Who is the best fast bowler in the world right now - Tests

[marc71178]

Well if we're picking the World XI on 7 matches to ensure Philander's spot then the answer is simple. Take Philander, Anderson and Broad.

 

[Cabinet96]

World XI's are a tricky one. Do you pick based on, say the last 2 years, or do you pick it on current form, i.e. the last couple of months?

 

[Spark]

I don't take it past any more than a year. Cricket changes too rapidly.

 

[Jarquis]

Mr Prez has made some ******** posts

 

[Valer]

I'd say after the SL in England series, once he'd fully recovered from his injuries and stopped enforcing.

This is only 8 matches.

11 matches for 1 year

Edit: I just don't feel that Broad has gone on this current spree for long enough to count sample size against Philander and his bowling prior to this was only okay at best.

Assuming you only have those 4 bowlers

I'd take Steyn's 8/34/23/48
over Anderson's 11/46/26/56

However you run into issues with say the Aussie bowler's given the Ashes is no longer part of that record ect.

 

[Spark]

Honestly, whilst Broad's bowling against SL was poor it wasn't that poor. He wasn't spraying it around all over the place a la Mitchell Johnson (1st innings at Lord's an exception, where England's bowlers did their level best to piss off Matt Prior). Mostly he was just bowling too short.

 

[Uppercut]

I don't think he ever really bowled MJ-esque filth. At worst he had what T_C previously termed "Watto syndrome", where fast, accurate deliveries look totally harmless. And he infuriatingly continued bowling a yard too short for years after every player, pundit and granny in the country had figured out that pitching it up would get him far more wickets.

 

[Manee]

I don't think he ever really bowled MJ-esque filth. At worst he had what T_C previously termed "Watto syndrome", where fast, accurate deliveries look totally harmless. And he infuriatingly continued bowling a yard too short for years after every player, pundit and granny in the country had figured out that pitching it up would get him far more wickets.

BTW, may I do a massive flip on Broad? I used to say that I didn't think he had it in him to be a good Test bowler. I now believe that, if injuries does not compromise his speed, he will be an extremely good Test bowler. His bowling action, height and accuracy is just conducive to good Test bowling.

 

[Prince EWS]

BTW, may I do a massive flip on Broad?

No; your opinion must stay the same as it was forevermore.

 

[Manee]

No; your opinion must stay the same as it was forevermore.

****, erm...let's hope he gets injured then, I guess...

 

[GIMH]

No; your opinion must stay the same as it was forevermore.

You and your partial moderation

 

[Outswinger@Pace]

And he infuriatingly continued bowling a yard too short for years after every player, pundit and granny in the country had figured out that pitching it up would get him far more wickets.

That. And it's the "Mike Hendrick" syndrome. Fast, accurate, well-pitched up deliveries would never be completely innocuous, ITBT.

 

[Manee]

I don't think he ever really bowled MJ-esque filth. At worst he had what T_C previously termed "Watto syndrome", where fast, accurate deliveries look totally harmless. And he infuriatingly continued bowling a yard too short for years after every player, pundit and granny in the country had figured out that pitching it up would get him far more wickets.

To quote this again, it may be that he is struggling to pitch the ball up. Like, sometimes bowlers do not have full control over their length and the stock ball comes out a bit short. But yes, pitching it up can transform a bowler...heck, just look at Shane Watson!

 

[Uppercut]

I wondered that at the time but he's since made comments that suggest it was just a matter of strategy.

I think back-of-a-length bowling is still quite overrated, I don't expect to see another Ambrose for some time. It used to give bowlers a better margin of error than full deliveries but batsmen play the cut shot so well now that you can't drift outside off stump at all on a shortish length. Even the more successful short-length bowlers like Morkel or Flintoff are at their most effective when they pitch it a yard fuller, invite the drive and bring the stumps into play. Lateral movement on a full-ish length is the way to get wickets these days.

 

[vic_orthdox]

I wondered that at the time but he's since made comments that suggest it was just a matter of strategy.

I think back-of-a-length bowling is still quite overrated, I don't expect to see another Ambrose for some time. It used to give bowlers a better margin of error than full deliveries but batsmen play the cut shot so well now that you can't drift outside off stump at all on a shortish length. Even the more successful short-length bowlers like Morkel or Flintoff are at their most effective when they pitch it a yard fuller, invite the drive and bring the stumps into play. Lateral movement on a full-ish length is the way to get wickets these days.

Slower decks making a difference too, IMO. Esp. in Australia, anyway.

 

[Cabinet96]

To quote this again, it may be that he is struggling to pitch the ball up. Like, sometimes bowlers do not have full control over their length and the stock ball comes out a bit short. But yes, pitching it up can transform a bowler...heck, just look at Shane Watson!

Yeah, I've encountered similar problems.

 

[Uppercut]

Slower decks making a difference too, IMO. Esp. in Australia, anyway.

Yeah, wetter summers seem to have made it easier to find swing down there too.

 

[Cabinet96]

Yeah, I was shocked by the amount of grass on some of the Australian wickets in the last Ashes. Although I know that was a conscious decision by Cricket Australia to do so.

 

[vic_orthdox]

Yeah, I was shocked by the amount of grass on some of the Australian wickets in the last Ashes. Although I know that was a conscious decision by Cricket Australia to do so.

You know CA asked for it?

Maybe there was some pressure after the Brisbane test, which was the flattest I'd seen it in some time, but it was really only Melbourne and, especially, Sydney that had more grass coverage than normal. And you can put it down to the fact that we had some of the wettest summers that I've ever experienced.

 

[Jacknife]

You know CA asked for it?

Maybe there was some pressure after the Brisbane test, which was the flattest I'd seen it in some time, but it was really only Melbourne and, especially, Sydney that had more grass coverage than normal. And you can put it down to the fact that we had some of the wettest summers that I've ever experienced.

Yes, I don't think the pitches were anything extraordinary compared to previous years, like you say a couple were a little greener due to the wet summer. I thought they were actually more greener this past Aussie summer than the previous tbh.