Pick TWO opening Bowlers for the 1946-2006 World Test XI

[Anil]

Excuse me ... that's rather insulting.
I would have taken Hadlee over McGrath had CW sensibly voted in Sobers at 5 and Imran at 6.

i can kind of understand why you would have wanted that but why hadlee over mcgrath then, why not now?

 

[silentstriker]

i can kind of understand why you would have wanted that but why hadlee over mcgrath then, why not now?

He believes McGrath is slightly better as a bowler but in the other he would have picked Hadlee for almost as good bowling but better batting. Now, we have too much batting, so he just wants the best bowlers full stop.

 

[Anil]

He believes McGrath is slightly better as a bowler but in the other he would have picked Hadlee for almost as good bowling but better batting. Now, we have too much batting, so he just wants the best bowlers full stop.

i see...i never thought of hadlee as much of a batsman so never thought of that angle...sure he would be a much better batsman than mcgrath anyday.....as to his bowling....i guess i will just have to agree to disagree with him....

 

[adharcric]

The only reason I rate McGrath ahead of Hadlee is because he hasn't had the opportunity to thrive on bowler-friendly wickets in the same way Hadlee has.

 

[Matt79]

Marshall and Lillee - get over the Sobers at 5 thing people - its democracy in action - I'm sure we'll get by.

 

[nightprowler10]

I voted Marshall and Ambrose.

 

[ripper868]

Lille and ambrose....how intimidating would that be...and yes i know that proabbly any of the above mentioned bowlers charging in w0ould be intimindating. i just find lille and ambrose downright scary

 

[aussie tragic]

Had to vote Lillee to partner Marshall.

What other bowler has ever needed nine slips

 

[The Sean]

Marshall and Lillee - though any combination of those bowlers would be a captain's dream.

 

[Jamee999]

McGrath + Marshall

 

[Anil]

The only reason I rate McGrath ahead of Hadlee is because he hasn't had the opportunity to thrive on bowler-friendly wickets in the same way Hadlee has.

both are brilliant bowlers although different, it's not easy to compare and say who's better, my impression is that hadlee had the same kind of accuracy but more variety...hadlee was more or less a one-man army for new zealand back in his heydays, i remember him taking 33 wickets in a 3 match series in australia in the mid-80s to beat australia 2-1. magnificently relentless though he is, i cannot associate mcgrath with such a destructive and series-defining performance....i'm sure a lot of that has to do with him being part of a much stronger attack and having to share wickets with really good/great bowlers but still in my mind, hadlee comes out slightly ahead....

 

[JBH001]

Marshall and McGrath

 

[shankar]

The only reason I rate McGrath ahead of Hadlee is because he hasn't had the opportunity to thrive on bowler-friendly wickets in the same way Hadlee has.

First of all, the pitches throughout the 90's had a healthy proportion of bowler friendly wickets. This trend of flat tracks has only been since about 2001-2002.

Secondly, if you look at McGrath's figures, his average hasn't really changed much because of the last 4-5 years of flat tracks. His genius lies in the fact that he maintains the same average playing on flat tracks as he did in the 90's. So his career average wouldn't be lower than it is if he hadn't played in the last 4-5 years or had played in the 80's. And seeing as how bowlers like Marshall and Hadlee were also proven performers on flat tracks, it's fair to think that playing in an era of flat tracks wouldn't have affected their figures much.

 

[Poker Boy]

Dennis Lillee and Malcolm Marshall.

 

[adharcric]

McGrath passes Lillee!

 

[aussie tragic]

McGrath passes Lillee!

Yeah but that's because Turbinator's only made one vote (McGrath)....I'm sure he meant to vote Lillee as his 2nd vote

 

[adharcric]

Yeah but that's because Turbinator's only made one vote (McGrath)....I'm sure he meant to vote Lillee as his 2nd vote

I'm sure SS has already taken care of him with a bribe.

 

[silentstriker]

I think McGrath should be in, easily, ahead of Lillee. But its not like Lillee was a bad bowler, so its not a disaster or anything if he wins. We'll just get owned more than we already will because of our unnecessarily long batting order and a lack of a bowling all rounder.

 

[GIMH]

Had to vote Lillee to partner Marshall.

What other bowler has ever needed nine slips

Harmy needed eight once

And no, the eighth one didn't collect any wides

 

[silentstriker]

Harmy needed eight once

And no, the eighth one didn't collect any wides

Just missed him and went for four, huh?