Progression of the 'best fast bowler' title post war

[smash84]

Steyn status of making an ATG world team will depend on him making a come back..... if he somehow manages it and is only even a mediocre ATG for 3/4 years, would truly push his status up. Of course as a SA supporter I just want to see Steyn, Rabada and Philander playing together for the next few years.

He's firmly in that league already for mine. He would make my top 5 pace bowlers of all time easily

MM, McG, Ambrose, Steyn, Hadlee

 

[trundler]

he's firmly in that league already for mine. He would make my top 5 pace bowlers of all time easily

mm, mcg, ambrose, steyn, hadlee

no imran is blasphemous!

 

[smash84]

no imran is blasphemous!

As much as I love Imran I have to be fair.

Although I think Imran is the 2nd greatest cricketer to have ever played the game, after Bradman. So, that's that.

 

[Coronis]

no imran is blasphemous!

not really, theres probably 10 names you could have in that top 5 and theres little to nothing between them

As much as I love Imran I have to be fair.

Although I think Imran is the 2nd greatest cricketer to have ever played the game, after Bradman. So, that's that.

Better than Sobers? Now that is resting on blasphemy.

 

[trundler]

I have 3 whom I consider equal greatest-ever: Hadlee, Marshall, and McGrath. Then there's a tier a slight notch below which includes Ambrose, Steyn, Imran, Lillee (and others I cant think of right now) then there's Donald, Wasim, Lindwall, etc.

 

[smash84]

Better than Sobers? Now that is resting on blasphemy.

You haven't heard blasphemy yet if you haven't heard PEWS on Imran. He rates him even above Bradman

 

[trundler]

The one I have most difficulty clearly ranking is Donald, though none of my tiers are definite. Would you lot rate him alongside Ambrose, Imran, Lillee, Holding?

 

[smash84]

Ambrose might just be slightly better than the other 3, but very slightly maybe. That's a fairly comparable group.

 

[trundler]

Would Donald fit right in or a tier below?

 

[trundler]

Here's a very helpful table by era to put things into perspective. Looks like 1971-1999 was the most productive era for fast bowling. Plus, almost all possible contenders (and some others) are listed below. Very informative.

 

[smash84]

Would Donald fit right in or a tier below?

Donald would fit in with Imran, Lillee, and Holding for sure

 

[trundler]

Tom Richardson and Bill Lockwood notable omissions from the very first era.

 

[AndrewB]

Obvious later omissions are Wasim Akram and Alan Davidson - with Voce, Sobers, Vaas and Mitchell Johnson all also missing I wonder if whoever created the list somehow accidentally omitted all the left-arm bowlers?

Waqar Younis is another very strange omission. Mike Procter also worth a shout. Maybe Ted McDonald, and no doubt others.

(Also, I've never seen him called "Freddie" Spofforth before, and I don't know why Lohmann, Barnes and Gregory are listed with their initials, as you would with WG - not to mention Lohmann's middle initial being A, not H!)

 

[trundler]

That post did specify right arm fast bowlers, though Waqar is indeed very strange. Anyway, the stats presented are worth thinking about.

 

[Burgey]

MrM, it’s the mark of a man to enter into a discussion with a POV, only to be presented with further facts and amend ones POV accordingly. There’s no shame in it, it’s the sign of a person who’s prepared to grow and is reasonable because they’re aware they’ve become better informed and more learned. They then adapt accordingly.

At least, so I’m told. Having never been wrong I’m just going by what I’ve read on the subject.

 

[Daemon]

Drunk af and on the shitter reading page after page of mitagi/tjb/starfighter wankery

this wasn't supposed to be part of the holiday

 

[Burgey]

The one I have most difficulty clearly ranking is Donald, though none of my tiers are definite. Would you lot rate him alongside Ambrose, Imran, Lillee, Holding?

I would have him slightly below those guys but it’s a very close thing, and based more on what I saw of him than a proper (and arguably fairer) look at his career as a whole.

 

[Burgey]

Even Burgey and I aren't this stubborn

Yes we are. Shut up, ****.

 

[Burgey]

Drunk af and on the shitter reading page after page of mitagi/tjb/starfighter wankery

this wasn't supposed to be part of the holiday

You weren’t meant to take a **** while you were away? That can’t be good for you.

 

[AndrewB]

They seem not to count Tate as a pace bowler (none with 100+ wickets between the wars).

Anyway, I'd say the great era for fast bowling started a bit later than 1971... if you look at the leading wicket-takers in the early 70s before the 1974-5 Ashes, you have Snow, the early days of Lillee, a few moderate FM bowlers such as Old, Arnold and Walker, and a stack of spinners such as Underwood, Gibbs, Mallett, Bedi, Chandrasekhar and Intikhab.

Move on a few years (late 74 to late 77), and while Underwood, Bedi and Chandrasekhar are still there, Lillee's been joined by Roberts, Thomson, Holding, Willis and Sarfraz, with Imran, Hadlee and Croft also starting to appear.