Wasim Akram was the best bowler I ever faced, says Jacques Kallis

Islamabad: South African cricketer Jacques Kallis has revealed that former Pakistani quick Wasim Akram was the best pace bowler he had ever faced during his long and successful career.

The veteran cricketer said in an interview that Akram was the best opening fast bowler he had ever faced as his ability to swing the ball in both ways with pace made him a dangerous force to reckon with on the field. Choosing Akram from a choice of fast bowling legends like Courtney Walsh, Curtley Ambrose, Glenn McGrath, Brett Lee and Waqar Younis , Kallis said that Akram`s pace attack combined with Younis` reverse swinging made them a formidable force against any team, adding that the deadly Akram-Younis duo was the best combination that Pakistan had ever had. Kallis further said that Australian legend Shane Warne was the best spinner that he played against because of his accuracy and the perfectness of his leg-spinning. The Proteas great also said that the best batsman he had bowled against was West Indies legend Brian Lara, rating him above Indian maestro Sachin Tendulkar because of Lara`s ability to manipulate the field. Kallis` 13,128 runs at Test level in 162 matches which also includes 44 hundreds and his 288 wickets coupled with his impressive ODI record of 11,498 runs and 270 wickets makes him unarguably a unique individual in world of cricket, the report added. ANI