Was Devon Malcolm the fastest English bowler ever?

[Robert]

This is fascinating. Big Dev was the quickest England bowler I saw, must have been at 100 mph on fast decks.

 

[anikrc1]

From the video doesn't look any where as fast as shoaib or lee or even archer. I think 100 miles is an exaggeration.

 

[Bewal Express]

He is def the fastest English I have seen. The destruction of SA at the oval is amongst the quickest seen in England, its a shame that his bowling was so erratic. I remember talking to some ex County players about Dev and they talk about his poor eye sight and the fact that he was universally liked by all players.

 

[Bhaijaan]

One of the most ordinary fast bowlers also to play the game. A man of that size and athletic ability but the returns that would make Shaun Tait chuckle!

 

[Invincible Gujjar]

LOL fastest ever. Shoaib akhtar was the fastest ever and nobody is coming close to him even in future.

 

[Robert]

From the video doesn't look any where as fast as shoaib or lee or even archer. I think 100 miles is an exaggeration.

I’d say he was quicker than Archer there, probably Lee too. Steve Waugh said he could hit 100 mph.

 

[anikrc1]

I’d say he was quicker than Archer there, probably Lee too. Steve Waugh said he could hit 100 mph.

I think it's more the bounce which is troubling the batsman here.

 

[Bewal Express]

One of the most ordinary fast bowlers also to play the game. A man of that size and athletic ability but the returns that would make Shaun Tait chuckle!

Really? That spell against SA in 94 tells you he isn't. And the fact that best player of the best team of that era rates him so highly should be a big hint.

 

[anikrc1]

https://youtu.be/szGxjQKP2VQ
Here's brett lee touching 160. Looks comfortably quicker than devon malcolm

 

[Kingpin786]

I think archer is quickest ever english fastbowler

 

[Robert]

https://youtu.be/szGxjQKP2VQ
Here's brett lee touching 160. Looks comfortably quicker than devon malcolm

That’s LO cricket though, I never thought he was particularly quick when he had to bowl 22-25 overs in a day.

Might be something to do with being a Briton. Lee was ineffective against England except in dead rubbers.

 

[Robert]

Really? That spell against SA in 94 tells you he isn't. And the fact that best player of the best team of that era rates him so highly should be a big hint.

Dev was not handled well by England. He didn’t get the attacking fields, or the encouragement that he needed. He was often the scapegoat when England lost. It was a real shame because on his day he was as good as anyone I have seen. Super fast, loads of lift and he cut it about off the deck too.

 

[Bhaijaan]

Really? That spell against SA in 94 tells you he isn't. And the fact that best player of the best team of that era rates him so highly should be a big hint.

The guy has a test bowling average of 37.1

To put things in perspective, India is not even know for its pacers BUT as many as 18 Indian pacers with more than 20 test wickets have a better bowling average than this guy.

 

[Bhaijaan]

The guy has a test bowling average of 37.1

To put things in perspective, India is not even know for its pacers BUT as many as 18 Indian pacers with more than 20 test wickets have a better bowling average than this guy.

..just before anyone comes here to say fast bowling is about SR then hear me out :-

17 Indian pacers with 20 or more test wickets have a better SR than Devon Malcolm

What a fierce pacer indeed. Almost in the Abey Kuruvilla class.

 

[Bhaijaan]

The guy has a test bowling average of 37.1

To put things in perspective, India is not even know for its pacers BUT as many as 18 Indian pacers with more than 20 test wickets have a better bowling average than this guy.

..just before anyone comes here to say fast bowling is about SR then hear me out :-

17 Indian pacers with 20 or more test wickets have a better SR than Devon Malcolm

What a fierce pacer indeed. Almost in the Abey Kuruvilla class.

[MENTION=2501]Savak[/MENTION] Would like to hear you out on Shoaib Akhtars direct competitor here

 

[Bewal Express]

The guy has a test bowling average of 37.1

To put things in perspective, India is not even know for its pacers BUT as many as 18 Indian pacers with more than 20 test wickets have a better bowling average than this guy.

I think sometimes you miss the impact of someone just by looking at the stats or you overstate someone's qualities by quoting stats alone. For example Kapil Dev has good stats but post 83, he was to put in it mildly, very average. Malcolm wasn't a great bowler and should have done more but he played many of his tests against WI, Australia, SA and PK and all were very good in those days. Australia were the best team in the world and they rated him, So stats you quote need context. I think I rate Steve Waughs opinion just slightly higher than yours.

 

[Savak]

Malcolm was pacy but Wild. No consistency. Plus it didnt help that he came at a time when England preferred medium pacers line length operators like Angus Frasier, Dominic Cork, Peter Martin etc and not having an attacking captain didnt help much either

 

[Titan24]

Listening to Steve Waugh reinforces the fact that a common trait in most of the successful captains is and has been that they wanted match winners in their teams even if that meant some players lacking consistency on occasions.

 

[Robert]

Malcolm was pacy but Wild. No consistency. Plus it didnt help that he came at a time when England preferred medium pacers line length operators like Angus Frasier, Dominic Cork, Peter Martin etc and not having an attacking captain didnt help much either

Fraser and Cork were wicket takers. In fact Dev did best with Fraser at the other end, because Fraser gave control so Gooch kept the attacking fields for Malcom.

 

[Robert]

17 Indian pacers with 20 or more test wickets have a better SR than Devon Malcolm

Did any of them take 9-57 against SA?

 

[BoomBoomCricket]

Best wishes to Devon and his family.

His father recently passed away due to covid.

 

[Zaz]

He had all the attributes to be a excellent pacer for england

Unfortunately he was too erratic and also as was the norm in the 90s he wasnt handled well by the ecb management either and was regularly in and out of the team when he needed to be backed more

 

[Bewal Express]

Malcolm was a real handful on wickets with bounce but he didn't have the movement or control to be in the game, when the wickets were slow. He had, what I call the saucer seam, a bit like Wahab does and it makes conventional movement very difficult most of the time.

 

[Robert]

He had all the attributes to be a excellent pacer for england

Unfortunately he was too erratic and also as was the norm in the 90s he wasnt handled well by the ecb management either and was regularly in and out of the team when he needed to be backed more

They were of a generation that thought shouting at people was motivating them. That was OK for some, but bowlers such as Dev and Tuffers needed a bit of support and encouragement.

Robin Smith asked to see a sports psychologist and was told “If you need to see a psychiatrist you shouldn’t be playing for England”.

 

[Bhaijaan]

Best wishes to Devon and his family.

His father recently passed away due to covid.

Sincere condolences to Malcolm family.

In respect of the above, and staying true to my conscience, i will no more pursue criticism of Devon Malcolm on this thread for one month.

Amen