Best Bowling Attack - Tests

[pasag]

What has this Pakistani bowling lineup done to be considered best in the world?

 

[Uppercut]

Aus and SA are ahead of Pakistan. Ind,Eng and a fully fit WI is also quite comparable.

What has this Pakistani bowling lineup done to be considered best in the world?

Maybe I'm falling into the "rating players based on performances in my country" trap, but Australia were miles behind the English attack this summer.

South Africa have the achievements behind them but their attack for this test reads Ntini, De Wet, Morkel, Harris. That's with only one player out. Is that the best attack in the world?

I know the Aamer, Gul, Asif, Kaneria attack hasn't done a lot yet, but I reckon it's the best four-bowler combination in the world. You can rank the attacks on achievements over the past couple of years but I don't really think that works because they've changed so much in that time.

 

[Avada Kedavra]

Assuming everyone is fully fit, Australia and South Africa have the two best bowling attacks. The third spot is open to a number of teams like England, Pakistan and even India. I would rate England's and Pakistan's fast bowlers higher than India's, but India's spinners are better than England's and Pakistan's. A lot depends on where they play really. But for now, my ratings would be -

1. Australia (Hilfy, MJ, Lee, Siddle, Hauritz)
2. South Africa (Steyn, Ntini, Kallis, Morkel, Harris)
3. England (Broad, Anderson, Onions, Swann)
4. Pakistan (Asif, Gul, Kaneria, Aamer)
5. India (Zaheer, Sreesanth, Singh, Mishra)

 

[Shri]

I also think Swann is better atm than Kaneria.

 

[Avada Kedavra]

I also think Swann is better atm than Kaneria.

I concur.

 

[Migara]

yeah swann is better than Harbhajan

 

[Avada Kedavra]

Swann has been the best spinner this year. Better than Kaneria, Harbhajan, Murali, Mendis, Vettori....

 

[Shri]

Shakib has done as well as Swann in the opportunities that he has had.

 

[Athlai]

Yeah Swann bowls grenades.

 

[pasag]

Maybe I'm falling into the "rating players based on performances in my country" trap, but Australia were miles behind the English attack this summer.

South Africa have the achievements behind them but their attack for this test reads Ntini, De Wet, Morkel, Harris. That's with only one player out. Is that the best attack in the world?

I know the Aamer, Gul, Asif, Kaneria attack hasn't done a lot yet, but I reckon it's the best four-bowler combination in the world. You can rank the attacks on achievements over the past couple of years but I don't really think that works because they've changed so much in that time.

Agree that Aus are middle of the pack (although would be much better than England outside of England) and yes, I think Steyn is that good that together with Kallis he makes SA a marginal number 1. Morkel and co bringing them down though.

I'm not one to have these huge memories like aussie where to be the best in the world you have to perform for 10 years and then you have the throne for the next 10, but at least some sort of performances will be nice. If Pak blow Aus away later in the month will happily consider it.

 

[Athlai]

Yeah Swann bowls grenades.

But who cares how he bowls, bastard can bat.

 

[Prince EWS]

Agree that Aus are middle of the pack (although would be much better than England outside of England) and yes, I think Steyn is that good that together with Kallis he makes SA a marginal number 1. Morkel and co bringing them down though.

I'm not one to have these huge memories like aussie where to be the best in the world you have to perform for 10 years and then you have the throne for the next 10, but at least some sort of performances will be nice. If Pak blow Aus away later in the month will happily consider it.

Yeah I agree. I'm not even looking for Pakistan as a group so much to perform given the unstableness of their selection though; just the individual bowlers to each justify their ability. Kaneria, Gul and Aamer visibly look a lot better aesthetically than the results they seem to produce.

 

[Uppercut]

Agree that Aus are middle of the pack (although would be much better than England outside of England) and yes, I think Steyn is that good that together with Kallis he makes SA a marginal number 1. Morkel and co bringing them down though.

I'm not one to have these huge memories like aussie where to be the best in the world you have to perform for 10 years and then you have the throne for the next 10, but at least some sort of performances will be nice. If Pak blow Aus away later in the month will happily consider it.

Well everyone in that attack bar Aamer has done it, just not as a unit. You can't really question the credentials of Asif, Gul's shown himself to be a quality bowler and Kaneria, for all his faults, is one of the better spinners in international cricket at the moment. And Aamer's hardly a weak link for opponents to exploit.

It's pretty fair to consider South Africa better when Steyn and Kallis are fit. Hell, if Murali was at his peak he'd make Sri Lanka the best attack in the world today on his own given the amount of overs he can bowl. I just decided to go for the attack I see as a bit more rounded. Pakistan can get away with Aamer or Gul having a dip in form, but if Steyn goes through a bad patch, South Africa are in the ****.

 

[Uppercut]

Yeah I agree. I'm not even looking for Pakistan as a group so much to perform given the unstableness of their selection though; just the individual bowlers to each justify their ability. Kaneria, Gul and Aamer visibly look a lot better aesthetically than the results they seem to produce.

In fairness, they've been subject to just about every qualification you can think of for not taking wickets- extremely flat home conditions, lack of regular cricket and Imran Farhat fielding at first slip. I don't know if you should include the fielding in considering an attack's quality... I guess you probably should.

 

[Avada Kedavra]

Well everyone in that attack bar Aamer has done it, just not as a unit. You can't really question the credentials of Asif, Gul's shown himself to be a quality bowler and Kaneria, for all his faults, is one of the better spinners in international cricket at the moment. And Aamer's hardly a weak link for opponents to exploit.

It's pretty fair to consider South Africa better when Steyn and Kallis are fit. Hell, if Murali was at his peak he'd make Sri Lanka the best attack in the world today on his own given the amount of overs he can bowl. I just decided to go for the attack I see as a bit more rounded. Pakistan can get away with Aamer or Gul having a dip in form, but if Steyn goes through a bad patch, South Africa are in the ****.

I rate Pakistan's attack highly but I don't think they are the best yet although they have the potential to be. Asif is a very good bowler but his one weakness is that he struggles on batting friendly conditions. Most bowlers do, but the very good ones like Steyn don't. It is not a coincidence that the only time Asif struggled in the test series against New Zealand was in Napier, which is known for its batting friendly pitches.

Gul is a good bowler, but he's just not as effective as he is in the shorter version. Aamer has bowled a lot of impressive spells but his wickets column has remained pretty bare. An average of around 44 confirms that.

Kaneria has been brilliant in his comeback thus far.

 

[social]

Yeah Swann bowls grenades.

Friggin Hauritz is a better bowler than Swann - and that is saying something

Guy is media hype and possibly the most overrated bowler in the world today

 

[Avada Kedavra]

Friggin Hauritz is a better bowler than Swann - and that is saying something

Guy is media hype and possibly the most overrated bowler in the world today

Most successful spinner this year unless I am mistaken.

 

[social]

Most successful spinner this year unless I am mistaken.

WI

Crap vs Oz except for a dust bowl

5 vs SA on a pitch where Paul Harris looks like Bishen Bedi

In short, his figures sum up the fact that the world's bowling stocks are at just about the lowest point that I can remember

 

[Avada Kedavra]

WI

Crap vs Oz except for a dust bowl

5 vs SA on a pitch where Paul Harris looks like Bishen Bedi

In short, his figures sum up the fact that the world's bowling stocks are at just about the lowest point that I can remember

I cannot argue with the part that has been highlighted, but that shouldn't take anything away from the fact that he has outbowled every other spinner this year, and that includes guys like Murali, Mendis, Harbhajan, Vettori et al.

 

[Prince EWS]

I cannot argue with the part that has been highlighted, but that shouldn't take anything away from the fact that he has outbowled every other spinner this year, and that includes guys like Murali, Mendis, Harbhajan, Vettori et al.

That's not really a 'fact'. I'm a fan of Swann but there's a clear difference between taking more wickets than someone and outbowling them, particularly when you play more Tests than them.