12 best fast bowlers of all time statistically and morally in Test cricket?

[Harsh Thakor]

Here I am making a list of the 12 best fast bowlers statistically and th 12 best overall in term sof class in test cricket.

12 statistically best fast bowlers in order of merit in tests

Richard Hadlee
Glen Mcgrath
Dennis Lillee
Malcolm Marshall
Dale Steyn
Curtly Ambrose
Alan Donald
Imran Khan
Fred Trueman
Wasim Akram
Waqar Younus
Alan Davidson

Hadlee on top because of 36- five wicket hauls and 11 -10 wicket hauls in addition to capturing 5 wickets per test.Mcgrath next because of staggering haul of 563 scalps.and capturing 8 wickets in an innings twice.Lillee 3rd because of 31 - 5 and 10 wicket hauls and taking 5 wickets per test with morally 460 scalp,considering WSC supertests and matches v Rest of the World ..Marshall 4th because of phenomenal strike rate and average.Steyn 5th because of fantastic strike rate.Ambrose 6th because of average of 20.99 but a low strike rate comparatively. Ambrose has great best figures and great average in games won..Donald 7th because of great strike rate of 47 but not so many scalps.Imran at 7 because of his great best figures ,taking 7 or more wickets 5 times .Trueman at 9 because of great average of around 21.Wasim because of over 400 scalps and best bowler in peak period with many 5 and 10 wicket hauls.Waqar because of great strike rate.Davidson because of extraordinary average of 20.58.

I left out Sydney Barnes although he was the greatest in statistical terms because he may not have even been classed as fast -medium.


12 best on overall merit considering class in test cricket

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

Striking dichotonomy between statistics and true class.Marshall and lillee could turn he complexion of games and were more hostile and versatile than Hadlee or Mcgrath.Wasim was more creative than anyone being the most daunting proposition.Better than anyone on fast strips.Ambrose wa s the most accurate of all and the best ever on broken tracks but not the most effective on docile surfaces.At his best Curtly was the ultimate match winner.Imran's record speaks for itself against West Indies and on sub-continent tracks.Steyn mastered all conditions with an outstanding record.Lindwall was close to the most complete of all.Trueman had phenomenal stats averaging around 21.Roberts was a almost a replica of Lillee in terms of craft and versatility.Holding was the epitome of pace bowling aesthetics posesing the highest speed through the air of anyone consistently.

 

[BoomBoomCricket]

Immy took a large chunk of his wickets while having to concentrate on the job of captaincy too.

 

[tyron_woodley]

I agree with the list except for waqar younis.

 

[Bhaijaan]

1. Allan Donald - GOAT
2. Dennis The Mannis Lillee
3. Wasim Akram
4. Harold Larwood
5. The Great Sir Richard Hadlee

 

[Harsh Thakor]

Please come here [MENTION=132916]Junaids[/MENTION] [MENTION=79064]MMHS[/MENTION] [MENTION=139595]Ab Fan[/MENTION] [MENTION=7774]Robert[/MENTION] [MENTION=133315]Hitman[/MENTION] Pleased your contribution

 

[ishtiaq_ctg]

Here I am making a list of the 12 best fast bowlers statistically and th 12 best overall in term sof class in test cricket.

12 statistically best fast bowlers in order of merit in tests

Richard Hadlee
Glen Mcgrath
Dennis Lillee
Malcolm Marshall
Dale Steyn
Curtly Ambrose
Alan Donald
Imran Khan
Fred Trueman
Wasim Akram
Waqar Younus
Alan Davidson

Hadlee on top because of 36- five wicket hauls and 11 -10 wicket hauls in addition to capturing 5 wickets per test.Mcgrath next because of staggering haul of 563 scalps.and capturing 8 wickets in an innings twice.Lillee 3rd because of 31 - 5 and 10 wicket hauls and taking 5 wickets per test with morally 460 scalp,considering WSC supertests and matches v Rest of the World ..Marshall 4th because of phenomenal strike rate and average.Steyn 5th because of fantastic strike rate.Ambrose 6th because of average of 20.99 but a low strike rate comparatively. Ambrose has great best figures and great average in games won..Donald 7th because of great strike rate of 47 but not so many scalps.Imran at 7 because of his great best figures ,taking 7 or more wickets 5 times .Trueman at 9 because of great average of around 21.Wasim because of over 400 scalps and best bowler in peak period with many 5 and 10 wicket hauls.Waqar because of great strike rate.Davidson because of extraordinary average of 20.58.

I left out Sydney Barnes although he was the greatest in statistical terms because he may not have even been classed as fast -medium.


12 best on overall merit considering class in test cricket

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

Striking dichotonomy between statistics and true class.Marshall and lillee could turn he complexion of games and were more hostile and versatile than Hadlee or Mcgrath.Wasim was more creative than anyone being the most daunting proposition.Better than anyone on fast strips.Ambrose wa s the most accurate of all and the best ever on broken tracks but not the most effective on docile surfaces.At his best Curtly was the ultimate match winner.Imran's record speaks for itself against West Indies and on sub-continent tracks.Steyn mastered all conditions with an outstanding record.Lindwall was close to the most complete of all.Trueman had phenomenal stats averaging around 21.Roberts was a almost a replica of Lillee in terms of craft and versatility.Holding was the epitome of pace bowling aesthetics posesing the highest speed through the air of anyone consistently.

Dennis Lilee is no way a better bowler than Mcgrath. Mcgrath has taken many more wickets with a lower average compared to lilee. Infact lilee's contemporaries Hadlee, Khan & Marshall all had a lower average than lilee & unlike the latter, they performed wonderfully all around the world. Even in WSC, Lilee averaged 26+ average which is good but not ground breaking. This guy also performed like a club cricketer in subcontinent. No way can he be the top 5 bowler of all time.
My top 5 bowlers are
1. Mcgrath(bowled in a batting era, longevity)
2. Marshall( amazing stats)
3. Hadlee
4. Steyn(batting era hence should be up there)
5. Ambrose(2nd best ever WI bowler)

also Imran Khan was a better test bowler than Wasim
I'll also have Donald in top 10. amazing bowler. anderson & Walsh will be in top 12

 

[Romali_rotti]

Mcgrath the greatest of all time, then the rest.. Steyn, had he bowled with a younger Pollock as his bowling partner would have broken Mcgrath's wicket tally easily with a similar or better average....

 

[Ab Fan]

Dunno statistically, but here is my list on merit.

60s- Trueman
70s- Lillee, Roberts, Willis
80s- Marshall, Imran, Hadlee, Garner, Holding
90s- Wasim, Ambrose, Donald, Waqar, Pollock, Walsh, Bishop
00s- McGrath, Steyn

That's top 20.

Anderson, Kapil, Botham, Akhtar, Thomson, Johnson are a level below.

 

[therealAB]

Good list, all the necessary inclusions. Davidson perhaps a bit lucky, Lindwall, Statham, Roberts, Holding, Garner, Pollock in similar class. As such I will just rank the other 11
My List:
Marshall: the best, did everything everywhere
McGrath: close to Marshall statistically, very good in batting era. However unlike Marshall at times (very, very rarely) he could be subdued
Hadlee: carried a weak team, depending on how that is weighed could be no 1. Wasn't the best against the strong Pak batting lineup during his career
Steyn: Worse statisically so far, but in a good batting era and could be absolutely unplayable at times
Curtly: Very restrictive, but lowest strike rate so far, also not the best vs India
Gap, change in quality. very minor though, still great bowlers
Imran: brilliant bowler, which is sometimes underrated due to captaincy, batting. Weak start to career holds him back
Trueman: brilliant in a high scoring era. Strike rate really stands out vs contemporaries, even great ones like Davidson
Donald: very good but didn't stand up vs Aus. Could be ranked higher if not for Apartheid
Lillee: brilliant and inspired at times, stood up in big moments. However not the best in all conditions
Wasim: highly skilled, probably didn't make the best use of his talent. Low WPM + higher percentage tail end wickets stand out compared to contemporaries
Waqar: Started well then died off sadly towards the end of his career. ATG peak


Yes, yes I know i'm splitting hairs but it is hard to differentiate great bowlers