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Better ODI bowler

Who is the better ODI bowler ?

  • Brett Lee

    Votes: 4 14.8%
  • Waqar Younis

    Votes: 12 44.4%
  • Shane Bond

    Votes: 9 33.3%
  • Atul Sharma

    Votes: 2 7.4%

  • Total voters
    27

subshakerz

International Coach
I would rate Waqar slightly ahead of Brett Lee for being a better death bowler and more destructive on his day.

Bond...didn't play much but his achievements against Australia are perhaps the best by an ODI bowler in history.
 

Flem274*

123/5
Realistically Waqar, but Bond was Bond. Undisputable ATG in ODIs, probably the best of my watching era with only Starc and McGrath in his postcode.
 

Teja.

Global Moderator
Waqar has the highest number of 5-fers in ODIs by a huge margin - 13 in (just) 252 games. The second best Murali has 10 in 350 games. Wasim has 6 in 356 and McGrath has 7 in an almost identical 250 games. Waqar also has the record for the most 4-fers+ (27), naturally.

He is the only bowler ever to take 3 5-fers in consecutive ODIs. In June 2001, when I was 7, he got a 7-fer against England and then a 6-fer against Australia within a space of 3 days with 1 rest day separating the matches. This is one of my earliest vivid memories of properly watching and (somewhat) understanding cricket and I was in complete awe of this force of nature. I remember asking my brother why he was supporting Pakistan as they were supposed to be our rivals. He then gave me a 5 minute crash course on colonialism which I remember to be the first time I heard that word.
 

subshakerz

International Coach
Waqar has the highest number of 5-fers in ODIs by a huge margin - 13 in (just) 252 games. The second best Murali has 10 in 350 games. Wasim has 6 in 356 and McGrath has 7 in an almost identical 250 games. Waqar also has the record for the most 4-fers+ (27), naturally.

He is the only bowler ever to take 3 5-fers in consecutive ODIs. In June 2001, when I was 7, he got a 7-fer against England and then a 6-fer against Australia within a space of 3 days with 1 rest day separating the matches. This is one of my earliest vivid memories of properly watching and (somewhat) understanding cricket and I was in complete awe of this force of nature. I remember asking my brother why he was supporting Pakistan as they were supposed to be our rivals. He then gave me a 5 minute crash course on colonialism which I remember to be the first time I heard that word.
Once Waqar's pace fell away, he reinvented himself as a new ball bowler from around 2000 onwards.
 

Bolo.

International Vice-Captain
It is hard to even think of a realistic example of how this 'hur-dur meh longevity' stuff could be worse placed.

If longevity doesnt count (or can be reduced to very low levels), Bond is probably the best bowler ever. It isnt even close between him and guys like Lee or Waqar, particularly considering the era argument you raised for Lee vs Waqar... Bond played in a worse era for bowlers than either.

Waqar over a comparable number of games to Bonds career was arguably a better bowler though. Shorten the number of games and Waqar was way better.

Personally, I dont care to rate Bond against guys like Lee and Waqar. I 100% believe he would have been better than career either if (doing my best to quote him from an interview from a decade back), ''my knees werent made of chalk''. But I am not sure how he would stand against Waqar if he hadnt blown out his back.

Lee vs Waqar is the only valid comparison here. Lee probably had the better career IMO... era etc. But it is reasonably close, and Waqars peak was certainly better.
 

TheJediBrah

Request Your Custom Title Now!
It isnt even close between him and guys like Lee or Waqar, particularly considering the era argument you raised for Lee vs Waqar... Bond played in a worse era for bowlers than either.
Bond played in nearly the exact same era as Lee. Lee started maybe just 2 years earlier, and I think he carried on a few years after maybe? Either way massive stretch to say that Bond "played in a worse era for bowlers", eepecially when his appearances were so sporadic, relatively speaking
 

Bolo.

International Vice-Captain
Bond played in nearly the exact same era as Lee. Lee started maybe just 2 years earlier, and I think he carried on a few years after maybe? Either way massive stretch to say that Bond "played in a worse era for bowlers", eepecially when his appearances were so sporadic, relatively speaking
Fair enough compared to Lee. Era difficulty cant be meaningfully differentiated... had my dates a bit wrong.

My point stands though. Bond is so obviously a superior bowler when fit that it isnt worth discussing, but IMO not worth comparing to either.
 

TheJediBrah

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Fair enough compared to Lee. Era difficulty cant be meaningfully differentiated... had my dates a bit wrong.

My point stands though. Bond is so obviously a superior bowler when fit that it isnt worth discussing, but IMO not worth comparing to either.
Yeah I'd say Bond too. But Lee with the white ball was closer than you think. That **** was unplayable at times with pace + accuracy + swing. I think people forget how good Lee was in ODIs because of how meh he was in Tests
 

Flem274*

123/5
Bond kicked the greatest odi side of all time in the head over and over again and played 82 odis - a sample size favourable with all bowlers outside the 1992-2010 odi spam era.

I'm obviously influenced by hero worshipping him as a kid but i dont think longevity really matters here like it does for him in test cricket.
 

Flem274*

123/5
Yeah I'd say Bond too. But Lee with the white ball was closer than you think. That **** was unplayable at times with pace + accuracy + swing. I think people forget how good Lee was in ODIs because of how meh he was in Tests
Lee was a bowler of 2 extremes in odis i think. One of the best ever with the new ball, but more liable than most atgs to melt at the death.
 

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