Ponting names Akram, Akhtar as best and quickest bowlers he faced

Former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting has named bowling greats Wasim Akram and Shoaib Akhtar as the best and the quickest fast bowlers respectively that he ever faced in his career.

When asked on Twitter by a fan which bowlers he did not like to bat against, Ponting said that Akram and West Indies' Curtley Ambrose were "easily the best fast bowlers I’ve ever faced", adding that "Shoaib Akhtar was clearly the quickest."

However, he said that India's Harbhajan Singh got him out the most number of times.

While Ponting clearly has admiration for Pakistan's former pace stars, he has a very low opinion of the current cop, signified by his scathing criticism during the recent Pak-Australia Test series.

"They (Pakistan’s bowlers) have been poor. Their bowling attack is terrible really for a Test attack," Ponting had told cricket.com.au.

"I’m not sure I have seen a worse bowling attack on our shores in a long time," he said.