Botham vs Snow - Who was a better bowler?

[ImpatientLime]

Flintoff one of those fellas always beating the bat but by a fair margin because he's bowling a fraction too short and then is bizarrely labelled unlucky.

 

[wpdavid]

Easily, get an early wicket and he was a totally different animal.

For those who didn't see much of him (Caddick) he was like an on a roll Broad but better and had spells like that more often.

Caddick was pretty handy if conditions suited, if the opposition were out of sorts, and if he'd got out the right side of his bed. If not, forget it. Which is why I wasn't a fan. Even his best spells were usually kicked off by one of the others making inroads.

I think Gough has a decent shout. As someone else said, it's easily forgotten as he's such a tit nowadays. Probably always was, but it wasn't so obvious in his playing days. I don't think there were too many freebies when he was playing and ,as has been said, England rarely gave him many runs to play with. Decent pace, could swing it too, and had more ticker than others we could name. Finished up with a test average under 30 didn't he? Not world class, but as good as anything we've produced since the early 1980s, especially as most the sides be played had pretty respectable batting lineups.

 

[GIMH]

Freddie

 

[weldone]

Yes, Anderson after Willis IMO

 

[Red]

What about Gough?

 

[weldone]

What about Gough?

I look at it in this way - neither was a true match-winner in difficult conditions. But Anderson is a better match-winner at home / in swinging conditions.

 

[watson]

Freddie

Funnily enough, Flintoff's worst average by some distance is at home - 36. In all other countries he averages around the 30 mark or slightly lower, even India and South Africa. So if you value consistency across the board without being outstanding then Flintoff appears to be a safe bet.

http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/player/12856.html?class=1;template=results;type=bowling

Do bowlers who bowl well home and away hold more value than mere home-track-bullies? I think that they do.

 

[smash84]

Funnily enough, Flintoff's worst average by some distance is at home - 36. In all other countries he averages around the 30 mark or slightly lower, even India and South Africa. So if you value consistency across the board without being outstanding then Flintoff appears to be a safe bet.

Bowling records | Test matches | Cricinfo Statsguru | ESPN Cricinfo

Do bowlers who bowl well home and away hold more value than mere home-track-bullies? I think that they do.

Depends on how much teams play home and away actually. Teams like SL play most matches at home and they would definitely benefit from having somebody like more consistent at home rather than a Flintoff.

 

[GIMH]

I look at it in this way - neither was a true match-winner in difficult conditions. But Anderson is a better match-winner at home / in swinging conditions.

Anderson has performed plenty in difficult conditions

 

[Lillian Thomson]

If Snow was around in the era of Central Contracts he would have been as good a fast bowler as England have ever produced. He often struggled with the daily grind of County Cricket and he had little time for authority. His non-selection for the 74/75 Ashes Tour was one of the biggest **** ups in selection history. He would have taken a stack of wickets on the green pitches and whilst he wouldn't have changed the outcome of the series, England would have been more competitive. One small aside on Botham. While his peak was possibly77-82, he was often the fastest bowler on either side during the 85 Ashes in England. But within a couple of years he was lucky to be in the side at all.

 

[Pratters]

One has to read about John Snow in 'The Fast Men' to get an idea how awesome he was for people who haven't seen him bowl (like me). One of the awesome fast bowlers at his best.

 

[Hurricane]

I saw Botham in the match where he ran out Boycott...was that peak or post peak. He looked most unmenacing in the series.

Batted well though.

 

[Hurricane]

Another memory I have which I am posting separately to post boost
- is an anecdote from Botham's autobiography. He was a phenomenally talented youngster. He and his mates would bowl to the adults in the nets for tips. 5 minutes into each net they would bowl one at the thigh of the batsman, if they heard a jangly sound of coins they would stop bowling as the guy was a cheapskate, if it made a thud they assumed he had a fat wallet and would stay for another 20 minutes of bowling.

The part that impresses me is that they could hit the guy's wallet at will.