Who do you think the best bowlers are at present??

[Precambrian]

Mendis did pretty well even when the pitches were flat though, to be fair to him. Reasonable argument though.

A lot harder to justify is picking Ishant Sharma over Andrew Flintoff?

In ODIs, tough call, but I'd go with Fred. In tests, Ishant in a heartbeat,

 

[Uppercut]

Flintoff has played the same number of games in the last 2 years as Mendis has in his career. And he hasn't even done remarkably well in said games.

Wouldn't want to be picking Flintoff as the best Test bowler around currently at all, though I do think he could quite easily be such a thing with a good run of fitness.

I wouldn't pick any of the three, but i'm shocked people pick Sharma over Flintoff because they're such similar bowlers, but Flintoff is a consistent, proven match-winner and Sharma is not. The only reason i can think of is the fitness thing, which is fair enough, but i wouldn't personally take it into account.

 

[Richard]

I think it's more accurate to say Flintoff was a consistent, proven matchwinner 2 years ago. I certainly hope he can be such a thing again starting from his return last summer, but he hasn't been anything at all for most of the last 2 years and in 2007 and 2008 there were worries - not just from scaremongers but from realistic people - that his career might be for all intents over. We wait for confirmation that he is back good and proper as a Test bowler.

Though I say it again - I 100% believe he has it in him to be so, and how.

 

[Precambrian]

I wouldn't pick any of the three, but i'm shocked people pick Sharma over Flintoff because they're such similar bowlers, but Flintoff is a consistent, proven match-winner and Sharma is not. The only reason i can think of is the fitness thing, which is fair enough, but i wouldn't personally take it into account.

No doubt Fred would make my Test team sheet as the second or third person a couple of years back. Fred the current test player unfortunately has done little to suggest he is the same force as he was 2 years back. Maybe he still has it in him. Until then, purely by current form and potential, Ishant makes it.

In ODIs, Fred has shown he's a force still to reckon with, and would walk into my XI anyday.

 

[Furball]

In ODIs, tough call, but I'd go with Fred. In tests, Ishant in a heartbeat,

Not a tough call. In ODIs, Fred >>>>>>>>>> Sharma by so much it's untrue.

It's a harder call in Tests, because Flintoff a) has barely played Test cricket in 2 years and b) doesn't perhaps deliver the results he should.

 

[Atreyu]

Pace- Dale Steyn by far in tests. Amazing player. Brett Lee to have be second but he hasn'r been his best lately thats for sure. A close third being sharma. He has impressed me and been in great Form lately.

Spin- Obviously no current Spin list would be complete without Murali and Mendis. Vettori deserves to be in the Mix too.

I feel like I'm missing a spinner that should be there.

 

[pup11]

No doubt Fred would make my Test team sheet as the second or third person a couple of years back. Fred the current test player unfortunately has done little to suggest he is the same force as he was 2 years back. Maybe he still has it in him. Until then, purely by current form and potential, Ishant makes it.

In ODIs, Fred has shown he's a force still to reckon with, and would walk into my XI anyday.

Lets not compare these two, Sharma is very much a work in progress he is developing rapidly and looks like a good prospect for the future, but there is no way in hell he is a better bowler than Freddie Flintoff, i think since Fred has missed a lot of cricket post Ashes 05 to injury people really seem to have forgotten all he did with the ball in both forms of the game for England before that period, he has suffered due the insane workload that has been put on him, otherwise who knows Fred could have gone a few notches higher as a bowler with time, but even as things stand i would have Flintoff (the bowler) over Sharma on any given day.

 

[Precambrian]

Lets not compare these two, Sharma is very much a work in progress he is developing rapidly and looks like a good prospect for the future, but there is no way in hell he is a better bowler than Freddie Flintoff, i think since Fred has missed a lot of cricket post Ashes 05 to injury people really seem to have forgotten all he did with the ball in both forms of the game for England before that period, he has suffered due the insane workload that has been put on him, otherwise who knows Fred could have gone a few notches higher as a bowler with time, but even as things stand i would have Flintoff (the bowler) over Sharma on any given day.

Sharma is better than Fred purely on form now in test matches.

 

[Migara]

he should be as he is a chucker

Possibly a tree has a better power of understanding.

 

[Migara]

The argument of Ushant vs Mendis, I would say Ishant is better in test matches ebcause he has proven it in may matches. But in ODIs, I would take Mendis as he has played a lot of matches as well.

 

[Uppercut]

Not a tough call. In ODIs, Fred >>>>>>>>>> Sharma by so much it's untrue.

It's a harder call in Tests, because Flintoff a) has barely played Test cricket in 2 years and b) doesn't perhaps deliver the results he should.

That's the thing though, Sharma's exactly the same, test bowling average of 32. Sharma and Flintoff are almost identical bowling-wise- back-of-a-length, accurate, good pace, can do a little bit of swing, bounce, seam and reverse but no one major strength, always seem to bowl far better than the wickets column suggests.

I don't buy that Flintoff has bowled poorly in tests since his recall, he's simply bowled extremely well at times for unflattering figures. Fitness dependent, i'm confident he's as good at bowling today as he's ever been, his ODI performances supporting that. If you believe that, there's no way one can pick Sharma over him.

For me though, the world's leading bowler is between Dale Steyn and Brett Lee. I'm going to go for Lee on the grounds that i expect him to outbowl Steyn (just) in the two upcoming series.

 

[Richard]

I don't buy that Flintoff has bowled poorly in tests since his recall

I don't think anyone's saying he's bowled poorly. I just wouldn't call him the best around if he'd taken 8-120 in all 3 of them, because 3 matches just isn't enough to be calling anyone anything much. The fact that his figures have been pretty poor in 2 out of 3 games only adds to the "can't say much" feeling.

For me though, the world's leading bowler is between Dale Steyn and Brett Lee. I'm going to go for Lee on the grounds that i expect him to outbowl Steyn (just) in the two upcoming series.

Dangerous, for me - I've genuine hope that Steyn might outbowl Lee in SA (even if Lee's economy-rate is better, Steyn has the potential to be quite a bit more devastating than Lee for mine and SA conditions will hopefully allow him to do this where Aus ones might well not). That to boot with the fact that Lee hasn't really bowled very well this season. His figures in the Second Test against NZ flattered him considerably and apart from that they were very poor. I wait to see how well Lee will bowl against SA.

 

[Uppercut]

Dangerous, for me - I've genuine hope that Steyn might outbowl Lee in SA (even if Lee's economy-rate is better, Steyn has the potential to be quite a bit more devastating than Lee for mine and SA conditions will hopefully allow him to do this where Aus ones might well not). That to boot with the fact that Lee hasn't really bowled very well this season. His figures in the Second Test against NZ flattered him considerably and apart from that they were very poor. I wait to see how well Lee will bowl against SA.

It's only that i feel Lee can bowl well in more conditions. SA's attack is balanced with the theory that Morkel and Ntini will do the work when the ball seams or bounces, and Steyn and Kallis taking more wickets when the ball's swinging. Lee is more of an all-weather bowler, more capable of altering his length to conditions. I don't expect Steyn to flop in Australia the way some do, but i'd still say Lee should get the better of him over the six tests. As i say though, tough call.


Absolutely shocked that you think his figures flattered him in the second NZ test too. In the second innings he bowled as well as any pacer has all year, he genuinely could have picked up all ten in his spell on the fourth morning. That said, he has been poor for a while otherwise.

 

[Richard]

He was decent at times in the second-innings and How's wicket ball was a good one, but still, the first three wickets he took were all exclusively poor strokes with no good bowling involved at all. And obviously even though O'Brien hung around he was never going to last all that long.

 

[Uppercut]

He was decent at times in the second-innings and How's wicket ball was a good one, but still, the first three wickets he took were all exclusively poor strokes with no good bowling involved at all. And obviously even though O'Brien hung around he was never going to last all that long.

Bah, did you watch the game? The entire lineup seemed completely at his mercy, on a very flat deck. He was pinpoint accurate, lightning quick and got some really awkward movement. He beat the bat repeatedly and had every batsman he bowled to jumping all over the place. For the duration of that fourth-morning spell, Lee looked every inch the best bowler in the world and NZ looked completely at his mercy, for once due to quality bowling rather than their own pure ****ness. "Decent" is a horrendous understatement.

 

[NUFAN]

Lee is an important player but averages poorly in the big series, so there is no way I would rank him as the best bowler in the world. He may not even be the best bowler from NSW.

 

[Uppercut]

Lee is an important player but averages poorly in the big series, so there is no way I would rank him as the best bowler in the world. He may not even be the best bowler from NSW.

Hmm, he's been really good for a while now though, the India tour aside. Aus-India last December was a big series and Lee ruled in it.

Who would you have as the best fast bowler in the world?

 

[Prince EWS]

He may not even be the best bowler from NSW.

Indeed.

























Jason Krejza FTW.

 

[Ernest]

Mendis is probably a sub-continent track bully..

I'd say Stuart Clark with Ryan Sidebottom a close second

As far as the spinners go I'd reckon they are all of a muchness and given that Murali is a straight chucker I'll leave him out

 

[NUFAN]

Hmm, he's been really good for a while now though, the India tour aside. Aus-India last December was a big series and Lee ruled in it.

Who would you have as the best fast bowler in the world?

Dale Steyn or Ishant Sharma.

Lee would be in a group just below with Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Clark.