Recently on Twitter I was asked who I thought the best fast bowler was since 1970. It got me thinking, so here is what I reckon. And yes, I am expecting to be challenged significantly by all of you out there in the ‘Roar-iverse’
Given the wealth of nominees in the past 42 years it is a little like being asked to nominate which one of your five children you love the most.
First of all, let’s discount some high quality bowlers who boast very fine records but in my estimation all fall short of the top-10. I should point out that I am assessing players on their Test performances only.
Interestingly, I don’t think there is a true candidate from England despite the claims of the likes of Bob Willis (325 wickets), Ian Botham (383) and James Anderson (288).
Chaminda Vaas (355), Mkaya Ntini (390), Brett Lee (310), Zaheer Khan (295), Jason Gillespie (259) and Jeff Thomson (200) have all put up very solid numbers, but again, I can’t see them being inside the top-10, with the biggest no-show in my opinion being Kapil Dev (434).
Of the current quicks, Dale Steyn is the only contender, but having said that I am leaving him out as he is still going around. I am limiting my selections to players have finished their careers.
His record is superb – 312 wickets at 23.7. He is an old-fashioned fast bowler in that he genuinely swings the ball, old or new. His strike rate is the best of any bowler to have claimed 300-plus wickets, a staggering 42.
Having 19 five-wicket hauls from just 62 Tests underlines his outstanding abilities. At the age of 29 he has the potential to capture over 500 Test wickets.
He has two countrymen who had stellar careers – Allan Donald and Shaun Pollock.
Donald, dubbed ‘White Lightning’, bowled with a beautiful high action at genuine speed. He was 25 by the time he debuted, honing his skills in both South Africa and England as his country of birth saw out the last years of its international ban.
He could move the ball both ways and struck at a rate of a wicket every 47 balls, capturing 330 at 22.3 in his 72 Tests, including 22 five-wicket hauls. On the sub-continent, he averaged a superb 20.3 while against the powerful Australian line-up his 29 wickets came at 28.4.
Pollock was a bowler very much in the Glenn McGrath mould, bowling almost exclusively stump to stump. Hailing from a famous South African cricketing family he relied more on seam than swing.
Early on he was extremely miserly, averaging under 21 after his first 78 Tests before ending up with 421 wickets at 23.1. Australia was a thorn in his side with his 32 wickets coming at 34.3. In 108 Tests he captured 16 five-wicket hauls and ten in a match just the once.
It is impossible to talk about pace bowlers of the past four decades without reflecting on the astounding array put forward by the West Indies. Of those to terrorise opponents in the 1970s and ‘80s, I have four candidates for the top-10, with apologies to Andy Roberts in particular.
Malcolm Marshall is a stand-out. Unusually short for a Caribbean quick, he broke one of the major tenets of fast bowling, namely that you can’t bowl effective out-swingers with a front-on delivery action.
Marshall destroyed that theory with a wonderfully controlled out-swinger delivered at genuine pace and given his height his deliveries appeared to skid onto the bat.
In 87 Tests he notched up 376 wickets at 20.9, striking every 47 balls. He was an all-surface bowler, averaging 20.1 at home and 21.6 away. He was particularly successful in the sub-continent, capturing his 71 wickets at 23.0.
Joel Garner was a giant in every way, standing 203cm he made life at times near impossible for batsmen. Whist not express, what was a drive-able length to most bowlers was played off the chest when facing Garner. His pin-point yorker proved a test for any batsman.
Through 58 Tests he captured his 259 wickets at a miserly 21.0 with a strike rate of 51. Interestingly, he played 29 Tests both home and away with an average of 22.3 in the Caribbean and 19.7 on the road, although his average in Australia was 34.3.
He very seldom opened the bowling given the wealth of talent and pace, among his teammates. That fact contributed significantly to the fact that he took five in an innings on just seven occasions.
Curtly Ambrose was another extremely tall West Indian quick at 201cm. Like Roberts before him he was largely a silent assassin, save for a highly publicised verbal altercation mid-pitch with Steve Waugh.
Like Garner, one of his main weapons was the height from which he delivered the ball, although he did at a far greater pace than ‘Big Bird”. When on song he was virtually unplayable.
This was never better illustrated than his amazing spell of 7 for 1 at the WACA Ground in in 1992-93. Late in his career when his blistering pace deserted him he became an expert in subtle nip off the pitch.
In all, he captured 405 wickets at 21.0 from 98 Tests with a strike rate of 54. Against England his 164 wickets came at 18.8, while he averaged 21.2 across his 128 scalps against Australia.
Michael Holding was simply poetry in motion as he glided to the crease off one of the longest run-ups in the game. ‘Whispering Death’ was a true express bowler who could maim just as efficiently as he captured wickets.
At The Oval in 1981 he delivered what is widely regarded as the most menacing over in history when he pummelled Geoff Boycott. He played 60 Tests and snared 249 scalps at 23.7, striking at 51. He was Mr Consistency averaging the same away as he did at home, even though 163 wickets came on foreign soil.
Courtney Walsh was cricket’s version of the Eveready Bunny. He seemed to be perennially on the field in both domestic and international cricket.
In the latter he churned out over 30,000 deliveries through 132 Tests, capturing 519 wickets at 24.4. He was another of the long line of tall West Indian quicks with his high delivery action from wide of the stumps, which was a perilous mix for batsmen.
He shared a successful opening partnership with Ambrose although late in his career he was forced to shoulder much of the work himself.
When it comes to the Black Caps’ quicks, there really is only one through their history in the international game – Sir Richard Hadlee.
He was an almost fanatical character with many believing cricket was on his brain 24/7. No great bowler has ever had to shoulder his team’s fortunes in the field more than Hadlee.
Without being disrespectful to his teammates, none held a candle to the man who retired with a world record 431 wickets at 22.3 from 86 Tests. He struck at 51 and on 36 occasions he captured five in an innings and nine times ten in a match.
On the 1985/86 tour of Australia he was devastating with the highlight being a haul of 9/52 at Gabba and 15 for the match.
He was genuinely quick early on but over time he lessened his pace and bowled his out-swingers very much stump-to-stump with great effect. He mastered sub-continental conditions with his 68 wickets coming at just 21.6 and captured his 51 wickets against the might of the West Indian line-up at 22.0.
Pakistan has a trio in the mix for the top-10 – Imran Khan, Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis.
Imran was a champion all-rounder and with the ball he was superb – 88 Tests, 362 wickets at 22.8. He played in an era when the West Indies were the dominant force in the game, although looking at Imran’s figures against them you wouldn’t think so as he claimed his 80 wickets at just 21.0.
Bowling with a front-on action from wide of the crease he hooped the ball back into the right-handers at pace.
Wasim generated tremendous pace, thanks in the main to his broad shoulders as his run-up was one of the shortest around.
For many batsman the ball seemed to arrive before they were ready for it. He is the most lethal left-arm quick of all-time with 414 wickets at 23.6 from his 104 Tests. His ability to swing the ball back to the right-handers late in his trajectory was often unplayable.
His partner in crime, although not in life given their often tumultuous relationship, Waqar was perhaps the finest exponent of old ball swing. His in-swinging yorkers delivered at considerable pace often shattered the batsman’s stumps, if not their toes.
His 87 Tests produced 373 wickets at 23.6 with a top-notch strike rate of 43. He struggled in Australia however, with his seven Tests producing just 14 wickets at 40.5.
And what of the Australian candidates? I think there are two certainties – Dennis Lillee and Glenn McGrath.
The Lillee name is legend. His approach to the crease in his prime was a delight to watch a combination of balance and power.
Broad of shoulder and strong of heart he was the quintessential macho man of the 1970s. He went from outright express to medium fast thanks in the main to ongoing problems with stress fractures in his back.
A master of away swing, he played 70 Tests and retired as the world record holder with 355 wickets at 23.9.
He made the then often low and slow MCG his own. Buoyed by a chanting crowd he captured 82 wickets there at 21.9 in 14 Tests with seven five-wicket hauls. One downside during his career was his performances in the sub-continent where he played just four Tests, capturing his six wickets at 68.
McGrath, I believe, will be looked upon in an even greater light in years to come. A total of 124 Tests produced a world best for pace bowlers, a mountainous 563 wickets at 21.6.
From a substantial height he nipped the ball off the pitch with a very much stump-to-stump mentality. He was a master of line and length with batsmen often drawn to play more deliveries than they would like.
At his best and with a pitch that suited he could single-handedly destroy a team – 8/24 against Pakistan in Perth and 8/38 at Lord’s are both classic examples. He was extremely successful on the sub-continent, playing 17 Tests for 72 wickets at 23.
OK, now the tough bit, my top-10. Cue the music and sharpen the knives!
1 Malcolm Marshall
2 Curtly Ambrose
3 Glenn McGrath
4 Dennis Lillee
5 Richard Hadlee
6 Wasim Akram
7 Joel Garner
8 Imran Khan
9 Allan Donald
10 Michael Holding
Over to you, but please…be gentle!
Ankit Singh
Guest
Quite the opposite: Khan was a better bowler owing to the superior training resources he had in the FC circuit of England and then the WSC in Australia, whilst Kapil contrary to public opinion was a better all-rounder. Stats might say otherwise, but most of Kapil's best batting performances were more impactful to the team's fortunes, be it his match winning 84(of just 96 balls) against a strong pakistan team at Chennai during the 1979-80 home series (Kapil also took 11 wickets in the same test), an extremely fast 89(took just 55 balls, was on the verge of being the fastest century ever before Viv Richards' 56 ball ton) against England at Lord's during the 1981-82 to (with rival Ian Botham at his peak) in India's second innings after being forced to follow-on by over 250 runs but India managed to avoid innings defeat and set a target of around 65(Kapil pinned England's chase at 14/3 at one point apart from taking 8 wickets in the test overall), his match saving run a ball century on an uneven Trinidad wicket against the West Indies pace quartet after India was on the verge of facing follow-on during the 1982-83 tour, his 119 in the historic tied test at Madras against Australia in 1986-87 where although the tourists had an average bowling attack they reduced India to within 150 still required to avoid follow-on when Kapil arrived on the crease and was jointly man-of-the-match alongside Dean Jones(who scored an epic 210), his 109 against the West Indies pace trio of Benjamin-Patterson-Walsh on a torrid Madras pitch which helped India set a total of 382 and set a platform for Hirwani's 16 wicket haul towards a comprehensive Indian victory and finally his 129 while batting with a fractured hand on a completely deteriorated Port Elizabeth pitch against the pace of Allan Donald when India were 31/6(India was all-out for 215, making Kapil account for 60% of the tally). I never found any of imran khan's knocks finding a special mention by Wisden despite the fact he finished with the best batting average amongst the quartet. Even as a bowler, Kapil had good feats. He took 72 wickets in 19 outings against the number one ranked West Indies team through the 80s at an average of 22.98 and 35 wickets in 9 tests in the Caribbean at an average of 23.11, with Haynes, Greenidge, Dujon, Richie Richardson and Viv Richards accounting for 32 of those 72 dismissed. Although he could play against a strong Australian side in only 8 of his 20 tests against them, he took 39 wickets@25.05 in those encounters with 25 wickets in 5 tests during his last ever tour down under in 1991-92, 14 of the 25 scalps being those of Mark Waugh, David Boon, Dean Jones, Allan Border and Mark Taylor. The cumulative batting average of the 434 batsmen dismissed by Kapil is 29.82, which puts him in the first quartile of elite bowlers alongside greats like Lillee(31.27), Marshall(30.24), Ambrose(30.15) and khan (29.88), just marginally ahead of Hadlee(29.55) and surprisingly way ahead of even better bowlers like akram(26.91), waqar (27.45) and Shaun Pollock (28.92), with only 123 of his wickets being from the batting order 8-11. The author who called Kapil a "no-show" should study cricketing basics.
Victor balakas
Guest
All fast bowlers mentioned is about right Dale styne should be included, l will give you my list so everyone can learn something My top 10 1- dennis lillee 2-malcolm marshall 3- dale stayne 4- richard hadlee 5- glen magrath 6- wasim akram 7- michael holding 8- ray lindwall 9- andy roberts 10-john snow
Ankit Singh
Guest
Regarding Kapil Dev, look at his statistics against the West Indies of the 80s: 72 wickets @22.98, striking at every 50 deliveries. Remember the 9/83 at Ahmedabad ? Against the Calypso Kings in their own backyard, he scalped 35 wickets @23 & struck at every 48 deliveries. If thats not enough, against the full-strength Australian batting line-up comprising of Greg Chappell, John Dyson, Kepler Wessels, Kim Hughes, Rodney Marsh & Allan Border(in the ’80-81series) & David Boon, Dean Jones, Steve Waugh, Mark Taylor & again Allan Border(in the ’91-92 series), Kapil accounted for 39 wickets in 8 tests @25.08 striking at every 47 deliveries. All the 8 tests were played in Australia, with 2 five-wicket hauls being grabbed on the spin-friendly SCG. The team Kapil most struggled against was England, because English batsmen were exceptionally good players of swing bowling, if not express bowling of the Caribbean bowlers, yet 2 of THE best English batsmen of the 80s struggled against Kapil Dev: Graham Gooch was dismissed 11 times @17.64 while David Gower was out 10 times @23.5 (including 2 ducks). Great bowlers like Mcgrath, Ambrose and Akram have been sought after due to the quality of batsmen they dismissed. In Kapil's case, from his debut in 1978 till his last test in 1994, only 4 batsmen with 6000 runs or more averaged over 50: Javed Miandad, Sunil Gavaskar, Allan Border & Viv Richards (Not counting Greg Chapell coz he retired in 1982 and scored only close to 2500 runs from 1978 onwards). Miandad, Border and Richards combined totalled 28546 runs @51.07, but against Kapil Dev on one-to-one basis, they averaged only 37.75 for 24 dismissals (Border 10 times, Miandad 7 times, Richards 7 times), thats a 27% deviation from their actual stats. In the same case with Imran Khan, the 3 batsmen Gavaskar, Border and Richards together scored 29836 runs @50.66 and continued their consistency one-on-one against Imran: Gavaskar averaged 50 for 10 dismissals, Border averaged 51.25 for 4 dismissals(across 23 innings). Only Richards had a poor record, 5 dismissals @25.2. Yet the 3 combined scored 831 runs @43.74 against Khan, displaying only 14% deviation from their overall stats. Between 1975 and 1995, Kapil accounted for 114 dismissals of batsmen with a tally of 2500 runs or more and a batting average of over 40(credible for the period mentioned). While their combined average was 45.37, their head-to-head average against Kapil was only 34.28, thats a near 25% deviation from their career averages. Also, these 114 scalps are 26.25% of Kapil's career tally. If the scoring criteria for batsmen is brought down to 35, Kapil's tally is 180 i.e. 41% of his career. Hope I have made myself clear.
Ayaz
Roar Rookie
Where waqar
Ayaz siddiqui
Guest
Where WAQAR YOUNIS?
Christopher Warwick
Guest
If you don't include Jimmy Anderson as a genuinely great bowler, I think there is problem with the way you define great. He must be as good an opening bowler as anyone on your list, and I include Garner and Marshall in that.
Ankit Singh
Guest
If tests & ODI are taken into consideration at the same time, then Akram, Mcgrath, Donald & Garner are THE standout performers. If its only tests, Marshall is the Mt. Everest of fast-bowling i.e. UNCONQUERABLE. Be it the seam in England, the slow wickets of the subcontinent or the bouncy fire beds of Australia, Marshall was invincible. Regarding your comment that Kapil Dev was a NO-SHOW, look at his statistics against the West Indies of the 80s: 72 wickets @22.98 & striking at every 50 deliveries. Remember the 9/83 at Ahmedabad ? Against the Calypso Kings in their own backyard, he scalped 35 wickets @23 & struck at every 48 deliveries. If thats not enough, against the full-strength Australian batting line-up comprising of Greg Chappell, John Dyson, Kepler Wessels, Kim Hughes, Rodney Marsh & Allan Border(in the '80-81series) & David Boon, Dean Jones, Steve Waugh, Mark Taylor & again Allan Border(in the '91-92 series), Kapil accounted for 39 wickets in 8 tests @25.08 striking at every 47 deliveries. All the 8 tests were played in Australia, with 2 five-wicket hauls being grabbed on the spin-friendly SCG. The team Kapil most struggled against was England, because English batsmen were exceptionally good players of swing bowling, if not express bowling of the Caribbean bowlers. Hope I have made myself clear.
henry kerswell
Guest
Would like to know your assessment of Ray Lindwall, the great Australian
Peter Clark
Guest
Dennis Lillie without doubt. Dennis had everything, pace swing & the ability to cut the ball either way plus the mental aptitude. Some batsmen were out before they came through the gate.
Haroon
Guest
I believe Waqar Younis deserves to be included in the list. His ranks second or third in the world to get 200 wickets in the least number of test matches,
Nadja
Guest
Bowled with some of the best bowlers in 1981. Have their signed autographs especially from Earl Anthony, Joe Berardi. Is it worth anything?
Firoz Ahmed
Guest
Wasim is the best bowler of All time. He is effective in all the conditions. Ambrose & McGrath struggled to get wickets in dead asian wickets where Wasim took more than 200 wickets in Asia. McGrath & Ambrose were great in bowling friendly wickets. But, Wasim was great in all conditions. Lara, Ganguly, Dravid, Kallis, Fleming, Viv Richards, Jayasurya all ranked Wasim the best they played against.
Tehseen Bakhshi
Guest
A very good column I must say. Well done. I beg to differ over McGrath's inclusion though. The decision does not come upon how many wickets a bowler has taken. I would rather pick a bowler merely on the ability to run through a side. When McGrath started out in Test cricket he was not lethal. In time he honed his skills at the biggest stage. Learning and grooming while playing. That's a tough skill too and demands great intelligence and self belief. Towards the end of his playing days he was there with the top fast bowlers in his day. But that does not necessarily justify his inclusion into the top 10 fast bowlers. The bunch which you have selected is great and they had the ability of running through a side and that bit is what makes the difference. The ability to run through a side. Winning the match on their own. McGrath did not have that. He bowled tight and took wickets on batsmen making mistakes. Unlike Lillie, sending the stumps flying around, unlike Wasim, bamboozling the batter, unlike Ambrose - putting the fear of God in the batsmen's heart (with a few spectators thrown in too), unlike Donald, sheer dogged gut and guile. If you include McGrath purely on the basis of his record we are not doing justice. For pure skill I would have Waqar over McGrath. If Holding was poetry in motion then Waqar was a sheer delight to watch. Inspiring generations to bowl fast and bowl yorkers. But hey, we all have our opinions and I respect the bunch you have picked.
THE MASTER
Guest
I feel there is a lot of bias when it comes to discussing these issues.To me the graetest fast bowler needed to have been someone who possessed certain qualities such as the canny ability to dismiss a top order batsmen in any side he faced.he would also be as statistically efficient not neccesarily outstanding but should at least possess a strike rate of below 55 if not 52 and an average below 24 if not 22 .The greatest fast bowler versalite in having the ability to bowl at least any of these deliveries inswinger outswinger leg & offcutters and the mandatory bouncer at realtively high speed( with my range of pace being 135-160km+).he would also be adaptable and suceessful in all pitches he bowled to espclly the subcontinent at least average below 24 there thus a couple of 5 fors.To me all these qualities would constitute the greatest fast fast bowler of all time and from what the dicsussion above heres my top ten 1.Malcom Marshall : if he had swapped places with Hadlee we would have seen more greater figures with these bloke but still sharing wickets with three other greats and still rising above them i must say that is an incredible achievemnt.a versatile bowler who thrived in all conditions,a Once Dennis Lillee understudy who took his research from his lecture and bettered it to remain statistiaclly efficient and equally up to the task of testing the best batsmen"s techniques he remains my one 1.No contender in sight 2.Dennis Lillee : Well the top rated bowler of the seventies(undisputed) possesed a graceful stride towards the crease, the God father of fast bowling,the man who redifined the role of a fast bowler and showed that with lesser pace a fast bowler can cause much damage with greater controll and sublte varations and with the mandatory swing.The reason why he doesnt top thecharts is because he was the Prototype modell a complete bowler who was used as a modell to the sucesses of the likes of Hadlee marshall etc. 3.Richard Hadlee: Well love it or not this guy was damn Good 36 5 fors of 86 tests matches a 9 for 52 against Australia with simple use of controll at medium fast pace to me this Guy is jusy Good.Playing for an underdog side and carrying the bowling load this guy is exceptional his abiltity to ensure that the opposition sides where bowled out through taking the majority of the opposition batsman shows his supreme skill. another lilllee understudy he traded in pace for controll.say what you like this guy was Good his record in the subcontinent is the most impressive of the top 5 bowlers im am soon to list. 4.Wasim Akram: The most skilled bowler of all time and the Greatest lefhander by a long shor, his ability to master swing bowling greater than all of the above,confuse batsmen or simply LBW them or Bowl them out was a common feature with this bloke.reverse swing co founder and the chief master of it.none greater than this skilled left hander 5.Dale steyn: Whether we love it or not this bloke is there now statistcally he is the greatest of them all strike rate at 42 avrage at 22.65 340 wickts in 67 matches his stats can be pinned against any of these above him and still compete if not better them.his only weakness in australian average of 28 which by morden standards is a damn Good average.In this morden era which is batsmen friendly pitches.Dale steyn currently sits alone at the top of the bowling table regularly scoring over 900 pointsin ratings over the last three years and over 850 points in the five years he has been unmatched.with only phialnder joining him recently with his insanely ridiculous statistics theyr like Greek Gods sitting on Mount Olympus looking down upon mortals(the Andersons broads siddles et
Ahmed
Guest
I would say Akram,Akram. Waqar Holding, Marshal, Hall
Dr. Guramritpal Singh
Guest
Well i guess you seem to have underestimated Dennis Lillee & Richard Hadlee.Modern day fast bowlers have a lot of support staff to look for,bowling coaches,training regimes etc.If these legends had that kind of facilities available to them they would have done a lot better more consistently. My Top Ten 1. Malcolm Marshall 2. Dennis Lillee 3. Richard Hadlee 4. Andy Roberts 5. Glenn McGrath 6. Allan Donald 7. Curtly Ambrose 8. Waqar Younis 9. Wasim Akram 10. Imran Khan
martin
Guest
I don't think it's fair to include Larwood as the TV footage of his era simply isn't good enough so that excludes Truman, Tyson, Hall etc. Leaving out the current crop (where only Steyn and possibly Anderson would get a look in anyway), here's my list based on how I regarded them when they were active rather than sheer stats. Also, you would want four to work as a unit so you might as well pick Holding, Marshall, Garner and Roberts and forget the rest! 1. Lillee - deadly and poetry in motion 2. Waqar - unstoppable at times 3. McGrath - the most consistent fast bowler 4. Holding - all grace and menace 5. Marshall - defied all the pre-conceptions about a fast bowler 6. Ambrose - absolutely fearsome 7. Donald - textbook fast bowler 8. Hadlee - the thinking man's pace bowler 9. Garner - someone you simply wouldn't want to face 10. Botham - down the list due to his lower pace than the rest but the ultimate competitor (sorry Imran!)
Amil
Guest
It is totally a wrong comment . Kapil Dev is the best bowler among all Indians but not in the world . Yes , he is an superior all rounder with in all time best of 5 but as a bowler he should not be listed with in alltime best of 10 . On the other hand , majority former test cricketers and cricket journalists list Imran Khan as a bowler with in alltime best of 10 . My all time best bowlers are - 1. Dennis Lilly 2.Sydney Barnes 3.Richard Hadlee 4.Malcom Marshall 5.Glenn Mcgrath 6.Wasim Akram 7.Imran Khan 8.Michel Holdingle 9.Curtly Ambrose 10.Joel Garner My best 5 all rounders are - 1. Gary sobers 2.Imran khan 3.Kapil Dev 4.Ian Botham 5.Jack Kallis
Harsh Thakor
Guest
Great list,Glen.Personally i would place Dennis Lillee and Malcolm Marshall at the very top.Both posessed every element of the perfect pace bowler be it accuracy,pace control,movement,or versatality.Lille was marginally quicker and more classically versatile but Marshall was more deceptive and innovative.I canot seperate them.For consistency of speed through the air and perfection of bowling action Michael Holding was at the very top.For sheer versatality ,natural ability and mastery of reverse swing Wasim Akram was the very best.Wasim was a magician and best paceman with the old ball.- with Imran Khan,who pioneered the art of reverse swing.For control Richard Hadlee and Glen Mcgrath were jointly at the top.For sheer accuracy Joel Garner was the king just scraping Curtly Ambrose. If one analyzed on a statistical basis during peak period Richard Hadlee would come out on top who bagged 330 wickets in 60 tests from 1978 to 1988. and that too bearing the brunt of a very weak team.He would be closely followed by Imran Khan who in his peak period captured 236 quickest in 40 test matches with the best strike rate of all paceman.from 1980-88..In overall career Hadlee and Mcgrath would be at the top in terms of statistical performance.- closely followed by Marshall and Lillee.Morally Lillee captured 459 wkts in 89 test matches in if you add stats of Packer Cricket from 1977-79 and games versus rest of the world in 1972.Imran Khan was the best performer against the mighty West Indies,which is significant. Combining statistics with bowling prowess is important as certain great bowlers are hardly flattered by statistics.Andy Roberts,is the best example who was as complete as Dennis Lillee as a bowler with his great repertoire.Lillee rated him the best paceman he ever saw.I cannot separate Andy Roberts and Michael Holding but for sheer bowling skill Roberts was the equal of Marshall and Lillee.Sunil Gavaskar,Barry Richards and the Chappell brothers rate him the best West Indian bower they ever faced.No paceman bowled so much like Dennis Lillee as Andy Roberts.He had 2 bounders of different speed and a superb outswinger and off-cutter.In Packer cricket he was oustanding capturing 50 wickets at around 24 runs apiece.Roberts solely spearheaded the West Indian attack in India in 1970 when he captuted 32 wickets at an average of 19 wickets and in Australia when he took 22 wickets at 26 run average. My list (overall) 1.Dennis Lillee/Malcolm Marshall 3.Richard Hadlee 4.Glen Mcgrath 5.Wasim Akram 6.Imran Khan 7.Curtly Ambrose 8.Waqar Younus 9.Andy Roberts/Michael Holding On the basis of sheer skill my rating would be 1.Wasim Akram 2.Malcolm Marshall 3.Dennis Lillee/Andy Roberts 5.Michael Holding 6.Glen Mcgrath/Richard Hadlee 8.Imran Khan 9.Waqar Younus 10.Alan Donald In terms of statistical performance my list would be 1.Richard Hadlee 2.Glen Mcgrath 3.Malcolm Marshall 4.Imran Khan 5.Dennis Lillee 6.Dale Steyn 7.Alan Donald 8.Curtly Ambrose 9.Waqar Younus 10..Wasim Akram My 5 certainties Lillee Marshall Mcgrath Hadlee Wasim /Imran 5 probables Alan Donald Ambrose Waqar Imran/Wasim Andy Roberts Holding I would love your opinion,Glen.I appreciate your efforts and criteria.
IA
Guest
1. Andy Roberts 2. Dennis Lillie 3. Glenn Mc Grath 4. Michael Holding 5. Joel Garner 6. Malcom Marshall 7. Alan Donald 8. Waqar Younis 9. Bob Willis 10. Curtley Ambrose