DoG's Top 100 Test Bowlers Countdown Thread 100-1

[Burgey]

Big surprise that the first thing which pops into an Indian fan's melon whenever cricket's discussed is something to do with the half-deaf dwarf.

 

[OverratedSanity]

Big surprise that the first thing which pops into an Indian fan's melon whenever cricket's discussed is something to do with the half-deaf dwarf.

Should be a big surprise that the first thing that pops into an Indian fans head is a moment where the half dead dwarf got embarrassed.

 

[ankitj]

Seems weird to under-rate him because he wasn't flashy, because the impression I got from him was that he was really flashy. I think he just slid under the radar a bit because there was equally good (if not better) fast bowlers as his contemporaries (whereas Waqar and McGrath had periods where they were clear cut #1's), plus also his Australia record is kinda iffy (unlike Wasim and Ambrose).

It's only in retrospect that he is forgotten a bit. When he was going around in that peak period of his he was frequently described as the best fast bowler in the world even with Ambrose, Wasim, Waqar and McGrath going around at the same time.

 

[Burgey]

TBF Alan Mullally's Australian record is probably better than Waqar's.

I wonder if Waqar still lives up at Bella Vista. I know Russel Arnold is in Sydney as he's one of the batting coaches at Parra these days.

 

[stephen]

It's only in retrospect that he is forgotten a bit. When he was going around in that peak period of his he was frequently described as the best fast bowler in the world even with Ambrose, Wasim, Waqar and McGrath going around at the same time.

And I think his Australia record is certainly better than Waqar's isn't it?

Yeah there was no doubt he was talked about.

The big 90s bowling partnerships:
McGrath/Warne
Donald/Pollock
Wasim/Waqar
Ambrose/Walsh

Murali/Vaas came later (and wasn't as good because Vaas wasn't as good).

Gough/Fraser/Caddick wasn't talked about too much either since they were a step down.

And whoever NZ fielded weren't even as good as Southie/Boult/Wagner so weren't talked about much.

 

[Burgey]

T-shirts on the go...

Love that T shirt, but the bloke in the pic has shoulders like a brown snake.

 

[TheJediBrah]

Gough/Fraser/Caddick wasn't talked about too much either since they were a step down.

lol why would you even bring them up

 

[stephen]

lol why would you even bring them up

They're a top 8 nation?

I didn't bring up India because well outside Kumble their bowling in the 90s was tripe. And Kumble peaked after the 90s.

 

[jimmy101]

Allan Donald/ "Fast" Fanie de Villiers was a pretty badass bowling duo back in the day.

 

[stephen]

The most underrated 90s bowler wad Heath Streak. Averaged under 25 while shouldering the entire Zimbabwean bowling load. One of the three world class players they had (the other two being the Flower brothers).

 

[jaideep]

No.11

Allan Donald (South Africa) 874

Quality Points: 784
Career Points: 90

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYdVEumQO1Y

Career: 1992-2002
Wickets: 330
Gold Performances: 1
8/71 vs. Zimbabwe at Harare 1995 (15.81)
Silver Performances: 13
Bronze Performances: 9

Overall Average/Strike-Rate/Points Per Innings: 22.04 (22.25) 46.94 (47.03) 5.31 (rank 10)
50 Innings Peak Average/Strike-Rate/Points Per Innings (1996-1999): 18.83 39.94 6.74 (rank 8)
Non-Home Average/Strike-Rate/Points Per Innings: 22.59 49.35 4.93 (rank 19)
Quality Opposition Average/Strike-Rate/Points Per Innings: 22.75 45.65 5.43 (rank 16)

"White lightning" just misses out on the top 10. In a sense, Donald did very well to take over 300 test wickets considering that he made his debut at age 25 and took 216 wickets at 20.56 (adjusted from 20.87) as a fast bowler in his 30s. He probably played one season too many which cost him a few points but one could say that of many bowlers. His solitary gold performance but very high PPI suggests that unlike Ambrose he was very consistent without really delivering a mind-blowing performance for the ages, which certainly is not the image I had previously of these two bowlers. Donald has a superb record, ranking in the top 20 and averaging under 23 in all the criteria.

Quality opposition ranking of 16 is higher than what I expected considering his average of 31 and str of 61.6 against Australia.How many of his matches were against quality opposition?

 

[jimmy101]

Loved big Heath. Eddo Brandes was also a gun when at his best.

 

[stephen]

Allan Donald/ "Fast" Fanie de Villiers was a pretty badass bowling duo back in the day.

Yeah I liked Fanie.

 

[Bolo]

Donald is possibly the flashiest quick I can remember ovee the course of a career. Speed, bounce, aggression, and an inability/unwillingness to bowl line and length all make for a lot of flash.

Interesting that he only ends up with 1 gold performance given how good his SR, WPM and average are.

 

[Starfighter]

TBF Alan Mullally's Australian record is probably better than Waqar's.

It is actually. Mullally 12 @ 30.55 in 4 best 5/105, Waqar 14 @ 40.50 in 5 best 3/15

 

[Burgey]

Oh it wasn't a throw away line. I know all of these things.

In fact, I know all the things.

 

[stephen]

Quality opposition ranking of 16 is higher than what I expected considering his average of 31 and str of 61.6 against Australia.How many of his matches were against quality opposition?

South Africa faced a lot of quality opposition during the 90s. In fact world cricket was extremely competitive during the 90s. Golden era for both tests and ODIs IMO. I don't think we've ever had a more competitive era.

 

[Starfighter]

Oh it wasn't a throw away line. I know all of these things.

In fact, I know all the things.

If you know everything, then why express things in such an equivocal manner? You should be putting it out there front and centre.

 

[stephen]

Looking over their 90s record now, South Africa only lost 5 test series (out of 23) during that era. Their series record stands at 14 W 5 L 4D. Which is pretty bloody good since they were isolated for so long.

 

[TheJediBrah]

It is actually. Mullally 12 @ 30.55 in 4 best 5/105, Waqar 14 @ 40.50 in 5 best 3/15

Pak wouldn't have ball tampered as much in Aus and hence Waqar was probably pretty useless

England on the other hand had no fear to tamper wherever they went, hence Mullally's superior stats