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Who is Pakistan's greatest spin bowler?
- Thread starter Migara
- Start date
They have also had the greatest 7' plus bowler of all timeIt says in the opening post that Pakistan have had many great fast bowlers. Not sure that’s true. Three greats and a nearly man.
Starfighter
Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
Shows how much just having a couple of good players can skew perception. Their fast bowling depth has been abysmal over their history. They excell at producing guys who look good but don't have the figures (there's half a dozen running around domestically right now). And prior to Imran they didn't even have that. It may be the pitches, but the 27-29 averaging guys are conspicuously absent.It says in the opening post that Pakistan have had many great fast bowlers. Not sure that’s true. Three greats and a nearly man.
Starfighter
Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
South Africa have produced more in the thirty years since readmission. Fazal was an out-and-out medium pacer by today's standards who couldn't perform off matting or very soft pitches (he averaged 38 on turf).
There are practically no bowlers with a McDermott or Gillespie-like record. It's the two Ws and Imran, Shoaib when he wasn't injured, Asif and then nothing but a load of mainly mediocre to crap, any better ones completely lacking staying power. People talk like they're the eighties Windies, yet they've never had demonstrable depth comparable to India's over the past few years.
We can see if Shaheen and some of the other promising ones can overcome history, but overcoming is the word.
There are practically no bowlers with a McDermott or Gillespie-like record. It's the two Ws and Imran, Shoaib when he wasn't injured, Asif and then nothing but a load of mainly mediocre to crap, any better ones completely lacking staying power. People talk like they're the eighties Windies, yet they've never had demonstrable depth comparable to India's over the past few years.
We can see if Shaheen and some of the other promising ones can overcome history, but overcoming is the word.
honestbharani
Whatever it takes!!!
I wonder if we should point out to @jayjay that Shami, Bumrah, Ishant have more overseas test wins in SENA than Wasim, Waqar and Imran...
Gob
International Coach
They couldn't
nightprowler10
Global Moderator
Who?
SillyCowCorner1
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Mohammad Asif right now ?
Starfighter
Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
They don't though. Going by your stated criteria excepting Khan Mohammad (again, out and out medium pacer by today's standard), it's only Shabbir, who was a chucker, and Abbas, who post-dates when I first noticed the trend of praising Pakistan for their supposed ability to produce fast bowlers. Otherwise we fall back on names previously mentioned (Imran, two Ws, Shoaib, Asif).
honestbharani
Whatever it takes!!!
I dunno about the 50 @ 25 but they definitely produce fast bowlers who bowl fast and look exciting and kinda pass the eye test of being potentially great bowlers. So, yeah, I think the narrative that Pak produces great fast bowlers is exaggerated. But they do produce an awful lot of fast bowlers who look like they can be great bowlers and to that extent, their reputation as a place that keeps producing great fast bowling talent is justified IMHO.
subshakerz
International Coach
Yeah. Pak's reputation is for producing pace bowling talent, not necessarily greats. And they did produce talent regularly. But the conversion rate into great level dropped off.
After the 2Ws, they had:
- Mohd Zahid, took a tenfer in his first test and seemed the fastest Pak pacer ever
- Shoaib Akthar
- Mohd Sami, who took a fifer in his first test and bowled 90 plus regularly, but never delivered after due to lack of bowling intelligence
- Mohd Asif
- Mohd Amir, who before his ban was touching 90mph and seemed a pace prodigy
- Junaid Khan, who seemed to have good pace and potential until getting injured
- Mohd Abbas
- Shaheen Afridi
- Nasim Shah
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Daemon
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Outstanding performance from both his knees.
honestbharani
Whatever it takes!!!
Yasir has a fast bowling brother?
a massive zebra
International Captain
You are really overrating Fazal here.
It's ridiculous to call Fazal a great and yet not even include Statham in the very good category. Statham played at the same time as Fazal and easily outperformed him pretty much everywhere except Pakistan. Statham combined Fazal's accuracy, lateral movement and stamina with more pace and a decent bouncer to make him less pitch dependent than the Pakistani.
Fazal was highly effective on Pakistan's matting wickets. Away from home he was simply a tidy medium pacer who could keep things tight and chip in with a few wickets, not an ATG who would run through the opposition (his average on turf was 38, his strike rate away from home was over 80). In truth, England have produced many fast bowlers who have outperformed him away from home over that time frame.
It is absurd to place him on the same level as Trueman, Waqar, Wasim and Imran, or arguably even on the same level as Statham, Willis, Botham, Gough and Anderson.
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OverratedSanity
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Fazal bowled pakistan to historic wins in England and India. Definitely not just an HTB like it's being implied.
