Best post war pacer

[steds]

[showoff mode]funnily enough, they got his birthday wrong. It's the 21st April.

Stupid Cricinfo[/showoff mode]

 

[SJS]

Lillee, Hadlee, Imran and Holding

 

[C_C]

surprised you didnt mention Marshall, SJS.

 

[Beleg]

I didn't get into cricket till 1992 so i was unable to watch Marshall.

Therefore my pick would be Ambrose and Akram. Though Wesley Hall seemed to possess a killer action from what little clippings I have seen of him.

 

[duffer]

Donald, Akram and McGrath are the greatest I have ever had the pleasure of watching live. The tempo of the game lifted another notch whenever these guys were bowling. All a cut above the rest I've seen.

 

[C_C]

Donald, Akram and McGrath are the greatest I have ever had the pleasure of watching live. The tempo of the game lifted another notch whenever these guys were bowling. All a cut above the rest I've seen.

no ambrose ?

he usually had the aussies for lunch..how did ya miss that ?

 

[Dasa]

I've only been watching cricket in the 90s and beyond, so the best I've seen are Ambrose, Akram and Donald in that order. I've seen bits and pieces of Marshall, and from that I think he was the best - however, not enough to make a proper judgement.

 

[bryce]

one thing i like about mcgrath is that he has been so successful without ever really having genuine pace

 

[C_C]

indeed.
Thats metronomic consistency for you- something that required a lot of guts,toil and sweat.
Something Hadlee and Ambrose in his latter years identify with.

 

[duffer]

no ambrose ?

he usually had the aussies for lunch..how did ya miss that ?

I never actually saw him play live. So he doesnt make the cut. He more than likely would've if I had seen him.

 

[a massive zebra]

Lillee could be phenomenal on his day but is massively overrated and inconsistent. He is thought of as pretty much the complete fast bowler despite even Rod Marsh admitting that he had a weakness against the left handers and that he also struggled to run through lower orders due to the lack of a good yorker. Furthermore, he struggled in Asia. The paceman was not complete and it is just another example of Australians and inconsistent matchwinners being remembered more fondly than consistent non Austalians/Englishmen (a la Murali vs Warne where Murali is clearly much better than the overrated Australian matchwinner, yet does not get the credit he deserves).

McGrath is not generally talked about in the same breath as Lillee but as a matter of fact is a demonstrably more reliable bowler than Lillee, has had success all over the world, and in terms of PriceWaterhouseCoopers ratings is ahead of him at every point in their respective careers after the first dozen or so matches.

Marshall gets my vote as the best fast bowler since the war.

 

[C_C]

Lillee's weakness was bowling in non-conductive pitches. Something Marshall mastered.Which is why i rate marshall higher than lillee.

 

[Swervy]

Lilee only played 4 tests in Asia..give him a break

 

[Richard]

well pick one swervmeister

One is impossible.
I do think Marshall was slightly better than the other two, but it's so slight it's barely there.
Certainly I don't think there's anything between the two "lee"s.

 

[Richard]

one thing i like about mcgrath is that he has been so successful without ever really having genuine pace

Though being merely fast-medium hasn't affected McGrath at all, to say he was never fast is wrong.
In 1998 and 1999 he was timed in the 90s plenty.

 

[Richard]

BTW, this thread and this one are a bit too similar, surely?

 

[bryce]

Though being merely fast-medium hasn't affected McGrath at all, to say he was never fast is wrong.
In 1998 and 1999 he was timed in the 90s plenty.

well did i say he wasn't f*ckin' fast? you really have to stop doing this, i said he never had genuine pace - there's a difference, i admit he was quite sharp as i did see him bowl in this time frame

 

[C_C]

McGrath's best weapon has been his unsettling bounce and metronomic consistency.
The highest speed he has been recorded in the databases is 145kph, which is just over 90mph.
However, top speed is irrelevant......whats relevant is what is your mean speed....and in that category, McGrath is mid-80mph range.....which is medium pacer.

 

[BlackCap_Fan]

Hadlee. Incredible control.

Although I quite like Mcgrath and Michael Holding/Whispering Death.

 

[SJS]

surprised you didnt mention Marshall, SJS.

I suppose I am a bit biased against the open chested actions