Forget IT boom, Welcome the Pace Boom.

[kumble_rocks]

Shaun Pollock had maybe 1% of his deliveries at his PEAK cross 140 kph. Pollock had great BOUNCE- not pace. He was never a FAST bowler. McGrath has for over 90% of his career bowled at 130-135 kph range.

Mcgrath was a fast medium who could easily bowl 140 plus early in his career. In fact , I remember him bowling faster than both McDermott and Paul Reiffel early in his career in 1993/1994. So , I guess 60% would be more appropriate than 90% of his career bowled at 130-135 kph range.

[Lurker]

^^ the thing with Pollock and Mcgrath(what a LOT of people forget) is that they always had the luxury of an out and out paceman in their ranks. Sure Shaun Pollock is one of the greatest bowlers ever but would he have been half as successful if he did not have a Donald operating alongside with him for a lot of time? Same with Mcgrath. He had Mcdermott at the start who was deceptively quick, even Mcgrath was quick at the time and towards the end he has Brett Lee now. My point being don't just pick Pollock and Mcgrath for your arguments. Do realize that they succeeded because their team had a complete attack. This is what India lacks. We have 4 Mcgraths or 4 Pollocks(with nowhere close to height or ball control) and absolutely no Donalds or Lee. xxx

[kumble_rocks]

^^ the thing with Pollock and Mcgrath(what a LOT of people forget) is that they always had the luxury of an out and out paceman in their ranks. Sure Shaun Pollock is one of the greatest bowlers ever but would he have been half as successful if he did not have a Donald operating alongside with him for a lot of time? Same with Mcgrath. He had Mcdermott at the start who was deceptively quick, even Mcgrath was quick at the time and towards the end he has Brett Lee now. My point being don't just pick Pollock and Mcgrath for your arguments. Do realize that they succeeded because their team had a complete attack. This is what India lacks. We have 4 Mcgraths or 4 Pollocks(with nowhere close to height or ball control) and absolutely no Donalds or Lee. xxx

Exactly , Even Asif was more successful because Akhtar would soften batsmen from one end. We need that tearaway fast bowler who will force batsmen to play on the back foot. Unfortunately we don't have any in the horizon.

[King]

Shaun Pollock had maybe 1% of his deliveries at his PEAK cross 140 kph. Pollock had great BOUNCE- not pace. He was never a FAST bowler. McGrath has for over 90% of his career bowled at 130-135 kph range.

Pollock was seriously sharp CC when he first burst into international cricket. He was Marshall's ward and you know where the attitude to bowl quick came from. He was pretty quick between mid 90s to late 90s. Obviously he dropped pace for accuracy post 2000 like every fast bowler does.

[CC1981]

Mcgrath was a fast medium who could easily bowl 140 plus early in his career. In fact ' date=' I remember him bowling faster than both McDermott and Paul Reiffel early in his career in 1993/1994. So , I guess 60% would be more appropriate than 90% of his career bowled at 130-135 kph range.[/quote'] Err no , McGrath never 'easily bowled' 140 plus. McGrath was barely touching 140 against WI in Barbados,99 and according to McGrath HIMSELF, he's never bowled faster for longer in any game than that one! Paul Riffel was bona-fide medium pacer and McDermott was a medium pacer by the end of his career- this guy never finished one series without injury so after almost 10 years,he was a pucca medium pacer.

[CC1981]

Pollock was seriously sharp CC when he first burst into international cricket. He was Marshall's ward and you know where the attitude to bowl quick came from. He was pretty quick between mid 90s to late 90s. Obviously he dropped pace for accuracy post 2000 like every fast bowler does.

Yes, he was pretty sharp but he rarely broke the 90mph barrier even in the late 90s when he was at his peak.Pollock always got more bounce than Donald..but was always slower than Donald and not much different from Curtley Ambrose in the late 90s, when he too was a fast-medium bowler.

[CC1981]

My point being don't just pick Pollock and Mcgrath for your arguments. Do realize that they succeeded because their team had a complete attack.

Horse-poop. Lee has successful figures because of McGrath, not the other way round. McGrath was doing fine before AUS ever had a genuine speedster ( Lee debuted in 99) and McDermott was never anything more than low 80s mph in the 90s.

[Gambit]

Err no , McGrath never 'easily bowled' 140 plus. McGrath was barely touching 140 against WI in Barbados,99 and according to McGrath HIMSELF, he's never bowled faster for longer in any game than that one!

WRONG! McGrath has bowled over 140 plenty of times, especially between 1994 and 2000. In fact, he bowled over 140 in the 1999 world cup, the very year when McGrath according to you said he never bowled faster! In fact, he has been clocked at bowling over 140 as recent as 2003. Even in the 2001-2002 season, he was up in the low 140s.

[gator]

Polly was a genuine fast bowler for 3-4 yrs of his career... and then he was a good fast-medium 135kph bowler for another 3-4 yrs and is clocking under 130 only for the last 2-3 yrs and not surprisingly his SR dipped until the series when india toured last yr..... Pigeon was comfortably clocking 135 even in india after the injury.... i dont know, if u really watch cricket.... comparing 135 from tremendous height and seam movemnt(polly) to 125 by a domestic pie-thrower is taking comparisons to new heights....

[gator]

WRONG! McGrath has bowled over 140 plenty of times, especially between 1994 and 2000. In fact, he bowled over 140 in the 1999 world cup, the very year when McGrath according to you said he never bowled faster! In fact, he has been clocked at bowling over 140 as recent as 2003. Even in the 2001-2002 season, he was up in the low 140s.

Gambo... unfortunately, jus reading some online articles have not given CC the knowledge gained by watching every single match...

[CC1981]

WRONG! McGrath has bowled over 140 plenty of times, especially between 1994 and 2000. In fact, he bowled over 140 in the 1999 world cup, the very year when McGrath according to you said he never bowled faster!

Dude, i am not talking about the odd 90mph delivery- many bowlers can do that. I am talking about bowling CONSISTENTLY in the 90mph zone- like more than 1 ball outta every 10, if you know what i mean. According to McGrath himself, fastest he's ever bowled consistently was that 'Lara test' in 99..and even there, he was struggling to clock 90mph consistently. McGrath has openly said too that he prefers bowling in the 130-135kph zone and has bowled at that bracket all his life barring a few spurts of speed here and there.

[gator]

Mcgrath was a fast medium who could easily bowl 140 plus early in his career. In fact ' date=' I remember him bowling faster than both McDermott and Paul Reiffel early in his career in 1993/1994. So , I guess 60% would be more appropriate than 90% of his career bowled at 130-135 kph range.[/quote'] even now, he bowls mostly around the 135 mark.... this WC, the tour after his ankle surgery.... it is true enuf, the 90% figure...

[CC1981]

comparing 135 from tremendous height and seam movemnt(polly) to 125 by a domestic pie-thrower is taking comparisons to new heights....

Never compared them now, did I ? I said that its amazing that people obsess with speed today when two of the most successful pacers of TODAY are nothing more than military medium and have been so all their career. You trying to bump Pollock/McGrath into category of 'fast bowlers who bowled at 90mph' is ludicrous- they were NEVER 90mph bowlers consistently except for the occasional ball here or there or a few spells here and there. In short, McGrath & Pollock are two examples where speed is proved to be overrated. And instead of questioning my knowledge, question those friends of yours who have this ridiculous view that McGrath succeeds because he has a scattergun fast bowler (Lee) at the other end. A more incorrect analysis would be harder to find.

[gator]

Gator, I understand your POV but tell me this do you value domestic cricket results and performances? If you do not then what is your yardstick for picking a squad? Although the looks of Bose may not inspire you it is possible you may not have seen enough of him. From what I have read he has been among wickets in domestic cricket and has performed consistently. Ryan Sidebottom is bowling well with his limited pace now against West Indies. Harmison has pace and bounce but he is all over the place and is a captain's nightmare. Meanwhile Sidebottom has been the better of the fast bowlers in the England team. Now Sidebottom isn't quick either but he does the job. Similarly Bose will probably end up as a "Horses for courses" choice. From what I can gather Bose is rewarded for his domestic form which is OK with me. Let's hear from you folks who would have been a better choice?

are we going to emulate the english side now, Ravi??? then where is our flintoff, harmison??? i doubt, if Sidebottom is 125kph pie-thrower... i havent seen him yet.... but from all reports, he seems like a 133-135kph kinda bowler....

[gator]

Lurks > However what he does have is an ability to swing bowl both ways. And this might help India in England.

99% of county bowlers are like tht.... they will beatch-slap him for fun....

[Gambit]

Dude' date= i am not talking about the odd 90mph delivery- many bowlers can do that. I am talking about bowling CONSISTENTLY in the 90mph zone- like more than 1 ball outta every 10, if you know what i mean. According to McGrath himself, fastest he's ever bowled consistently was that 'Lara test' in 99..and even there, he was struggling to clock 90mph consistently. McGrath has openly said too that he prefers bowling in the 130-135kph zone and has bowled at that bracket all his life barring a few spurts of speed here and there.

Neither am I. I watched a lot of Australian home cricket in the 90s and early 00s, especially their summer tests and I clearly remember McGrath operating in the low 140s consistently. Heck, I remember McGrath bowling in the low 140s against WI when they toured Australia in 2000(lost 5-0) and against RSA in RSA in 2002!

[Gambit]

Oh and BTW, 140-144 kmph is less than 90 mph FYI.

[CC1981]

especially their summer tests and I clearly remember McGrath operating in the low 140s consistently. Heck, I remember McGrath bowling in the low 140s against WI when they toured Australia in 2001(lost 5-0) and against RSA in RSA in 2002!

And i too watched a lot of McGrath pre 2000- he was *never* bowling even 10% of his deliveries over 140kph range & he has ALWAYS been slower than Wasim head-to-head and its a known fact that Wasim almost always bowled in the 85-90mph zone.

[gator]

Never compared them now, did I ? I said that its amazing that people obsess with speed today when two of the most successful pacers of TODAY are nothing more than military medium and have been so all their career. You trying to bump Pollock/McGrath into category of 'fast bowlers who bowled at 90mph' is ludicrous- they were NEVER 90mph bowlers consistently except for the occasional ball here or there or a few spells here and there. In short, McGrath & Pollock are two examples where speed is proved to be overrated. And instead of questioning my knowledge, question those friends of yours who have this ridiculous view that McGrath succeeds because he has a scattergun fast bowler (Lee) at the other end. A more incorrect analysis would be harder to find.

firstly, this thread is a comparison of world's most successful bowlers, and if there is anyone similar to Bose.... answer is NONE... i dont know, why u brought in Mcgrath, Pollock who bowled predominantly at 135 kph and compared it with 125kph pies from Bose... Secondly, striving for 135 kph is not speed-obsession..... for tht, u can contact Actor from the neighborhood.... Thirdly.... Show me a successful 125 kph swing bowler who has a decent enuf record....

[Gambit]

And i too watched a lot of McGrath pre 2000- he was *never* bowling even 10% of his deliveries over 140kph range

LOL! :hysterical: I have nothing more to say.