I'll try to make sense of this, and yes some parts makes sense.
Yes bowlers matter a bit more than batsmen with regards to winning, simply because you have to bowl out the opposition twice.
Yes having more good bowlers increases your chances of winning.
What you seem to miss is no matter how good the bowling, of you have the current west indies batting lineup, you're still not winning.
Now this paragraph is where you lose me... The whole not everyone is good enough bowl, but everyone has to chip in with the bat is nonsense from both sides. I've seen matches where Hooper and Viv had to bowl significant overs. I've also watched McGrath and Walsh try to bat. Wasn't pretty.
I'm sure
@Miagra tried the whole 7 batsmen, 4 bowlers argument, to prove that bowlers are twice as important and it makes as much sense then as it does now.
The highlighted part just doesn't make any sense.
Yes, Hadlee did amazing things, so did Viv. Of course Hadlee stood out more, he wasn't on as good a team, that's not hard to figure out.
Yes a great bowler on a one off is more likely to lead you to a victory than a single batsmen, but for long term sustained success, you need both. I don't get how this is hard.
Australia 2000's vs WI '80's. The Windows have a better bowling attack, the reason Australia evens the odds is due to their slightly stronger batting line up.
I'm not arguing with you that Hadlee was slightly better, or even more important. But the though process that leads us to a top 10 with 9 bowlers doesn't make any sense.
I feel like the cricket fraternity over rates batsmen and we go in the opposite direction. Yes Maco was more impactful and consistent that Viv in the later years, but do they reach the level of success without him? His destructive batting, his catching and in the later days his leadership? All I'm saying.
You'll believe you have some unique insight into the game, and no other perspective is valid, and it's hilarious. Everyone sees it differently.
One single example. For me, a guy like Punter who was an ATG bat and slip fielder has just as much value as Polly, a great bowler and decent lower order bat. I can accept your perspective of value, you're dismissive of mine.