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Vaas vs Srinath vs Lee vs Zaheer vs Sobers

Best bowler


  • Total voters
    56

G.I.Joe

International Coach
Tests only. Bowling only. Rank them in descending order.

edit- Could a mod please replace AA with Zaheer on the poll?
 
Last edited:

Noble One

International Vice-Captain
Touch choice. Big fan of Srinath so he makes my number one. Vaas and Sobers roughly on par. Lee and Zaheer could be swapped around too, both hot and cold bowlers.

Srinath
Sobers
Vaas
Lee
Zaheer
 

Xuhaib

International Coach
Srinath or Vass.

Lee on his day was lethal, never rated Zaheer highly ofcourse have never seen Sobers
 

FaaipDeOiad

Hall of Fame Member
Went with Sobers in the poll for versatility, but it's quite even otherwise. Ranking the pure seamers I'd probably go for Lee, Srinath, Vaas and Zaheer, in that order. Srinath would be the most consistent of the four of them IMO, but possibly the least devastating, and Lee the best when he was "on".

Interesting choices.
 

morgieb

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Tough question.

Lee at his best was the best, but that was too fleeting. Vaas probably the most consistent out of the 5 (apart from Sobers, who wasn't that good with the ball apart from versatility), so went with him.
 

Teja.

Global Moderator
IMHO,
Vass is in the same class as the McGarths and the Donalds, what he lacks in pace and talent, he more than makes up for in hardwork, grit and determination. He is under-rated due to the flamboyance and greatness of Murali overshadowing him.
 

Himannv

International Coach
From that list, Chaminda Vaas. Swings the ball both ways even on flat tracks and always takes early wickets. Back in the day he even had a touch of pace. One of the best ever produced by Sri Lanka.
 

Richard

Cricket Web Staff Member
Vaas probably the most consistent out of the 5 (apart from Sobers, who wasn't that good with the ball apart from versatility)
You ARE kidding?

Vaas is beyond question the most inconsistent bowler ever to have a substantial Test career.

Vaas at his best was as good as any bowler can be, but at his worst he was so far short of Test-class it was embarrassing.

As for Sobers not being that good, well, maybe for a few years early in his career when his batting was his priority. Apart from that, I've got news for you - he was good, sometimes very good. But yes, he was much better as a seamer than spinner.
 

Sir Alex

Banned
Vaasy. Having had to play majority of his career on Sri Lankan pitches and yet he has returned 300+ wickets at a good average. Love Srinath and ahd real difficulty choosing between the two. Lee for me was a great ODI bowler but not a great test bowler. Zak's figures don't tell the story how good he's been in the last 4 years but while assessing overall he falls short of Srinath and Vaasy.
 

Migara

Cricketer Of The Year
I am biased and my heart says Vaas.
But Srinath was absolute crackerjack late in his career. Sad that he only had dross at other end. Had he had any sort of quality at other end, would have been a very good bowler.
 

Uppercut

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Probably Vaas for me. The others are much of a muchness, they've went through so, so many peaks and troughs during their respective careers.

Srinath vs. Vaas (and to a lesser extent Lee) is a case where I might be inclined to invoke the Legend of the Glorious Nineties in reverse.
 

Zinzan

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Why do Sobers's bad spells not count whereas Lee's do?
Took the words right out of my mouth :@

Really grates me that Sobers' is so often said to be a better bowler than the likes of Kallis. Regardless of the fact he was versatile with the ball, the reality is he still only took around 2.5 wickets a test & averaged 34
 

social

Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
Vaas was a much better seam bowler than Sobers

Vaas was also a much better left armer than Zaheer

Srinath, whilst underrated, lacked Lee's firepower

If I had to rate them in order

Vaas
Lee
Srinath
Sobers (but only because of variety)
Zaheer
 

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