Fast Bowler Survival - 2020 edition

[stephen]

I don't feel quite so bad about Miller being out of the top 32, given he was ranked 33.

Personally, that means a favourite of mine has been just outside the top 64 (Harris on 65) and the top 32 (Miller on 33).

 

[stephen]

Round of 32 Results - Group 1 and 2

These players progress to the preliminary finals:

Group 1

Malcolm Marshall
Alan Davidson

Group 2

Richard Hadlee
Dale Steyn

Here are the full results:

Group 1:

Malcolm Marshall	1
Alan Davidson	2.588235294
Andy Roberts	2.647058824
Shane Bond	3.764705882

Group 2:

Richard Hadlee	1.411764706
Dale Steyn	1.764705882
Courtney Walsh	3
Shoaib Akhtar	3.823529412

 

[stephen]

Over 17 voters, there was literally one ranking point of difference between Andy Roberts and Alan Davidson. Incredibly tight call, but Davidson goes through to the preliminary finals. Hadlee and Steyn battled hard for the prime position in group 2, with Hadlee winning by a small but comfortable margin.

 

[stephen]

Round of 32 Results - Group 3 and 4

These players progress to the preliminary finals:

Group 3

Curtly Ambrose
Michael Holding

Group 4

Sydney Barnes
Allan Donald

Here are the full results:

Group 3:

Curtly Ambrose	1
Michael Holding	2.133333333
Brian Statham	3.4
Wes Hall	3.466666667

Group 4:

Sydney Barnes	1.533333333
Allan Donald	1.933333333
George Lohmann	2.933333333
Mike Procter	3.6

 

[stephen]

Pretty straight forward couple of groups, though Statham and Hall were only separated by a single ranking point in the end.

 

[ataraxia]

Davo!

 

[stephen]

Davo!

Yeah I couldn't believed he made it but he did. Just squeaked over the line though.

Hard to think a guy averaging less than 21 across his career would find it hard to crack the top 16.

 

[stephen]

Malcolm Marshall is the only bowler not to have dropped a vote so far in the contest.

 

[stephen]

Round of 32 Results - Group 5 and 6

These players progress to the preliminary finals:

Group 5

Glenn McGrath
Ray Lindwall

Group 6

Joel Garner
Waqar Younis

Here are the full results:

Group 5:

Glenn McGrath	1.0625
Ray Lindwall	2.5
Shaun Pollock	2.8125
Harold Larwood	3.625

Group 6:

Joel Garner	1.4375
Waqar Younis	1.6875
Alec Bedser	3.0625
Neil Adcock	3.8125

 

[stephen]

McGrath copping a #2 vote cost him the coveted 1 average. Lindwall ahead of Pollock and Larwood is what I expected for the number 2 to qualify in that group.

Garner and Waqar was the most closely fought battle for the number 1 position of the groups so far. A genuinely difficult decision between them IMO. Bedser and Adcock being eliminated in that group is not a surprise.

 

[stephen]

Round of 32 Results - Group 7 and 8

These players progress to the preliminary finals:

Group 7

Wasim Akram
Dennis Lillee

Group 8

Fred Trueman
Imran Khan

Here are the full results:

Group 7:

Wasim Akram	1.333333333
Dennis Lillee	1.666666667
Pat Cummins	3.388888889
Maurice Tate	3.611111111

Group 8:

Fred Trueman	1.444444444
Imran Khan	1.555555556
Frederick Spofforth	3.166666667
John Snow	3.833333333

 

[stephen]

No absolute stompings in these groups for first place. Trueman vs Imran was extremely close, with only two ranking points separating them over 18 votes. Wasim vs Lillee was a bit more weighted towards Wasim, but not by a huge amount.

Cummins already ahead of Tate is interesting (and probably correct). I expect if I run a fast bowler survival in 2030 Cummins will have cracked the top 10 *if* he can keep going at this pace for another 5-8 years.

Given that nobody alive remembers watching Spofforth bowl, I'm not too surprised at his elimination at this stage. He was the quickest bowler of his day but test match cricket was literally in its earliest days when he ruled the roost. Snow was a fantastic bowler but was never going to beat Imran or Trueman.

 

[stephen]

The rankings so far

105 Trevor Goddard
104 Bob Woolmer
103 Eddie Barlow
102 Michael Kasprowicz
101 Arthur Fielder
100 Graham Dilley
99 Ben Hilfenhaus
98 Mohammad Abbas
97 Tony Gray
96 Peter Lever
95 Amar Singh
94 Richard Collinge
93 Dick Motz
92 Patrick Patterson
91 Peter Siddle
90 Bill Voce
89 Geoff Arnold
88 Jasprit Bumrah
87 Frank Foster
86 John Lever
85 Peter Loader
84 Javagal Srinath
83 Ernie Toshack
82 Geoff Lawson
81 Chris Old
80 Bruce Taylor
79 Mohammad Nissar
78 Rodney Hogg
77 Kemar Roach
76 Mohammed Shami
75 Makhaya Ntini
74 Andrew Flintoff
73 Craig McDermott
72 Charlie Griffith
71 Peter Heine
70 Paul Reiffel
69 Gubby Allen
68 Billy Barnes
67 Josh Hazlewood
66 Tom Richardson
65 Ryan Harris
64 Jack Gregory
63 Morné Morkel
62 Ken Farnes
61 Merv Hughes
60 Ted McDonald
59 Trent Boult
58 Manny Martindale
57 Wayne Daniel
56 Mitchell Starc
55 Terry Alderman
54 Mitchell Johnson
53 Stuart Broad
52 Jack Cowie
51 Neil Wagner
50 Graham McKenzie
49 Kagiso Rabada
48 Bruce Reid
47 Vernon Philander
46 Fazal Mahmood
45 Bill Johnston
44 Colin Croft
43 Jeff Thompson
42 Ian Botham
41 Kapil Dev
40 Charlie Turner
39 Jason Gillespie
38 Ian Bishop
37 Frank Tyson
36 Peter Pollock
35 Bob Willis
34 James Anderson
33 Keith Miller
32 John Snow
31 Shoaib Akhtar
30 Neil Adcock
29 Shane Bond
28 Harold Larwood
27 Maurice Tate
26 Mike Procter
25 Wes Hall
24 Brian Statham
23 Pat Cummins
22 Frederick Spofforth
21 Alec Bedser
20 Courtney Walsh
19 George Lohmann
18 Shaun Pollock
17 Andy Roberts

 

[ataraxia]

England so far:

101 Arthur Fielder
100 Graham Dilley
96 Peter Lever
90 Bill Voce
89 Geoff Arnold
87 Frank Foster
86 John Lever
85 Peter Loader
81 Chris Old
74 Andrew Flintoff
69 Gubby Allen
68 Billy Barnes
66 Tom Richardson
62 Ken Farnes
53 Stuart Broad
42 Ian Botham
37 Frank Tyson
35 Bob Willis
34 James Anderson
32 John Snow
28 Harold Larwood
27 Maurice Tate
24 Brian Statham
21 Alec Bedser
19 George Lohmann
?? Trueman & Barnes

Larwood only in 7th is very surprising knowing CW.

Gough wasn't nominated somehow. Fraser and Bowes also missed out.

 

[stephen]

Gough, Fraser and Bowes weren't nominated when I put the call out for nominations. Given some of the blokes who were nominated I am surprised by that, but I guess it's the problem with running it the way I did.

Also, the design of the contest is such that the higher up you get, the more accurate your ranking. So Lohmann vs Bedser is probably more accurate than Fielder vs Dilley.

 

[stephen]

Preliminary Finals

These players progress to the preliminary finals:

Malcolm Marshall
Glenn McGrath
Curtly Ambrose
Richard Hadlee
Dale Steyn
Joel Garner
Wasim Akram
Dennis Lillee

Here are the full results:

Player        Average vote received
Malcolm Marshall	1.181818182
Glenn McGrath	1.193548387
Curtly Ambrose	1.393939394
Richard Hadlee	1.818181818
Dale Steyn	2
Joel Garner	2.419354839
Wasim Akram	2.419354839
Dennis Lillee	2.516129032
Sydney Barnes	2.636363636
Fred Trueman	2.677419355
Imran Khan	2.870967742
Waqar Younis	2.878787879
Allan Donald	3.322580645
Michael Holding	3.515151515
Alan Davidson	3.548387097
Ray Lindwall	3.666666667

 

[Starfighter]

Can we just hurry up and declare Marshall the winner?

 

[vcs]

Seems like there's absolutely nothing between Marshall and McGrath, though I personally think the former should be ahead by a slightly bigger margin. Also surprised to see Ambrose comfortably ahead of Hadlee.

 

[trundler]

Ambrose being ahead of Hadlee by that much has to be a quirk of the system and I expect it to even out in a head to head battle.

 

[stephen]

Here are the averages for the two different rounds of voting:

Groups A-D:

Malcolm Marshall	1.176470588
Curtly Ambrose	1.235294118
Glenn McGrath	1.294117647
Richard Hadlee	1.588235294
Dale Steyn	2.117647059
Sydney Barnes	2.294117647
Fred Trueman	2.529411765
Joel Garner	2.529411765
Dennis Lillee	2.588235294
Waqar Younis	2.705882353
Imran Khan	2.941176471
Wasim Akram	2.941176471
Allan Donald	3.352941176
Michael Holding	3.470588235
Alan Davidson	3.588235294
Ray Lindwall	3.647058824

Groups E - H

Glenn McGrath	1.071428571
Malcolm Marshall	1.1875
Curtly Ambrose	1.5625
Wasim Akram	1.785714286
Dale Steyn	1.875
Richard Hadlee	2.0625
Joel Garner	2.285714286
Dennis Lillee	2.428571429
Imran Khan	2.785714286
Fred Trueman	2.857142857
Sydney Barnes	3
Waqar Younis	3.0625
Allan Donald	3.285714286
Alan Davidson	3.5
Michael Holding	3.5625
Ray Lindwall	3.6875

And here's how the overall ranks changed with the shuffled group:

Malcolm Marshall	==
Glenn McGrath	+1
Curtly Ambrose	-1
Richard Hadlee	==
Dale Steyn	==
Joel Garner	+2
Wasim Akram	+5
Dennis Lillee	+1
Sydney Barnes	-3
Fred Trueman	-3
Imran Khan	==
Waqar Younis	-2
Allan Donald	==
Michael Holding	==
Alan Davidson	==
Ray Lindwall	==

As you can see the bottom stayed the same and there was a little shuffling around at the top but by far the biggest winner with the extra round of voting was Wasim Akram, who managed to jump an entire five places. Trueman and Barnes the losers of the group.