Best Attack

[Coronis]

I feel the variety angle here is sometimes overplayed, like how in general (not here as much) a right/left handed batting combination is. I mean, nice bonus is nice and all, but all these bowlers are different enough from each other imo to make it straight up skill for me.


(Though honestly, I have previously fantasized about Warne and Murali bowling from each end, that would just be beautiful cricket)

 

[kyear2]

I feel the variety angle here is sometimes overplayed, like how in general (not here as much) a right/left handed batting combination is. I mean, nice bonus is nice and all, but all these bowlers are different enough from each other imo to make it straight up skill for me.


(Though honestly, I have previously fantasized about Warne and Murali bowling from each end, that would just be beautiful cricket)

How about genuine pace and swing Marshall / Steyn from one and Warne / Murali from the next.

When you think about it, Gatting would have probably got the worst outcomes from both encountering Marshall and Warne.

 

[shortpitched713]

Fully convinced now that it's just trying to be contrarian.

Below is the summary of my thoughts on this process. You do pick the best bowlers you can, except for when you don't. It's all context dependent, and it's heavily exacerbated by the fact, that in my mind there's a pack of ATG seamers (Steyn, Ambrose, Hadlee, Marshall) who are extremely close (followed by Pollock and Imran who are just a half step below as well) in bowling quality.

Here's how I did it for my 8-11. My top 7 were all set as specialist batsmen, and the only bowling I got out of it was Sobers, who while commendable, isn't adding more than spelling my main 4 bowlers, in an all time context.

11 is McGrath, easy. His bowling record is that much better than everyone else's that I don't think batting at 11 could possibly play any role. Next comes spinners, because the second best bowler in my mind is Murali. Murali >> Warne as a bowler in my mind, so although you can consider Warne for batting, as we'll see later the most likely position for the spinner ends up at 10 anyway, and given what I see as Murali's superiority with the ball, especially against ATG opposition, I pick him pretty easily.

That leaves me with 8 and 9, for a new ball partner for McGrath, and change bowler, from these candidates:

Imran Khan

Shaun Pollock

Richard Hadlee

Ian Botham

Kapil Dev

Malcolm Marshall

Curtly Ambrose

Dale Steyn

Botham, and Dev are out. They give up too much with the ball, even as a change bowler at 8.

From there, first I tackle the new ball partner, because I think it will be a higher value position. As pure bowlers I have Steyn a minuscule ahead of Ambrose as the best bowlers. But from what I've seen Ambrose is better of the two with the bat, enough to barely tip it in his favor between the two at #9. Except that Marshall is significantly better with the bat than both of them, so I'd actually pick him at 9 of the 3.

Actually there are only 3 real candidates. Hadlee for me is barely better than Marshall with the ball, and much, much better as a bat. But he is competing with Imran and Pollock. As a new ball partner though, I think he will do the most with the ball alongside McGrath, chip in with the bat enough at 9 to hold off Pollock's contribution, who in my opinion is the 2nd best bowler and 2nd best batsman of these 3.

At 8, as a change bowler, Pollock is again unlucky, as I think Imran provides enough more with the bat than him to keep him out, while still doing an excellent job as a change bowler.

So the best possible tail for mine, ends up looking like this:

08 Imran
09 Hadlee
10 Murali
11 McGrath

With the overall bowling attack being:

McGrath
Hadlee
Imran
Murali
Sobers

I think that's the right balance, given my opinion of where the ATG bowlers rank, and also taking into account their batting contribution, which I think is usually simply glossed over in the conventional wisdom.

And ultimately, I can pick that as my ideal attack and also have:

Ambrose, Steyn, Murali, McGrath

as my attack for if batting isn't considered at all, which is what I believe the hypothetical was asking for.