Jump to content

Wasim Akram-most complete of all fast bowlers?


Recommended Posts

Posessed the total package of the complete fast bowler.Wasim was the equivalent of a magician to fast bowling.At his best he reminded one of a musical composer with his extraordinary innovations of reverse swing.He could do things with a cricket ball that no pace bowler could ever do.He could bowl six different deliveries in an over.In the early part of his career almost bowled at express pace,but after 1993 slowed down marginally.From a juicy Australian wicket,to seaming pitches in England to flat ,subcontinent pancakes Wasim bowled with equal ease.His mastery of moving a new and old ball foxed the best of batsman more than any other batsmen in the world.No paceman has ever produced such prodigiuous swing in the sub-continent.Wasim combined speed,bounce movement ,accuracy and control in a total package. At times he would lose his accuracy and be expensive but would superbly comeback.Wasim also had a deceptive slower ball and could be even more effective at fast-medium pace.Wasim was at his best in Australia in 1989-90 ripping the heart of a strong Australian batting line up,against West Indies at home in 1990-91,in England in 1992 and in New Zealand in 1994.At his bset he bowled some blistering spells in the Carribean like in the test in Antigua in 2000 where and in 1988 in Barbados when dubious umpiring decisions cost Pakistan victory in the match and series both times.I can never forget Wasim dismissing Rahul Dravid in India in 1999,dismissing Steve Waugh in the 1st test at Melbourne in 1989-90 ,bowling Alan Lamb and Chris Lewis in the 1992 world cup final and dismissing Graham Gooch and Alec Stewart at Old Trafford in 1992 .On figures of strike rate,bowling average etc.Wasim may not make even the top ten paceman of all time.However in terms of pure bowling skill he overshadowed Imran,Waqar or even Marshall.Imran could not as consistenly move the ball out as Wasim while Marshall did not posess as wide a weaponry in his armoury .Mcgrath and Ambrose were more relentless but did not posess Akram's ability to move the ball as much or his variations.I think Wasim would have been more succesful had he played for teams like West Indies and Australia at their peak.The Pakistani fielders hardly supported him often dropping catches.In the 1970's and 80's he could have been a terror on the fast pitches of West Indies and Australia .Wasim has been chosen in the world all-time xi ahead of Mcgrath and Ambrose and has won more votes for a place in an all-time xi than even Imran Khan.Marshall may have been craftier but still could not equal Wasim's innovative ability .Brian Lara and Jacques Kallis call Wasim the best pace bowler they ever faced and so does V.V.S Laxman.Alan Donald calls him the most complete pace bowler he ever saw.With anew ball on fast pitch Ambrose could be more lethal or Mcgrath more effective on green top but on flat wicket Wasim would overshadow them.What set Wasim back is that he lacked the fierce determination of Dennis Lillee or even Imran Khan.Wasim was like a sculptor ,poet and magician rolled into one.Wasim would capture wickets often with deliveries which were unplayable unlike Mcgrath and Ambrose who induced the batsmen to make mistakes to capture wickets.If he had done justice to his ability completely he could have been the 'Bradman ' of fast-bowling. Yet if we meticuluosly study his figures in terms of bowling average,strike rate or aggregate of wickets captured,top order wickets captured Wasim is by some margin behind Malcolm Marshall,Richard Hadlee,Glen Mcgrath and Dale Steyn and marginally overshadowed by Dennis Lillee,Imran Khan and Curtly Amrose.Ambrose has a significantly better bowling average,Lillee a better strike rate and Imran a better record in his peak.Wasim's best figures have alos hardly matched upto the best of Hadlle,Mcgrath,Lillee,Ambrose and Imran. To me had Wasim done full justice to his potential he should have had figures of the equivalent the legendary Sydney Barnes had in his era or been the 'Bradman' of fast bowling.No paceman posessed Wasim's creative genius who was the equivalent of a Michelangelo or Rembrandt to fast bowling.Wasim had deliveries in his armoury which greats like Marshall or Lillee did not have.He could bowl more unplayable deliveries or capture wickets with them than nay other pace bowler.Alan Donlad rated Wasim as the most complete fast bowler he ever saw.Was it lack of temperament that let him down statistically?Did he not try had enough as other great fast bowlers?Did his diabetes affect him?Did the continuous setbacks and politics of Pakistani cricket affect him?I think Wasim would have had a better record had he bowled for teams like West Indies and Australia in the 1970's and 80's .He was often let down by slip catchers.Perhaps the test statistics that did justice to Wasim were about 500 wickets at an average of around 20.5 and a strike rate around 44 balls per wicket.Hypothetically had Wasim played for a team like Australia in the 1990's he may have had figures close to those.At his best he could have been a terror on the tracks which Ambrose and Mcgrath bowled on their home pitches of West Indies and Australia.Perhaps Wasim was not sufficiently supported by his team's batsman at his peak while Imran was supported more by his team's batsmen.Maybe bowling with a great like Waqar cost Wasim more scalps and better best figures. Wasim to me is the equivalent of the West Indian maestro Rohan Kanhai to bowling On his day Kanhai could surpass even Bradmam,posessing more prowess for batting and natural genius than any batsmen ever.Kanhai averaged 47.53 but if he did not throw his wicket away could have averaged 87 according to John Woodcock. Quoting Mike Selvey: "Halfway down the pitch towards the right-hander, the delivery seemed innocuous. Delivered left-arm from round the wicket by Wasim Akram, it had the usual slithery speed, and was up there in length - an attempted yorker probably, but too full. It began to angle down the leg side, a low full-toss just ripe for Robert Croft, the England offspinner, to flick away to fine leg for an easy boundary. Croft planted his front foot and began the process of turning the ball away. He missed, the ball thudded into his pad, and Wasim roared his appeal. Negative, said the umpire, and we in the press box nodded knowingly: missing leg by miles. Then came the replay, in super slow motion, and it was so astounding it left mouths gaping. For in the last 10 feet or so, the ball ceased angling down the leg side and instead swung back the other way, eluding Croft's bat by six inches. Unquestionably it would have hit middle stump, but it all happened so fast and late that it deceived the eye of everyone, not least the umpire. The single most astonishing delivery that I have witnessed failed to produce a wicket. For nigh on two decades, Wasim Akram has been a magician with the ball. Left-arm pace bowlers have been a rarity in the game, and good ones even more so: Alan Davidson, Garry Sobers, Bill Voce maybe. But none of them, not even Sobers, could manipulate the ball with the dexterity of Wasim. That ball to Croft may have been exceptional, but it would not have been unique in his career for it seemed he could do it all the time. One such, delivered in an adrenal lime-green fury under the lights in Melbourne, ripped past the outside edge of Allan Lamb's bat and clipped his off stump - the defining moment, perhaps, of the 1992 World Cup final. This now is his World Cup swansong, for age catches all. It is time to go. Against Australia at the Wanderers in Pakistan's 2003 World Cup opener, the flame briefly was rekindled as he sneaked an inswinger through the tentative first-ball prod of Damien Martyn, leaving himself on a hat-trick. But later, the instinct and skill that allowed him to spear his reverse-swung yorkers in deserted him. It was not, nor could we expect it to be, the Wasim of old. But he will leave a legacy after almost an entire year of his life playing one-day internationals. Through expedience, Pakistan pace bowlers redefined what was possible, and none more so than Wasim. The memory will linger, of the bright lights, garish uniforms, and Wasim in his pumped up pomp, gold chain swinging, pit-pattering his way to the crease and letting rip. Along with Joel Garner and Shane Warne he has set the benchmark for bowling in one-day cricket. I cannot help it: he remains, through all the allegations of match-fixing and ball tampering, my favourite cricketer. I named my first dog after him and believe me it doesn't get higher than that. "

Link to comment

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...