Best Bowling Attack Ever

[SouthSwans]

Would have to be a toss up between these three:

Pakistan late 90s
Wasim Akram
Waqar Younis
Shoaib Akhtar
Abdul Razzaq
Saqlain Mushtaq
Shahid Afridi

West Indian quicks
Malcolm Marshall
Michael Holding
Andy Roberts
Joel Garner

Aussies early 00s
Glenn McGrath
Jason Gillespie
Shane Warne
Bichel/Lee/Kasprowicz/Fleming/MacGill

 

[Caesar]

Aussies early 00s
Glenn McGrath
Jason Gillespie
Shane Warne
Bichel/Lee/Kasprowicz/Fleming/MacGill

I probably rate the postwar/early '50s Australians higher than this set, just for balance (although with less depth):

Ray Lindwall
Keith Miller
Bill Johnston
Ian Johnson

Towards the end you also had greats like Alan Davidson and Richie Benaud commencing their careers... the 1954/55 home Ashes series had one of the most star-studded Australian bowling lineups ever assembled.

 

[JimDocker]

Would have to be a toss up between these three:

Pakistan late 90s
Wasim Akram
Waqar Younis
Shoaib Akhtar
Abdul Razzaq
Saqlain Mushtaq
Shahid Afridi

West Indian quicks
Malcolm Marshall
Michael Holding
Andy Roberts
Joel Garner

Aussies early 00s
Glenn McGrath
Jason Gillespie
Shane Warne
Bichel/Lee/Kasprowicz/Fleming/MacGill

The West Indies fast bowlers of the 70s and 80s were the most fearsome collection of quicks ever. Andy Roberts and Michael Holding were a great duo, but when they were joined on the scene by Joel Garner and Colin Croft, it was just frightening. As they aged, then came Malcolm Marshall who had their pace but arguably more skill. A bit later, Courtney Walsh, Ian Bishop and Curtley Ambrose were a great trio but Bishop had injury problems and never fulfilledhis potential.

Australia had Lillee and Thomson as a duo but no no other great bowlers in their line ups.

I would rate McGrath, Gillespie, Lee and Warne as the best ever.

It is the most balanced bowling line up ever. As the OP points out,Fleming, Bichel, Kasprowicz and MacGill were in the wings.

It is no secret that the key to winning test matches is the ablity to bowl your opponent out twice. To do that in all conditions as the Australian team of the 90s did was testament to how balanced the line up was.

My only rider on this would be that I think the Windies bowlers of the 80s had to bowl to consistently better opposition.

At the risk of sounding like I am reminiscing, test cricket is not as good as it used to be.

 

[courtjester]

Wasim and Waqar were a hell of a tandem. F**king quick and swinging it all over the shop, both ways. Wasim is the best quick I've seen. He had the bouncer from hell.

I remember seeing Ambrose, Marshall, Bishop and Walsh, they were frightening.

McGrath, Gillespie, Lee/Kaspa/Bichel and Warne were the best balanced attack, and the winning streak under Waugh shows this. They were regularly beating teams in 3-4 days.

Hall, Griffiths, Sobers and Gibbs must have been good in the 50s-60s.

And South Africa after they returned to international cricket had Allan Donald, Fanie DeVilliers, Shaun Pollock and Makaya Ntini. Not sure which combination played together but they were a good pace attack at that time

 

[usalion]

All of the West Indian quicks of the 80s could (and did) get batsmen out, on all sorts of pitches- while I would definitely put McGrath and Warne as the best tandem going, the other two with them were never truly on song together on a regular basis- not like the four windies bowlers seemed to be.

And each of them posed a different problem- Garner with the height, Holding just quick, the others lethal with their line and length- damn good thing helmets were about in those days, though some guys still got knocked silly by their bowling.

Don't really know enough about the Aussie attack in the 50s- kno0w they were very good- and am reading more about the Poms in the 30s, especially the Bodyline bowlers- wonder how good they would have been if they didn't use those tactics and bowled to a regular field- Larwood seems to have been bloody fast- and Voce was no mug....Certainly a hard group for the aussies to handle under trying circumstances....

 

[Jimthegreat]

Lillee
Thomson
Walker/Gilmour
Mallet

 

[Jimthegreat]

Australia had Lillee and Thomson as a duo but no no other great bowlers in their line ups.

Max Walker was class and Ashley Mallet was the best off-spinner this country has produced. With Lillee and Thommo it was one real great, and nasty bowling combination. The next year Gary Gilmour came on the Test scene as well. Contributed to 4-1 and 5-1 results over England and the powerful West Indies in 1974-75 and 75-76 respectively.

 

[weevil]

Marshall, Holding, Ambrose and Garner would all be considered amongst the great bowlers of all time.

To me the modern Australian and Pakistan teams only have 2 all time greats each.

 

[Dipper]

Marshall, Holding, Ambrose and Garner would all be considered amongst the great bowlers of all time.

To me the modern Australian and Pakistan teams only have 2 all time greats each.

Yeah but where's the spinner?

Let's say the match is played on a raging turner on the Indian subcontinent, how great are they gonna look then compared to an attack with Shane Warne in it?

Did that attack ever play together (if it did there wouldn't have been any overlap between Ambrose being at his best & Holding/Garner at theirs).


England fielded some pretty good attatcks in the 1950s that contained Trueman/Statham/Laker amongst others.

Trueman best fast bowler England ever had, Laker best spinner we ever had, Statham a very good, tall, suffocating bowler in the Glenn McGrath mould.Depends who bowled with them, maybe Tony Lock as a second & also very good spinner.

 

[weevil]

Yeah but where's the spinner?

Let's say the match is played on a raging turner on the Indian subcontinent, how great are they gonna look then compared to an attack with Shane Warne in it?

Did that attack ever play together (if it did there wouldn't have been any overlap between Ambrose being at his best & Holding/Garner at theirs).

Warne had a bowling average of 43 in India.

The teams were picked from eras not individual games.

The WI played on loads of raging turners and almost always dominated. They did struggle in India but those pitches were doctored beyond belief.

 

[grizzlym]

A safe haven from buddy mayhem. Finally!

With those 4 scary hombres I'd pick the West Indies attack.

Fearsome sight.

The sheer quality of the pacemen makes up for the lack of a spinner.

 

[Cooldude]

I'd call Gillespie a genuine great. Underrated by many and even Viv said he's the one he least want to face out of the great Australian attack. The bloke was at many stages the best fast bowler in the world, and had rotten luck for his entire career

So an attack of McGrath, Gillespie and Warne would measure up against any attack. The problem's the lack of a 4th bowler. The best one for that period would've been either Kasper or Clark, when Kasper was an integral part of the bowling quartet that won in India and won all Test series back in 04 season

It'd be interesting to see how that measures up with Marshall Holding Garner and Ambrose. It would be a close call but I might just give it to the Windies

 

[grizzlym]

It'd be interesting to see how that measures up with Marshall Holding Garner and Ambrose. It would be a close call but I might just give it to the Windies

Michael Holding streaming in off the long run at the WACA still makes me shudder.

 

[weevil]

I'd call Gillespie a genuine great. Underrated by many and even Viv said he's the one he least want to face out of the great Australian attack. The bloke was at many stages the best fast bowler in the world, and had rotten luck for his entire career

So an attack of McGrath, Gillespie and Warne would measure up against any attack. The problem's the lack of a 4th bowler. The best one for that period would've been either Kasper or Clark, when Kasper was an integral part of the bowling quartet that won in India and won all Test series back in 04 season

It'd be interesting to see how that measures up with Marshall Holding Garner and Ambrose. It would be a close call but I might just give it to the Windies

Nah, Dizzy was very good, comparable to someone like Walsh for me. No way I could put him in the same class as the greats.

 

[weevil]

Michael Holding streaming in off the long run at the WACA still makes me shudder.

Then when he is done all you gotta do is deal with Marshall, Ambrose and Garner.

 

[linda]

Well if it came to who you would rather face between the Aus group or the WI you would pick the Aus due to the body damage factor.If it comes to wicket intact you would probably reverse the result

 

[linda]

and am reading more about the Poms in the 30s, especially the Bodyline bowlers- wonder how good they would have been if they didn't use those tactics and bowled to a regular field- Larwood seems to have been bloody fast- and Voce was no mug....Certainly a hard group for the aussies to handle under trying circumstances....

Notts legends with a stand named after them at TB.

Larwood was born in the town I live and there is a statue of him in the centre .Everytime I walk by with my little lad he asks me who that man is and I reply hes the nasty man who made all those rough tough Australians cry
Im hoping he grows up to do the same from about 2026 onwards .

Sadly that series ruined Larwood

 

[belfast_bomber]

Notts legends with a stand named after them at TB.

Larwood was born in the town I live and there is a statue of him in the centre .Everytime I walk by with my little lad he asks me who that man is and I reply hes the nasty man who made all those rough tough Australians cry

...and then went on to live a happy retirement in, yep, Australia.

 

[Dipper]

The teams were picked from eras not individual games.

Yeah but they've got to have played together at least once surely to constitute the best bowling attack ever or are you picking a fantasy attack.

Because Ambrose debuted in 1988 & Garner & Holding finished up in 1987

If their careers didn't coincide how can it be the same era?

 

[JimDocker]

Michael Holding streaming in off the long run at the WACA still makes me shudder.

I remember when Greg Chappel was having a run of ducks and had 4 in a row. The parochial West Aussie crowd were jeering him to the crease for this one day international a the WACA because they thought he should have been dropped.

The first ball he faced was a Michael Holding thunderbolt straight at his throat and he threw his head back and just got out of the way gloving it to the keeper. Amazing scenes as an Australian crowd cheered their captain getting a golden duck.

 

[krisholio14]

The best attack i've seen is Holding/Roberts/Garner/Croft/Marshall.

 

[JimDocker]

Max Walker was class and Ashley Mallet was the best off-spinner this country has produced. With Lillee and Thommo it was one real great, and nasty bowling combination. The next year Gary Gilmour came on the Test scene as well. Contributed to 4-1 and 5-1 results over England and the powerful West Indies in 1974-75 and 75-76 respectively.

Good call Jim the Great. I may have under estimated the support bowlers of that era.

Against England in 74/75

Thomson 33 wickets at 17.93
Lillee 25 wickets at 23.84
Walker 23 wickets at 29.73
Mallett 17wickets at 19.94

Against the Windies in 75/76

Thomson 29 wickets at 28.65
Lillee 27 wickets at 26.37
Gilmour 20 wickets at 20.30
Mallett 11 wickets at 46
Walker 11 wickets at 29.09

Certainly impressive figures against quality opposition.
They also had a great captain in Ian Chappell too.

 

[JimDocker]

The best attack i've seen is Holding/Roberts/Garner/Croft/Marshall.

Did they ever play all five in a test ?

The reason that I suggested the Aussies with Warne and McGrath was because I think the combination of great fast bowler (even if he was not that fast) and the best spinner ever was terrific, but I agree that the Windies often had 4 great bowlers in their side at one time so maybe they shoud get it.

It's all very subjective and too hard !!!!!

 

[weevil]

Yeah but they've got to have played together at least once surely to constitute the best bowling attack ever or are you picking a fantasy attack.

Because Ambrose debuted in 1988 & Garner & Holding finished up in 1987

If their careers didn't coincide how can it be the same era?

Because the OP says "The West Indies fast bowlers of the 70s and 80s"

 

[Andrew Mc]

Because the OP says "The West Indies fast bowlers of the 70s and 80s"

There must be 2 OP's then, because he doesn't. I thought it was pretty clear he was referring to actual attacks, not fantasy ones.