Best post war pacer

[C_C]

I am limiting this to post war as statistically, one can make a good argument about Sydney Barnes, Lohmann,Spofforth etc. but none of us saw them and cricket back then was a totally different ballgame( about as far away from the interwar cricket as interwar cricket is from modern day cricket).

So post war, who would be the best pacer in your opinion.

There are several great ones to choose from...Malcolm Marshall, Denis Lillee, Richard Hadlee, Glenn McGrath, Alan Davidson, Fred Trueman, Ray Lindwall, Keith Miller, Imran Khan, Curtley Ambrose, Allan Donald, Kapil Dev, Michael Holding,Courtney Walsh, Andy Roberts, Joel Garner, Jeff Thompson, Wes Hall, Waqar Younis etc etc etc.

However, in my opinion, the four most complete fast bowlers were Denis Lillee, Malcolm Marshall,Wasim Akram and Imran Khan
They had it all - pace, swing,seam, variety and nous.
This is not to say that they are better than the rest, but they had all the ingredients.

But if i am to pick one- the one bowler i would take in my team above all-it has to be this guy who performed on ALL surfaces, against ALL opposition, had brutal pace, one of the best ball-movement in the air and was one of the best ever thinking bowler....

He is what you would get if you combined the fiery pace of Allan Donald, the steep bounce of Curtley Ambrose, the metronomic consistency of Glenn McGrath and variety second only to Akram.


could swing the ball both ways, bowl any kind of delivery and was one of the best ever movers of the ball in the air.....the way his deliveries would seam before pitching had batsmen the world over bamboozled.
And sadly, he is one of those greats who is no longer with us.
He is the great Malcolm Denzil Marshall.

 

[age_master]

Marshall or McGrath

haven't seen to much footage of marshall, seen plenty of mcgrath.

doubt anyone could match the sheer accuracy and consistancy of McGrath though

 

[C_C]

Marshall or McGrath

haven't seen to much footage of marshall, seen plenty of mcgrath.

doubt anyone could match the sheer accuracy and consistancy of McGrath though

Marshall for one did....and Ambrose for another...most definately did.
He was the 'original McGrath' in the latter part of his career when his frightening pace had deserted him.
Ambrose in his prime is what you get when you bump up McGrath's pace by 5-10Kph and Marshall is what you get when you combine Pace of Donald(or a bit faster), control of McGrath and an assorted bag of variety second only to Akram.

 

[Swervy]

the three best for me (one that I saw regularly) were in no particular order Lillee,Hadlee and marshall

 

[C_C]

well pick one swervmeister

 

[Swervy]

well pick one swervmeister

I honestly couldnt,they were each as effective as the others..never seen a bowler as controlled as Hadlee,never seen a bowler use cut off the pich like Lillee and never seen a bowler of Marshall's pace use swing in such a controlled and effective manner as MDM

 

[C_C]

ok.
lets say we are playing cricket the backyard style- where you and i are the captains and we take turns chosing our players.
MDM, DKL and RH are all available.
Who would be your first pick ?

 

[Swervy]

ok.
lets say we are playing cricket the backyard style- where you and i are the captains and we take turns chosing our players.
MDM, DKL and RH are all available.
Who would be your first pick ?

erm..ok....probably Hadlee

 

[C_C]

Phew.
i finally got ya to commit to an answer !

 

[Swervy]

Phew.
i finally got ya to commit to an answer !

hehehe..yeah but I feel uneasy about it

 

[bryce]

lol he probaly picked him because he can bat aswell

 

[C_C]

OI !!
just as i was breathing a sigh of relief by getting the swervemeister not to swerve this one, you blew open the gates of hell.

Swervy- in the backyard cricket game, neither of Lillee,Marshall or Hadlee gets to bat. They just bowl and thats it. Hope your answer still remains the same!

 

[Swervy]

lol he probaly picked him because he can bat aswell

no i didnt even think about batting...but now you mention it that might tip it Hadlee's way if I were picking a team for a backyard game..but then again Marshall knew how to hold a bat as well

 

[Swervy]

OI !!
just as i was breathing a sigh of relief by getting the swervemeister not to swerve this one, you blew open the gates of hell.

Swervy- in the backyard cricket game, neither of Lillee,Marshall or Hadlee gets to bat. They just bowl and thats it. Hope your answer still remains the same!

ok..I will still stick with my choice of Hadlee

 

[Buddhmaster]

We've had a few of these threads, and though it says post war, for me, the best bowlers of all time were all post war.

1:Lillee
2:Marshall
3:Hadlee
4.McGrath
4.Akram

Imran and Holding probably next.

 

[steds]

according to my grandad, it was Brian Statham.

"The best bowler I ever played with, or even saw." End of

 

[Swervy]

according to my grandad, it was Brian Statham.

"The best bowler I ever played with, or even saw." End of

who was your grandad???

 

[steds]

who was your grandad???

http://usa.cricinfo.com/link_to_database/PLAYERS/ENG/H/HOULTON_G_01030763/

 

[Swervy]

http://usa.cricinfo.com/link_to_database/PLAYERS/ENG/H/HOULTON_G_01030763/

nice one...what club did he used to play for..was it someone in St helens

 

[steds]

He played for Pilkingtons Recs in St. Helens, then after he played for Lancashire, he pro'd for Morecambe and Middleton