Definitely a logical argument, but not actually that accurate if you look at his career. It was only a handful of games where he came in as the second spinner at Sydney. A lot of MacGill's games were when Warne was injured, and as we well know Australia is not a friendly place for spinners.
Played 18 tests as a second spinner and averaged 19, without Warne 26 tests averaged 33. He actually deserves credit for outperforming Warne in those games they played together but I don't think it's too inaccurate to say he did benefit statistically.
Even alone that's very impressive statistically, and stands up with the records of most of the others mentioned in this thread, especially considering where he was playing those games.
Yeah fair enough. I do think he was talented enough to be ranked that high but it just felt wrong to do it since his career in totality is less impressive and shorter than many other spinners.
Nah apparently it's "ridiculous and outrageous" to rate spinners that averaged 29 and 17 playing largely in Aus in the top 10, but rating spinners that averaged 29-30+ from India is acceptable
Having never seen most of these guys we're all really just kidding ourselves here as spin bowling is more cerebral than fast bowling and you get a good idea about a spinner's tactics and strategies after watching them play.
Doesn't really matter because the argument doesn't hinge on it. If MacGill averaged 40 and the claim was that he was better or equal to an Indian spinner averaging 30 then maybe it would be important.
Up there with "I puts the ball where I likes, and he puts it where he likes" (Jem Shaw on WG Grace).
Yep, much better than having a bland name like 'Herath'. And for those who will point out Herath's initials, to be really good the name has to look kick-arse on an old fashioned manual scoreboard where only the player's surnames (or one initial if needed) are used.
You're letting your personal dislike of Herath get in the way of your sense....
