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What are the 5 greatest bowling attacks ever fielded?

S

subshakerz

Hall of Fame Member
Taking into account the form of the bowlers and not listing multiple lineups with three of the same names of bowlers of the same team to avoid overlap, what would be the top 5 bowling attacks?
 
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kyear2

kyear2

International Coach
subshakerz said:
Taking into account the form of the bowlers and not multiple lineups with three of the same bowlers to avoid overlap, what would be the top 5 bowling attacks?
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Shouldn't it be about effectiveness and substance over type?

Just a question
 
S

subshakerz

Hall of Fame Member
Some also to consider:
WI: Holding, Garner, Croft, Roberts / Holding, Garner, Marshall, Walsh / Ambrose, Bishop, Walsh
Pakistan: Imran, Qadir, Wasim / Waqar, Wasim, Mushtaq, Saqlain
Australia: McGrath, Lee, Warne, Clark
SA: Donald, Pollock, DeVilliers, Klusener - Steyn, Philander, Rabada, Morkel
 
S

subshakerz

Hall of Fame Member
kyear2 said:
Shouldn't it be about effectiveness and substance over type?

Just a question
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Oh, to clarify, it is not same type, but same bowlers

So you can't list:
1. McGrath, Gillepsie, Lee, Warne
2. McGrath, Lee, Warne, Clark

Since I consider these variants of the same attack.
 
Adorable Asshole

Adorable Asshole

International Regular
The Sean

The Sean

Cricketer Of The Year
Adorable Asshole said:
https://www.espncricinfo.com/series...lia-vs-pakistan-2nd-test-63855/full-scorecard

0 vs Australia 175 & 424,271,26/2 (undefined undefined(undefined) ) | Australia vs West Indies, 2nd Test, Fri, Nov 23, West Indies in Australia, 1984-85

Follow 0 vs Australia 175 & 424,271,26/2 (undefined undefined(undefined) ) | Australia vs West Indies, 2nd Test, Fri, Nov 23, West Indies in Australia, 1984-85 with live Cricket score, ball by ball commentary updates on Cricbuzz
m.cricbuzz.com m.cricbuzz.com
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Great attack. Border possibly the only weak link, and even he has a Test 11-fer.
 
Nintendo

Nintendo

Cricketer Of The Year
I reckon if you go back to the 50's for AUS you may be able to find an attack that rivals the golden 2000's attack with warne and mcgrath. I can't be bothered looking through it, but benaud and davidson both debuted in 1952/3 and miller played until 56. You'de have to go through the games they played together and see who the other 2 frontliners where, but those 3 are a good starting point, especially given miller was playing as an allrounder.

Edit: First scorecard I clicked on (https://www.espncricinfo.com/series...n-vs-australia-only-test-62816/full-scorecard) had an attack of lindwall-davidson-benaud-Johnson-miller. Would have to be right up there as a 5 man unit.
 
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the big bambino

the big bambino

International Captain
Nintendo said:
I reckon if you go back to the 50's for AUS you may be able to find an attack that rivals the golden 2000's attack with warne and mcgrath. I can't be bothered looking through it, but benaud and davidson both debuted in 1952/3 and miller played until 56. You'de have to go through the games they played together and see who the other 2 frontliners where, but those 3 are a good starting point, especially given miller was playing as an allrounder.

Edit: First scorecard I clicked on (https://www.espncricinfo.com/series...n-vs-australia-only-test-62816/full-scorecard) had an attack of lindwall-davidson-benaud-Johnson-miller. Would have to be right up there as a 5 man unit.
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Not as good as various 2000 Australian attacks. Our 50s sides were generally populated with players leaving the scene and those not quite yet arrived. We lost 3 ashes in the mid 50s whereas we were pretty much unbeatable in the late 90s / early 2000s
 
Migara

Migara

International Coach
In ODIs there was a time Vaas, Malinga, Murali, Mendis and Jayasuriya were bowling together.
 
morgieb

morgieb

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trundler said:
Nominate Trueman-Statham-Bailey-Laker-Lock
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Did that attack regularly play together?

Though the most impressive thing about England 1950's was their bowling depth, I'm sure you could find tons of English attacks around that time with 5 good bowling options. An attack of Tyson-Loader-Wardle-Appleyard would be a very good one usually, and I'm sure I've forgotten others too.
 
morgieb

morgieb

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For Australia, obviously the 2000's unit stands out.

The mid-70's we had Lillee, Thomson, Walker, Gilmour and Mallett. Not sure all 5 of them played together but if they did it would've looked handy. Even 4 would be good.

Did Reid-McDermott-Hughes-Alderman ever play a Test together? Probably lacking a true elite guy there but that's another quality attack.
 
S

subshakerz

Hall of Fame Member
From what I gather, I would put:

1. WI early 80s - hard to separate Roberts/Croft/Garner/Holding and Marshall/Holding/Garner/Walsh
2. Australia 2000s, in particular the attack of McWarne's last series of McGrath/Lee/Clark/Warne that was relentless
3. England 50s, not sure of the exact attack but combo of Trueman/Stratham/Laker would be formidable
4. SA late 90s had peak Donald/Pollock/DeVilliers at one point, I think that edges out Steyn/Philander/Morkel
5. Australia mid-70s with Lillee, Thomson and Gilmour

Pak around 96/97 had peak Wasim, post-peak but still effective Waqar plus a worldclass Mushtaq Ahmed and Saqlain
 
The Sean

The Sean

Cricketer Of The Year
Twice on the 1953 Ashes tour Australia fielded Lindwall, Miller, Johnston, Davidson and Benaud all together. On paper this looks like one of the best attacks ever, but Johnston by then was in decline after a serious knee injury reduced his effectiveness while neither Benaud nor Davo were yet anywhere near the bowlers they would later become.

In terms of effectiveness, the Australian attack of the late '40s and early '50s must rank among the greats though - Lindwall, Miller and Johnston all at or near their peak, along with some combination of Ian Johnson, Ernie Toshack or Doug Ring.
 
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