Ranking fast bowlers in Tests

[Ab Fan]

The comparison is across era but I think they are pretty comparable.

1)England:-

James Anderson
Ian Botham
Stuart Broad

2)South Africa:-

Shaun Pollock
Vernon Philander

3)India:-

Kapil Dev

4)Pakistan:-

Shoaib Akhtar

5)NZ:-

Trent Boult

6)West Indies:-

Andy Roberts
Courtney Walsh

So, 10 names. Discuss!

 

[Last Monetarist]

1. Pollock
2. Anderson
3. Roberts
4. Walsh
5. Kapil
6. Botham
7. Shoaib
8. Broad
9. Philander
10. Boult

It's hard for me to compare across eras, given that Ian Botham from 1978-1982 was probably one of the best cricketers in the history of the game.

Whereas, Shaun Pollock post 2003 was a shadow of himself and an ordinary bowler who wouldn't merit a discussion to be included among the all-time greats.

At the end, subjective as it is, I've tried taking the whole body of work in a career into account.

 

[Thunderbolt14]

Pollock
Roberts
Walsh
Akhtar
Dev
Botham
Anderson
Philander
Boult
Broad

 

[jeeteshssaxena]

Pollock
Walsh
Roberts
Anderson
Dev
Broad
Philander
Akhtar
Botham
Boult

 

[Ab Fan]

In my opinion, on 10,

Pollock- 9.0
Roberts - 8.5
Walsh - 8.5
Anderson - 8.5
Kapil - 8.0
Botham - 8.0
Broad - 7.5
Akhtar- 7.5 ( peak - 9.0)
Philander/ Boult - 7.0

 

[Ab Fan]

Broad can be 7.5-8 though and Akhtar also.

 

[Thunderbolt14]

I feel Botham is being a bit overrated, played in England all his life, almost all his best spells were in England. Similar to Anderson actually, who I also feel is overrated.

Botham averaged 35 against West Indies, the best side at the time far and away, which is actually an average of 40 if you just look at him vs Windies in Windies. Averaged 31 against Pakistan. Averaged 29 against Aus.

You’ve put him at 8, but I would put him at 7.

 

[jeeteshssaxena]

Philander definitely achieved way more than Akhtar, if not for longevity i would take him over Broad too

 

[Ab Fan]

I feel Botham is being a bit overrated, played in England all his life, almost all his best spells were in England. Similar to Anderson actually, who I also feel is overrated.

Botham averaged 35 against West Indies, the best side at the time far and away, which is actually an average of 40 if you just look at him vs Windies in Windies. Averaged 31 against Pakistan. Averaged 29 against Aus.

You’ve put him at 8, but I would put him at 7.

Maybe but 380 wickets at 28 and halfway his career, he was basically averaging 23-24 so gave him 8.

Also, 380 wickets were plenty at that time.

 

[Ab Fan]

Philander definitely achieved way more than Akhtar, if not for longevity i would take him over Broad too

Hard to rate Vern given his performance in subcontinent where he was treated as a stock bowler. Others have done much better than him.

Shoaib was an all-condition bowler but obviously under-achieved. However, he deserves brownie point compared to Philander as he played half of his games on Asian wickets where he delivered some memorable spells.

 

[Bahnz]

The comparison is across era but I think they are pretty comparable.

1)England:-

James Anderson
Ian Botham
Stuart Broad

2)South Africa:-

Shaun Pollock
Vernon Philander

3)India:-

Kapil Dev

4)Pakistan:-

Shoaib Akhtar

5)NZ:-

Trent Boult

6)West Indies:-

Andy Roberts
Courtney Walsh

So, 10 names. Discuss!

Walsh > Pollock > Anderson > Roberts > Akhtar > Philander > Botham > Broad = Dev = Boult imo

 

[therealAB]

Pollock. A clear, clear no. 1. Closer to Wasim/Waqar tier than this
Walsh
Roberts
Anderson
Botham
Akhtar
Broad
Dev
Philander
Boult

Other players in this class include:
McDermott
Gillespie
Bishop
Croft
Asif
Vaas