Greatest Ever Fast Bowlers

[Goughy]

Greatest is a word that is far over used. There are some exceptional bowlers but who are the truly great quickies?

I set the perameters for what I would consider an allround GREAT fast bowler, capable of performing in any game situation.

I am limiting the lists to post-war fast bowlers

Criteria

• 100 Test Wickets- A large enough career to analyse
• A bowling Average of under 25- Must have a good average
• Average at least 4 wickets per test- Must show has been a large contibuter in each Test throughout their career and important in their teams success.
• An economy rate of under 3 an over- Capable of containing if the game requires and allows the captain to know the game is unlikely to go away from them
• A strike rate of under 60 - Essential to show penetration and a wicket every 10 overs is a good rate
• 10 wickets in a test at least once- Shows a game winner and instrumental in team success

I have no idea what to expect, even if anyone fulfill the criteria.

Im sure some will feel their fav. player is not on the list but its not easy being great and Im hoping for a small number of bowlers to really hilight the elite.

Here we go

The List

The Attatchment shows the stats in the above categories for the players who fulfilled the criteria.

Anyway 11 Quickies made it
They are:
DK Lillee

Glenn McGrath

BA Reid

Trueman

Hadlee

Imran

Ambrose

Holding

Marshall

Donald

Peter Pollock

3 Aussies, 1 Pom, 1 Kiwi, 1 Pakistani, 3 West Indians and 2 South Africans

Its a great list, who would have thought Bruce Reid would make it?

 

[Goughy]

For those who are interested, the below are the Fast Bowlers who narrowly missed out on the list and why!

Everything but av. 4 wickets in a test

Wasim Akram 3.98 Wickets per Test
S. Pollock 3.97 Wickets per Test
C. Walsh 3.93 Wickets per Test

Everything but 10 Wickets in a Test
Joel Garner
Colin Croft

But Why didn't so and so make it?
Waqar has an econmy rate of 3.25
Frank Tyson only took 75 Test wickets

 

[UncleTheOne]

My personal favourite fast bowler of all time will always be Curtly Ambrose. Capable of just moving into another gear at will and blowing away and batting lineup around. So destructive, and still one of my favourite sporting moments when he came out for the last time at the oval to bat and the England players formed a guard of honour, and later on when the whole of the Oval stood and cheered for him and Walsh.

 

[open365]

Wow,where do you get all these stats from?

Some quality bowlers there,makes me wonder why we don't have any great ones any more.

My personal fave out of thoose is Hadlee because he has the best action ever.

 

[luckyeddie]

I'm delighted that one of my favourite quicks made the list - Peter Pollock was the first international cricketer whose autograph I got (his brother was the second, Colin Bland the third) in Canterbury in 1965.

I'm trying to make my mind up who you are, Goughy - or rather, which era you hail from. I know that we have someone who has a deep knowledge of the game, and I suspect that you've played it a little.

 

[open365]

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-9124008137786203684&q=hadlee

Hadlee bowling.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6442816157289206202&q=ambrose

Ambrose.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7296664970982050554&q=imran.

Imran Khan.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4147490898453614070&q=donald
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6365448943451857068&q=donald

Alan Donald.

 

[steds]

my favourite didn't qualify

 

[luckyeddie]

my favourite didn't qualify

Flat Jack?

 

[Goughy]

I'm trying to make my mind up who you are, Goughy - or rather, which era you hail from. I know that we have someone who has a deep knowledge of the game, and I suspect that you've played it a little.

Would you beleive I'm an 87yr old Filipino woman who lives in Iceland who thought this was a Croquet forum?

 

[steds]

Flat Jack?

Make that my two favourites.

 

[luckyeddie]

Would you beleive I'm an 87yr old Filipino woman who lives in Iceland who thought this was a Croquet forum?

Will you marry me?

I always wanted a Filipino bride, and I like younger women.

Fire and Ice too - always wanted to go to Iceland.

Croquet? What the hell. I'm in.

 

[steds]

Would you beleive I'm an 87yr old Filipino woman who lives in Iceland who thought this was a Croquet forum?

Well, stranger people have came on here. Like aussie, for example...

 

[steds]

Will you marry me?

I always wanted a Filipino bride, and I like younger women.

 

[Jono]

My personal favourite fast bowler of all time will always be Curtly Ambrose. Capable of just moving into another gear at will and blowing away and batting lineup around. So destructive, and still one of my favourite sporting moments when he came out for the last time at the oval to bat and the England players formed a guard of honour, and later on when the whole of the Oval stood and cheered for him and Walsh.

Yeah he's probably my favourite fast bowler ever as well, just in front of Waqar. The fondest memories I have as a child watching cricket involve Ambrose. He was just a delight to watch. Not to mention he had the best wicket celebrations ever.

 

[andyc]

No mention of strike rate?

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

No mention of strike rate?

One of the criteria was a strike rate under 60.

 

[Zinzan]

Interesting criteria....would have to say the 2 W's from Pakistan were unlucky, but fair enough.

Glad to see my 2 favs Marshall and Hadlee in the list

 

[andyc]

One of the criteria was a strike rate under 60.

Oh great. And now you've gone and quoted it.

 

[Smudge]

But what about their first-chance bowling averages?

 

[Dasa]

I think this thread is another example of why stats don't tell the story....to leave bowlers like Wasim and Garner out of a greatest bowlers list makes no sense to me, and it's purely because they lose out on some tiny statistical oddity.