Look my friend, express pacers have always been a rare breed. There's a reason why they're so hyped and loved, it's because they're uncommon.
Even in the olden times, there were only a few fast bowlers who could bowl express.
In fact, I think we have more right now than we did before.
Pakistan has Wahab Riaz and Amir who can both bowl at speeds of ever 150 in LOI's. West Indies has Gabriel and Alzarri Joseph. India have Varun Aaron and even Yadav and Shami who bowl pretty quick but aren't express. Sri Lanka has Chameera and this other bloke who's name I've forgotten. England had Wood, Mills and a bunch of guys in county. Aussie's have about 5 express pacers ready in their squad in Starcy, Cummins, Pattinson, Stanlake and another guy. South Africa have Rabada who's only going to increase his pace, Nigidi, Steyn, Morne.
So there's a bunch of guys who bowl 150 and over. What more is express?
I don't think you and many others have read my original post. It's not just the speeds but the quality of those bowlers. Would Joseph or Wahab be comparable to Wasim and Donald? No.
Plus, a lot of the guys these days bowl quick for very short period of time. Most of the great fast bowlers bowled quick for extended periods. And a lot of the guys you mentioend are prone to injuries every couple of months, again, another point I raised.
So I'm going to stress yet again, where are the quality fast bowlers, whether you want to call them express or not, that can consistently bowl at 90mph who have the swing and control of the greats from before and arent injured after a handful of matches. Theo nly one with an extended career over the last 15 years is Steyn. Jones was injured, Tait was a walking match stick and Bond barely got going before his career came to an end.
I already mentioned Starc as a modern example and I rate him highly but just how long can he stay fit?
Marshall is one of the most iconic fast bowlers of all time and he played 81 tests. a 136 ODIs and over 800 first class and List A games. In the first 3 or so years of his career, he didn't miss a test, at a time when test tours consisted of multiple games against first class teams and gaps where players would play domestic matches.
Wasim played around a 1000 matches across all formats, at one time playing about 36 or 37 tests in a row, all the while maintaining a higher pace than say Broad or Stokes or Woakes or Sharma or Yadav or Amir and so on. Add to that the added strain of him having to bat as a low down hitter and playing ODIs and touring across 3 or 4 different countries and bowling on the dust bowls of India.
Now we have fast bowlers, guys who can get it into the late 80s and/or early 90s with far less ksill, completely lacking the ability of reverse, who can't play 5 or 6 tests in a row. In just 36 tests, Starc has been injured in pretty serious fashion about 3 times if I recall properly. And he's only played 65 ODIs in that time (on and off).
All this while teams have ever growing back room staff, multiple physios, doctors and so on. So why are these fast bowlers unable to maintain pace for extended careers or unable to maintain their fitness?
This isn't a slight at them but its a genuine concern as a cricket fan. Rather than progressing, we are regressing in what was once cricket's most pleasing pursuit.
