12 hardest pace bowlers to face?

[Harsh Thakor]

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.

 

[therealAB]

For me McGrath #1, as you would no you are going to get no scoring opportunities and that survival is the only option. Someone like Steyn, Wasim would be easier mentally as you know that you will likely get a bad ball once in a while. Marshall, Hadlee, Curtly also up the top. The hardest to face get the most wickets and have the best figures, so Marshall and McGrath are up the top by that reason as well

 

[Harsh Thakor]

For me McGrath #1, as you would no you are going to get no scoring opportunities and that survival is the only option. Someone like Steyn, Wasim would be easier mentally as you know that you will likely get a bad ball once in a while. Marshall, Hadlee, Curtly also up the top. The hardest to face get the most wickets and have the best figures, so Marshall and McGrath are up the top by that reason as well

What about the pace of Jeff Thomson-most intimidating?Was not Wasim's all-round skill and creativity more lethal than Mcgrath?No mentin of Lille or Roberts.

 

[Bhaijaan]

12 is a stretch.

From memory the hardest bowler at their prime were Donald, Waqar and Ambrose respectively with little separating the three.

Glenn McGrath was great but had he not played for Australia, and instead he played for India he would have averaged 29+ with 400-450 test wickets, ending his career just behind Kapil Dev, as a bowler.

Great dynasties help bowling averages of all bowlers.

Same with West Indies of 1980s. ATG bowling attack but individually none of their pace quartet or sixtet makes top 5 ever.

 

[Bhaijaan]

5 most fierce pace demons at their prime during my era :-

1. Donald
2. Bond
3. Shami
4. Ambrose
5. Waqar

 

[therealAB]

What about the pace of Jeff Thomson-most intimidating?Was not Wasim's all-round skill and creativity more lethal than Mcgrath?No mentin of Lille or Roberts.

Not more lethal than McGrath Harsh. McGrath took more wickets/match at a better average. From the cricket I have played, the main thing is not getting out and McGrath was the best at getting you out. Being hard to face means hard to avoid getting out to. McGrath was better than Thomo, DK and Roberts, and everyone bar Marshall

 

[therealAB]

5 most fierce pace demons at their prime during my era :-

1. Donald
2. Bond
3. Shami
4. Ambrose
5. Waqar

Shami ahead of Ambrose, Waqar, Wasim, Johnson, Pollock, Walsh etc. Just stupid

 

[Bhaijaan]

Shami ahead of Ambrose, Waqar, Wasim, Johnson, Pollock, Walsh etc. Just stupid

Ambrose and Waqar definitely belong in the same tier as Shami in terms of threat level and i wouldn't be complaining if anyone reverses that order. It's subjective

Pollock is a great of the game but a level behind.

Johnson isn't anywhere close to Shami..At least two tiers behind him in class.

Can't comment on Wasim until he comes clean on recent allegations.

 

[therealAB]

12 is a stretch.

From memory the hardest bowler at their prime were Donald, Waqar and Ambrose respectively with little separating the three.

Glenn McGrath was great but had he not played for Australia, and instead he played for India he would have averaged 29+ with 400-450 test wickets, ending his career just behind Kapil Dev, as a bowler.

Great dynasties help bowling averages of all bowlers.

Same with West Indies of 1980s. ATG bowling attack but individually none of their pace quartet or sixtet makes top 5 ever.

Donald, Waqar and Ambrose all bowled in attacks just as good as Australia's, with support like Pollock, Devilliers, Walsh, Saqlain, Shoaib and Wasim so that point is invalid. McGrath was Australia's best bowler and was the player most vital to their success. When he was injured, like vs India in 2003/4, Eng in 2005 the Australian team were very beatable. For all the allure that Warne had, McGrath was the bloke who got the best batsmen of the opposition out, ripping out the heart of their batting order. When McGrath was not their the Aus team was mortal. He was the difference between an ATG team up their with WI of the 80's and a great team like SA around 2010 and Pak during the late 80's.

Comparing him to Kapil is also folly, McGrath did better everywhere compared to Kapil, who isn't even an ATG pacer, merely a very good one akin to Gillespie, Shoaib, Jimmy and Botham

 

[therealAB]

Ambrose and Waqar definitely belong in the same tier as Shami in terms of threat level and i wouldn't be complaining if anyone reverses that order. It's subjective

Pollock is a great of the game but a level behind.

Johnson isn't anywhere close to Shami..At least two tiers behind him in class.

Can't comment on Wasim until he comes clean on recent allegations.

Hugely overrating Shami, who is no where near the other blokes. Pollock took over 400 wickets @ 23, Shami has 180 @ 27. One is Wasim level, the other is Stuart Broad. I know India has never had any fast bowlers, but that doesn't mean that any half-decent one if Marshall/McGrath class. Shami is a nobody in the tier of ATG fast bowlers

 

[HGhazanfar]

M Asif was the greatest in terms of threat. Could really make the ball move around on any pitch.

 

[Robert]

A lot depends who you ask.

David Gower said the hardest bowler he faced was Andy Roberts.

Botham said either Roberts or Lillee.

No doubt Atherton would say Donald.

Stewart said it was Wasim.

 

[Harsh Thakor]

A lot depends who you ask.

David Gower said the hardest bowler he faced was Andy Roberts.

Botham said either Roberts or Lillee.

No doubt Atherton would say Donald.

Stewart said it was Wasim.

Remember Viv ,Kallis and Lara chose Wasim.Gower chose Lillee .Gavaskar chose Roberts and Imran Holding.What is your list?

 

[Harsh Thakor]

Do come here [MENTION=79064]MMHS[/MENTION] [MENTION=132916]Junaids[/MENTION] [MENTION=139595]Ab Fan[/MENTION]

 

[FastBowlingAllrounder]

Unconventional and not exactly 'fierce' in terms of pace/swing but could Neil Wagner be on this list? Not ATG by a long shot but playing in the current era and still being able to tie batsmen down and outfox them for 8+ over spells is no mean task, especially with the types of pitches present today. You can't 'wait him out' as he bowls long spells and most of than not batsmen succumb to their own impatience -> hard to get on top of.

 

[therealAB]

A lot depends who you ask.

David Gower said the hardest bowler he faced was Andy Roberts.

Botham said either Roberts or Lillee.

No doubt Atherton would say Donald.

Stewart said it was Wasim.

I reckon Atherton would say McGrath tbh given that he didn't score a run against him

 

[therealAB]

M Asif was the greatest in terms of threat. Could really make the ball move around on any pitch.

Could name 50 bowlers more threatening than Asif, overrated due to how career ended so quickly

Good figures, but he played 14/23 tests in SA, NZ or Eng, which are the homes for bowlers like him.

 

[Robert]

Remember Viv ,Kallis and Lara chose Wasim.Gower chose Lillee .Gavaskar chose Roberts and Imran Holding.What is your list?

I recall Gower said it was Roberts. Perhaps formative years stuff at Leics? Roberts knocked the 18-year-old Botham’s front teeth out. Imran said the #1 quick he faced was Lillee due to the Australian’s sheer bravery and will to win.

I don’t have a list, I never faced any of these great men. I can do is repeat what I read.

 

[Robert]

I reckon Atherton would say McGrath tbh given that he didn't score a run against him

His back had gone by the time he faced McG though. He couldn’t duck. McG spotted that and exploited it.

 

[Bhaijaan]

A lot depends who you ask.

David Gower said the hardest bowler he faced was Andy Roberts.

Botham said either Roberts or Lillee.

No doubt Atherton would say Donald.

Stewart said it was Wasim.

..and Sachin said Hansie Cronje

 

[Harsh Thakor]

I recall Gower said it was Roberts. Perhaps formative years stuff at Leics? Roberts knocked the 18-year-old Botham’s front teeth out. Imran said the #1 quick he faced was Lillee due to the Australian’s sheer bravery and will to win.

I don’t have a list, I never faced any of these great men. I can do is repeat what I read.

Thanks.Gower has rated Marshall and Lillee as his greatest pace bowlers in his book on 50 best cricketers of all.Imran ranked Michael Holding as his best fast bowler.Do read his analysis.

 

[tyron_woodley]

Shami ahead of Ambrose, Waqar, Wasim, Johnson, Pollock, Walsh etc. Just stupid

shami ahead of waqar anyday. Johnson was vastly overrated. he had literally one or 2 good series at the tail end of his career.
pollock is a trundler who wasn't intimidating to face.

jasprit should be in this list.

 

[Kingpin786]

shami ahead of waqar anyday. Johnson was vastly overrated. he had literally one or 2 good series at the tail end of his career.
pollock is a trundler who wasn't intimidating to face.

jasprit should be in this list.

lol nice joke

 

[tyron_woodley]

lol nice joke

no joke when it's true Lel.

 

[Ab Fan]

It's hard to say who was the hardest to face at when you haven't seen/followed their careers. We can rank players on merit on the basis of what we hear all-round but "hardest to face" is such a tough term to define.

From those I saw, I will say Glenn McGrath. He was the hardest to score against because he would bowl all his deliveries in the corridor of uncertainty and as soon as you try to score off him, you may end up throwing your wickets.

Coming to more recent modern era, I think of James Anderson with the Duke bowl and Vernon Philander in swinging conditions. Jimmy bowled and emerged victorious years after years for England in England conditions and he was very much a benchmark to face in English conditions.

Vernon Philander was absolute nightmare as well in swinging conditions, the amount of times he has run through teams can be seen by the number of 5-fers he has got in lesser matches. But he was mediocre in subcontinent.

If I think from older era, Lillee must be very hard to face, he was the first true and complete fast bowler the game has seen. Marshall as well.

 

[Harsh Thakor]

It's hard to say who was the hardest to face at when you haven't seen/followed their careers. We can rank players on merit on the basis of what we hear all-round but "hardest to face" is such a tough term to define.

From those I saw, I will say Glenn McGrath. He was the hardest to score against because he would bowl all his deliveries in the corridor of uncertainty and as soon as you try to score off him, you may end up throwing your wickets.

Coming to more recent modern era, I think of James Anderson with the Duke bowl and Vernon Philander in swinging conditions. Jimmy bowled and emerged victorious years after years for England in England conditions and he was very much a benchmark to face in English conditions.

Vernon Philander was absolute nightmare as well in swinging conditions, the amount of times he has run through teams can be seen by the number of 5-fers he has got in lesser matches. But he was mediocre in subcontinent.

If I think from older era, Lillee must be very hard to face, he was the first true and complete fast bowler the game has seen. Marshall as well.

Wasim Akram?not the hardest?Viv and Lara felt so.

 

[tyron_woodley]

It's hard to say who was the hardest to face at when you haven't seen/followed their careers. We can rank players on merit on the basis of what we hear all-round but "hardest to face" is such a tough term to define.

From those I saw, I will say Glenn McGrath. He was the hardest to score against because he would bowl all his deliveries in the corridor of uncertainty and as soon as you try to score off him, you may end up throwing your wickets.

Coming to more recent modern era, I think of James Anderson with the Duke bowl and Vernon Philander in swinging conditions. Jimmy bowled and emerged victorious years after years for England in England conditions and he was very much a benchmark to face in English conditions.

Vernon Philander was absolute nightmare as well in swinging conditions, the amount of times he has run through teams can be seen by the number of 5-fers he has got in lesser matches. But he was mediocre in subcontinent.

If I think from older era, Lillee must be very hard to face, he was the first true and complete fast bowler the game has seen. Marshall as well.

Vernon was not just mediocre in india..He was beyond pathetic. Absolutely shameful to watch.

Appalling stuff.

 

[Ab Fan]

Vernon was not just mediocre in india..He was beyond pathetic. Absolutely shameful to watch.

Appalling stuff.

In simple words, Philander was treated as a part-timer not only by Indian batsmen but also by his captain because he was completely ineffective. Same happened in Sri Lanka.

 

[tyron_woodley]

In simple words, Philander was treated as a part-timer not only by Indian batsmen but also by his captain because he was completely ineffective. Same happened in Sri Lanka.

I absolutely despise players like him. One dimensional players. That's why I don't rate waqar either. He was flat our terrible in india and australia. He had his fair share of Back injuries yes but even prior to getting injured he never quite faced quality batsmen. His status as an ATG will always be questionable to me. I do not rate him.

I would put shoaib above him but the issue I have with shoaib is the lack of games.

However going back to philander. He is phenomenal in SENA. No question about it. One of the best ever in SENA conditons.

 

[therealAB]

shami ahead of waqar anyday. Johnson was vastly overrated. he had literally one or 2 good series at the tail end of his career.
pollock is a trundler who wasn't intimidating to face.

jasprit should be in this list.

Doesn't matter if they are intimidating, it matters how hard they are to face. Pollock got batsmen out.
If you are looking at intimidation, Johnson is #1 in recent history. They way he tore apart Eng and a very good SA was incredible.

You cannot have it both ways. If difficulty to face is intimidation, Johnson >> Shami. If difficulty to face is how good one is at getting you out (which it should be) Pollock > Shami

 

[therealAB]

Wasim Akram?not the hardest?Viv and Lara felt so.

Wasim wasn't as good as getting people out than McGrath, Curtly, Hadlee, Marshall

 

[therealAB]

I absolutely despise players like him. One dimensional players. That's why I don't rate waqar either. He was flat our terrible in india and australia. He had his fair share of Back injuries yes but even prior to getting injured he never quite faced quality batsmen. His status as an ATG will always be questionable to me. I do not rate him.

I would put shoaib above him but the issue I have with shoaib is the lack of games.

However going back to philander. He is phenomenal in SENA. No question about it. One of the best ever in SENA conditons.

Do you rate Ashwin? What about Shami, who averages bad vs England, NZ, Aus. The only good team he has a good average vs is SA. minnow-basher

 

[tyron_woodley]

Doesn't matter if they are intimidating, it matters how hard they are to face. Pollock got batsmen out.
If you are looking at intimidation, Johnson is #1 in recent history. They way he tore apart Eng and a very good SA was incredible.

You cannot have it both ways. If difficulty to face is intimidation, Johnson >> Shami. If difficulty to face is how good one is at getting you out (which it should be) Pollock > Shami

In terms of intimidation as a pace bowler? he only showed his ability to bowl bouncers in 2012-2014. That's it. He was a useless wastrel prior to that especially in Asia.

 

[tyron_woodley]

Do you rate Ashwin? What about Shami, who averages bad vs England, NZ, Aus. The only good team he has a good average vs is SA. minnow-basher

In Asia? he is one of the best ever. Outisde Asia he is mediocre just like philander and Johnson in Asia.

philander averages 43 in india and some other absurd number in Lanka.
rabada averages 40 plus in india. minnow basher?

Johnson averages 43 in india and 55 or something in Lanka

there are only 2 GOAT bowlers. mcgrath and steyn


wasim averaged 27.14 vs SENA ando 28 f you include india and 90s west indies.

 

[Ab Fan]

I absolutely despise players like him. One dimensional players. That's why I don't rate waqar either. He was flat our terrible in india and australia. He had his fair share of Back injuries yes but even prior to getting injured he never quite faced quality batsmen. His status as an ATG will always be questionable to me. I do not rate him.

I would put shoaib above him but the issue I have with shoaib is the lack of games.

However going back to philander. He is phenomenal in SENA. No question about it. One of the best ever in SENA conditons.

I agree on Philander but Waqar and Pollock both are ATG, a lower tier but definitely one. Waqar's peak was quite phenomenal between 1990-94 but after that he bowled at a Darren Gough and Javagal Srinath level.

Shaun Pollock was also similar, phenomenal peak between 1995- 2001 averaging 20 with bowl but between 2002-08, he averaged 27 with only two fi-fers.

Akhtar was fast but a bit too hyped, if he played 40 more tests, he would have ended up with 300 wickets @27-28. He had moments but he didn't dominated matches.

 

[Ab Fan]

Do you rate Ashwin? What about Shami, who averages bad vs England, NZ, Aus. The only good team he has a good average vs is SA. minnow-basher

Shami is not at ATG level but he did well in the first tour to Australia 2015, just the pitches were absymal for the touring opposition pace bowler. He was by far the best Indian bowler on scene yet he ended with an average of 35.

Given how NZ bowlers like Trent Boult fared in the first two tests of Australian tour very next year puts things into perspective. Ausssies were serving absolute patta's (roads) those days. Luckily, Boult got a pink test(final one) and he took a fi-fer in it to take his overall average to 37 otherwise it was worst.

 

[jeeteshssaxena]

Top 3

1.Curtly Ambrose
2.Joel garner
3.Glenn Mcgrath

 

[Misia]

No Bond, Shultz, shoib, waqar, Zahid, Sami, aussie quick seios pace still playing t20 I think

 

[gani999]

Surprised that no one mentioned Brett Lee in his prime?

He was one devastating bowler

 

[therealAB]

Surprised that no one mentioned Brett Lee in his prime?

He was one devastating bowler

was trash. Got cheap wickets when players hit out vs Warne, McGrath, Gillespie, all three who were better bowlers by a country mile

 

[andy0204]

was trash. Got cheap wickets when players hit out vs Warne, McGrath, Gillespie, all three who were better bowlers by a country mile

He did decent job after McWarne got retired.

 

[andy0204]

It's hard to say who was the hardest to face at when you haven't seen/followed their careers. We can rank players on merit on the basis of what we hear all-round but "hardest to face" is such a tough term to define.

From those I saw, I will say Glenn McGrath. He was the hardest to score against because he would bowl all his deliveries in the corridor of uncertainty and as soon as you try to score off him, you may end up throwing your wickets.

Coming to more recent modern era, I think of James Anderson with the Duke bowl and Vernon Philander in swinging conditions. Jimmy bowled and emerged victorious years after years for England in England conditions and he was very much a benchmark to face in English conditions.

Vernon Philander was absolute nightmare as well in swinging conditions, the amount of times he has run through teams can be seen by the number of 5-fers he has got in lesser matches. But he was mediocre in subcontinent.

If I think from older era, Lillee must be very hard to face, he was the first true and complete fast bowler the game has seen. Marshall as well.

I agree with whatever you said about Philander on his day he was nightmare to the batsman he bowled even more dangerous than Steyn.

 

[therealAB]

He did decent job after McWarne got retired.

for a single summer was good. However with all of his talents he should have done a lot better.

The below aus pace bowlers are all >> Lee, purely of those who have played since WW2. Probs most overrated Aus fast bowlers ever

Davidson
McGrath
Lillee
Hazlewood
Cummins
McKenzie
McDermott
Gillespie
Johnson
Harris
Reid
Johnston
Miller
Lindwall
Fleming
Thommo

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Ambrose, McGrath, Wasim. Very difficult to score off in tests.

 

[tyron_woodley]

minimum of 40 games to be considered a true Great. I would like to say higher but I leave the bar at 40 for guys like shoaib.

 

[therealAB]

minimum of 40 games to be considered a true Great. I would like to say higher but I leave the bar at 40 for guys like shoaib.

but Shoaib ain't a true great? You can consider him an ATG, but then there are legit 30 ATG's which is way too much

 

[Junaids]

I think an important part of this is how you define “difficult”.

Are we talking about:

1. At a bowler’s peak, however briefly.
2. Consistent level of threat over many years.
3. Just Tests or limited overs formats too?

I put Malcolm Marshall far ahead of anyone else.

Because this is about threat, not difficulty to score against, I am going to rule out the 6’5 to 6’8 bowlers who were impossible to score off.

So out go McGrath, Ambrose, Garner and Van Der Bijl.

Apart from Marshall, the three highest peaks of dangerousness that I have ever seen were:

1. Mitchell Johnson, who was TWICE the ICC International Cricketer of the Year but four years apart. He could be rubbish in between, but those two peaks were astonishing.

2. Waqar Younis 1990 and 1991.

3. Ian Bishop in 1990 and 1991.

I think that Wasim Akram was a better bowler than Waqar Younis, but Waqar’s peak was just very very high.

Lastly, Mike Procter’s Test and SuperTest returns, almost a decade apart, show an ATG bowler.

 

[therealAB]

I think an important part of this is how you define “difficult”.

Are we talking about:

1. At a bowler’s peak, however briefly.
2. Consistent level of threat over many years.
3. Just Tests or limited overs formats too?

I put Malcolm Marshall far ahead of anyone else.

Because this is about threat, not difficulty to score against, I am going to rule out the 6’5 to 6’8 bowlers who were impossible to score off.

So out go McGrath, Ambrose, Garner and Van Der Bijl.

Apart from Marshall, the three highest peaks of dangerousness that I have ever seen were:

1. Mitchell Johnson, who was TWICE the ICC International Cricketer of the Year but four years apart. He could be rubbish in between, but those two peaks were astonishing.

2. Waqar Younis 1990 and 1991.

3. Ian Bishop in 1990 and 1991.

I think that Wasim Akram was a better bowler than Waqar Younis, but Waqar’s peak was just very very high.

Lastly, Mike Procter’s Test and SuperTest returns, almost a decade apart, show an ATG bowler.

Great list, especially Bishop who is critically underrated. The one thing is that McGrath had a good SR, compared to people like Wasim, Imran, Lillee etc.

Other bowler who should def be on the list is Trueman, who's strike rate era - adjusted is probably the best of all time.

 

[Robert]

Surprised that no one mentioned Brett Lee in his prime?

He was one devastating bowler

Test average 30. Tended to get wickets in dead rubbers IIRC. Easier to hit than McGrath.

 

[tyron_woodley]

but Shoaib ain't a true great? You can consider him an ATG, but then there are legit 30 ATG's which is way too much

I said like shoaib. dint say he is an ATG although his stats are ATG esque.

 

[tyron_woodley]

Ian bishop could have possible been the best ever if he weren't plagued by injuries. He was that good.

I remember him destroying india when w.indies somehow managed to defend a 100 odd score. Single handedly.