BEst fast Bowler of 90's?

[Ford_GTHO351]

Glenn McGrath & Wasim Akram were the best fast bowlers of the 90's.

 

[tooextracool]

id rate ambrose and akram as the best of the 90s simply because they had almost "everything" in their prime. ambrose had pace, deadly accuracy,aggression,extra height and the ability to move the ball both ways. same with akram except that he could also reverse swing the ball.
the only doubt i have about glenn mcgrath was that he was just too predictable. a batsman could go out there almost certain that every ball would pit on or around off stump just short of a length(bar the occasional bouncer).no variation not very innovative.

 

[iamdavid]

For me if you were to stretch it from 1990 - present then McGrath would be the best , his performances since 2000 have been superb & his rivals for the tag have fallen away during that period.

However IMO the best fast bowler taking into account performances between Jan 1 1990 & Dec 31 1999 , is Wasim Akram.

Curtley would come in a close second & Donald third.

Then McGrath , Waqar , Walsh & Shaun Pollock.


Then there are the players like McDermot , Gough , Srinath , Vaas & Fraser who were succesful but not decade topping material.

 

[Majin]

I think Malcolm Marshall is the best fast bowler ever. For best bowler of the 1990s it is hard to choose between Ambrose, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Donald, Pollock, McGrath, Warne and Walsh. If forced to choose I would go for Ambrose, but only by the skin of his teeth.

D:?

 

[godofcricket]

Mcgrath is a very good bowler, best ever?? no way, he doesnt come close. But he comes in my top 5 list of best fast bowlers of 90's:

1:Wasim Akram
2:Ambrose
3:Waqar younis
4:Allan Donald
5:Glenn Mcgrath

The reason i choosed Akram ahead of everyone is because of the way he used to bowl, the way he turned matches around, he could be depended to bowl at any stage of the game. He is a big inspiration for todays playing cricketers. Vaas, zaheer, nehra, pathan, nathan bracken (these are the ones i can remember right now) idolise him which shows there was something in him. And mind you amoungst the ones i have listed (top 3 after Akram) think he is the best bowler.

 

[DJ]

However I shall not hesitate to say that Glenn Mcgraa is the very best fast bowler amongst them. He is the ultimate fast bowler in my eyes...he's got the strength, stamina of a champion, his accuracy and persistence is the best that I have ever seen.Infact I think he could be the most devastating fast bowler of all time.

I think you're possibly the only person who'd call McGrath 'devastating.' Of all the quicks mentioned in this thread, for me he is easily the least 'devastating' (except for maybe the post-speed-drop Pollock). He tends to work and bore batsmen out rather than blow them away. Although he is still very, very good at what he does.

For me, Donald was the best of the 90s, although it could be argued that I am biased. In fact, forget the argument, you can say it outright and I won't dispute it.

Of the others, Waqar pre-injury was on course to be the best ever, and by some distance too. I shudder to think what he would've achieved had he not been physically hampered in that way. Ambrose was also one of my favourites. You got the impression he could take wickets at will if he was in the mood for it. Great bowler.

 

[PY]

I think you're possibly the only person who'd call McGrath 'devastating.'

His mouth is definitely devastating. Just ask Sarwan

Ambrose for me, GREAT bowler and an all-round nice guy from what I heard. Never resulted to abuse either. .

Not saying that all the others were brute animals though.

 

[DJ]

He might not have abused people, but he had no reservations about just trying to kill them. In a gentle, caring sort of way of course.

 

[a massive zebra]

What really ought to separate the great from the good is these bowlers' not-so-good days.

This is a bit off topic because I am talking about a spinner but on that basis Warne was not a great bowler because he had plenty of bad days. For example...

O M Runs Wkts Econ Match
45 7 150 1 3.33 3rd Test v Ind in Aus 1991/92 at Sydney
22 2 107 0 4.86 1st Test v SL in SL 1992 at Colombo (SSC)
30 7 122 1 4.07 1st Test v Ind in Ind 1997/98 at Chennai
42 4 147 0 3.50 2nd Test v Ind in Ind 1997/98 at Kolkata
15.5 2 70 1 4.42 3rd Test v WI in WI 1998/99 at Bridgetown
13 1 60 0 4.62 3rd Test v Ind in Aus 1999/00 at Sydney
34 3 152 1 4.47 2nd Test v Ind in Ind 2000/01 at Kolkata
30 6 108 2 3.60 3rd Test v SA in SA 2001/02 at Durban

Yet he still took more wickets than anyone else in the 1990s, and the vast majority of people would rank him in the 'great' category.

 

[Langeveldt]

Head says - Glenn McGrath
Heart says - Allan Donald

 

[Langeveldt]

This is a bit off topic because I am talking about a spinner but on that basis Warne was not a great bowler because he had plenty of bad days. For example....

Im sure Don Bradman had a few bad days.. Still great?

 

[Bapu Rao Swami]

He is outstanding but so are the others. What has he got that Ambrose didn't have?

You see there are different ways to judge the best bowler.

How do you judge one, based on performance then it has to Glenn Mcgraa.

based on how dangerous and unplayable they were then perhaps Akram, Donald, Ambrose and Younis in his prime.

based on both of the mentioned above Pollock and Mcgraa.

ps. well after reading your post, I went to PWC (mathematically calculated ratings) and guess what Glenn Mcgraa could very well be the very best test bowler of all time. serious! well thank God at least someone agrees with me.


However Javagal Srinath, if he had a better captain to back him, even he (yes Srinath) could have become a Glenn Mcgraa. Srinath was heck of a bowler on the subcontinental tracks, he had good bounce and plenty of stamina...but lil or no control over his deliveries (which i believe could have been polished had he had a good captain and other facilities like a bowling coach something which the Australians had). Srinath now writes columns for Indian crikcet magazines and websites, surprisingly Srinath rates Mcgraa the very best test crikcet fast bowler of his era, even ahead of Ambrose and Akram.


ps. that said i don't want to push my views down your throats...everyone will have his own very best bowlers..Akram was good in that he was consistent, his average never climbed above 29 in his entire 17 yr career, Akram was also a very good ODI bowler (rated bets of all time by Wisden)...Ambrose on the other hand was extremely dangerous, Donald was quick enuff to beat the bat in the air early on, later relied more on accuracy, Younis was the hurricane during the Martin Crowe and Graham Hick days but in his last years was somewhat like Andy Bichel.

 

[Tony Blade]

Well I think, Akram since the 'meat' of his career was in the 90s

 

[DJ]

I went to PWC (mathematically calculated ratings) and guess what Glenn Mcgraa could very well be the very best test bowler of all time. serious! well thank God at least someone agrees with me.

McGrath the best ever? That's a little over the top, don't you think? For what it's worth, Wisden did a statistical analysis of the best bowlers in the history of the game and Chuck came first, followed by Hadlee, Barnes, Warne and Grimmett. I don't know where McGrath came, but I'd be surprised if it was in the top 10.

 

[DJ]

Having said that, McGrath was in fact ranked 6th, followed by Lillee, Marshall, Imran Khan and Walsh.

Well I never.

Not sure I agree with that, but there you go.

 

[Slow Love™]

He might not have abused people, but he had no reservations about just trying to kill them. In a gentle, caring sort of way of course.

And sometimes with his bare hands, rather than with the ball.

Still, Ambrose comes up tops for me (for the 90's). Terrifying, difficult to score against, alternately aloof and vicious. Also, he was an adherent of the "method" style of acting - wouldn't fraternize with the Aussie players under any circumstances. Stats aren't half bad either.

 

[marc71178]

For what it's worth, Wisden did a statistical analysis of the best bowlers in the history of the game and Chuck came first, followed by Hadlee, Barnes, Warne and Grimmett.

Fleetwood-Smith?

He's not what I would have called best of all time.

 

[JBH001]

Early part of the 90's I'd say Waqar Younis.
Late 90's Glen McGrath.
But for consistency of the course of the decade I'd opt for Wasim Akram with Curtly Ambrose as a close second.

Btw, Hello all. Nice to be here and all that.

 

[NikhilN]

Well lets see...there is Akram, Younis, McGrath, Akhtar at the end of the 90's, and my favorite Donald

 

[PY]

Btw, Hello all. Nice to be here and all that.

Welcome mate, hope you enjoy reading what is written and that you find at least some of it interesting or funny.