Who is the best fast bowler in test cricket now?

[Serani]

Kemar Roach is FAST. Fidel Edwards was FAST but his career is over. Personally I would rate Kemar Roach in the top 5 fast bowlers, how many people can say they made Ponting retire hurt? Nobody except Kemar.

[thevortex]

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

If they are working on it, then that says it. They are not the top bowling unit by any means.

[thevortex]

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.

Fast - measured in? I would say any of these guys being talked about is 'Fast'. But not Express. If you see what I mean.... Perhaps only Steyn. There is nobody else who is express as well as pretty good as a bowler. At least nobody who has burst onto the stage as yet and stayed on there for at least a couple of seasons. Aamer is the only one. Morkel is too limited a bowler for my liking. He can bowl as fast as he wants. But he is not going to be called a very good bowler. Leave alone a potential great.

[SJS50]

There is only one good and genuinely fast bowler in the world today and that is Dale Steyn. Aamer is good but he is really at best fast medium. He is still young and could build up speed. One hopes Pakistan handles him well for good bowlers are a rare commodity today fast or slow and great ones went out of fashion with Murali's departure. No comments on Roach.

[The Outsider]

Personally I would rate Kemar Roach in the top 5 fast bowlers, how many people can say they made Ponting retire hurt? Nobody except Kemar.

Can't say about Retired Hurt, but Harbhajan has definitely bruised him mentally.

[SJS50]

Eric Hollies was the greatest bowler of all time. How many bowlers can claim to have a bowling average of 0.00 against Don Bradman and a strike rate of 2.00 against the game's greatest batsman ??? *pushes tongue further into the cheek*

[The Outsider]

Amir is being extremely overrated. He is bowling in some of the most seam and swing friendly conditions I have ever seen. Even RP Singh looked just as good in conditions which were not even as bowler friendly as the ones Amir is bowling in. Plus the Australian batting line up is not exactly known to be good against swing bowling. It's like calling Samaraweera some batting great based on his exploits on some friendly wickets. He bowls too far away from the wicket to be a consistent threat if there is no in swing for his bowling. I don't see him averaging below 30 in the long run. Every time the sun has come out, he is your run off the mill 135-140 up and down bowler. You will see evidence of that at Oval and Lords' if the clouds stay away and most certainly in UAE when Pakistan play South Africa.

[f.b.m]

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.

Yes, I know which format I'm talking about. The same format where most full, wide balls are left alone and deliveries down the legside arent wided.

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.

Thank you. You have just shown that you havent watched much of his bowling. Appreciate your eagerness to repeat the same point over and over again though.

[thevortex]

Amir is being extremely overrated. He is bowling in some of the most seam and swing friendly conditions I have ever seen. Even RP Singh looked just as good in conditions which were not even as bowler friendly as the ones Amir is bowling in. Plus the Australian batting line up is not exactly known to be good against swing bowling. It's like calling Samaraweera some batting great based on his exploits on some friendly wickets. He bowls too far away from the wicket to be a consistent threat if there is no in swing for his bowling. I don't see him averaging below 30 in the long run. Every time the sun has come out, he is your run off the mill 135-140 up and down bowler. You will see evidence of that at Oval and Lords' if the clouds stay away and most certainly in UAE when Pakistan play South Africa.

Aamer, run of the mill bowler?!!

Yes, I know which format I'm talking about. The same format where most full, wide balls are left alone and deliveries down the legside arent wided. Thank you. You have just shown that you havent watched much of his bowling. Appreciate your eagerness to repeat the same point over and over again though.

Yes, f.b.m - everybody was talking about Test matches where you apparently were not. And yes, f.b.m, I am really surprised you are coming out and saying Steyn bowls inswingers. I am sorry but but that is just not true. He is not as bad and hopeless as Hilfenhaus in that respect, yes. But he is not the bowler who can move the ball both ways with a measure of control required at the highest level of the game. Feel free to disagree with that if you wish.

[vvvslaxman]

Don't rate Aamer yet. Lot of Indian swing bowlers do just as well and better in swinging conditions. His real test is in subcontinent conditions.

[Lord]

If they are working on it' date=' then that says it. They are not the top bowling unit by any means.[/quote'] whats this logic?even we r still searching for permanent no.6.hopefully Raina is the answer.but does that mean we r not the best batting side in the world?ofcourse we are n tell me why Pak is a better bowling attack?even they just tried Ajmal instead of Kaneria,showing thier own spin problems

[thevortex]

whats this logic?even we r still searching for permanent no.6.hopefully Raina is the answer.but does that mean we r not the best batting side in the world?ofcourse we are n tell me why Pak is a better bowling attack?even they just tried Ajmal instead of Kaneria,showing thier own spin problems

Our batting unit can deliver in all conditions. They have shown it. SA does not have the bowling unit to shine in all sorts of conditions. England is better placed. Not to mention Pakistan. Ajmal replaced Kaneria. But Ajmal is a talent that SA could kill to get! :). Thats how poor their stocks are. I am sorry but a sameness of attack is something SA has been accused for for a long time now. Mind you, I still say that they are a good bowling unit. But Pakistan and England have far more versatile attacks. SA have Steyn, but they dont have the support unit as yet. The other teams mentioned are not that reliant on individuals. Chalk one more for those units.

[The Outsider]

England could not defend 400 runs on a turning track in India playing 5 bowlers and 2 spinners. Best bowling attack

Aamer' date=' run of the mill bowler?!![/quote'] Wait and watch.

[Lord]

England is better placed in all conditions?how did they got routed 5-0 down under in 2006,how come they've havent won a series in subcontinent for ages(except BD)?Thier batting isnt that bad for sure. didnt u see how SA ripped apart the best batting line-up in Nagpur on the way to an innings victory?Ajmal is a good bowler.but Botha aint bad either.i'm sure he can do well wat sameness?i already explained the versatilty of thier attack in my previous post?did u miss it? if anything,its England who can be criticised for sameness.they lack a left arm bowler. n more than versatilty,effectiveness matters,we have a left arm seamer Zak,a hit the deck bowler Ishant,a swing bowler Sree,an offie,a leggie an a left arm spinner,but our attack can hardly be called one of the best.

[thevortex]

England could not defend 400 runs on a turning track in India playing 5 bowlers and 2 spinners. Best bowling attack Wait and watch.

Outsider - did I say England possessed the best bowling attack? Next, did I say it was always the best? Food for thought.

[Karan114]

SA does not have the bowling unit to shine in all sorts of conditions. England is better placed. Not to mention Pakistan.

In the last three years, the SA attack has won them Test series in WI, Australia, England, Pakistan and drawn twice in India.

[thevortex]

England is better placed in all conditions?how did they got routed 5-0 down under in 2006,how come they've havent won a series in subcontinent for ages(except BD)?Thier batting isnt that bad for sure. didnt u see how SA ripped apart the best batting line-up in Nagpur on the way to an innings victory?Ajmal is a good bowler.but Botha aint bad either.i'm sure he can do well wat sameness?i already explained the versatilty of thier attack in my previous post?did u miss it? if anything,its England who can be criticised for sameness.they lack a left arm bowler. n more than versatilty,effectiveness matters,we have a left arm seamer Zak,a hit the deck bowler Ishant,a swing bowler Sree,an offie,a leggie an a left arm spinner,but our attack can hardly be called one of the best.

Guys - lets get one thing straight. We are talking about the here and now. Not about 2006 or back in 1996. OK? SA does not have variety in their attack. Just different options of pace and medium pace.

[The Outsider]

Outsider - did I say England possessed the best bowling attack?

Well second best, but calling the Pakistani bowling attack as the best is even more hilarious. In their last 15 test matches, they have taken 20 wickets a grand total of 6 times. :giggle:

Next, did I say it was always the best? Food for thought.

That attack had Harmison, Flintoff, Anderson, Panesar, and Swann. This one has Anderson, Broad, Finn, and Swann. Yeah, surely this attack is so much better than the one which bowled in Chennai!

[punjabi_khota]

Johnson is being forgotten very fast on this forum. He is genuinely fast, and keeps up the pace for long spell. He will be back

[thevortex]

In the last three years' date=' the SA attack has won them Test series in WI, Australia, England, Pakistan and drawn twice in India.[/quote'] Yes, indeed! I was waiting for somebody to point this out. Just goes to show how statistics alone does not prove or disprove anything :). But in all earnestness, this result is more a factor of how well the home teams were at playing pace bowling rather than any versatility on the part of the SA attack. They are a good attack. No doubt about that. There never has been. They just dont have variety. That is all.