Ikki
Hall of Fame Member
You're wrong, as The Sean has mentioned several times, yet you seemingly ignore for convenience. Lillee's average in the WSC is 23.91. The aforementioned bowlers have lower averages...but played fewer matches - in some cases very few, like Imran. Lillee was universally lauded as the great bowler of that tournament; you are trying to revise history. We aren't discussing Bishop or Waqar here; stop trying to create strawmen - as if my not discussing them means I am being biased. Lillee was arguably as good post stress-fractures as he was before - so I am not saying we should adjust his figures; I am saying he did what few players have done: totally reinvent himself and succeed enough to still be the best bowler in the world. You can't place an empirical value on this.Ok, You keep mentioning WSC when you talk about Lillee, but WSC actuall, as I have pointed out prviously would cause his average to go up. Holding, Imran, Proctor all had lower averages, though admittedly they (especially Imran and Proctor) played less matches. The fact that WSC was created to be a fast bowling exhibition and only about 3 batsmen escaped with any sort of reputation in tact, doesnt once again bode well for Lillee.
When ever Marshall's record is brough up you are quick to suggest that his stats need to be adjusted because of his era, but Lillee played in a much more friendly bowler era, and as some has incorrectly stated about Marshall, bowled in the pre-helmet and protection era and used terror as his primary weapon.
So if Marshalls record needs to be adjusted, then why no Lillee, and the fact that he bowled as part of a pack and as a lone wolf holds no bearing on his success. Murali, Hadlee and Imran proved ut can be done alone and it even helped statistically. You used his days in WSC to prove he bowled againts better opposition, but that didnt count in his stats which, unlike in the case with Mcgrath, are well behind Marshall in EVERY catergory. So what happens when we adjust his stats.
In your passionate case stated above, you fail to produce one piece of emperical or logical evidence to prove your argument.
If you want to use injuries as a reson for decline, you are entitled, but the you also have to adjust for Waqar and Bishop as well, but it is about what you did, not what could have been.
He also eschewed, for various ( perhaps legitimate) reason bowling in the Sub Continent, and took 92% of his Test wickets in two countries, two countries that are very conducive to fast bowling.
In the argument for MM vs Mcgrath, I constantly said that the two were very close and both open the bowling for my personal All Time XI, I cannot say the same about Lillee. His resume has too many holes and even with them, his stats dont stand to test againd MM, Mcgrath, Imran, Ambrose, Hadlee or even Donald. He was the king of bravado and romaticism and a hero of his country, but statistically he and Holding are practically equal and they shared the exact same era and so faced near identical opponents.
I have stated for a while that I consider him and Akram extermely over rated, but Akrams inclusion in an All Time Team can be explained away by the fact that he is on first change and he is probably the greatest (along with Imran) old ball bowlers of all time and the greatest exponent of reverse swing, and that would be his role in the team, I can see no similar reason for Lillee.
He was a GREAT bowler no doubt, but not above any that I would have mentioned earlier, and certainly not the undisputed greatest as you proclaim him to be.
You cannot use one argument againts Marshall when comparing him to Mcgrath and then ignore it when speaking about Lillee. If one rule applies it applies for all, if not, then if applies for neither.
As for the rest of your post, I have actually answered your questions. If you read around it shouldn't be hard to find - they are in the last few pages.
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