Son Of Coco said:
Has McGrath gone downhill?
The answer to this is certainly no, his bowling in the Sri Lanka series was exactly the same as it was in the MCG Test last Ashes. He's not changed at all.
However, we have seen a loss in bowlers who could exploit all conditions (Donald, Ambrose, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Walsh, to name a few).
We have not seen an improvement in batting with regards pace of scoring - the fact that bowlers such as McGrath, Pollock, Warne, Murali and Chaminda are bowling every bit as economically now as they were 5 years ago (if not more economically) sugests to me that it has simply been a case of good bowlers retiring and newer bowlers being less capable with accuracy.
We have, beyond question, seen an improvement in bat-technology, not entirely sure when that started.
We have, equally beyond question, seen fewer pitches that turn or move off the seam - not just in Test and ODI cricket, but domestically in England and Australia, too. Not sure about anywhere else.
In England, I can say quite safely and surely that this change started in the summer of 2002. Worldwide it started round about then. Don't know when it may have started in various other domestic competitions.
The amount of international cricket played is almost certainly having some effect - just about everyone agrees there's too much, no-one is making any steps to cut down on the amount.
But IMO this, along with bat-technology, is a minor influence.
The basic fact of the matter is, bowlers who have come into international cricket over the past 3 or 4 years haven't been anywhere near as good as some who have been lost to the game. At either bowling accurately or being penetrative.
The rise in the typical Test scoring-rate and the rise in the average ODI total is a result of this.
And IMO the game is made less appealing. Sadly, more people than not just seem to want runs, runs, runs.
There are a handful of bowlers around, playing regular internationals, today who I regard as good international bowlers - and not all of them have good averages. Most bowlers on most international sides are not of Test or ODI class.
The situation is not helped by the presence of substandard sides (Zimbabwe post-WC2003 and Bangladesh) and the recent regularity of joke-ODIs against non-regular sides.