C_C
International Captain
Ok, this is a hypothetical one- mix and match, throw them all in i dont care but limit your list to 5 bowlers tops..
Mine would be as follows:
Malcolm Marshall : IMO, best fast bowler ever. Period. Deceptive pace, brilliant cricketing brain and allround effectivenes everywhere
Wasim Akram : Brilliant swing, versatality, pace that could floor anyone, king of variety. Capable of long spells as well as short bursts of dizzying pace.
Glenn McGrath : Though Hadlee would always be in the team ahead of Pidge, i think Pidge is a marginally better bowler at doing the same metronome game style. Need a metronome in there somewhere.
Muralitharan : Best spinner ever- potent on any surface, capable of marathon spells- its scary how good he might've been if he had good pacers to punch through the top order consistently.
Last bowler for me would depend on pitch conditions:
a) Normal to pacy/seaming pitches:
Michael Holding : Extreme pace and extreme hotility. Nobody did that better than Mikey. For an extreme speedster, he was surprisingly effective on dead track. There have been other greater bowlers than Mikey perhaps but nobody has turned in as many mindboggling spells of utter domination and aggresion as Mikey- his over to Boycott, his schooling of Closey, the terror in Sabina Park, the Old Trafford.
b) Rained on pitches:
Derek Underwood : Deadly Derek. Enough said on sticky wickets.
c) Flat batting paradise or crumbling pitches:
Anil Kumble [./b] : The Krumbler is a monicker for a reason.
So- this team has a metronome monster who'd irritate anyone, a bowler like Marshall who blends speed, aggresion, cunning and consistently better than anyone else in history, a magician like Akram and a spinner of the highest class. Not to mention, depending on circumstances, either a dizzyingly fast speed demon of the highest class , a true sticky wicket master or a master of the puff.
I cant think of a better balanced attack than this:
Marshall - Akram - McGrath - Murali - Holding/Kumble/Underwood
Mine would be as follows:
Malcolm Marshall : IMO, best fast bowler ever. Period. Deceptive pace, brilliant cricketing brain and allround effectivenes everywhere
Wasim Akram : Brilliant swing, versatality, pace that could floor anyone, king of variety. Capable of long spells as well as short bursts of dizzying pace.
Glenn McGrath : Though Hadlee would always be in the team ahead of Pidge, i think Pidge is a marginally better bowler at doing the same metronome game style. Need a metronome in there somewhere.
Muralitharan : Best spinner ever- potent on any surface, capable of marathon spells- its scary how good he might've been if he had good pacers to punch through the top order consistently.
Last bowler for me would depend on pitch conditions:
a) Normal to pacy/seaming pitches:
Michael Holding : Extreme pace and extreme hotility. Nobody did that better than Mikey. For an extreme speedster, he was surprisingly effective on dead track. There have been other greater bowlers than Mikey perhaps but nobody has turned in as many mindboggling spells of utter domination and aggresion as Mikey- his over to Boycott, his schooling of Closey, the terror in Sabina Park, the Old Trafford.
b) Rained on pitches:
Derek Underwood : Deadly Derek. Enough said on sticky wickets.
c) Flat batting paradise or crumbling pitches:
Anil Kumble [./b] : The Krumbler is a monicker for a reason.
So- this team has a metronome monster who'd irritate anyone, a bowler like Marshall who blends speed, aggresion, cunning and consistently better than anyone else in history, a magician like Akram and a spinner of the highest class. Not to mention, depending on circumstances, either a dizzyingly fast speed demon of the highest class , a true sticky wicket master or a master of the puff.
I cant think of a better balanced attack than this:
Marshall - Akram - McGrath - Murali - Holding/Kumble/Underwood
