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

[Starfighter]

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.

The main impression I've gained of Colin Croft from quite good selection of footage could be described using the word 'underwhelming'.

 

[Mr Miyagi]

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.

Thommo was meaner. Seriously. Both would be good for a pint at the end of the day, Thommo would def be good for 40 oz, but Thommo in between those 4 wides, 4 no balls, and edges to thid marn for 4, was one hell of an underrated bowler that his SR shows more than the average, and this doesn't include who he retired out of the batting - which was a lot!

I know you're old (no offence - I have more than my share of grey hairs). I know you're Aussie. I know you get this.

But not all the posters do. And as I am "King Anti-Aus" around here - I mean it - Thommo was better than his average, his SR is the giveaway.

 

[OverratedSanity]

Johnson was never the same after Rahane walked 3 metres down the pitch and spanked him over midwicket and then two overs later Kohli lobbed him down the ground like a finger spinner and blew him a kiss.

 

[Mr Miyagi]

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.

Oh I could find it if I wanted too - don't you worry

It is a personal satisfaction like SL winning in 1996.

I have nothing to prove.

Just my best cricket predictions

 

[Starfighter]

Oh I could find it if I wanted too - don't you worry

Okay, do it then.

 

[TheJediBrah]

Okay, do it then.

I believe him tbh. There would have been plenty of Aussies in denial, thinking that Johnson was going to be 2013-14 brutal for years to come. Even though it should have been obvious that for a guy like him (not to mention his age) that a huge downturn in form was always around the corner.

I'm more surprised that after 2014 Johnson actually stayed ok for the rest of his career, even up until now in T20 tournaments, rather than gone completely off the boil like he has in the past (eg. bowls to the left, bowls to the right).

 

[Mr Miyagi]

Okay, do it then.

No.

 

[Mr Miyagi]

I believe him tbh. There would have been plenty of Aussies in denial, thinking that Johnson was going to be 2013-14 brutal for years to come. Even though it should have been obvious that for a guy like him (not to mention his age) that a huge downturn in form was always around the corner.

I'm more surprised that after 2014 Johnson actually stayed ok for the rest of his career, even up until now in T20 tournaments, rather than gone completely off the boil like he has in the past (eg. bowls to the left, bowls to the right).

It was his age tbh (for the style he bowled to be successful) :P Had he been 25 or even 27 - I would never have made the call I did.

 

[Starfighter]

I believe him tbh. There would have been plenty of Aussies in denial, thinking that Johnson was going to be 2013-14 brutal for years to come. Even though it should have been obvious that for a guy like him (not to mention his age) that a huge downturn in form was always around the corner.

I'm more surprised that after 2014 Johnson actually stayed ok for the rest of his career, even up until now in T20 tournaments, rather than gone completely off the boil like he has in the past (eg. bowls to the left, bowls to the right).

I'm surprised he hasn't gone down the awful route either. I think when he was trash he really wasn't very balanced in his action, and he hadn't lost that, he's just lost pace. I knew when he bowled his first over of the India test (having not seen him since the Sydney test against England) that the spark had gone. Fast bowlers in their thirties simply don't remain lightning quick.

No.

Then stop bragging about a prediction that clearly was not difficult and which clearly quite a few other people could have made or in fact did make. There's a good old saying: put up or shut up.

 

[Mr Miyagi]

Then stop bragging about a prediction that clearly was not difficult and which clearly quite a few other people could have made or in fact did make. There's a good old saying: put up or shut up.

There's also a saying " a gentleman never tells" and there's also a saying "I have nothing to prove", and many more.

If you want me to link myself to a rl forum, that's your wish, not mine.

If you want further bragging rights from me,

WI 2016 Wt20 - called it as a bet
SRH 2016 IPL - also called it. (and this stage I wa getting pissed off for not betting myself)
IPL 2018 (easy final 3 from outset)!

While people laugh at my Buttler>Dhoni, I get a lot of predictions right that I make in real game terms (based on what I think). And if I am around here long enough, you will see me make more.

But you don't need to know my forum user names on multi forums. Tbf.

 

[TheJediBrah]

There's a good old saying: put up or shut up.

I usually go with "put out or shut up"

Then i get called into HR

 

[TheJediBrah]

What is a "rl forum"?
Real life forum? As in people just talking to each other?

 

[Mr Miyagi]

What is a "rl forum"?
Real life forum? As in people just talking to each other?

rugby league. What they play in QLD and NSW as against "fumble ball" :P

Tbf the main forum is fairly well known and ubiquitous. :P

He could possibly google "Johnson" and "retire" and "2014" to identify me :P (I predicted by 2016 but I did so in 2014 if you're confused and had a year to spare. I'm fairly conservative :P )

 

[trundler]

God tier:
Marshall
McGrath
Hadlee

Just below:
Steyn
Ambrose
Lillee and Trueman
Holding
Lindwall

Larwood
Donald
Wasim
Waqar
Garner
Davidson and Roberts
Imran
S Pollock
Tyson left out because of his short career. Can't pass a judgment. Barnes and Bedser intentionally omitted. Closer to Underwood than the others. Larwood difficult to rate too. He has a case for being the greatest but hard to rate him in terms of skill.

 

[Starfighter]

rugby league. What they play in QLD and NSW as against "fumble ball" :P

Tbf the main forum is fairly well known and ubiquitous. :P

He could possibly google "Johnson" and "retire" and "2014" to identify me :P (I predicted by 2016 but I did so in 2014 if you're confused and had a year to spare. I'm fairly conservative :P )

Why would I bother doing that? You're the one making the claims, I don't need to prove anything that you may or may not have said, you can say you predicted what you want, I'm mostly asking you to be less pretentious about making predictions that aren't all that special.

 

[Starfighter]

Barnes and Bedser intentionally omitted. Closer to Underwood than the others.

No, while notably slower than the rest of list they bowled on the opposite side of medium to Underwood and O'Reilly.

 

[Engle]

No discussion of fast bowling is complete without the inclusion of Thommo

 

[Engle]

Can never understand why Larwood is rated ahead of Tyson. Had it not been for Bodyline, surely his aura would have been much less

 

[Prince EWS]

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.

So how do we do it? Do we email you or just post in here? Do we rank the lot or just our top X?

 

[Starfighter]

I'm just gonna post them here.