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12 most difficult pace bowlers to face in order of merit?


Who was the most difficult pace bowler to face ever?  

4 members have voted

  1. 1. Which pace bowler was the most difficult to face ever?

    • Malcolm Marshall
    • Wasim Akram
    • Dennis Lillee
    • Curtly Ambrose
    • Dale Steyn
    • Alan Donald
    • Andy Roberts
    • Michael Holding
    • Shoaib Akhtar
    • Kapil Dev
    • Ray Lindwall
    • Richard Hadlee
    • Courtney Walsh
      0
    • Waqar Younus
    • Joel Garner
    • Harold Larwood
    • Fred Trueman
    • Michel Starc
    • Jeff Thomson
    • Imran Khan


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This is my list of 12 most difficult bowlers to face for batsmen in order of merit.Not ranked in order of merit but just in regard to how hard they were to face or basically lethal.

Wasim Akram
Malcolm Marshall
Dennis Lillee
Ray Lindwall
Andy Roberts
Michael Holding
Glen Mcgrath
Jeff Thomson
Imran Khan
Richard Hadlee
Curtly Ambrose
Dale Steyn

Wasim simply had every attribute and was the ultimate magician who was impossible to gauge with his art of reverse swing.The likes of Viv,Kallis and Lara rate Wasim the hardest pace bowler they ever faced.Not as accurate as Ambrose or Mcgrath or as quick as Marshall but in a total package the most complete.

Marshall's mastery of skidding the ball surpassed everyone and a batsmen could not tell whether the ball was moving in or out as he never changed his action.

Lillee took hostility to its highest zenith with the most organised repertoire of the outswinger,leg-cutter and bouncer.

Lindwall was faster and had more control than Lillee with a more effective outswinger.Yet not as determined.Alan Davidson,Trueman and Denis Compton rated him ahead of Lillee.

Roberts was the the Lillee of his day with 2 bouncers at different speeds,an ouswinger and an offcutter.Weakness was that he did not have a good yorker.Unlike Lillee proved himself on slow subcontinent tracks.Gavaskar and Lillee rated Roberts the best fast bowler of his day.

Michael Holding consistently posessed more speed throuh the air than any fast bowler and could obtain pace and bounce on the flattest surfaces.Not surprising that he has bowled the greatest spell and over in history of test cricket.Posessed the most perfect action of all and was a master in making the ball bounce so near the bat.



Mcgrath mastered weakness of oponents better than any paceman and was a master in all conditions.Noone had more control.No paceman put the ball more perfectly in the corridor as Glen,or with such consistency.

Jeff Thomson intimidated opposing batsmen more than anyone producing the most devastating speed at his fastest .He made the ball disconcertingly or alarmingly rise from a good length to hit a batsmen's gloves or even head.


Imran's pace and movement were unplayable on his day.Had the most lethal inswinger.

Hadlee was the most lethal on a green top resembling a computerized machine and had equal control as Mcgrath ,with higher speed and movement.Rated lower than some because he could become defensive when attacked,particularly on flat wickets.

Ambrose could rip of the flesh of a batting line up better than anyone on a bad wicket,like a cowboy mowing down his opponents in a shoot.None was as relentless or accurate whose vertical bounce could be unplayable.


Dale Steyn was similar to Marshall with mastery in skidding a ball but not as adept in swinging the ball in.

Edited by Harsh Thakor
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