Y'know I think everyone has such negative memories of Shoaib because he was such a prima donna wanker. The dude took 180 wickets at 25 in one of the most batsman friendly eras in history. Wood maybe a MUCH more likeable character but he hasn't achieved half of what Shoaib did.
Mate we made 400+ while batting under cloud cover for most of the innings in the first innings of the last test.
Quick arm, technically correct (bowls over braced front leg with weight going directly at target, etc), good athlete, etc
Most express pace bowlers are around Wood height. Akhtar, Steyn, Bond, Nortje, Ferguson
Steyn wasn't express. Not across the duration or peak of his career anyway
Yeah, though he was very sharp as a kid though. Remember him cracking 150 regularly in a test match v New Zealand in 2006. He obviously decided he'd have a longer career by reigning it back to that 140ish sweet spot.
Yeah, I think any NZ batsman on that tour would struggle to agree that Steyn couldn't be express.
Lee's was low too due to his front leg angle and torso flexion.
Exactly. Shoiab is one of the most talented bowlers to ever exist. He was a force of nature at his peak. The closest to his like since is Mitchell Johnson or February-March 2015 Mitchell Starc.
Pretty sure Bond is taller than all those guys, though he did start off professional cricket as a medium pacer.
6'1" allegedly. It's the guys around 6'4" and above where they tend be not so quick as you'd expect IMO.
@thierry henry needs to adjudicate here.
Don't think he got injured that much either, from memory? Unless gonorrhea counts
