I’ve heard from a lot from my pakistani friends about Waqar. Unfortunately, India and Pakistan weren’t playing a lot of cricket against each other when Waqar was at his peak and therefore I really didn’t get to see much of him; but whatever little I saw, it only strengthened my belief that Wasim Akarm was the best fast bowler I ever saw.
I just read the news about Waqar becoming the bowling coach for Pakistan team and wondered why not Wasim?
I’m anxious to know what people here think of this move and of Waqar as a bowler.
You are a cricket follower and dont know much about waraq? sounds hmmMMmm.....If Wasim was the sultan of swing, waqar was know for his toe-crushers in front of which many batsmen preferred to get the stumps tumble rather than their toes. Had it not been the politics in Pakistani team, waqar i guess wasim sai ziada hee wickets laita. Wasim was known for the accuracy and waqar was known for shear speed that threatend batsmen for quite long time.......anyway, here is waqar's profile from cricinfo:
The man who really put the reverse into swing. Waqar Younis bucked the 1980s trend of pitching fast and short by pitching fast and full. Not an obvious recipe for success until you factor in prodigious late inswing, which was designed to smash into the base of leg stump or the batsman's toes. In his youth, he was one of the fastest ever. Waqar's surging run was a glorious sight - and an incredible strain on his body. His method of aiming for the stumps rather than the batsman earned him the best strike rate of any bowler with over 200 Test wickets. It could have been better: back injuries cut short his prime, but determination has always resurrected him, although he was easily pushed over the line that divides aggression and intimidation. He looked to have been put out to pasture by the end of 2000, but before long he had been appointed captain for the 2001 tour to England. Initial results suggested that this was an inspired move, but in October 2002 he was at the helm as Pakistan crumbled to 59 and 53 all out against Australia in Sharjah. He managed to retain the job for the World Cup, but a disastrous tournament - Pakistan beat only Holland and Namibia - meant an unceremonious exit. Unable to force his way back into a side building for the future, he announced his retirement in April 2004. As a batsman, lusty blows were his staple, but Waqar batted with the air of a man who thinks he could have done better.
Not that I don't know much....statistically, he is one of the best....but what I'm not sure is whether he was better than Wasim....but I can deduce from your post that you think that Waqar was better than Wasim.
Wasim had a long, pretty much uninterrupted career. Being an extremely talented player he, therefore, broke many bowling records.
Waqar on the other hand, was hit by nagging injuries, loss of form and team politics. However, at his peak, arguably, he was the best fast bowler. Period. His strike rate (wickets/balls) is matched by none.
Re: your question about why Waqar is appointed as bowling coach and not Wasim. It probably is an outcome of several things. First, Wasim had a shadow of match fixing rumors on his career, and this may have impacted the decision of the Board not to approach him for coaching position. Secondly, arguably more suave and polished than Waqar, Wasim may fancy his chances at the more lucrative television commentating and other show-biz digs. And lastly, a lot depends on the present Pakistan team (esp Woolmer and Inzi's) wishes as to who should be part of the coaching staff, and the choice may have been Waqar due to personal reasons.
To the best of my knowledge, neither Waqar, nor Wasim are properly trained as professional coaches, so it is a hit or miss with either of them, anyway. Their personal bowling genius, notwithstanding.
I compared the Test bowling stats of Wasim and Waqar and I saw that although Waqar had a better career SR (43.4) against Wasim (54.6), there isn't any statistically significant difference in their avg (23.62 for Wasim and 23.56 for Waqar).
At their peak both were brilliant. Waqar with his toe crushers and Wasim with his swing used to terrorize their opponents. Wasim bowled with so much guile and had such variety that all 6 balls in his overs were different. Most of the batsmen were afraid of facing both of them but especially Wasim. I am proud of both of them but if I had to choose one than it will have to be Akram.
To me, Wasim was better, but just because of the team politics he caused some damaged more than Waqar. If we could ignore politics, I'd have preferred Wasim as coach.
6-3 to Wasim, so far....
and I agree with the majority...
Waqar had one stock ball, that deadly inswinger, but Wasim had guile and variety....he could fool you in so many ways, it was just not possible to predict him....