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Greatest English fast bowler ever ?

Greatest English fast bowler ever ?


  • Total voters
    49

Perm

Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
A bit like your willingness to write off Joel Garner because he has only played 98 ODIs and not 100.

It just comes down to not considering him good enough to be included in such company. There are too many also-rans on the list. Should have been reduced to about 7 or 8 contenders imo
I'm not writing him off, but I think if he'd reached 100 games then I'd definitely rate him as the undisputed best ODI bowler of all-time. It's just a minimum criteria really, and I still consider him a fantastic bowler.

Fair enough if you don't consider him good enough, but you haven't really provided any reasons why you don't rate Hoggard.
 

Fiery

Banned
I'm not writing him off, but I think if he'd reached 100 games then I'd definitely rate him as the undisputed best ODI bowler of all-time. It's just a minimum criteria really, and I still consider him a fantastic bowler.

Fair enough if you don't consider him good enough, but you haven't really provided any reasons why you don't rate Hoggard.
1) He's a good swing bowler, not a fast bowler, which is what the thread question is asking.

2) His average isn't good enough

Quite simply really, don't think it needs any more explanation than that.
 

Perm

Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
1) He's a good swing bowler, not a fast bowler, which is what the thread question is asking.
And you don't have any problems with Sydney Barnes being in the list?
 
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JBMAC

State Captain
DWTA. Shouldn't be on the list imo. Then again neither should Bill Voce
I don't know about that Fiery..Voce I mean Test career of 17 years minus the war years 27 tests and 98 @ 27 odd is not bad for a left arm fast bowler. Proved a perfect foil for both Larwood and Bedser
 

BoyBrumby

Englishman
Fred Trueman is one outstanding candidate, but his home and away record isn't as impressive as you would expect from somebody like him. He also averages significantly higher than Stuart Barnes, who had powerful performances against (admittedly limited) the opposition in his day, and who could stake claim to being the best Test bowler to have lived. My vote goes with him.
And you don't have any problems with Stuart Barnes being in the list?
I do. As portly fly-halves go, he's up there, but a fast bowler....? :p



Suspect the Barnes in the list is SF (Sydney) Barnes, personally. Better judges than I rate him as the best bowler of all-time, but I think it would be a bit of a stretch to call him a fast bowler as such.

As far as genuine quicks go I'd probably have to go with the late, great Frederick Sewards. The Typhoon might've run him close had he had a longer test career, but Fred took over 1500 more first class wickets at a lower average than Tyson, so it's maybe reasonable to summise Tyson's test average may've gone up had he played for longer.
 

Fiery

Banned
I don't know about that Fiery..Voce I mean Test career of 17 years minus the war years 27 tests and 98 @ 27 odd is not bad for a left arm fast bowler. Proved a perfect foil for both Larwood and Bedser
Right :thumbsup: I trust your judgement mate
 

Richard

Cricket Web Staff Member
At Test level? Alec Bedser for mine. Domestically? Harold Larwood or Tom Cartwright.

A few things: one, the term "fast bowler" would be best interpreted as "seamer". Before 1998, we don't really know how quick bowlers really were anyway. Hoggard doesn't deserve to be in this list because, however many impressive performances he's put in since 2004 (before which he was almost universally poor), he's nothing more than a just-about-Test-class bowler. Not because he's not quick enough.

Two, SF (Sydney, not Stuart :p) Barnes was in NO way a seam-bowler, he was a fast wristspinner. Better than all these bowlers on this list? Virtually beyond question. Seam-bowler? No (though he did send down the occasional seam-up ball as a variation).

Three, I'd only be happy to judge from the dawn of the 20th-century onwards. There were any number of magnificently effective seam-bowlers in the 19th, such as Lohmann, Richardson, Hearne etc. But I cannot vouch, at all, for the true nature of cricket in that time.

For me, as Test bowlers I'd go Bedser, Statham, Trueman, Willis, Snow. Larwood is almost certainly the best at domestic level - Cartwright aside - and alongside Bill Lockwood is almost certainly the most unfortunate to miss-out on a Test career of decent length. Judging on what did happen, rather than what could have happened, though, I'd go the above.
 

JBH001

International Regular
Hmm, Barnes was not a fast bowler, so I dont know what he is doing in that list.

I voted Snow.
 

JBH001

International Regular
What are you doing up at this hour, Fiery? :)

Nah mate, I think Snow has a good claim versus Trueman and Wills who are perhaps the only reasonable and arguable opposition to him (note, I see Bedser as a medium pacer and Larwood and Tyson were one series ponies).
 
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JBH001

International Regular
Ha! I have been gaming (playing BF2) since 5pm. Anyway, am off to bed soon.

Had a good Xmas, mate?
 

BoyBrumby

Englishman
A few things: one, the term "fast bowler" would be best interpreted as "seamer". Before 1998, we don't really know how quick bowlers really were anyway. Hoggard doesn't deserve to be in this list because, however many impressive performances he's put in since 2004 (before which he was almost universally poor), he's nothing more than a just-about-Test-class bowler. Not because he's not quick enough.

For me, as Test bowlers I'd go Bedser, Statham, Trueman, Willis, Snow. Larwood is almost certainly the best at domestic level - Cartwright aside - and alongside Bill Lockwood is almost certainly the most unfortunate to miss-out on a Test career of decent length. Judging on what did happen, rather than what could have happened, though, I'd go the above.

We didn't have speed guns in days of yore, but the term "fast bowler" wasn't a catch-all coinage for anyone who bowled seam-up. If one looks at the profiles of any player they are invariably assigned fast, fast-medium, medium-fast or medium or any combination thereof. "Fast bowler" & "seamer" are not interchangeable terms.

WRT rating Bedser and Statham over Trueman do you mind saying why? Given Fred took more wickets at an appreciably lower average. Not trying to be funny, just curious.
 

Richard

Cricket Web Staff Member
We didn't have speed guns in days of yore, but the term "fast bowler" wasn't a catch-all coinage for anyone who bowled seam-up. If one looks at the profiles of any player they are invariably assigned fast, fast-medium, medium-fast or medium or any combination thereof. "Fast bowler" & "seamer" are not interchangeable terms.
The point is it doesn't matter whether someone's fast, fast-medium, medium-fast or medium. A seamer is a seamer. The pace he bowls his stock-ball at is simply one of many variables contained within seam-bowling (like whether his stock-ball is the outswinger or the inswinger). The term "fast bowler" is a poor one, because it implies that "fast bowlers" are totally different from "medium-fast bowlers", when they're not, they're usually the exact same thing who just happen to bowl at 6 or 7 mph slower. The difference between a fast bowler and a medium-fast bowler is no more than the difference between an outswing and inswing bowler, or an "off" spinner and a "leg" spinner. The term is a poor one as it refers to the stock-ball only.

"Seamer" would be the correct generic title for this thread TBH, and it'd be a good idea for a Mod to change the title to "Best English seam-bowler" IMO.
WRT rating Bedser and Statham over Trueman do you mind saying why? Given Fred took more wickets at an appreciably lower average. Not trying to be funny, just curious.
Statham was always the straighter man than Trueman, hence I've always rated him best. As for Bedser, I don't really think he had a better Test career than Trueman, though it should be noted that he begun his Test career at almost 28 having lost years to the war, had a brilliant first series, did little of note for the next 3 years, and having just turned 31 became a phenomenon, taking 140 wickets at just 17.82 in his next 24 Tests against Test-class teams over 6 years before being pensioned-off prematurely at just 37 years of age. Though it should be noted that this 24-Test period contained just a single overseas series (in which he took 30 wickets at 16.06). But obviously, Trueman did more, and what he could have done had he not missed so many games is mind-blowing.

That Bedser could conceivably have been England's best seamer but for the war, though, is, to me, very much conceivable.
 

Craig

World Traveller
I do. As portly fly-halves go, he's up there, but a fast bowler....? :p



Suspect the Barnes in the list is SF (Sydney) Barnes, personally. Better judges than I rate him as the best bowler of all-time, but I think it would be a bit of a stretch to call him a fast bowler as such.

As far as genuine quicks go I'd probably have to go with the late, great Frederick Sewards. The Typhoon might've run him close had he had a longer test career, but Fred took over 1500 more first class wickets at a lower average than Tyson, so it's maybe reasonable to summise Tyson's test average may've gone up had he played for longer.
Well played.
 

BoyBrumby

Englishman
The point is it doesn't matter whether someone's fast, fast-medium, medium-fast or medium. A seamer is a seamer. The pace he bowls his stock-ball at is simply one of many variables contained within seam-bowling (like whether his stock-ball is the outswinger or the inswinger). The term "fast bowler" is a poor one, because it implies that "fast bowlers" are totally different from "medium-fast bowlers", when they're not, they're usually the exact same thing who just happen to bowl at 6 or 7 mph slower. The difference between a fast bowler and a medium-fast bowler is no more than the difference between an outswing and inswing bowler, or an "off" spinner and a "leg" spinner. The term is a poor one as it refers to the stock-ball only.

"Seamer" would be the correct generic title for this thread TBH, and it'd be a good idea for a Mod to change the title to "Best English seam-bowler" IMO.
Which is what I said.

It's weird that how even when you agree with what someone says you have a way of making it seem as if you don't.
 

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