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Wasim Akram vs Dennis Lillee

Who was the greater bowler?

  • Wasim Akram

    Votes: 32 50.0%
  • Dennis Lillee

    Votes: 32 50.0%

  • Total voters
    64

Kirkut

International Regular
Yes it was a temporary phase, otherwise I doubt if Lillee was a regular gym person. Him, Andy Roberts and Waqar believed in the old school way - lots of running and bowling plenty of overs in the nets to build strength.
 

TheJediBrah

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Proper weight training won't help you bowl faster unless you're a very, very weak person to begin with. Some light to moderate functional resistance work is essential for any human that can safely do it though.
 

bagapath

International Captain
Yeah but in his defense, he did admit to not knowing much about Walsh. Bagapath was probably as bad as well. He rated Botham the bowler above Pollock and Walsh.
Pollock and Walsh didn't bowl out as many teams as Botham did. The number of times he ran through batting line ups in the first few years of his career was quite scary. Beefy was the best bowler in the world when Lillee and Roberts and Holding were firing on all cylinders. By the time Imran and Hadlee and Garner and then Marshall hit peak form he had started to fade away, though. Walsh and Pollock were not in this league of bowlers in my opinion. This is the Ambrose, McGrath, Steyn zone. One step about them.
 

subshakerz

International Coach
Pollock and Walsh didn't bowl out as many teams as Botham did. The number of times he ran through batting line ups in the first few years of his career was quite scary. Beefy was the best bowler in the world when Lillee and Roberts and Holding were firing on all cylinders. By the time Imran and Hadlee and Garner and then Marshall hit peak form he had started to fade away, though. Walsh and Pollock were not in this league of bowlers in my opinion. This is the Ambrose, McGrath, Steyn zone. One step about them.
Pollock from mid-nineties to early 2000 was a supremely underrated bowler.
 

bagapath

International Captain
Botham was the best bowler in the world for about 4 years.


Wickets/ SR/ Avg/ five wicket hauls... he was the leading fast bowler in a world full of superstar pacers.

Walsh and S Pollock were never consistent world beaters like Beefy was for the first half of his career. Running through famed batting line-ups was his hobby. That ability to turn the match around with a cluster of wickets is what I am talking about. Not just 2/3 wicket hauls. I would happily take a 5 for 75 over a 3 for 40 any day.
 

bagapath

International Captain
Pollock from mid-nineties to early 2000 was a supremely underrated bowler.
Loved him during that phase and even beyond. In fact even when he was past his peak, he never became a **** bowler that beefy was for the second part of his career. I also firmly believe S Pollock had the wood on Tendulkar throughout their careers. Accurate and relentless and intelligent always. What a cricketer he was!
He was not as a big a match winner as Botham, though.
 

Bolo.

International Vice-Captain
Botham was the best bowler in the world for about 4 years.


Wickets/ SR/ Avg/ five wicket hauls... he was the leading fast bowler in a world full of superstar pacers.

Walsh and S Pollock were never consistent world beaters like Beefy was for the first half of his career. Running through famed batting line-ups was his hobby. That ability to turn the match around with a cluster of wickets is what I am talking about. Not just 2/3 wicket hauls. I would happily take a 5 for 75 over a 3 for 40 any day.
4 years is a very short amount of time to judge a full length career on. Mitchell johnson had a peak not too far off this in terms of time. Rate him up there too? And Imran as the GOAT?

Think you are overlooking competition for wickets a bit re. Walsh and Pollock. Walsh was fighting up to 3 ATG strike bowlers. Peak Pollock sometimes had a 7th bowler averaging in the low 30s, plus peak Donald. Not to say they outperformed him over a length of time you are specifically picking to suit Botham... there is a strong argument. But over a more meaningful length of time, he is clearly behind.
 

subshakerz

International Coach
I don't understand why are people comparing Akram 18 year old career to Lillee 13 yar old career. Here is Akram 13 year old career before he got diabetes


His stats in SA, India and WI are unimpressive but overall still better than Lillee imo
Diabetes ain't no excuse. Him debuting earlier is an excuse. I would count from last 80s onwards maybe
 

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