Lillee was greatest bowler: Miandad

LAHORE: Batting legend Javed Miandad believes Australian pacer Dennis Lillee was the greatest bowler of all times, saying he proved his class on every wicket he bowled on.

“I haven’t seen a bowler like him. He was a class bowler on every wicket,” he said on his YouTube Channel. Miandad, who scored 8,832 runs in 124 Tests, kept on taking names of fast bowlers like Australian Jeff Thomson and also lauded the West Indies pace bowlers of his time including Michael Holding, Joel Garner, Malcolm Marshall and Patrick Patterson. “West Indies bowling was regarded as one of the best in the world and every player found it difficult to face them,” he said. The West Indies team’s strength was their fast bowling. “In Tests they used to play one innings and bowled out the other teams twice,” he said.

Miandad, who scored 7,381 runs in 233 ODIs, said Pakistan also became rich in the fast bowling department in the likes of former Pakistan 1992 World Cup winning captain Imran Khan, Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis.

Speaking on how must players improve themselves, Miandad said when a player is bowled out, he must go home and think on how he was dismissed and what mistakes he made. “He should then revise and not repeat the same mistake again. Talk to yourself and you will get the answer from the inside on how to improve,” he said.

Miandad also coached the Pakistan team on separate occasions in 1998, 2000 and 2003. Under his reign Pakistan defeated India in India (once in the Test series which ended 1–1, and once in the Asian Test Championship), won the tri-series in India, won the Asian Test Championship and won the 1999 Sharjah Cup in April. Pakistan also won the Sharjah Cup (March 2000), the Asia Cup (May–June 200), the West Indies tri-series and the test series in Sri Lanka. Pakistan clinched the Sharjah Cup (April 2003) and the home test series against South Africa.