Chadd Sayers was named Sheffield Shield player of the season this past week, but he’s still well back in the pecking order for an Ashes berth next summer.
Here I’ve ranked Australia’s top ten Test pace options.
1. Josh Hazlewood (NSW)
26 years old, 118 Test wickets at 25
Hazlewood isn’t just Australia’s best red-ball bowler, but also the ICC’s top-ranked Test paceman in the world. His unerring accuracy, sharp bounce and ability to move the ball just enough through the air and off the seam ensure that even elite batsmen rarely look at ease while facing him.
Hazlewood is a captain’s dream, due to his ability to remain effective in all conditions, as evidenced by the fact he averages 25 both home and away.
2. Mitchell Starc (NSW)
27 years old, 148 Test wickets at 28
It was tough to split Australia’s gun opening pair. Hazlewood is the better Test bowler, at this stage, but there is a case to be made that Starc is more irreplaceable. There is no bowler like him in the world – a 196cm left armer who swings the ball at 150kmh.
He adds wonderful variety to Australia’s attack, something which is missing from the England pace unit, for example.
3. James Pattinson (Victoria)
26 years old, 70 Test wickets at 26
Pattinson has been in rampant touch since returning to first-class cricket two months ago, taking 32 wickets at 16 from six matches.
After bowling well for Victoria in the Sheffield Shield final, the firebrand made a massive statement on debut for Notts in English county cricket this past week, grabbing match figures of 8-94 to go with a knock of 89*.
He is a natural strike bowler who seeks wickets as a priority and loves to intimidate batsmen with his pace and hostility. Pattinson’s strike rate of 46.8 in Tests is truly remarkable – the best by an Australian bowler (minimum 50 Test wickets) in the past 100 years.
4. Pat Cummins (NSW)
23 years old, 15 Test wickets at 24
Cummins possesses a rare combination of express pace and impressive accuracy, as I detailed in a recent story for The Roar.
5. Jackson Bird (Tasmania)
30 years old, 34 Test wickets at 27
I was tempted to rank both Sayers and Behrendorff ahead of Bird. The lanky Tasmanian often looks innocuous at Test level, and I tend to be more impressed by that aforementioned pair than by Bird when I watch them play in the Shield. Yet Bird has made solid contributions across his stop-start Test career and his record is particularly impressive considering he’s never had a decent run in the Australian side to build form and confidence.
Perhaps Sayers and Behrendorff could outperform him in Tests, but they haven’t done it yet, so Bird deserves this ranking.
6. Chadd Sayers (South Australia)
29 years old, 229 first-class wickets at 23
Sayers would be a fantastic third quick to complement Hazlewood and Starc in Tests. Aside from his obvious quality, he is significantly slower than both men and about 20cm shorter, so he has a vastly different trajectory, which adds variety to the attack.
He also has a skill neither of them possess – the ability to swing the new and old ball in both directions. Among Test quicks worldwide, only England’s James Anderson has consistently achieved this. Crucially, Sayers has a rare capacity for bowling extremely long, tight spells, which would mean Australia would have less need for a batting all-rounder at six.
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7. Jason Behrendorff (Western Australia)
26 years old, 123 first-class wickets at 23
Behrendorff oozes quality. The 194cm-tall left armer swings the ball late and more consistently than Starc. He doesn’t have the startling speed of Starc, operating in the 133-140kmh range, but is comfortably more accurate. Behrendorff would make any other Test team in the world, bar South Africa.
He returned from injury late in the Shield season and immediately ran amok, taking 23 wickets at 14 from three matches, including a match haul of 14-89 against three-peat Shield champions Victoria.
8. Chris Tremain (Victoria)
25 years old, 119 first-class wickets at 25
Tremain has finished in the top-five wicket takers in the Shield in each of the past two seasons, for a combined haul of 78 wickets at 20. The 193cm right armer has hurrying pace, having reached 147kmh in his debut ODI series in South Africa last year, and also earns startling bounce.
Tremain’s biggest weapon, though, is his late outswinger, which so regularly kisses the outside edge of right-handed batsmen.
9. Joe Mennie (South Australia)
28 years old, 183 first-class wickets at 26
Mennie had a tumultuous and ever-so-brief stint in the Test team this past summer. The consistent seamer was surprisingly selected ahead of Bird and Sayers for the second Test against South Africa in Hobart in November.
On a green seamer which South Africa’s quicks exploited brilliantly, Mennie was unable to trouble the visiting batsmen on debut. He was one of four Australians who were dumped for the following Test.
10. Simon Mackin (Western Australia)
24 years old, 69 first-class wickets at 26
Mackin is the most speculative pick on this list, having played just 19 first-class matches for WA so far. At 203cm he is freakishly tall, which offers him an invaluable point of difference to other bowlers, but he isn’t a one-trick-pony who relies on his high release-point to earn wickets.
Mackin has impressive control and has shown the ability to slowly strangle batsmen. He is similar in style to Hazlewood, nagging away on an in-between length just outside off stump while moving the ball just enough.
Steve
Guest
Nice column, I like reading these sorts of yarns, as a cricket tragic but also a fast bowling lover. I disagree with this list though. In terms of talent, effectiveness in most conditions, ability to bowl against top-ranked players, and not relying on stats or ICC rankings (which obviously favour those actually playing international cricket), this list is flawed - and wowed by an ageing medium pacer's season of fortune. I won't go on and on with my own list, per se, but I will say that I doubt many international cricketers would have an issue facing Sayers on international pitches; and that Behrendorff is innocuous, rarely gets anywhere near "140km" as stated, does not "swing the ball more regularly than Starc", and would get pummelled if our top cricketers actually batted against him in Shield more often, too. My list of fast bowling "talent", is Cummins, Hazlewood, Starc, Pattinson, Stanlake, J.Richardson, Paris, Bird, Siddle, Tremain, Coulter-Nile, Boland, Behrendorff, K.Richardson, Sayers, Bollinger.
Ben
Guest
What's wrong qwetzen????
Matthew H
Guest
Heard about some Saffers retiring from international cricket to fill foreign... not foreign slots on County teams. There are rules about foreigners in County teams aren't there?
Rellum
Roar Guru
You can keep NCN. Monty is going nowhere.
MickyB
Guest
NCN should move to Qld... for WA he has probably now fallen behind Behrendorff, Makin, and Green plus Moody and Richardson in the mix. With Mitch Marsh also likely in the side as an all-rounder this coming summer NCN might not even be playing Shield cricket if he can't find a way out of WA. The Warriors would happily trade him for a bit of top order batting depth (Joe Burns would look good opening with Bancroft please!).
DJW
Guest
If we serve up roads again we will need a grunt bowler to do the siddle role. Sayers could fit that. All the rest are burst bowlers. Maybe Pattinson could bowl long spells too.
George
Guest
And if Warner were serious about trying to be anything above mediocre away from hard, flat pitches, he'd do the same.
Ben
Guest
I think Qwetzen has lost all credibility among roarers with this string of incoherent ramblings.
lara
Guest
i once mentioned that with amount of bowling talent that currently exists in the shiefield shield circles,wisdom ditactes that your administrators adopt an all out pace attack ,that is for non spinning decks.My argument to this approach,arises from the fact that, pound for pound,nathan lyon is not a champion spin bowler who can run through sides regularly,but he is at best a mitchell johnson who can either be hot or cold,but mostly cold without that devatasting ability of running thru sides on bouncy decks.So now it begs for the question that ,what would be better for the ashes test squad,a four pronged pace attack or the safety first approach of 3 quicks and lyon?....Mind you,even the west indies sides of the 1980s didnt alwys feature holding roberts garner and croft all the time.Rather the windies, like the current aussie situation, had a least 3 of their best wicket takers runing thru sides with fringe players like baptiste patterson daniel and walsh filling the 4th bowlers slot.In that way the windies were able to identify talents like your marshalls ambrose walsh and bishops who would in future lead the attack..so similarly with the current shield situation,having the likes of sayers doff and bird fill in for the injured quicks could strengthen the aussie side for years to come .Perhaps the question is how badly do your administrators want to dominate world crickt seeing that the talent is there...
Ronan O'Connell
Expert
Sameen I'm surprised that Sayers isn't playing county cricket - he would be hot property among county teams if he put himself up for contract. If he wants to make the 2019 Ashes squad he really needs to have a county stint and dominate over there to force the hand of the selectors.
Sameen
Guest
Add Kane richardson and joel paris to this list also, plus NCN. Chadd best chance of baggy green is in 2019 ashes as he best suited for english conditions. He should try for a county to get used to the conditions their. hazlewood should also opt for county next year as he was not able to adjust to the conditions during the 2015 ashes. On the other note for the limited over leg in India this october give behrendorff, paris(if fit), NCN(if fit) a chance as hazlewood and cummins will gain nothing when ashes is around the corner. also next WC is in england only so there is no point on playing this meaning less series. Squad for that ODI series in India: Warner,head,smith,handscomb,henriques,max,wade,stoinis,zampa,NCN,Behrendorff rest:paris,stanlake,agar,ferguson(played here in 2009 series deserves a chance) During 2009 odi series also attack was inexperienced (hilfenaus and dougie were inexperienced then and mackay debut in that series) but still aussie won.
Rellum
Roar Guru
QLD just has a bunch of guys who really are first change bowlers. Stanlake and maybe Nesser are the only guys who I would think could open the bowling for us in any sort of push for the title. A line up of Stanlake Nesser Stekete Swepson Could push for a Shield final, but I can never see them getting on the field together.
danno
Guest
Amazing no Qld quicks in a top 10 of fast bowlers. Wouldn't have seen that in the past 30 yrs. Likes of Rackemann, Thomson, Johnson, Bichel, Kasprowicz etc.
Ron
Guest
Well said Ronan
danno
Guest
I rate Kane Richardson higher than Mennie. Bowls with good pace and can get it to rip of a length.
Bo-peeep
Guest
Yep, he needs a quick spray of Peabo
Nudge
Guest
Geez mate, you're a fair dinkum laugh
Ronan O'Connell
Expert
I agree Rellum, I think the 5-bowler strategy, as enticing as it is, is probably best kept for a flat deck, although there's been a ton of those in Australia in recent years. If there's a bit in the pitch (Adelaide day-nighter) then the extra batting strength will definitely be needed.
qwetzen
Guest
Btb ROC, Because some people dig around to unearth stats which favour their pets, eg "[Josh Hazlewood is] the ICC’s top-ranked Test paceman in the world." then it seems fair to use the same source for less flattering figures. So, guess who's now ahead of Starc in the ICC rankings? Yep, it's that Kiwi version of Garry Sobers! Neil Wagner is the world's 9th ranked bowler. Actually their stats are amazingly close. Go figure.
Rellum
Roar Guru
I am always a 6-1-4 guy, I think even Ronan could confirm that, but even I would consider 5 bowlers for Aus pitches based on recent years. I guess that there might be some life next season based on what we saw at a couple of grounds last season. If there is road after road then perhaps 5 bowlers is the way to go. It will keep the physios, Pat Howard and CA with all the bowling restrictions they can play with.