25 Greatest fast bowlers of all in test cricket?

[Harsh Thakor]

This is my list of great pace bowlers ranked in order of merit.Not only statistically rated but on class overall,opposition played against and skill.

 

Malcolm Marshall

Dennis Lillee

Sydney Barnes

Richard Hadlee

Glen Mcgrath

Wasim Akram

Imran Khan

Curtly Ambrose

Dale Steyn

Ray Lindwall

Alan Donald

Waqar Younus

Fred Trueman

Alec Bedser

Andy Roberts

Michael Holding

Joel Garner

Harold Larwood

Courtney Walsh

Alan Davidson

Jeff Thomson

Shaun Pollock

Kapil Dev

Ian Botham

Shoaib Akhtar

Mitchelle Johnson

 

 

Marshall on top combining sheer all-round skill with incredible strike rate and average.Above all stood out amongst the greatest of pacemen.Placed above Lillee because of mastery in sub-continent.

 

Lillee was the ultimate epitome of sel-determination and agression.Classically more complete than Marshal,with better stat sadding unofficial cricket.Nonone  bowled beter against great batting sides like West Indies.Lille outperformed Hadlee on batting track slike at the Oval in 1981 and Melbourne in 1979-80.

 

Sydney Barnes in terms of figures is simply supreme,head and shoulder s above everyone averaging 16.49 and capturing 7 wickets per test.Very complex where to fit him in but he was said to produce unplayable seam movement from outside offstump or outside leg.

 

Hadlee bore the brunt of one of the weakest attacks,singlehandely and still won important matches and captured 330 wickets in peak era.Stats wise on top if you see 10 and 5 wicket hauls and average in games won.The best paceman on a green top.Placed above Mcgrath because of spearheading such a weak attack and more classical.

 

Mcgrath was the most calculating and intelligent pacemen of all with control equal to Hadlee but craftier.Won staggering 84 tests as a pace bowler with a record haul of 563 scalps.More lethal than the fastest of bowlers with his strategy.

 

Wasim was the ultimate magician of pace bowlers who took bowling wizard to regions unexplored.No paceman was more complete ,swung a cricket ball more or was more versatile.A champion on flat sub-continent tracks.Slightly under performed if you asess his best figures and average .However remember he bowled with Waqar Younus and suffered from diabetes.Very successful against West Indies which is notable.Also took 2 test hat -tricks.In peak era from 1990-89 beter than any pace bowler,including Waqar,Donald and Ambrose.Unfortunately let a lot down by the fielding side.

 

Imran was the pioneer of reverse swing and stats wise in peak arguably the best of all.In terms of speed close to Jeff Thomson and a master in obtaining movement of flat sub-continent pitches.Took 7 or more wickets 5 times and performed better than anyone against the best team of his day,West Indies.

 

Ambrose was the most accurate of al pacemen and the greatest ever on bad or broken wickets.None was more lethal in a4th innings chase.No pace bolwer argubaly bolwed more great or match-winning spells.However did not sufficiently prove himself on docile tracks on the sub-continent and not as crafty with the old ball like Wasim  or Imran.More explosive or volatile than any one but marginally Hadlee and Mcgrath wee overall more clinical.

 

Dale Steyn wa slike amArshal of his era and oustanding on flat Indian wickets.A master in moving the ball out and in skidding a ball.Outstanding figures but overall marginally less complete than likes of Wasim  Lillee or Marshall .

 

Lindwall was like a Lillee or Marshall of his day with an even better out swinger,marginally more pace and control and mastery in skidding the ball.For his era his strike rate was outstanding and average of 23.Bowled against some of the strongest batting line ups like England and South Africa or even West Indies.

 

 

Donald had a remarkable strike rate and average with versatility almost in the Wasim Akram class and pace on par with Waqar Younus.

 

 

Waqar Younus posessed the best swinging yorker of all and was faster than partner Wasim.Had an incredible strike rate of around 43 but overhsadowed by partner Wasim against the best teams of his day.Statistically at one time the equal of a Lillee.

 

 

Trueman had stats at the level of Lillee or Hadlee with great ability to swing the ball out.Rated low because did not prove himself in unhelpful conditions.

 

Alec Bedser's figures spoke for itself  be it average or strike rate and  medium pacer was as lethal till Mcgrath arrived.

 

Andy Roberts was as verstaile as Lillee and amaster with the old ball but did not have a yorker.For a great part of his career had a strike rate under 50 and average around 23 .Lillee rated him the most complete paceman of his era as well as Sunil Gavaskar.

 

Michael Holding posessed more consistent speed through the air than any paceman and the most perfect bowling action of all.Has to his credit the best over ever and best test match bowling spell of all time.Arguably amongst the best 6 pacemen ever with a new ball.

 

Joel Garner was accuracy personified with the best yorker of all.No paceman was ever as economical and only Ambrose was as relentless.Arguably the best pace bowler in the world from 1980-82.

 

Harold Larwood took speed in pace bowling to a height never reached,troubling Bradman more than anyone.For his time the equivalent of a THomson or Holding.

 

Walsh was the ultimate bowling metronome and one of the best ever on flat ,subcontinent tracks.No Carribean paceman equalled his great stamina or longevity as Walsh who had 519 scalps.In certain conditions more lethal than partner Ambrose.

 

 

Alan Davidson average 20.53 which is incredible and statistically better than Marshall,Mcgrath or Hadlee or Wasim.

 

 

Thommo was simply the fastest of all who could create a blitzkreig more than anyone ,exploding a ball from a good length.No paceman struck more tremors in the enemy camp.

 

 

Shaun Pollock could be harder to face than Donald with his use of the crease and sideways movement..Incredible average of 23.03 considering he took over 400 scalps.

 

Kapil Dev bowled like a lion on the flat sub-continent pancakes single-handedly bearing the brunt of the Indian bowling attack.Took 7 or more wickets 5 times ,including a 9 and 8 wicket haul in an innings.

 

Botham at one stage averaged around five and half wickets per test and was close to the best pace bowler.No paceman was more intelligent .Sadly declined after 1982.At his best ahd the most lethal oustwinger.

 

Shoaib Akhtar was electronically the quickest of all who on his day was as devastating as the very best.

 

Mitchelle Johnson did not have great figures but on his day was in the class of the very best.More complete or lethal tha even Dale Steyn at his best.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 6, 2020 by Harsh Thakor

[rkt.india]

You forgot George Lohmann.

[Suhaan]

Del

Edited May 7, 2020 by Suhaan

[raki05]

Imran Khan is the greatest cheater and Akram is greatest fixer of the game and those who hyped Pakistani are greatest bootlicker of the thread.

[Gollum]

Pakistani pacers were bottle cap and kitchen knife users, so automatically disqualified.