Is Pakistan's bowling going to be better than Australia's?

[John]

The reason I ask this is because when you look at Australia attack this summer it didn't look great.
ie Lee, "Gillespie", Kaspa and Warne in one Test. Remember "" indicates not the Gillespie we have known.
If I look at the Pakistan bowling Akthar is surely the equal of Lee if not better. Kaneria is not Shane Warne but still a useful spinner. Than there is Sami and Gul who I don't really know much about as far as recent form.
The thing is Pakistan can put out five bowlers and as England have shown this creates an extra option. Australia's four man bowling option worked when McGrath was fit. It was actually one of the only points I am made before the Ashes which turned out to be valid. I asked with an ageing bowling attack wouldn't Australia best have five bowlers of some description?
So the question is can Pakistan put out a better attack than the one listed above? Everyone being fit.

[Zainub]

On top form (and only when on top form) an attack of Lee, McGrath, Warne, Gillespie/Casper would still be in my opinion the best, most well balanced all round bowling attack in the world. However as Gillespie was in the worst form of his life, Casper was too inconsistent, McGrath's was not always fit and Lee was at times unlucky England found themselves in the unusual position of having a better performing bowling attack then the opposition's in an Ashes series (and remarkably this was when Warne had his best ever Ashes).

I don't think I'm brave enough to suggest our bowling could be better then Australia this winter, I can hope for it to be, and perhaps I even know somewhere in the bottom of my heart that we can be if we want to and try hard enough, but I admit I don't have the guts to actually suggest that for a certainty. So to answer your question, no, I don't think our bowling is going to be superior then Australia's.

[Rachael]

In a word: no. Not if past evidence is anything to go by, anyway. I don't know that anyone's even too clear who the better bowlers might be: Akhtar has done more than the rest... but it's early days to be judging many of the others. Equally, whilst Kaneria's clearly respectable... I can think of at least 2 older spinners who ain't likely to figure who are arguably better!

The key point, though, is that the pitches will be very different: Pakistan in England would be about as challenging a prospect as the WI in England... but if the pitch preparation is right... England might only be facing 30 overs of seambowling per innings!

[Zainub]

30 overs of seam bowling an innings? I'd consider that an improbability (if our pitches of the last 2 seasons are any evidence to go by).

And with due respect Kaneria's a little more then just respectable - he's the best young leg spinner in the world.

[John]

If Pakistan cannot match the bowling attack of Lee, "Gillespie", Kaspa and Warne.
Then their bowling is the state as ours (SA).
Because the Australian attack I name is ordinary. So world bowling is in a dire state. Only England and Australia (when fit) provide decent attacks and everyone else is nowhere.

[Maranello]

Originally Posted by John

Is Pakistan's bowling going to be better than Australia's?

Fat chance. Never has been in the past few years, so would be extremely unexpected if it is now. Of course, the whole attack could suddenly metamorphose into a challenging bowling unit, but there are too many ifs, and too many things that can potentially go wrong.

Maybe, in a few series time, if Shoaib works on his fitness, we could have something interesting, as the younger boys would have more experience by then. An attack of Shoaib Akhtar, Umar Gul, M. Sami, Kaneria and Razzaq/Afridi has potential on paper, all it needs is the right coaching and learning opportunities before it can begin to deliver.

[Rachael]

To be fair.. you wouldn't expect the groundsmen in Pakistan to set spinner-friendly pitches when Harbhajan and Kumble are touring.. or when Muralitharan and friends are touring.. but when SA came to visit... most of the bowling was spin.

http://uk.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/20...21OCT2003.html
http://uk.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/20...28OCT2003.html

The figures for the first innings of the first Test are as follows:

Bowling                      O      M      R      W
Shoaib Akhtar               14      1     62      2 (4nb)
Mohammad Sami               13      2     66      1 (11nb)
Mushtaq Ahmed               18      1     80      0
Danish Kaneria              21      2     65      2 (2nb)
Shoaib Malik                17      4     42      4 (2nb)

Now.. that's 27 overs of seam in the first innings.... and 56 overs of spin!

There were 34 overs of seam out of 84.3 bowled in the second innings... and in the second test the figures were 48 / 99.1 overs and 52.3/127.3 overs...

Now.. if you were the coach and you had England coming to visit.. and you'd seen what Murali and Warne have both done to England... and you had seen what the Aussies did to Mohammad Sami, Abdul Razzaq and Naved-ul-Hasan.. and even to Shoaib Akhtar (who was at best patchy)... wouldn't you be encouraging the preparation of pitches that turned square from day one?

Personally I'd be working on very lush outfields as well... so that Flintoff and Jones couldn't get reverse swing!

[Maranello]

Another interesting thing about that Pak/SA series was that Pakistan actually played the same pair of opening batsmen in all four innings, something unheard of under Woolmer. And the boys did not disappoint: Taufiq Umar and Imran Farhat put on opening stands in excess of 100 on 3 of the 4 occasions*, and hence the combination was discarded soon thereafter, obviously!


*Gibbs and Smith could not manage it even once, in fact they crossed 50 only once in that tour, managing 52 on that occasion.

[Rachael]

I'd be preparing tracks to warrant the recall of Mushtaq Ahmed myself: his county championship form this year, as last, suggest that batsmen in this country can't cope with him: the folowing is in Division ONe of the County Championship... on a lot of pitches that ain't that friendly for spinners:

547.1 overs, 74 maidens, 1966 runs, 75 wickets at an average of 26.21 with a best of 6-44, 4 x 5 wicket hauls and 1 x 10 wicket haul.

[Zainub]

Originally Posted by Rachael

Now.. if you were the coach and you had England coming to visit.. and you'd seen what Murali and Warne have both done to England... and you had seen what the Aussies did to Mohammad Sami, Abdul Razzaq and Naved-ul-Hasan.. and even to Shoaib Akhtar (who was at best patchy)... wouldn't you be encouraging the preparation of pitches that turned square from day one?Personally I'd be working on very lush outfields as well... so that Flintoff and Jones couldn't get reverse swing!

Great post there Rachael, and what a perfectly splendid plan as well! Just one problem here though...I am not the coach!