are there any world class pacemen around anymore?

[dr nick]

I was watching the Eng v SAF test match last night when they suggested that Shaun Pollock has been in competition with Glenn McGrath for the #1 fast bowler in the world for the last 5 years. it made me think. World cricket is currently dominated by spinners, and we are seeing less and less fast bowlers who are able to rip through teams. You have your Muralitharans, your Harbhajans, your Saqlains, your Warne's etc... but who do you think is the best fast bowler in the world at the moment?? the only ones in contention i can think of at the moment are Pollock, Lee, Waqar Younis, Gillespie, Zaheer Khan and Ntini IMO. is there somebody i'm missing out? would you say Jaques Kallis is in the mix, incredible allrounder that he is?

[Pedro]

On his day Shane Bond goes alright.

[crudbucket]

Yep, I agree.
If Shane Bond wasn't bowling for "SheepshaggersRus", you'd hear a lot more about him I reckon..

[llosis]

The fact that Andrew Caddick - the world's premier hack - is rated as the world 6th best test bowler says it all.

http://cricketratings.pwcglobal.com/cricket/top100/cr_top100_rgt.asp?matchtype=test&playertype=bowlers

[P76]

This links in with Wicked Lesters thread - I think there is a dearth of fast bowlers at the moment, no doubt. It could be that we have come of one of the richest periods of talent in that area for a long time, where every test playing country had at least one great fast bowler. Perhaps it's now that is normal!

I agree that Shane Bond is (at the moment) under-rated, as he is seriously quick, and absolutely flummoxed Steve Waugh amongst others the last time they crossed the pond. He will be one to watch - but if he is the new Hadlee, where oh where is the next Ewen Chatfield???:p

[Slax]

I think that at the moment there aren't many quality seemers around. If a country could have top quality seemers at the moment they'd beat most teams.

Glen McGrath is definitely not #1 anymore as Gillespie is the Australian #1 quick. Pollock has had it and the Paki's well who knows what they'll do next.

Cricket is not in a healthy state at the moment and something needs to change quick because if it doesn't and Australia's dominance continues the standard will continue to fall.

[Dipper]

I'm not quite sure how Zaheer Khan gets on anyone's list.:confused: I'd have thought that Vaas was a stronger candidate.



Saying that Test cricket is dominated by spinners is a bit misleading as well, there's Warne & Murali who've got great records & Saqliain is pretty good as is Harbhajan (sp) but I don't see too many other contenders.




England have got a good few young fast ones coming through who may or may not make it at Test level.

Anderson has impressed in one day cricket & in 2 Tests versus Zim, but he's ahd a wake up call in this match against SA but then again he's only 20.
Harmison may live up to potentail & Simon Jones was looking the part before he smashed his knee in Brisbane last year.

Windies obviously aren't producing the quicks they once did & SA don't seem to be producing too much, although they'd be better off if Hayward still wanted to play for them.

Mohammed Sami of Pakistan is pretty good & very quick.

[dr nick]

in regards to the bowling rankings given in that link.. i cannot fathom how pollock is ahead of murali.. and why is mcgrath so high up? and Akhtar?

i am surprised Khan nor Vaas made that list. (sorry dipper, i just forgot Vaas)

i rate Ntini, though trescothick pulled him apart last night. Kumble surprises me being in the top 10.

but how didnt Harbhajan make that list? that's the greatest mysetry to me. I would rate him the second best bowler at the moment behind Murali, yet he didnt even make the top 10??



edit: whoops, i'm an idiot, he's there in 4th.

[P76]

Nicko, the PWC list works on some complex algorithms, that take into account the pitch played on, the levels of the opponents (ie individual batsmen) that the bowler bowls against etc. If you go into it, it's actually remarkable how much they take into account.

However, IMHO its one failure is that it seems to keep older activity on it for some time, so if a bowler (or batsman) is on the way down in terms of their ability, it does take some time to show up on those ratings, and for them to start dropping down.

What it does show is that at the moment there is Pollock, McGrath, Murali and then daylight, which I reckon is probably about right.

[Bombers14]

Mcgrath has fallen away lately and is not really bowling that well anymore. I think that the spinners are definetely dominating. The best fast bowlers would be: Pollock, Ntini, Lee, Anderson, Bond is only good in the ODI's I think.

Caddick 6th in the world is a joke.