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Rank these fast bowlers out of 10

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Ted123

Tape Ball Star
Joined
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Waqar Younis
Wasim Akram
Allan Donald
Curtly Ambrose
Courtney Walsh
Glenn McGrath
Shaun Pollock
Jason Gillispie
 
Ted123 said:
Waqar Younis
Wasim Akram
Allan Donald
Curtly Ambrose
Courtney Walsh
Glenn McGrath
Shaun Pollock
Jason Gillispie
Click to expand...

Waqar younus...9
Wasim Akram...10
Allan Donald..9
Curtly Ambrose..9.5
Courtney Walsh....8.5
Glenn McGrath...9.5
Shaun Pollock...8.5
Jason Gillispie..8
 
Younis 8.5
Akram 9. 5
Donald 9
Ambrose 9
Walsh 8
McGrath 10
Pollock 8
Gillispie 7
 
Waqar Younis - 9
Wasim Akram - 9.5
Allan Donald - 9.5
Curtly Ambrose - 9.5
Courtney Walsh- 8.5
Glenn McGrath - 9.5
Shaun Pollock - 8.5
Jason Gillispie - 7.5
 
Ranking would be:-

Wasim> McGrath> Ambrose> Donald> Waqar> Pollock> Walsh> Gillispie.

I have my obsession with skills, ability and geniusness. So I will pick Wasim over the rest.
 
Ab Fan said:
Ranking would be:-

Wasim> McGrath> Ambrose> Donald> Waqar> Pollock> Walsh> Gillispie.

I have my obsession with skills, ability and geniusness. So I will pick Wasim over the rest.
Click to expand...

Agree with your preferred criteria of skills, ability and geniusness.

From the bowlers in that list, if I had to pay to treat myself to watching some top class fast bowling, my choices would be Wasim, Waqar, Donald, Ambrose.

As for Mcgrath or Pollock, you might as well just watch a scorecard on Cricinfo to check when batsmen get out most likely edging behind or to slips to a ball outside off stump, you won't miss any WOW (mazaa agayaa) moments. They were fine bowlers though, very machine like.
 
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Majid Khan said:
Agree with your preferred criteria of skills, ability and geniusness.

From the bowlers in that list, if I had to pay to treat myself to watching some top class fast bowling, my choices would be Wasim, Waqar, Donald, Ambrose.

As for Mcgrath or Pollock, you might as well just watch a scorecard on Cricinfo to check when batsmen get out most likely edging behind or to slips to a ball outside off stump, you won't miss any WOW (mazaa agayaa) moments. They were fine bowlers though, very machine like.
Click to expand...
Skills and ability is not everything but you know when you have it there is nothing you cant do and there are things which only you can do , not any1 else.
 
Waqar younus...9
Wasim Akram...9.5
Allan Donald..8.5
Curtly Ambrose..9.5
Courtney Walsh....8.5
Glenn McGrath...9
Shaun Pollock...8
Jason Gillispie..8
 
Waqar Younis 9
Wasim Akram 9
Allan Donald 10
Curtly Ambrose 10
Courtney Walsh 9
Glenn McGrath 10
Shaun Pollock 9
Jason Gillispie 8
 
Waqar Younis 8
Wasim Akram 9
Allan Donald 9
Curtly Ambrose 9
Courtney Walsh 8
Glenn McGrath 9
Shaun Pollock 8
Jason Gillespie 7
 
Waqar Younis - 9
Wasim Akram - 10
Allan Donald - 8.5
Curtly Ambrose - 9
Courtney Walsh - 8.5
Glenn McGrath - 9.5
Shaun Pollock - 8.5
Jason Gillispie - 8
 
Which format are we talking about? ODI's or tests? or combined

Tests:

Younis- 9
Akram -9.5
Donald- 9.5
Ambrose- 9.5
Walsh- 8.5
McGrath- 9.5
Pollock- 8.5
Gillespie- 8

ODI:

Younis- 9
Akram- 10
Donald- 9.5
Ambrose- 8.5
Walsh- 7
McGrath-9.5 (great WC record but lack of ability to single handily change the course of a game when coming from behind)
Pollock- 9
Gillespie- 8
 
Mcgrath is the best bowler objectively of the entire lot. GOAT contender for both test and ODIs. Not even Tendulkar and Viv can claim to be the GOAT in tests.
 
Waqar Younis 8.5
Wasim Akram - 9.5
Allan Donald - 9
Glenn McGrath - 10
Shaun Pollock - 8.5
Jason Gillispie - 7
 
Waqar Younis - 7.5 (Was poor in India/Australia Tests and had a horrible ODI record in way too many countries)
Wasim Akram - 9
Allan Donald - 8.8
Curtly Ambrose - 9
Courtney Walsh - 7
Glenn McGrath - 10 (GOAT)
Shaun Pollock - 8.5
Jason Gillispie - 6.5
 
Joseph Gomes said:
Mcgrath is the best bowler objectively of the entire lot. GOAT contender for both test and ODIs. Not even Tendulkar and Viv can claim to be the GOAT in tests.
Click to expand...

no one other than a handful of Indian fans consider McGrath GOAT in either format, not even most Australian supporters. Great bowler, ATG yes, but not GOAT.

ODI goat? Not in a million years. Too limited, lacked ability to single handedly change a game when Aus were struggling, great bowler in a great team kind of bowler, not someone who could bowl nearly as well for a weaker line up. For all his WC success, he didn't step up when needed like Warne did in 1999 or Lee in 03.
 
Akram 9.5
Because of sheer ability to change the game at any point.
Walsh 9 because he was very dependable and was a great talent.
Ambrose 9 deadly accurate

Then every one else.

Gillispie at the bottom with 6 points
 
sunnyside said:
Akram 9.5
Because of sheer ability to change the game at any point.
Walsh 9 because he was very dependable and was a great talent.
Ambrose 9 deadly accurate

Then every one else.

Gillispie at the bottom with 6 points
Click to expand...

6 is too low for gillespie.
he wasnt that bad.
Though he seved as a support bowler to mcgrath but a test avg of 26 is good enough.He was also good in odis
 
Steyn? Marshall? McGrath? Ambrose?

When it comes to seamers, who can be considered the best of the best?

It was a question posed to three prolific pacemen - Michael Holding, Shaun Pollock and Stuart Broad - by Rob Key on the latest Sky Sports Cricket Podcast as we recorded a fast-bowling special.

MICHAEL HOLDING (249 Test wickets at 23.68)

"Australia's Dennis Lillee and my old West Indies team-mates Malcolm Marshall and Andy Roberts.

"Lillee had everything - pace, control aggression. He was extremely quick when he started but had to totally remodel his action after a back injury and find different ways of getting batsmen out after losing a lot of pace.

"When you see someone can adjust like that you have to rate them highly as a lot of bowlers are nowhere near as effective when they lose pace.

"Malcolm started with good pace but as time went on he learnt so much about fast bowling. He could assess opposition batsmen so quickly, so easily. In those days you didn't have lots of tapes or computers, it was all in his head. He understood how to deal with batsmen.

"Andy was someone I learnt so much from. He hardly ever talked, used to walk around the field with a surly face and people thought he looked aggressive and must be some miserable guy. But that was not Andy.

"He was my room-mate for most of my career and we used to talk cricket nearly every night. A lot of the time, we'd order food, stay in our room and talk cricket. You would never believe how much this guy knows.

"I have experience of those three guys but from only watching, you can't leave Dale Steyn out of the picture. He has been one of the great fast bowlers in an era. You'd pay to watch him."

It’s difficult to nominate one thing that gets you up to 90mph. I don’t think you can make a fast bowler. You either have it or you don’t. If you have the ability to bowl fast then you have to train other aspects of bowling, because bowling fast alone is not going to help. A nice smooth, economical action will help you bowl fast, something that doesn’t put a lot of strain on your body.
Michael Holding's keys to bowling

SHAUN POLLOCK (421 Test wickets at 23.11)

"Marshall was next level and I was lucky enough to meet him early in my career as it made me think about fast bowling in a completely different way.

"In my era, you had great combinations like Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis for Pakistan and Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh for West Indies.

"Australia had Glenn McGrath and Bett Lee and I thought India's Javagal Srinath didn't get the credit he deserved. You now have James Anderson and Stuart Broad in this era.

"Bur since I've stopped playing, l cannot have enough respect for Steyn. His ability to shape the ball up front at high speed and then come back later and reverse it.

"He cranked it up on flat wickets and had such a good action and variations. He is something special and his stats back it up."

You need a rhythmical run-up; you can’t be going too fast or too slow and you do have to be athletic. My dad, as I was a right-armer, was a big one on my right hip needing to come through early, delaying the arm until the hip was through and then uncoil, almost like a javelin thrower. Guys like Dale Steyn and Allan Donald were brilliant with the braced front leg which allowed them to catapult over it.
Shaun Pollock's keys to bowling

STUART BROAD (485 Test wickets at 28.50… so far!)

"The bowler of my generation is Steyn, without a doubt. I really enjoy watching him bowl - the action, the pace, the way he can swing it, the skill. If you wanted to be a bowler, you'd want that sort of ability.

"A bowler who gets the most out of any pitch is Pat Cummins. I don't know if that's because he has got brute strength or is fast but he seems to find any movement on any pitch.

"Then there is Mitchell Johnson, for the fear factor and for seeing world-class batsmen, averaging between 45 and 50, unable to cope with the pace in the 2013-14 Ashes series in Australia.

"It got in one batsman's head and spread into everyone's head. When you see someone as calm as Alastair Cook get beaten for pace you have to respect the opposition and say well done.

"As for now, I love watching Kagiso Rabdada and Jofra Archer. Seeing those two battle it out over the next eight or nine years will be fascinating."

There are the physical attributes and run-up is so important for me. Picking my knees up and feeling energy in my legs but mentality is everything. I am never going to be someone with the greatest attributes in the world physically or skill-wise. I’m not the most talented but what I do know is that I will run in every day, be aggressive, have intent, try and lead my team-mates with me in a direction to win the game.

Our guests also discussed some of the best batsman they have seen or faced, with Mikey saying Sir Viv Richards is unsurpassed.

"Viv is the best batsman I have seen against anything and everything," added Holding.

"He never looked intimidated. Richard Hadlee in New Zealand, Dennis Lillee in Australia, Abdul Qadir in Pakistan, Bishan Bedi in India. Ian Botham in England. He got runs against anybody and everybody.

"He destroyed a lot of bowlers in the Caribbean. He didn't have to play against four West indies bowlers at once but he played against us [domestically] and he got runs against every team.

"As he was batting at No 3 for West Indies, I often saw him watch the first couple of overs, get a visual picture, and then go and sleep.

"People would have to wake him up and say 'Viv, it's your turn'. Sometimes it was early, sometimes, because you had (Gordon) Greenidge and (Desmond) Haynes, not so early!"

It was how well he understood his game and how he would adjust. He talked to me once about going to Australia and understanding he couldn’t take on the short-pitched deliveries anymore so he would ramp the ball over the wicketkeeper and slip. There were times, especially in the subcontinent, where you thought, ‘I’m not sure we can knock this guy over’. We were hoping he would make a mistake, rather than had a genuine plan.

On a current batting kingpin, Australia's Steve Smith, Broad added: "I remember when he got a double hundred at Lord's in 2015.

"Australia were about 340-1 after day one and I was driving in the next morning with Jimmy Anderson and Mark Wood - I think Joe Root might have been in the car as well.

"I thought, 'I can't face going into the ground knowing they were going to try and bat another day'. We drove around Lord's about eight times as I couldn't deal with Smith grinding it out!"

https://www.skysports.com/cricket/n...ollock-discuss-crickets-greatest-ever-seamers
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Shaun Pollock via Sky Sports "When batting we used to watch the Pakistan captain to see how many overs Shoaib Akhtar had left in his spell. When he'd get the signal that he was out of the attack, we would think, Yes!" <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) <a href="https://twitter.com/Saj_PakPassion/status/1248663695238017025?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 10, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
Ted123 said:
Waqar Younis
Wasim Akram
Allan Donald
Curtly Ambrose
Courtney Walsh
Glenn McGrath
Shaun Pollock
Jason Gillispie
Click to expand...

waqar younis - 6 or 7 and I am being generous here. overrated player.
wasim - 10 - legend
Alan donald - 9.5 ATG. very close to wasim
Ambrose - 9 poor record in india. 9. still a legend
Walsh- 8 very good player but not the greatest in his own team.
mcgrath- 10 had a beast record even in Asia. The greatest possibly. Although he could be a cheat. Not sure.
pollock - eh? 8 and I am.being generous. failed badly vs australia and sucked vs most good teams.
Gillespie- 7.5 good player but a true Great. good support bowler. can't lead on his own.
 
Waqar Younis - 9
Wasim Akram - 9.8
Allan Donald - 9
Curtly Ambrose - 9.5
Courtney Walsh- 8.5
Glenn McGrath - 9.5
Shaun Pollock - 8.5
Jason Gillispie - 7.5
 
Waqar Younis - 9.5
Wasim Akram - 10
Allan Donald - 8.8
Curtly Ambrose - 8.9
Courtney Walsh- 7.6
Glenn McGrath - 9.1
Shaun Pollock - 7.3
Jason Gillespie - 7.4
 
Can't believe how highly some people rate Walsh. One of the most overrated fast-bowlers of all-time
 
Waqar Younis - 7
Wasim Akram - 9.5
Allan Donald - 7.5
Curtly Ambrose - 9
Courtney Walsh- 4
Glenn McGrath - 9.5
Shaun Pollock - 4
Jason Gillespie - 3
 
Waqar Younis - 9.
Wasim Akram - 9.
Allan Donald - 7.
Curtly Ambrose - 8.
Courtney Walsh - 8.
Glenn McGrath - 9.
Shaun Pollock - 6.
Jason Gillispie - 6.
 
Wasim Akram- 10 greatest bowler of all time.He is the GOAT.
waqar younis- 9.5 great bowler.
he had the greatest peak anyone ever had.
I haven't watched their videos so I don't know much about them but when I tried to watch Glenn McGrath I really found him so so boring to watch.so I would say
glen McGrath-6
 
MenInG said:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Shaun Pollock via Sky Sports "When batting we used to watch the Pakistan captain to see how many overs Shoaib Akhtar had left in his spell. When he'd get the signal that he was out of the attack, we would think, Yes!" <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) <a href="https://twitter.com/Saj_PakPassion/status/1248663695238017025?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 10, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Click to expand...

Shoaib has definitely scared most of the teams.He was a phenomenon.just brilliant.
 
tyron_woodley said:
waqar younis - 6 or 7 and I am being generous here. overrated player.
wasim - 10 - legend
Alan donald - 9.5 ATG. very close to wasim
Ambrose - 9 poor record in india. 9. still a legend
Walsh- 8 very good player but not the greatest in his own team.
mcgrath- 10 had a beast record even in Asia. The greatest possibly. Although he could be a cheat. Not sure.
pollock - eh? 8 and I am.being generous. failed badly vs australia and sucked vs most good teams.
Gillespie- 7.5 good player but a true Great. good support bowler. can't lead on his own.
Click to expand...

:)) When did he play in India to have a poor record?
 
These ratings are relative to the other bowlers on the list for tests.
Waqar before the injury in early 92 was destined to be 9, but arm got too low, not enough bounce post injury, more like a 6.5
Wasim, underachieved for the talent he had, always consistently good but didn't hit the heights that he should have-7.5
AD, everything you want in a fast bowler, didn't bowl in tests until 26 for obvious reasons, the record against the Aussies brings him down-8
Ambrose, great when on song but on flat wickets didn't bowl quick enough-7.5
Walsh, consistently good but never threatening enough on flat wickets-6. 5
Mcgrath, good all the time, nobody played him with ease on any surface -9.5
Pollack, quick at the start but like Walsh dropped his pace for longevity and was alway solid- 6. 5
Gillespie, excellent until 2005 but fell to pieces in the Ashes, 6.5
 
Invincible Gujjar said:
Wasim Akram- 10 greatest bowler of all time.He is the GOAT.
waqar younis- 9.5 great bowler.
he had the greatest peak anyone ever had.
I haven't watched their videos so I don't know much about them but when I tried to watch Glenn McGrath I really found him so so boring to watch.so I would say
glen McGrath-6
Click to expand...

mcgrath a 6? haha.

waqar is a 6 at best. That's being generous here.

mcgrath is a potential GOAT bowler.
 
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RedwoodOriginal said:
Can't believe how highly some people rate Walsh. One of the most overrated fast-bowlers of all-time
Click to expand...

Because of the number of wickets he took. He was very, very good, just not an absolute top-liner like Marshall or Ambrose. I dearly wish England had somebody as good as old Cuddy.
 
Waqar Younis 8
Wasim Akram 8.5
Allan Donald 8.5
Curtly Ambrose 8.5
Courtney Walsh 7.5
Glenn McGrath 9
Shaun Pollock 8
Jason Gillispie 7
 
Mcgrath was genuinely in all format the best of the lot So consistent every year home and away against all opposition One of the very besy

Amby Akram Donald were on a similar level

Next come waqar and pollock for me For someone who mainly relied on pace waqar did exceptionally well to hold his own as a medium pacer from 1997 onwards Pollock was an exceptional line and length bowler and did well most places he played

Walsh was a great support bolwer to amby

Gillespie the last of the lot Good but not a great
 
Ted123 said:
Waqar Younis
Wasim Akram
Allan Donald
Curtly Ambrose
Courtney Walsh
Glenn McGrath
Shaun Pollock
Jason Gillispie
Click to expand...

McGrath
Wasim( In ODIs, Wasim at top)
Ambrose
Donald
Waqar/ Pollock
Walsh

Gillispie

Except Gillispie, rest all are all time greats.
 
Ted123 said:
Waqar Younis
Wasim Akram
Allan Donald
Curtly Ambrose
Courtney Walsh
Glenn McGrath
Shaun Pollock
Jason Gillispie
Click to expand...

Waqar Younis --------------- 8
Wasim Akram ----------------9
Allan Donald ------------------9.78
Curtly Ambrose --------------9
Courtney Walsh --------------8.5
Glenn McGrath ---------------8.5
Shaun Pollock -----------------8.5
Jason Gillispie ----------------7
 
Allan Donald is the greatest pure FAST bowler of the 1990s by far.

People who cannot appreciate his greatest are those who do not truly understand what quality fast bowling is all about.

Athletecism, stamina, raw pace, conventional swing,reverse swing he had it all covered and had a gigantic heart of a pacer.

At his peak he was the most intimidating and devastating fast bowler. The only time I ever saw Tendulkar struggling against pace was few instances against Donald.
 
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McGrath, Donald, Wasim ans Ambrose are in the top tier from that list.
freelance_cricketer said:
Allan Donald is the greatest pure FAST bowler of the 1990s by far.

People who cannot appreciate his greatest are those who do not truly understand what quality fast bowling is all about.

Athletecism, stamina, raw pace, conventional swing,reverse swing he had it all covered and had a gigantic heart of a pacer.

At his peak he was the most intimidating and devastating fast bowler. The only time I ever saw Tendulkar struggling against pace was few instances against Donald.
Click to expand...

Yep, AD had a beautiful action and would run in all day for the team. It's a shame Apartheid wasted his early 20s.
 
Markhor said:
Yep, AD had a beautiful action and would run in all day for the team. It's a shame Apartheid wasted his early 20s.
Click to expand...

In his early 20s the way be bowled on the dead pitches in India. I have never seen a bowler extract pace and bounce like that on our soil. Off the wicket he seemed the quickest. What a supreme athlete he was. It felt like he had springs in his legs.
 
Robert said:
Because of the number of wickets he took. He was very, very good, just not an absolute top-liner like Marshall or Ambrose. I dearly wish England had somebody as good as old Cuddy.
Click to expand...

Durability is not a good enough reason to rate a fast-bowler highly.
 
andy0204 said:
wow what a wonderful answer :virat
Now coming to the point the reason why he didnt tour to India because he was having shoulder surgery.
Click to expand...

Ambrose averages 20.99 in Tests. That average is outrageous. And it's not like he took a handful of wickets at that average. The man has more than 400 Test wickets. In my opinion, he along with McGrath are the 2 best fast bowlers of their time.
 
andy0204 said:
wow what a wonderful answer :virat
Now coming to the point the reason why he didnt tour to India because he was having shoulder surgery.
Click to expand...

averages 37 vs india in West Indies.

pretty sure that average would have got close to 50 in India.

tekay. :hasan2:broad
 
tyron_woodley said:
averages 37 vs india in West Indies.

pretty sure that average would have got close to 50 in India.

tekay. :hasan2:broad
Click to expand...

But you said he was scared to tour.
I told you the reason why he didn't tour.
There is no point of bringing how much average against India?
 
andy0204 said:
But you said he was scared to tour.
I told you the reason why he didn't tour.
There is no point of bringing how much average against India?
Click to expand...

there is point. He struggled vs weak India in his home town. Still a legendary bowler but the best ever. top 5.
 
Ted123 said:
Waqar Younis --> 7
Wasim Akram --> 8
Allan Donald --> 8
Curtly Ambrose --> 9
Courtney Walsh --> 7
Glenn McGrath --> 7
Shaun Pollock --> 6
Jason Gillispie --> 6
Click to expand...

Ambrose is the best fast bowler I have watched. Akram is next and Donald is close as well.
 
andy0204 said:
Does it mean he scared to tour?
Ponting and Warne failed in India so they scared to tour again?
Click to expand...

Ambrose like philander faked an injury to get out of an india tour. That's basically saying he is scared.

why are we comparing cheating, racist scummy aussie cricketers to proper legends like ambrose now?

cheaters should not be included innrhe conversation. We all know how they won games too. I Still remember the Slater vs dravid incident, 2008 series and plenty of others where cheating was condoned because these scummy inbred hillbillies were from australia. Funny how it all stopped when ipl was formed and their hegemony was destroyed.post 2006 ish. As soon as Bcci got their act together, they all grovel at their feet now.
 
Assuming Marshall as 10
I'll go with
Waqar Younis 9
Wasim Akram 9.5
Allan Donald 9
Curtly Ambrose 9.5
Courtney Walsh 8.5
Glenn McGrath 9.5
Shaun Pollock 8
Jason Gillispie 8
 
jeetu said:
Assuming Marshall as 10
I'll go with
Waqar Younis 9
Wasim Akram 9.5
Allan Donald 9
Curtly Ambrose 9.5
Courtney Walsh 8.5
Glenn McGrath 9.5
Shaun Pollock 8
Jason Gillispie 8
Click to expand...

Pollock genuinely deserves a 8.5 and then the list looks perfect.
 
tyron_woodley said:
Ambrose like philander faked an injury to get out of an india tour. That's basically saying he is scared.

why are we comparing cheating, racist scummy aussie cricketers to proper legends like ambrose now?

cheaters should not be included innrhe conversation. We all know how they won games too. I Still remember the Slater vs dravid incident, 2008 series and plenty of others where cheating was condoned because these scummy inbred hillbillies were from australia. Funny how it all stopped when ipl was formed and their hegemony was destroyed.post 2006 ish. As soon as Bcci got their act together, they all grovel at their feet now.
Click to expand...

Waah sirji maan gaye aapke gyan ko.
 
Ambrose 9.5
Wasim 9.5
Glen McGrath 9.5
Waqar 9
Donald 9
Walsh 8.5
Pollack 8
Gillespie 8
 
MenInG said:
Steyn? Marshall? McGrath? Ambrose?

When it comes to seamers, who can be considered the best of the best?

It was a question posed to three prolific pacemen - Michael Holding, Shaun Pollock and Stuart Broad - by Rob Key on the latest Sky Sports Cricket Podcast as we recorded a fast-bowling special.

MICHAEL HOLDING (249 Test wickets at 23.68)

"Australia's Dennis Lillee and my old West Indies team-mates Malcolm Marshall and Andy Roberts.

"Lillee had everything - pace, control aggression. He was extremely quick when he started but had to totally remodel his action after a back injury and find different ways of getting batsmen out after losing a lot of pace.

"When you see someone can adjust like that you have to rate them highly as a lot of bowlers are nowhere near as effective when they lose pace.

"Malcolm started with good pace but as time went on he learnt so much about fast bowling. He could assess opposition batsmen so quickly, so easily. In those days you didn't have lots of tapes or computers, it was all in his head. He understood how to deal with batsmen.

"Andy was someone I learnt so much from. He hardly ever talked, used to walk around the field with a surly face and people thought he looked aggressive and must be some miserable guy. But that was not Andy.

"He was my room-mate for most of my career and we used to talk cricket nearly every night. A lot of the time, we'd order food, stay in our room and talk cricket. You would never believe how much this guy knows.

"I have experience of those three guys but from only watching, you can't leave Dale Steyn out of the picture. He has been one of the great fast bowlers in an era. You'd pay to watch him."

It’s difficult to nominate one thing that gets you up to 90mph. I don’t think you can make a fast bowler. You either have it or you don’t. If you have the ability to bowl fast then you have to train other aspects of bowling, because bowling fast alone is not going to help. A nice smooth, economical action will help you bowl fast, something that doesn’t put a lot of strain on your body.
Michael Holding's keys to bowling

SHAUN POLLOCK (421 Test wickets at 23.11)

"Marshall was next level and I was lucky enough to meet him early in my career as it made me think about fast bowling in a completely different way.

"In my era, you had great combinations like Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis for Pakistan and Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh for West Indies.

"Australia had Glenn McGrath and Bett Lee and I thought India's Javagal Srinath didn't get the credit he deserved. You now have James Anderson and Stuart Broad in this era.

"Bur since I've stopped playing, l cannot have enough respect for Steyn. His ability to shape the ball up front at high speed and then come back later and reverse it.

"He cranked it up on flat wickets and had such a good action and variations. He is something special and his stats back it up."

You need a rhythmical run-up; you can’t be going too fast or too slow and you do have to be athletic. My dad, as I was a right-armer, was a big one on my right hip needing to come through early, delaying the arm until the hip was through and then uncoil, almost like a javelin thrower. Guys like Dale Steyn and Allan Donald were brilliant with the braced front leg which allowed them to catapult over it.
Shaun Pollock's keys to bowling

STUART BROAD (485 Test wickets at 28.50… so far!)

"The bowler of my generation is Steyn, without a doubt. I really enjoy watching him bowl - the action, the pace, the way he can swing it, the skill. If you wanted to be a bowler, you'd want that sort of ability.

"A bowler who gets the most out of any pitch is Pat Cummins. I don't know if that's because he has got brute strength or is fast but he seems to find any movement on any pitch.

"Then there is Mitchell Johnson, for the fear factor and for seeing world-class batsmen, averaging between 45 and 50, unable to cope with the pace in the 2013-14 Ashes series in Australia.

"It got in one batsman's head and spread into everyone's head. When you see someone as calm as Alastair Cook get beaten for pace you have to respect the opposition and say well done.

"As for now, I love watching Kagiso Rabdada and Jofra Archer. Seeing those two battle it out over the next eight or nine years will be fascinating."

There are the physical attributes and run-up is so important for me. Picking my knees up and feeling energy in my legs but mentality is everything. I am never going to be someone with the greatest attributes in the world physically or skill-wise. I’m not the most talented but what I do know is that I will run in every day, be aggressive, have intent, try and lead my team-mates with me in a direction to win the game.

Our guests also discussed some of the best batsman they have seen or faced, with Mikey saying Sir Viv Richards is unsurpassed.

"Viv is the best batsman I have seen against anything and everything," added Holding.

"He never looked intimidated. Richard Hadlee in New Zealand, Dennis Lillee in Australia, Abdul Qadir in Pakistan, Bishan Bedi in India. Ian Botham in England. He got runs against anybody and everybody.

"He destroyed a lot of bowlers in the Caribbean. He didn't have to play against four West indies bowlers at once but he played against us [domestically] and he got runs against every team.

"As he was batting at No 3 for West Indies, I often saw him watch the first couple of overs, get a visual picture, and then go and sleep.

"People would have to wake him up and say 'Viv, it's your turn'. Sometimes it was early, sometimes, because you had (Gordon) Greenidge and (Desmond) Haynes, not so early!"

It was how well he understood his game and how he would adjust. He talked to me once about going to Australia and understanding he couldn’t take on the short-pitched deliveries anymore so he would ramp the ball over the wicketkeeper and slip. There were times, especially in the subcontinent, where you thought, ‘I’m not sure we can knock this guy over’. We were hoping he would make a mistake, rather than had a genuine plan.

On a current batting kingpin, Australia's Steve Smith, Broad added: "I remember when he got a double hundred at Lord's in 2015.

"Australia were about 340-1 after day one and I was driving in the next morning with Jimmy Anderson and Mark Wood - I think Joe Root might have been in the car as well.

"I thought, 'I can't face going into the ground knowing they were going to try and bat another day'. We drove around Lord's about eight times as I couldn't deal with Smith grinding it out!"

https://www.skysports.com/cricket/n...ollock-discuss-crickets-greatest-ever-seamers
Click to expand...

https://twitter.com/x/status/971804235850440704

Still gives one goosebumps...
 
Waqar Younis - 8
Wasim Akram - 9
Allan Donald - 8
Curtly Ambrose - 9
Courtney Walsh - 8
Glenn McGrath - 9
Shaun Pollock - 7
Jason Gillispie - 7
 
How about this guy?

<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 50%;"><iframe src="https://streamable.com/s/gkscvm/jggjmg" frameborder="0" width="100%" height="100%" allowfullscreen style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;"></iframe></div>
 
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