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Who was the most complete pace bowler of all time?


Who was the most complete pace bowler of all time?  

22 members have voted

  1. 1. Who was the most complete pace bowler of all time?

    • Wasim Akram
    • Malcolm Marshall
    • Dennis Lillee
    • Andy Roberts
      0
    • Glen Mcgrath
    • Curtly Ambrose
    • Dale Steyn
    • Michael Holding
      0
    • Waqar Younus
      0
    • Courtney Walsh
    • Joel Garner
      0
    • Kapil Dev
    • Richard Hadlee
      0
    • Michelle Starc
    • Ray Lindwall
    • Fred Trueman
    • Sydney Barnes
    • Ian Bishop
      0
    • Alan Donald
    • Imran Khan
      0


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This is my list of my most complete pace bowlers of all time.It does not analyze statistical merit but overall skill and talent.Ranks in order of merit paceman with the perfect balance of speed,control,accuracy,variation,movement and agression.Thus total package of all qualities considered.

 

 

1.Wasim Akram-The ultimate genius who could  perform the tricks of a magician with the ball.Mastered reverse swing like nobody ever taking pace bowling wizardry to heights of the divine.He could also be as quick as anyone .

 

2.Malcolm Marshall-No right arm paceman was ever as creative or as skilled in skidding a cricket ball or disguising which way the ball would swing.The best ever in using the crease.

 

3.Ray Lindwall-Perfection in pace bowling skill moving,skidding and controlling a cricket ball more than modern giants.

 

4.Dennis Lillee-Epitome of cricketing perfection taking cricketing agression and determination  to its greatest depth .In the classical sense no1 but not as naturally talented as Wasim or Marshall.Best ever exponent of the leg-cutter.Did not prove himself on sub-continent surfaces like Wasim and Marshall.

 

5.Andy Roberts.No Carribaen paceman was classically so complete or versatile.The virtual equivalent of Dennis Lillee and the best exponent of having bouncers at 2 different speeds.Went 1 up on Dennis Lillee by performing outstandingly in India in 1974-75.Most batting greatest of his era class Andy the most lethal paceman of his time with Lillee.

 

6.Michael Holding-Took action of a fast bowler to a degree of perfection never displayed resembling a Rolls Royce car.No paceman ever posessed as consistent speed through the air or was arguably more lethal at his best.

 

7.Glen Mcgrath-Although fast-medium the metronome of pace bowling with more control than any paceman with Hadlee..No paceman ever could produce the perfect delivery in accordance to a batsman's weakness or surpass his bowling intelligence.Reminiscent of a bolwing machine who could also master flat tracks.

 

8.Fred Trueman -Almost the equal of Lindwall with perhaps more agression.

 

9.Richard Hadlee-No paceman bowled more like a computersied machine or had more control.The best ever on a green top with more speed and movement than Mcgrath.Not at his best on a flat,docile surfaces where he could be found wanting like at Lords in 1987 in the bicentenary game.

 

10.Imran Khan-Blended speed and movement like no paceman of his era in addition to phenomenal competitivity and agression.Pioneered art of reverse swing.Unlike Wasim not at his best in moving the ball away.

 

11.Curtly Ambrose-The greatest-ever on a broken wicket,particularly in a 4th innings and perhaps the most accurate of all paceman.No bowler could skittle a batting line up with as much venom as Curtly in a 4th innings.He would make the ball lift disconcertingly from a good length which could be unplayable for a batsmen.At his best arguably the most lethal paceman of his era  and the most explosive.

 

12.Alan Donald-A true pace bowling master blending great speed with movement and subtle variations.

 

 

 

 

Edited by Harsh Thakor
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Fred trueman first fast bowler to take 300 test wickets. Lindwal was quite quick as well. Barnes is ancient. Not sure he was even a fast bowler. He was a cutter bowler. 

 

But no one can judge their skills until they have seen them enough.

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for me , it has to be Curtley Amborse ..... belonged to an  at the best 'good' team. Yes.... Walsh,Lara,Chanderpaul and him made the team 'good'. His   record has been mighty impressive in both the formats. In one dayers his econ: is 'out of the world'.Has enough longevity too .So  it has to be him.

 

Omissions and reasons:

Steyn .... despite having great record in both formats, especially  in these comparatively better batting friendly   conditions,  his one day econ: is too  large for  a great bowler.Also, have high doubts  that some times he deliberately chucked. Mentally was not that tough either on crucial occasions(a SAF trait)

 

Mcgrath - belonged to an ATG team in which being 'very good' was the minimal standard of every player.So he could feed off from other great players performances, especially that of another legend Warne's . Warne provided such variety to the team.

 

Donald - faltered when pitted for the 'top spot' vs Aussies

 

FAB 4 of WI - They too complimented each other. Marshall & Roberts were not that greats in one of the formats either.

 

Walsh .... was more of a work horse whose avg:ed  bordered around that 25 mark .Consistancy rather than ' being lethal' was his strength. Also very moderate in one dayers too.

 

Bishop - lack of longevity.Not great  in one dayers either.

 

Hadlee - despite having a great record in both formats & being the lone strike bowler in the team , he too can be suspected a lot of having involved in the evil practice of tampering. His interviews reflects that a lot.

 

Lillee - his records in sub continent are not at all convincing  .

 

Wasim & Waqar - Don't  take the track records of these 2 as such any more for a start, due to tampering. They were quality bowlers despite that , no about.

 

Imran - one who benefitted the most from ball tampering.So can't take his track record as such by even a bit.

 

others are either too young or too old to provide adequate conclusions. Old era players played only one format. Current era players need to play a lot more.

 

On a side note, laughable to see Kapil getting votes as the best fast bowler .I am one of the biggest admirers of him  as any one can ever come across. Infact I rate him   far higher than  what  his 'stats reveal' due to the contexts he played in.To me, he has been 'the

bowler ' who deserves the highest  marks  than what his stats reveal, but yet to place him as the best  is stretching it too far.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by rtmohanlal
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19 hours ago, rtmohanlal said:

for me , it has to be Curtley Amborse ..... belonged to an  at the best 'good' team. Yes.... Walsh,Lara,Chanderpaul and him made the team 'good'. His   record has been mighty impressive in both the formats. In one dayers his econ: is 'out of the world'.Has enough longevity too .So  it has to be him.

 

Omissions and reasons:

Steyn .... despite having great record in both formats, especially  in these comparatively better batting friendly   conditions,  his one day econ: is too  large for  a great bowler.Also, have high doubts  that some times he deliberately chucked. Mentally was not that tough either on crucial occasions(a SAF trait)

 

He has an ER of 4.87 in ODIs.  how it is too large and he played in 2000-2010s and not in 80s and 90s. 4.87 was a very good ER for any bowler in his era.

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10 hours ago, rkt.india said:

He has an ER of 4.87 in ODIs.  how it is too large and he played in 2000-2010s and not in 80s and 90s. 4.87 was a very good ER for any bowler in his era.

Ambrose is too good in this regard with a 3.43 econ: .Even Mcgrath had around 3.85. 

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