovering in the 60's.

 

[vcs]

Steyn's strike rate is 39.2... pretty Waqar-esque.

 

[slowfinger]

Is he holding a cigarette in that picture lol...


But yes looked at his stats and that average of 24 is pretty good...but the strike rate seems quite high at 70...



Waqar has the best Strike Rate..its freakish 43....

Atleast he doesn't hide it

 

[zaremba]

The reason i rated him highly is for his peak. He was deadly during his peak and even though Asif and Sarfraz are up there...i just feel that Akhtar deserves a higher ranking for what he brought during an era when most tracks were becoming and still are becoming batsmen's paradise. The way he bowled against in England in Pakistan in the 2005 series really puts him ahead of others in that regard. Asif is not nearly as effective as him on roads...The guy lost stamina and other problems with him are not a secret for anyone but still clocking 90+ is no small acheivement...so overall barring all the negatives about his personality and only on the basis of his bowling skill..i rate him quite highly..

Yep. Shoaib was all sorts of awesome in '05. I think he tends to get under-rated on CW, partly because of his character flaws, but he was a seriously good fast bowler. He's the sort of player who, if he'd played in a past era, might now be recognised as a real great of the game.

 

[Migara]

Wasim
Imran
Waqar
Shoaib are top four

Then the rest Aaqib, Fazal, Gul, Asif, Aamir etc.

But the number of bowlers who had bright short careers and then faded away due to ftiness problems will be more interesting

 

[Furball]

Amir

 

[Black_Warrior]

Ah..my fast bowlers..my heroes :

I dont know where to start

But Sorry Imran, Wasim and Waqar, right now I am in the mood to talk about only one bowler - the kid in my avatar

 

[slowfinger]

It is just the pacers, innit.