Cricketweb decides the greatest bowler ever in a 64 player bracket. Contest thread.

[watson]

Warne Ambrose Marshall Muralidaran

Throw in Sobers as the 5 bowler and I quite like this as an ATG all-conditions bowling attack.

 

[kyear2]

Update.

Warne leads 17 to 15
Ambrose leads 32 to 0
Marshall leads 32 to 0
Muralitharan leads 22 to 10

 

[jimmy101]

Richard Hadlee

Curtly Ambrose

Malcolm Marshall

Sydney Barnes

 

[mr_mister]

thanks for that kyear

 

[Gob]

Through in Sobers at the 5 bowler and I quite like this as an ATG all-conditions bowling attack.

gona need a seem bowling all rounder like Botham or Imran instead of Sobers

 

[mr_mister]

you've got Hadlee he'll do

 

[Gob]

no he picked a spin bowling all rounder for a team that has 2 spinners.

 

[Lillian Thomson]

Surprised to see Barnes taking such a hammering in the votes. He's always appeared to be one of CW's favourite sons. He must be cricket's ultimate mystery man.

 

[watson]

Surprised to see Barnes taking such a hammering in the votes. He's always appeared to be one of CW's favourite sons. He must be cricket's ultimate mystery man.

The irony is thst both Murali and Barnes could spin the ball either way with impunity. It's just that Barnes did it 25 clicks faster with equivalent line and length.

Every opponent, however partisan or lacking in grace, agreed to his absolute supremacy with the ball. No bowler in history has had such universal repute as the greatest. Even in 1930, the batsmen who faced him came away shaking their heads in disbelief.

http://www.cricketcountry.com/artic...t-bowler-ever-in-the-history-of-cricket-25401

 

[ankitj]

Why didn't Barnes transfer his skills to others?

 

[Howe_zat]

Why didn't Barnes transfer his skills to others?

you what?

like in space jam?

 

[watson]

Why didn't Barnes transfer his skills to others?

Not sure exactly, but spinning the ball out of the front of the hand by levering the third-finger either up (leg spin) or down (off-spin) must be a difficult skill to perfect. Only 3 other bowlers have copied Barnes with any degree of success;

The techniques re-discovered by Iverson, Gleeson and Mendis were practiced by Barnes one hundred years ago. But Barnes had a number of other factors going for him. He could bowl both the off break and the leg break with the same action at a pace of 70 or 80 mph with the Magnus Effect giving him extremely late away and in-swing and, a very tall man by the standards of his age, he could bring the ball down from a height of eight feet or more giving him the steep bounce of a Joel Garner or Curtly Ambrose.

https://downatthirdman.wordpress.com/2010/04/14/enigma-variations-s-f-barnes-and-a-mendis/

 

[watson]

Incidently, here is a stumps eye view of Jack Iverson bowling as it's probably about as close to watching Barnes bowl as we're ever going to get.

While watching the video imagine a taller and faster action with more bounce and accuracy, plus more swerve through the air due to the Magnus Effect.

 

[mr_mister]

not really related... to all this Barnes stuff, but I came across it when organising this thing and wanteed to share it then. It's about Clarrie Grimmett


Bowling to a marked area in his backyard, with a fox terrier to fetch the ball (and who apparently could also count to six), he made himself as accurate as a machine, and he mastered the variations of spin bowling, never believing that he knew it all. After the standard legbreak, topspinner and googly there came the flipper - which took several years to perfect, and which, when batsmen tried to discern by the snap of his fingers, he smokescreened by snapping the fingers of his left hand as he released a legbreak - and beyond that, well on in years, further experimentation: truly the Barnes Wallis of the cricket world.

Those old school spinners sure were wiley. Also this guy must be a fair shout for "spinnererst spinner"

 

[AndrewB]

no he picked a spin bowling all rounder for a team that has 2 spinners.

Sobers bowled fast as well - in fact, there used to be a regular poster (and Sobers fan) on rec.sport.cricket who reckoned his fast bowling was much better than his spin.

 

[watson]

Sobers bowled fast as well - in fact, there used to be a regular poster (and Sobers fan) on rec.sport.cricket who reckoned his fast bowling was much better than his spin.

Sobers was a very good pace bowler whose chief victims were Barrington, Boycott, and Edrich in that order. Also, 35% of his wickets were against Top 3 batsman. Comparable to any specialist pace bowler.

So if you want to play 2 spinners in your ATG team, and use Sobers as your first change quick, then no problems I reckon.

But I think that we've just deviated from this thread, so that's an argument for another place.

 

[weldone]

Sobers is the ideal 5th bowler...very very economical, and can bowl pace or spin depending on the condition

 

[mr_mister]

closing in 2 hours

 

[smash84]

Sobers is the ideal 5th bowler...very very economical, and can bowl pace or spin depending on the condition

you mean bowling spin on a green top and bowling pace on a dustbowl?

 

[mr_mister]

Warne has just held on to best Hadlee by one point


Semi Finals

Shane Warne vs Curtly Ambrose
Malcolm Marshall vs Muttiah Muralitharan





The average year of the test debuts in this final 4 is 1988, compared to the batting final 4 which was 1956. We seem to prefer our old batsman and modern bowlers