Who is the best fast bowler in test cricket now?

[The Outsider]

Would India or Australia think twice about inviting him to play for their teams? I think not :).

If India has it's first choice bowlers available in Zaheer, Sreesanth, and Ishant I would never play Anderson above any of them. Perhaps not even above an in form RP Singh.

[thevortex]

If India has it's first choice bowlers available in Zaheer' date=' Sreesanth, and Ishant I would never play Anderson above any of them. Perhaps not even above an in form RP Singh.[/quote'] I think what you say above is going to be far more of a personal preference than anything else. Anderson is worlds better than R P Singh. And I dont think many are going to plump for Ishant over Anderson based on his showing for a considerable length of time now. As for Sreesanth, we have not seen him for quite some time now. However I have a healthy respect for his craft. Zaheer, yes, I would definitely pick. Anderson would probably be second.

[rohitcalls]

Dale Steyn without a doubt. Asif and Amer come close.

[f.b.m]

He is one of the most accurate out and out fast bowlers I have seen. Very rarely does he ever stray down the legside. Thats because of his unique wrist load up and release which imparts venomous and prodigious outswing to the new ball. And when the ball is old, this same action gets the ball to tail in. And yes, to put the eight ball back on you - you think he is inaccurate? He is extremely accurate for his pace. You think an entire spell of bouncers speaks for versatility?! Steyn swings the ball both ways? Now that would be the day, fbm!! :) He bowls out swing with the new ball and as with many such practitioners brings it in when he bowls full, fast and straight with the older one. Thats about it. Precisely due to his wrist load-up and release, an inswinger is very very difficult if not impossible for him to bowl. What he manages from time to time is an off cutter. It is still deadly at the pace he bowls at. However, the matter still stays that he is not somebody who can bowl regular in swingers regularly. Aamer on the other hand is far more versatile. Not to mention that his left handedness adds its own little twist to the tale.

lolwtf? Accurate out and out fast bowler? Every 3rd or 4th ball is ridiculously out of line and he regularly gets smashed even when he's getting wickets (look at his economy rate.... and then his strike rate although that doesnt give the full picture). And the fact that you think that Steyn has only the outswinger (with the new ball) clearly shows that you havent seen much of his bowling at all. Long story short, Ian Bell and Murali Vijay would disagree with you. And no I dont think that a spell of bouncer speaks of versatility but being able to bowl a spell full of bouncers, outswing at different speeds (from 130 to about 145 kmph), out and inswing and reverse swing speaks of a lot of versatility.

[f.b.m]

I think out of the English attack, Broad is easily the best seamer on dry, turning wickets. His best performances are all on wickets that have nothing in them for the seamers (in the traditional sense). I expect him, Finn or Onions (if he's fit) to take the bulk of the wickets on the flatter wickets in Australia, apart from Swann of course..

[thevortex]

lolwtf? Accurate out and out fast bowler? Every 3rd or 4th ball is ridiculously out of line and he regularly gets smashed even when he's getting wickets (look at his economy rate.... and then his strike rate although that doesnt give the full picture). And the fact that you think that Steyn has only the outswinger (with the new ball) clearly shows that you havent seen much of his bowling at all. Long story short, Ian Bell and Murali Vijay would disagree with you. And no I dont think that a spell of bouncer speaks of versatility but being able to bowl a spell full of bouncers, outswing at different speeds (from 130 to about 145 kmph), out and inswing and reverse swing speaks of a lot of versatility.

f.b.m - regularly smashed? I am sorry but are you talking about the same bowler? And more importantly are you talking about Test matches? Because that is what I am thinking about here. And yes - Steyn does NOT have an inswinger with the new ball. Take a look at Umar Gul or Aamer or Asif to see what I am talking about when I talk about a proper inswinger. An off cutter, f.b.m or a ball which goes straight on after pitching or hitting the seam is indeed different from an inswinger. He bowls inswing only when it is reversing. Period.

[vamos_rafa]

i think dale steyn... asif cmes a 2nd close..... i think both trouble the batters equally but steyn has xtra pace to trouble which asif has lost but he's still pretty menacing... and stop putting aamir in the list so early.... poor lad's really young.... we have also had these kinda compariosion bowlers like IKP, IS,RPS....luk at their present states.,....

[Lord]

I am sorry but I dont understand or agree with using statistics as a way of praising or damning a player. It can be a guiding light, sure. But in itself it cannot pass judgment. At least that is my line of thinking. Anderson leads the English attack. The English attack is probably the 2nd best pace attack in the world today. What does that say about Anderson's quality? Contrary to his figures I have always enjoyed Anderson's bowling even against Tendulkar at home. He is a good fast bowler. No doubt about it. Plus he is another of those rare bowlers who can swing the ball both ways at decent pace. Would India or Australia think twice about inviting him to play for their teams? I think not :).

no way,they struggle wen the conditions arent as good.as proved on 3rd day of 2nd test,where there as sunshine n Haider n Ajmal seemed hard to dislodge

[jf1gp_1]

Zaheer Khan if you look at both ODIs and Test, Dale steyn if we are only talkin about tests.. for those defending amir ; given the 2nd test conditions even paveen kumar and irfan pathan would have got eng AO for under 250

[Bradman99]

Obviously it's Steyn, not evena fraction of doubt about that in my mind.

[thevortex]

no way' date='they struggle wen the conditions arent as good.as proved on 3rd day of 2nd test,where there as sunshine n Haider n Ajmal seemed hard to dislodge[/quote'] They have played about 5 Test matches and a good number of ODIs so far in England and you are saying one day's play proves that they are not a good attack? If I were to rate bowling attacks, it is really simple. First - Pakistan. Second - England. The other teams just dont have the bowling attacks.

[Lord]

They have played about 5 Test matches and a good number of ODIs so far in England and you are saying one day's play proves that they are not a good attack? If I were to rate bowling attacks, it is really simple. First - Pakistan. Second - England. The other teams just dont have the bowling attacks.

not that it proves anything,but its surely an indication.they've looked pedestrian in the past too. n u missed SA's attack,didnt u?

[thevortex]

not that it proves anything,but its surely an indication.they've looked pedestrian in the past too. n u missed SA's attack,didnt u?

No, I did not miss SA's attack. I considered it and decided that it comes 3rd best. Because all it is is a monochromatic attack. No spinner worth any time. Or slow bowler. All very similar type of bowlers. Will not work all over the world. England is not like that. Graeme Swann could very well be the best spinner in the world already. That makes a huge difference. Versatility and what not. Pakistan as we know can always be inconsistent. But mostly it is their batting and of course fielding which lets them down. Not their bowling. I still reiterate - Pakistan and England are the top bowling teams in the world. At least for me :).

[Lord]

No, I did not miss SA's attack. I considered it and decided that it comes 3rd best. Because all it is is a monochromatic attack. No spinner worth any time. Or slow bowler. All very similar type of bowlers. Will not work all over the world. England is not like that. Graeme Swann could very well be the best spinner in the world already. That makes a huge difference. Versatility and what not. Pakistan as we know can always be inconsistent. But mostly it is their batting and of course fielding which lets them down. Not their bowling. I still reiterate - Pakistan and England are the top bowling teams in the world. At least for me :).

well they r working on improving thier spin attack.have got Johan Botha in.hes good. n no thier attack isnt the same.Steyn is a fast swing bowler who uses reverse swing on flat decks,Morkel adds bounce n seam movement,along with speed.Parnell/Tsotsobe provide the left arm angle.Kallis often is the partnership breaker n is an underrated bowler. Swan is undoubtedly a very good spinner.but the rest are average.Anderson isnt the same wen the sun is shining.Broad is way too inconsistent,Finn I dont rate,as only played two minnow batting sides,has nothing to impress apart from height

[vvvslaxman]

Well' date=' not everybody bowled as well as him on those same helpful wickets. :)[/quote'] RP was unplayable in some of the Tests in England. They were not even this seamer friendly. [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLS0ovEwWBQ]YouTube- ‪Best of RP Singh‬‎[/ame]

[Guest OriginalPrince]

1.steyn 2. bollinger 3. johnson 4. hifenhaus 5. broad 6. anderson

[bhanu]

1.steyn 2. bollinger 3. johnson 4. hifenhaus 5. broad 6. anderson

No pakistani bowler OHHHHHH OHHHHHHHHHH :mad: ohh well dats ur opinion so :two_thumbs_up:

[Herculus]

steyn amer tuffy zaheer asif

[imran666]

for me steyn aamir asif morkel

[SJS50]

How many FAST bowlers are playing Test cricket as of now ?? Unless I am missing out someone obvious, I cant think of any besides Steyn and M Morkel. The choice isn't difficult if it is really "fast" fast bowlers that we are talking of.