Which side has the 2nd best bowling attack behind Australia

[aussie]

well over the last 12 months the answer to this question would be England. But lets have a look at what all the other other International Line-ups has to see if really if England can be justified to have the 2nd best bowling attack behind the aussies.

1. South Africa: Pollock, Ntini, Nel, Langevelt, Setyn & Boje. I reckon thats a pretty decent set of fast bowlers with Boje playing a similar role for them has Giles does for England.

2. Pakistan: Akhtar, Sami, Naved-ul-hasan, Shabbir, Umar-Gul, Rao, Danish & Saqlain. If Inzamam resolve his little problem with Akhtar & blokes like Sami & Rana become a bit more consistent they would have a fast bowling attack capable of troubling all batting line-ups, also if Saqlain can return to partner Kaneria, Pakistan's all round bowling attack wont look too bad.

3. New Zealand: Bond, Tuffey, Martin, Franklyn, Oram, Vettori & Wiseman. If Bond can return with the same pace that has troubled the aussies so many times in his short international career he will relieve a bit of stress on Vettori who without doubt the Kiwis Talisman with the ball, and along with those other good bowlers the Kiwis would also have an attack that can be competitive.

4. India: Pathan, Balaji, Khan, Nehra, Agarkar, Kumble, Harbhajan & Karthik. To me the Indian have a bunch of young talented pacers who all have ability to do well at this level but are not accomplished in all conditions, before the Pakistan series i felt Pathan was just huge but he was quickly brought back to earth with some ordinary bowling performances againts PAK. On the other hand the do have two world class spinners who when the have favourable surfaces to bowl on can run through anyside while Karthik seems to be a decent spinner. Overall i would say IND have an OK attack

5. Sri Lanka: Vaas, Malinga, Fernando, Nissanka, Zoysa, Murali, Chandana & Herath. Also a very capable attack lead by the great Murali & the ever present Vaas. With the emergence of stong & pacy Fernando & Nissanka & the exciting Malinga along with decent back up spin of Chandana & Herath, i would say SRI could say they have an attack that can fair well oversea's has well has at home.

6. West Indies: Collins, Edwards, Best, Powell, Collymore, Lawson etc..., they have a very inconsitent bowling attack with Collins who most likely can be consider the best. Guys like Edwards, Best & Lawson all have good pace & have had their odd days in test cricket but are just soooooooooooooo inconsistent.

waiting to hear your views

 

[Top_Cat]

When bowling well, Pakistan has a really good attack (Akhtar, Sami, Kaneria with Naved to back them up) but consistently, I'd say England's position in world cricket is reflected by the strength in their bowling.

 

[aussie]

When bowling well, Pakistan has a really good attack (Akhtar, Sami, Kaneria with Naved to back them up) but consistently, I'd say England's position in world cricket is reflected by the strength in their bowling.

ah yes that's a very good point top cat, England's bowling is defiantely the link that has put them in # 2 spot

 

[cameeel]

England i think, closely followed by Pakistan, and India has some good spin bowlers, just no elite pace bowlers, so in the sub continent India's bowling has the capability to do some damage

 

[Prince EWS]

Undiputedly England. Not just the actual bowlers, but the way they work as a unit and how they complement each other beatutifully.

Hoggard - Very good swing bowler who can double up as a stock bowler when the ball gets a bit older.

Harmison - Fast, aggressive, boucy bowler. The tareaway strike bowler in the side.

Flintoff - Plays a similar role to Harmison, but is more a smarter and more accurate bowler, and doesnt rely on pace.

Jones - Come into his own in the second innings, and can afford to be picked basically exclusively on this due to the role of Flintoff. Inconsistant bounce makes him almost unplayable.

Giles - The perfect support bowler in recent times. Can hold an end up, and has become a more thinking bowler in recent series and can take wickets even when the pitch doesnt suit him. I've bagged him before, but he fits in perfectly with the England side ATM, and his batting is also a very good bonus.

I think this can also be attributed to consistancy is selection. Apart from the ocassional swap between Anderson and Jones, the selectors have stuck with the same attack and it has paid off. They all know their role and do it well.

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

England by a fair margin. Then probably South Africa, Pakistan and India. Also, with Malinga looking very impressive and Murali and Vaas around as well, a complete Sri Lankan attack could be very good. We have yet to see as Malinga and Murali haven't played together with Vaas.

 

[tooextracool]

i dont think theres much contest.england's ahead of all of them. i think india, SL, NZ and Wi have laughable bowling attacks. pakistan, well unless they have akhtar, shabbir and gul in the same side, they are extremely poor too(and dont even try to defend it with their performances in india, they are all rubbish bowlers). SA well nel adds a new dimension to their bowling attack and ntini may just have stopped bowling rubbish away from home, but their still short a quality spinner and still behind england IMO.

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

i dont think theres much contest.england's ahead of all of them. i think india, SL, NZ and Wi have laughable bowling attacks. pakistan, well unless they have akhtar, shabbir and gul in the same side, they are extremely poor too(and dont even try to defend it with their performances in india, they are all rubbish bowlers). SA well nel adds a new dimension to their bowling attack and ntini may just have stopped bowling rubbish away from home, but their still short a quality spinner and still behind england IMO.

You don't think Vaas/Malinga with Murali would be a decent bowling attack, with Zoysa as the third seamer? I think at the very least it would be better than most in the world. And Pakistan fully fit would be quite good, but as it stands I'd agree that they're pretty awful.

 

[tooextracool]

no, the SL bowling attack isnt going to win too many games away from home. vaas is and always has been inconsistent, averages nearly 30. malinga, im sure hes going to do well in the odd game, but on the whole hes going to be pretty poor with that action, especially in terms of accuracy. i dont even think zoysa is worth talking about.

 

[vandemataram]

. And Pakistan fully fit would be quite good, but as it stands I'd agree that they're pretty awful.

Why, why awful? the legendary Rana is fully fit, and he has taken the place of Akhtar.

Any team with a guy like Rana leading the attack deserve to be respected,admired and appreciated!

 

[Prince EWS]

no, the SL bowling attack isnt going to win too many games away from home. vaas is and always has been inconsistent, averages nearly 30. malinga, im sure hes going to do well in the odd game, but on the whole hes going to be pretty poor with that action, especially in terms of accuracy. i dont even think zoysa is worth talking about.

I agree.

Vaas has been very poor at times, especially away from home, while Malinga is unproven and overhyped. They also have a problem in who is going to be the other bowler... Fernando and Zoysa are injurred far too often, and Zoysa is a poor bowler anyway. Maharoof and Kulusekara havent impressed me at all either.

 

[Prince EWS]

Why, why awful? the legendary Rana is fully fit, and he has taken the place of Akhtar.

Any team with a guy like Rana leading the attack deserve to be respected,admired and appreciated!

The same Rana who has a test bowling average of over 50?

 

[tooextracool]

sarcasm

 

[vandemataram]

The same Rana who has a test bowling average of over 50?

Averages don't matter, otherwise how would you explain his selection in rest of World squad for six days game against Australia?? even the likes of Zaheer Khan and Pathan failed to make any impression on the selectors for that squad.Surely Rana must have something special to offer !!

 

[LongHopCassidy]

Tell me, why are you trashing Rana in the "Pick your 30" thread and singing his praises in this one?

 

[vandemataram]

Tell me, why are you trashing Rana in the "Pick your 30" thread and singing his praises in this one?

I'm trying my level best here not to lose my respect for the knowledgeable selectors.I guess legends like Gavaskar must have seen something special in Rana

 

[marc71178]

Yet I note you're not complaing that Pathan has been selected, when he's as useless.

 

[Beleg]

marc,

do you HAVE to argue with trolls?

 

[Isolator]

HE'S BEING SARCASTIC. Are you people that stupid?

 

[Pratters]

Coming back to topic and leaving the widely revealing discussion on the enigmatic Rana,

Best current attacks behind Australia :

1. England - no doubt. A very good combination of 4 pacers and a good stock spinner in most conditions. Over all they are capable of taking the 20 wickets of any team in the world.

On some others not in ranking order:

Pakistan : The team boasts of a lot of talent and has the potential to overhaul England as the best bowling attack. Kaneria, Saqlain (I hope he returns because he is immensely talented and still young) and some talented pacers.

India : Too inconsistent. Which is reflected in the same bowlers in and out of the team on a regular basis.

West Indies : Stick to the bowlers who you think will perform for some years to come and stop experimenting with every one. Stop the stupid try and cry policy because there is talent and the team can do a lot better with some consistency is selection

New Zealand : Poor in subcontinental conditions. A good pace attack but not excellent.

Sri Lanka: Poor without Murali. With Murali in, capable of destroying any attack as a Vaas-Murali combination with the others in support is very good.

South Africa: The English pacers looked so good in the series in Windies. They are good but in the Windies it all gets exagerrated at the moment because of the weakness of the Windies team. A good bunch developing but are they good enough to make South Africa a force again? A few future series are needed to form a proper judgement.

Bangladesh: The England series will be a good learning experience for the likes of Mortaza. It will be very interesting to see if their pacers trouble a few Englishmen and get them all confused as to how they will face the mighty Australians when in a session they were found wanting by Bangladesh. The English will ignore that they walloped the Bangladeshis all over and start about the English team not being good

Zimbabwe: Boy this is the most inexperienced bunch of youngsters thrown into playing cricket. Heath Streak's return should prove a good education for them. Lets just hope some of them hone their skills over a long period.