Ranking the candidates for best fast bowler ever - ~20 contenders

[Mr Miyagi]

Still probably the most fun spell of bowling I've watched. It was so one-note as well. All he was doing was bowling yorkers over and over and the batsmen knew what was coming as well, but it didn't matter because he was just too ****ing quick. Blew out his hamstring after he was done too and couldnt bowl the rest of the match. Legend

Waqar may have beaten me, but I see you and raise you Bond vs India.

2/3 series losses since 2002/3 - why don't India tour NZ more often? We need the points tbh.

 

[Starfighter]

I can’t inagine what it must be like facing those blokes. When I was about 20 I had the displeasure of playing against a bloke who later played all of two Shield games for nsw. He was coming back from injury and had a game in the park before going back to grade, which was fine.

Who was it?

That’s why when these buffoons like ***** come on here and wax lyrical about the joys of finger spin, you just have to take it with a grain of incel salt and write it off as the effete subset of the game it really is. The sad provenance of the vegetarian cricketer.

 

[Burgey]

His name was Neil Jones. I think he played all of two Shield games. Maybe took one or two wickets.

Got any idea how deflating it is to see a bloke who made you brick yourself take 0/100 at the WACA a year or two later and never be heard of again? Gives you perspective.

 

[TheJediBrah]

No he wasn't, it was quite clear the previous summer that the spark had gone. What channel 9 said does;t count.


Nobody gives a flying ****. Especially as you weren't even here.

Yeah it was pretty widely accepted during the 2014-15 Summer against India that Johnson was well and truly past it, and had essentially thrown in the towel. I was a bit surprised at the time that he even came back for the next season.

edit: he did a decent job in the 2015 World Cup though coming on first change IIRC

 

[Mr Miyagi]

Thommo was dangerous, and if you couldn't exclude the 85 Ashes when well past his prime, underrated imo.


He literally scared some of the best people to pick up a piece of willow more than Lillee, Reid, Lawson, Hogg, Tangles or whoever else ever bowled a ball.

It is like Wagner plus 20km/h (with or without helmets - either way - that's an ugly af proposition).

 

[Burgey]

Just looked him up - one game, no wickets. A footnote at best.

Rest assured I remember the **** though.

 

[Mr Miyagi]

Yeah it was pretty widely accepted during the 2014-15 Summer against India that Johnson was well and truly past it, and had essentially thrown in the towel. I was a bit surprised at the time that he even came back for the next season.

Nah - he really wasn't. That summer was "Phil Hughes" no disrespect. He was the calling card of the 2015 Ashes as the "proper bowler".

Hate that phrase. England, you gave us a language, how about you use it yourselves.

 

[mr_mister]

Think I might add in Walsh, Adcock, Anderson and Philander and make it 25 names, the same as the batting list.


The final list:

Barnes
Larwood
Lindwall
Bedser
Trueman
Tyson
Adcock
Davidson
Imran
Lillee
Roberts
Hadlee
Garner
Holding
Marshall
Walsh
Ambrose
Wasim
Waqar
Donald
McGrath
S Pollock
Steyn
Anderson
Philander




Start ranking these blokes at your leisure.

 

[Starfighter]

Just looked him up - one game, no wickets. A footnote at best.

Rest assured I remember the **** though.

I was going to post - this fella?

 

[Burgey]

Thommo was dangerous, and if you couldn't exclude the 85 Ashes when well past his prime, underrated imo.


He literally scared some of the best people to pick up a piece of willow more than Lillee, Reid, Lawson, Hogg, Tangles or whoever else ever bowled a ball.

It is like Wagner plus 20km/h (with or without helmets - either way - that's an ugly af proposition).

Yeah he was awful. Coln Croft said the fastest he ever saw anyone bowl was Thommo in the WSC era tour of the Windies. Said it was the only time I his life he refused to go out as night watchman.

Croft was no shrinking violet either. Would bounce his grandmother.

 

[Mr Miyagi]

I'll take

Imran at 8
Hadlee at 9
Pollock at 10
and Barnes at 11.

If this a vote or whatever.

 

[mr_mister]

I'll take

Imran at 8
Hadlee at 9
Pollock at 10
and Barnes at 11.

If this a vote or whatever.

You rank the 25 names in order from best to worst IYO.

Then I allocate 25 points to the bloke you put at number 1, 24 points for the bloke at number 2, etc


hopefully we get 20-25 voters

 

[Burgey]

I was going to post - this fella?

Yeah thats him. Weird how people leave an impression on you. Age is a factor I think. If I’d faced him when I was older I wouldn’t have cared as much. Holdsworth would have been a fair bit quicker, Doug too. But for some reason this bloke shook me bad.

 

[Mr Miyagi]

Yeah he was awful. Colon Croft said the fastest he ever saw anyone bowl was Thommo in the WSC era tour of the Windies. Said it was the only time I his life he refused to go out as night watchman.

Croft was no shrinking violet either. Would bounce his grandmother.

Croft would bound an umpire who didn't give an LBW.

Look, on this side of the ditch with grey hair, Thommo is remembered with fear. I sincerely mean this.

Lillee, much less so. I'm being honest. Thommo if he couldn't get a wicket, got a bloody, (I mean bloody) retirement.

He stuffed Crowe up for more than a season. And while people may not appreciate it, Crowe was one of the best bats around.

 

[TheJediBrah]

Nah - he really wasn't. That summer was "Phil Hughes" no disrespect. He was the calling card of the 2015 Ashes as the "proper bowler".

Hate that phrase. England, you gave us a language, how about you use it yourselves.

He went from bowling 155 regularly to struggling to crack 140 in a season. Phil Hughes was very possibly a part of it, IIRC Johnson himself said as much.

Anyway point being that setting your benchmark for Mitchell Johnson on him in 2015/16, on that Perth pitch, is very short-sighted. Anyone facing him as he was in 2013/14 against England, even if they were your favourite NZers, wouldn't have had a clue.

 

[Bolo]

Still probably the most fun spell of bowling I've watched. It was so one-note as well. All he was doing was bowling yorkers over and over and the batsmen knew what was coming as well, but it didn't matter because he was just too ****ing quick. Blew out his hamstring after he was done too and couldnt bowl the rest of the match. Legend

These one-note spells from genuine quicks are always the best. Such a middle finger to the batsman to have them know what is coming and still not have a chance. Waqar with the old ball and Steyn with the new are the peak at this, although there were plenty of examples- Imran, holding, Johnson spring to mind.

 

[Mr Miyagi]

He went from bowling 155 regularly to struggling to crack 140 in a season. Phil Hughes was very possibly a part of it, IIRC Johnson himself said as much.

Anyway point being that setting your benchmark for Mitchell Johnson on him in 2015/16, on that Perth pitch, is very short-sighted. Anyone facing him as he was in 2013/14 against England, even if they were your favourite NZers, wouldn't have had a clue.

huh? I called it well before Perth. I called it before the Gabba that season. TBH, with you - I called it in SA when he was still on top bowling 155 and still at his peak :P (It was his age and bowling style that was the giveaway :P)

 

[Burgey]

Croft was a mean ****. Remember him getting Chappell first ball at Sydney during the run of sucks in 81/82. Was a deadset peach - wife of the crease, angled in and decked away. If you get a chance to see it on YouTube you should. Wonderful seed.

 

[TheJediBrah]

huh? I called it well before Perth. I called it before the Gabba that season. TBH, with you - I called it in SA when he was still on top bowling 155 and still at his peak :P

that's cool brah, I was referring to this comment:

KW and Ross treat MJ like a net bowler. Fact

I'm happy for you predicting what you did

 

[Starfighter]

huh? I called it well before Perth. I called it before the Gabba that season. TBH, with you - I called it in SA when he was still on top bowling 155 and still at his peak

Perhaps you should link to the posts on the rl forum you alluded to so we can believe what you're saying. I mean, predictions don't mean much if they're not recorded.