Most complete or skilled pace bowlers of all time-Wasim Akram the most complete?

[Harsh Thakor]

In this list I am listing on order of merit the most complete pace bowlers of all which includes left-arm bowlers and fast-medium bowlers.In this evaluation I am rating the fast bowlers on the criteria of the combined qualities of versatality,accuracy,control ,action ,speed and consistency .I am not basing the evaluation on statistical figures.Some paceman have been outstandingly quick,some posessed phenomenal accuracy,some swung the ball all over the place,some had the innovation of a magician ,some posessed a huge weaponry of deliveries but few posessed all these qualities. Perhaps controversial are my placing of Glen Mcgrath and Dale Steyn so relatively low.I feel although Mcgrath posessed every component in proportion he lacked the element of unpredicatibality and as skilful variations of paceman like Lindwall,Robers,Marshall or Lillee.Hadlee could move the ball more but not as crafty as Glen Mcgrath on flat tracks or posessed as lethal bounce.When attacked by batsmen Hadlee often became defensive lacking the agression of Imran or Lillee.Steyn is devastatingly fast and moves the ball but dose not posesss Alan Donald ,Imran Khan or Malcolm Marshall's skills when the tracks favour the batsmen.Very hard where to place Barnes but i respected cricket history.For his time Barnes skill was phenomenal with a unique trajectory of his very own.It was a photo between Lindwall,Marshall and Lillee but I still feel Lindwall for his time posessed a total package of mythical proportions.Lillee was classically more complete than marshal but never proved himself on the flat tracks of the sub-continent. I have favoured express pace or genuine pace over fast-medium bowlers in this list.I genuinely feel that genuine quick is more lethal than fast-medium.Larwood placed low as I do not know how he would have bowled on batsmen friendly tracks. What is significant in this list is that statistics do not always reflect the skill of pace bowler or how complete he is.On figures Mcgrath or Hadlee would beat every post -war bowler while Ambrose,Imran, or Trueman would rate better than Wasim Akram.In pure statistics Andy Roberts or Michael Holding would be esailiy surpassed by Hadlee,Donald,Mcgrath or Steyn.It just shows how the game is not all bout stats.Great batsman were troubled more by the likes of Andy Roberts than by Richard Hadlee or by Wasim Akram than say Glen Mcgrath. My 20 most complete fast bowlers in order of merit. 1.Wasim Akram Posessed the total package of the complete fast bowler.Wasim was the equivalent of a magician to fast bowling.At his best he reminded one of a musical composer with his extraordinary innovations of reverse swing.He could do things with a cricket ball that no pace bowler could ever do.He could bowl six different deliveries in an over.In the early part of his career almost bowled at express pace,but after 1993 slowed down marginally.From a juicy Australian wicket,to seaming pitches in England to flat ,subcontinent pancakes Wasim bowled with equal ease.His mastery of moving a new and old ball foxed the best of batsman more than any other batsmen in the world.No paceman has ever produced such prodigiuous swing in the sub-continent.Wasim combined speed,bounce movement ,accuracy and control in a total package. At times he would lose his accuracy and be expensive but would superbly comeback.Wasim also had a deceptive slower ball and could be even more effective at fast-medium pace.Wasim was at his best in Australia in 1989-90 ripping the heart of a strong Australian batting line up,against West Indies at home in 1990-91,in England in 1992 and in New Zealand in 1994.At his bset he bowled some blistering spells in the Carribean like in the test in Antigua in 2000 where and in 1988 in Barbados when dubious umpiring decisions cost Pakistan victory in the match and series both times.I can never forget Wasim dismissing Rahul Dravid in India in 1999,dismissing Steve Waugh in the 1st test at Melbourne in 1989-90 ,bowling Alan Lamb and Chris Lewis in the 1992 world cup final and dismissing Graham Gooch and Alec Stewart at Old Trafford in 1992 .On figures of strike rate,bowling average etc.Wasim may not make even the top ten paceman of all time.However in terms of pure bowling skill he overshadowed Imran,Waqar or even Marshall.Imran could not as consistenly move the ball out as Wasim while Marshall did not posess as wide a weaponry in his armoury .Mcgrath and Ambrose were more relentless but did not posess Akram's ability to move the ball as much or his variations.I think Wasim would have been more succesful had he played for teams like West Indies and Australia at their peak.The Pakistani fielders hardly supported him often dropping catches.In the 1970's and 80's he could have been a terror on the fast pitches of West Indies and Australia .Wasim has been chosen in the world all-time xi ahead of Mcgrath and Ambrose and has won more votes for a place in an all-time xi than even Imran Khan.Marshall may have been craftier but still could not equal Wasim's innovative ability .Brian Lara and Jacques Kallis call Wasim the best pace bowler they ever faced and so does V.V.S Laxman.Alan Donald calls him the most complete pace bowler he ever saw.With anew ball on fast pitch Ambrose could be more lethal or Mcgrath more effective on green top but on flat wicket Wasim would overshadow them.What set Wasim back is that he lacked the fierce determination of Dennis Lillee or even Imran Khan.Wasim was like a sculptor ,poet and magician rolled into one.Wasim would capture wickets often with deliveries which were unplayable unlike Mcgrath and Ambrose who induced the batsmen to make mistakes to capture wickets.If he had done justice to his ability completely he could have been the 'Bradman ' of fast-bowling. Quoting Mike Selvey: "Halfway down the pitch towards the right-hander, the delivery seemed innocuous. Delivered left-arm from round the wicket by Wasim Akram, it had the usual slithery speed, and was up there in length - an attempted yorker probably, but too full. It began to angle down the leg side, a low full-toss just ripe for Robert Croft, the England offspinner, to flick away to fine leg for an easy boundary. Croft planted his front foot and began the process of turning the ball away. He missed, the ball thudded into his pad, and Wasim roared his appeal. Negative, said the umpire, and we in the press box nodded knowingly: missing leg by miles. Then came the replay, in super slow motion, and it was so astounding it left mouths gaping. For in the last 10 feet or so, the ball ceased angling down the leg side and instead swung back the other way, eluding Croft's bat by six inches. Unquestionably it would have hit middle stump, but it all happened so fast and late that it deceived the eye of everyone, not least the umpire. The single most astonishing delivery that I have witnessed failed to produce a wicket. For nigh on two decades, Wasim Akram has been a magician with the ball. Left-arm pace bowlers have been a rarity in the game, and good ones even more so: Alan Davidson, Garry Sobers, Bill Voce maybe. But none of them, not even Sobers, could manipulate the ball with the dexterity of Wasim. That ball to Croft may have been exceptional, but it would not have been unique in his career for it seemed he could do it all the time. One such, delivered in an adrenal lime-green fury under the lights in Melbourne, ripped past the outside edge of Allan Lamb's bat and clipped his off stump - the defining moment, perhaps, of the 1992 World Cup final. This now is his World Cup swansong, for age catches all. It is time to go. Against Australia at the Wanderers in Pakistan's 2003 World Cup opener, the flame briefly was rekindled as he sneaked an inswinger through the tentative first-ball prod of Damien Martyn, leaving himself on a hat-trick. But later, the instinct and skill that allowed him to spear his reverse-swung yorkers in deserted him. It was not, nor could we expect it to be, the Wasim of old. But he will leave a legacy after almost an entire year of his life playing one-day internationals. Through expedience, Pakistan pace bowlers redefined what was possible, and none more so than Wasim. The memory will linger, of the bright lights, garish uniforms, and Wasim in his pumped up pomp, gold chain swinging, pit-pattering his way to the crease and letting rip. Along with Joel Garner and Shane Warne he has set the benchmark for bowling in one-day cricket. I cannot help it: he remains, through all the allegations of match-fixing and ball tampering, my favourite cricketer. I named my first dog after him and believe me it doesn't get higher than that. " 2.Sydney Barnes Sydney Barnes Figures speak for itself but he would have been daunting in nay era Imagine capturing 7 wickets per test.Equivalent of a Bradman to bowling.Maybe had helpful tracks but still was a magician . Quoting Wisden "Most cricketers and students of the game belonging to the period in which S.F. Barnes played were agreed that he was the bowler of the century. Australians as well as English voted him unanimously the greatest. Clem Hill, the famous Australian left-handed batsman, who in successive Test innings scored 99, 98, 97, v. A.C. MacLaren's England team of 1901-02, told me that on a perfect wicket Barnes could swing the new ball in and out "very late", could spin from the ground, pitch on the leg stump and miss the off. "Barnes had a splendid upright action, right arm straight over. He ran on easy strides, not a penn'orth of energy wasted. He fingered a cricket ball sensitively, like a violinist his fiddle. He always attacked. "Why do these bowlers today send down so many balls the batsman needn't play?" he asked while watching a Test match many years ago. "I didn't. I never gave'em any rest.". As we think of the unsmiling destroyer of all the batsmen that came his way, let us also remember Barnes immortalised in that lovely verse of Alan Ross: Then, elbows linked, but straight as sailors On a tilting deck, they move. One, square-shouldered as a tailor's Model, leans over whispering in the other's ear: Go easy, Steps here. This end bowling'.Turning, I watch Barnes guide Rhodes into fresher air, As if to continue an innings, though Rhodes may only play by ear. Other tributes to Barnes included: Arthur Gilligan, President of M.C.C.: He will be mourned by cricketers the world over. He was the finest bowler there ever was and a magnificent personality after his playing days. S.C. Griffith, Secretary of M.C.C.: The extraordinary thing about him was that all his contemporaries considered him the greatest bowler. There was never any doubts in their minds. This must have been unique. Wilfred Rhodes, who celebrated his 90th birthday in October, 1967, one of the greatest of cricket's all-rounders, and one of the few remaining contemporaries of Barnes in the England side: Barnes was a very fine medium-paced bowler, the best I ever played with. He had a lovely run-up to the wicket, carrying the ball in his left hand until he was only two paces from the crease and then transferring it to his right. He kept a perfect length and direction and, if you wanted to field close to the wicket say, at short leg, you could stand up to the batsman without any fear. He was quite a decent bat, far better than he was made out to be and too good for a number eleven. He was also a very good fielder. Herbert Strudwick, the old Surrey and England wicketkeeper (now 88): He was the greatest bowler I ever kept wicket to, for he sent down something different each ball of the over. He could turn it either way in remarkable fashion and I shall never forget keeping to him for the first time in a Gentlemen v. Players match at The Oval. His opening delivery pitched outside the leg stump and flew over the top of the off stump. I said to a team-mate: "What sort of bowler have we here?" I soon found out. Sydney could do almost anything with the ball. On matting wickets in South Africa where I toured with him, he was practically unplayable. Cristopher martin jenkins wrote"He could spin,seam or swerve a cricket ball in the arir at a mixture of paces,but a stock speed well over medium. 3.Ray Lindwall Although posessed a relatively low arm action with his left arm unusually coming down lower than other fast bowlers ,could produce devastating pace and movement in nay type of conditions.He could skid a cricket ball like none before Marshall and could cut and swing it at different speeds.He had an outstanding outswinger but later also developed a very crafty inswinger.Lindwall bowled on placid tracks that hardly have as much assistance as later paceman like Lillee,Holding or Andy Roberts got.He had marginally superior control,pace and movement to Lille and though his action was unorthodox it was as smooth as a Rolls Royce.Fred Trueman,Len Hutton Denis Compton ,Alan Davidson and Tom Graveney rated Lindwall as the best fast bowler they ever saw,while Harold Larwood rated Dennis Lillee as his equal.Ashley Mallet chose Lindwall above Lillee or Marshall in his all-time xi.Lindwall bowled to stronger opponents than any pacemen.His avergae of 23.03 was remarkable for his time.I feel had be bowled in the 1970's he would have edged Lillee and Roberts or even Marshall later.Lindwall had more control of swing,the yorker and the bouncer than other right -arm paceman in addition to supreme craftsmanship. 4.Malcolm Marshall No right-arm paceman could do things with a cricket ball like Malcolm Marshall.He was more adept than nay paceman in skidding a ball and disguised his deliveries more than any right-arm fast bowler.He swung the ball in and out with the same action and could be equally effective at different speeds.He was a master on flat tracks where he would deploy his shooters.Although lacking height he compensated it with his very quick arm action .I can never forget him in England in 1988 when he repeatedly blew out the Englsh top order.Also at his best in 1984-85 in Australia,particularly in the test at Adelaide.Alos devastating in India in 1983-84 when ripping off the top Indian batsmen at Kanpur and later in Kolkata.Arguably his best effort was on a slow turning track at Sydney in 1988-89.Although not classical with his open chested action or as versatile as Lille in the classical sense he posessed deliveries in his armoury which no paceman had.His bounce was more lethal than that of Lillee,Holding or Roberts.Had mastery in using the crease.Alan Border,Graham Gooch,Geoff Boycott ,Alec Stewart and Ian Healy rate Marshall as the best paceman they ever faced.Marshall had a bowling average of 20.94 as compared to Lillee's 23.92 and a strike rate of 46.7 compared to Lillee's 51.9. Marshall was like a surgeon and a magician moulded into one. Quoting writer Mike Selvey: "Marshall's supreme excellence created debate that, from the rum shops of Oistins to the clubs and bars around the world, continues to this day. Who has been the fastest? Who is considered the best? Was it Ray Lindwall, the supreme craftsman, with complete control of swing, yorker and bouncer, or his compatriot Dennis Lillee, bristling and explosive, with a command of cut like no other of his pace before? Could it be the aristocratically haughty Imran Khan or Wasim Akram - both magicians of reverse-swing - or the deadly Waqar Younis, whose strike rate in his pomp was second to none? What about Curtly Ambrose, portrayed in calypso as The Master, the professor Andy Roberts, the inquisitor Glenn McGrath, or the surgeon that was Hadlee? Will the rampant South African, Dale Steyn, one day be so regarded? Always the argument seems to come back to Marshall. There was nothing he seemed to lack, except perhaps height. But at 5ft 9in or so, around the same as Harold Larwood, he managed to turn that to his advantage, skidding the ball on where others might stick the ball in the pitch. He offered swing and cut, searing pace, a bouncer that seemed to climb to chin height rapidly and then level off, coming skimmingly flat; a supreme cricketing intellect that could spot flaws in an instant and smell fear, and a ruthless streak that made no concession in the pursuit of success for his team or, as in the case of Vengsarkar, occasionally of a personal vendetta. " 5.Dennis Lillee Posessed every component for the perfect fast bowler from pace to movement and control.The best exponent of the leg-cutter who had mastery in variations.Posessed an outstanding bouncer and could nip ball back in like nobody in his time.No paceman equalled Lillle's agression and hostility.There may have been quicker,more talented,more accurate pace bowlers but none equalled Lillee's determination to triumph against all odds.The centenary test of 1977 and the 1979-80 series in England rate a testimony to this.At his best in Kerry Packer supertests taking 79 scalps in 15 tests.Troubled Sir Viv Richards more than nay bowler of his time.Regarded as the best of all pace bowlers by Richard Hadlee,Martin Crowe,Greg Chappell,Richie Benaud,Colin Crof,Alvin Kalicharan and Ian Botham.Several experts rate Lillee the best but I feel Lillee did not posess Marshall's innovative ability on the flat sub-continent tracks or was a s lethal as Ray Lindwall at his best.On figures if you add Packer cricket Lillee could arguably be the best of all genuine quickies.He had more 31, 5 wkt.hauls and 7 -10 wicket hauls if you add Packer cricket which is significantly more than Marshall who had 22 ,5 wicket scalps and 4, 10 wicket hauls.Lillee was like a soldier and sculptor blended together. 6.Andy Roberts Almost a carbon copy of Dennis Lillee.The most versatile of all West Indian paceman in the classical sense with 2 bouncers at different speeds.Posessed mastery of the outswinger, leg-cuter and slower ball and deadly on the flattest of tracks.Single-handedly carried the brunt of the pace atack in India in 1974-75.His bouncers could be develish and in 1979-80 at Adelaide got the Chapppel brothers out in succesive deliveries with his disconcerting bounce.Holding was quicker but did not posess as much of a repertoire as Roberts had in his armoury.In terms of pure craft he was the equal of Dennis Lillee.Sunil Gavaskar,Ian and Greg Chappell,Dennis Lillee and Mushtaq Muhammad rate Andy as the best fast bowler they ever faced.Dennis Lillee thought Roberts was the best pace bowler he ever saw. 7.Freddie Trueman The most complete genuine English pace bowler of all time who could swing the ball in an out at great pace.Geoff Boycott described how Waqar Younus could not at blistering speed swing the ball out like Freddie. Quoting cricinfo:A classical easy action, a mop of unruly jet-black hair and a menacing scowl were the trademarks of Freddie Trueman, the Yorkshire fast bowler who was the first man from any country to take 300 Test wickets, a landmark he reached at The Oval in 1964. Since then many have gone past his overall figure of 307, but few have matched his average (21.57) and strike rate (a wicket every 49 balls). Trueman's tally might have been nearer 400 if he hadn't missed numerous matches and tours because of various disciplinary breaches, some true, some imagined - he was once hauled before the Yorkshire committee for some misdemeanour, and escaped punishment by pointing out that he was 200 miles away playing for England at the time. But on his day Trueman was fast and frightening: in his first Test series, in 1952, he helped reduce India to 0 for 4 on his debut, and took 8 for 31 - the best Test bowling figures by a genuinely fast bowler at the time - in the third match. In the second half of the '50s he formed an incisive new-ball pairing with Brian Statham, the legendarily accurate loose-limbed Lancastrian, who raced him neck-and-neck to the 250-wicket mark. By then "Fiery Fred" had great control of swing, and had some claim to being, as he only half-jokingly suggested to John Arlott as the title of his planned biography, "T'Greatest Fast Bowler Who Ever Drew Breath". 8.Imran Khan Imran pioneered the art of reverse-swing and was deadly on the flat sub-continent tracks.He worked very hard to develop his pace and inswinger and in the early 1980's was the most complete pace bowler in the world In 1982-83 no fast bowler combined pace with such devastating swing.Imran may not have been as complete as Lillee or Roberts but with the old ball he was arguably the best pace bowler.His thunderbolt inswingers were a menace for the best Indian batsmen in Pakistan in 1982-83.Imran did not have as developed an outswinger or leg-cutter like Lillee or Roberts or was as accurate as Joel Garner but from 1981-83 before his injury wasthe best fast bowler in the world.Also brilliant in West Indies in 1988.Richard Hadlee was marginally better in 1980-88 overall but still lacked Imran's agression. 9..Glen Mcgrath The most complete post-war fast -medium pace bowler of all.He posessed all the essential components in almost perfect proportion be it pace ,bounce,control or movement.Above all he assesed a batsman's weaknesses like a computer.He posessed the consistency of a machine.There were more versatile bowlers,faster bowlers,bowlers who moved the ball more but none who could produce the perfect ball to capture an opponent's wicket.The batsman were perplexed whether to play back or forward.Richard Hadlee had equally good control but not as effective bounce or as subtle variations.Capturing 563 wickets at 21.63 arguably make him the finest of all pace bowlers . 10.Michael Holding Np paceman ever posessed a more rhythymic or smoother action or obtained as much speed through the air.Unlike other great paceman Holding glided in to deliver his ball with the grace of a bird flying.At his peak era he was consistently faster than anyone including Jeff Thomson.The ball would strike a batsman like lightning but still look like the ripple of water in a stream.Holding's 14-149 at the Oval in 1976 is the greatest exhibition of sustained fast bowling ever seen in test cricket while his over to Geoff Boycott at Kingston in 1980-81 is the best by any pace bowler ever.Holding was like a technician and poet moulded into one posessing the gift of the divine.From and out and out quickie he learnt to swing the ball both ways with a shortened run-up and in 1981-82 in Australia bowled arguably better than any overseas pace bowler ever.Few sights were more majestic in cricket than Holding bowling.At his best he could have been the best of a Carribean paceman but was often beset by injuries.Although he was capable of doing everything with the ball from swinging to cutting it did not work as hard on his bowling like Lillee or Roberts.Consistently Roberts was more lethal. 11.Curtly Ambrose On a bowler friendly pitch or a broken wicket to me the best of all fast bowlers .No paceman could be better in a 4th innings in rolling down batsmen like 9 pins.At Perth in 1992-93 and at Trinidad v England in 1994 Ambrose bowled spells that maybe even Marshall and Lillee have not equalled.His disconcerting bounce was a more daunting propostion on bad wickets than the guile of Wasim Akram or the skill of Marshall.Ambrose was a connoction of the pace of Holding the craft of Roberts and the accuracy of Garner.No paceman ever was as relentless.Close to the best new ball bowler ever.However he lacked the versatlity of the best paceman on flat,docile tracks like Wasim Akram or Malcolm Marshall. 12.Richard Hadlee As much control as Glen Mcgrath.On a green top the best of all pace bowlers.He could swing a ball more than Mcgrath but on a flat track could become defensive.Rated inches below Mcgrath as he did not posess as many variations or posessed equal agression.On statistics only 2nd to Sydney Barnes with his 36, 5- wicket hauls and 9 ,10 -wicket hauls.Carried the brunt of weak attack better than any bowler ever. 13.Alec Bedser A master could play tricks with the ball like a magician.Caused problem sto bradman more than any bowler.Captuted 236 wickets in just 51 tests. Quoting Wisden "A powerfully-built, naggingly accurate, medium-fast bowler, with a classical action off a short run, Bedser's stock ball was the inswinger, his most dangerous the legcutter which fizzed off the pitch like a fast legbreak." 14.Alan Donald Posessed lightning pace combined with supreme craft.More versatility than Dale Steyn .More complete than Waqar who could swing the ball more but not with same craftsmanship of Donald.Henry Blofeld placed Donald in the 'Lillee' class. 15.Waqar Younus The best ever right arm paceman at tailenders who at his peak could join the 5 fastest bowlers of all time.Posessed the best swinging yorker of any genuine quicker and combined blistering pace with phenomenal movement.When he lost his pace he could not compensate it with variations like Wasim Akram. 16..Dale Steyn A master in the modern era whose pace can be lethal and can deploy variations to good use.However in my opinion not as intelligent or versatile as Roberts ,Lindwall or even Alan Donald.At his best very close to the top but often lets the batsmna get on top of hi.Too much T-20 and One day cricket has perhaps prevented Steyn from doing full justice to his talent.Also the conditins today are unfavourable to fast bowling. Quoting cricinfo" Dale Steyn could be just the latest nuclear-tipped arrow that South Africa have drawn from their seemingly bottomless quiver of classy fast bowlers. The trouble, for opposing batsmen, is that he is rather more than that. Pure pace is one thing, pinpoint pure pace distinctly another. Pinpoint pure pace poison-tipped with aggression still another. Add the regularity with which Steyn moves the ball away from right-handers, and the way his deliveries skid at batsmen - a lack of height isn't all bad - and the danger he poses is obvious. Steyn has grown into a bowler who has a firm grip on all of the tenets of the faith of the fast and the furious. But his is no paint-by-numbers tale of ability plus skill plus experience seamlessly stitching itself into a story of success. 17.Harold Larwood Devastatingly fast in the body-line series.Unfortunately he was victimized.Took 33 wickets and in a longer career could have been an equal of Truemna or Lillee. Quoting cricinfo:Around 5ft 8ins, but strongly-built with wide shoulders and long arms, he had a smooth, rhythmic approach and a high arm action. His speed was truly exceptional, and because of his lack of height, his bouncer tended to skid, veering into the ribs rather than wastefully over the head. The schoolboy Ray Lindwall drew upon this action after watching through the pickets at the SCG in 1932-33. In more recent times, the Pakistan express bowler Waqar Younis has had much of Larwood's movement about his run-up and delivery. Larwood's stock ball snapped in from the off, and in days when leg-before dismissals could be granted only from balls that pitched between wicket and wicket, he was denied many a dismissal that would have been given to succeeding generations of bowlers. 18.Courtney Walsh A bowling metronome with stamina no genuine quickie ever posessed.As Intelligent as Roberts or Holding who could create prodigious movement on flat sub-continent tracks.The angles at which he bowled would be a thorn in the flesh of the best batsman in addition to the late bounce and subtle changes in pace.At his bset in India in 1987-88 and in 1994-95.At his best his bounce could be lethal as well as his deceptive movement.On flat tracks perhaps could be more challenging than Ambrose. 19.John Snow Combined great pace with most technical control and movement.lillee rated him almost at the very top with Roberts. 20.Shaun Pollock Statistics speak for itself averaging 21 odd runs per wicker after taking 300 wickets.Sometimes more difficult to face than Alan Donald with his awkward angles.On flat tracks could come up with tricks like at Adelaide in 1997-98 taking 7 wickets in an innings.