10 Greatest Opening Pair Pace Bowlers of all time - MULTIPLE OPTIONS FOR SELECTION

[robin2855]

In terms of Results in a Test Match the bowlers especially the Opening pair of pace bowlers plays a key and decisive role.

History is replete with phenomenal performances of fast bowling duo which resulted in memorable victories.

If the fast bowlers demolishes the top order or make early inroads it becomes easy for the slow bowlers to do their job of either containing or picking wickets of the Middle order batsmen. Then in the next phase the pace duo polishes off the tail.

The selection of mine is based on the following criteria:

Effectiveness of both individual pace bowlers as a pair in overall team bowling performances.

Intimidation, instilling Fear in the heart of opposing batsman by virtue of Height, Physical Appearance, Bowling Speed, Variety of balls they have in their bowling armory (in swing, Out swing, Reverse swing, Slower one, Bouncer, Yorkers to name a few) ,Average Runs per wickets, Balls per wicket, No of times in which 5 or more, 10 or more wickets were taken in their role as a duo in bringing about a win or salvaging a draw in a tight situation.

Some legendary opening ball fast bowlers like Imran Khan,Kapil Dev, Sir Ian Botham, Sir Richard Hadlee, Alan Davidson, Ian McKenzie, Alec Bedser, Bob Willis, John Snow has been left out because thy did not have adequate support from the other end.

Readers do not have to agree with mine as no two persons thinks alike.

Having said it would be nice to have a rationale behind selection

Here’s my humble Selection :

1. Wasim & Waqar

2. Courtney Walsh & Courtley Ambrose

3. Dennis Lillee & Jeff Thompson

4. Wesley Hall & Charlie Griffith

5. Keith Miller & Ray Lindwall

6. Malcolm Marshall & Michael Holding/Andy Roberts & Michael Holding

7. Freddie Trueman & Brian Statham

8. Shaun Pollock & Alan Donald

9. McGrath & Jason Gillespie, Imran Khan & Sarfaraz Nawaz (Add On - G)

10. Harold Larwood & Bill Voce, Jack Gregory & Ted McDonald, Neil Adcock & Peter Heine

What’s reader’s choice?

I am sure it will be an interesting discussion and we will have invaluable inputs and insights from everyone.

Good Luck and Cheers!

 

[robin2855]

10 Greatest Opening Pace duo- Multiple Selection Options

To many it may appear too daunting to select Greatest Opening Pace duo from past and present.

So to simplify matters the following options are now available.

Options 1

Ideally it is the most preferred Option to Select 10 Greatest Opening Pace duo from past and present.

Options 2

Readers have the Second option of choosing 5 Greatest Opening Pace duo from past and present.

Option 3

Readers have the Third option of choosing 10 Greatest Opening Pace duo from present era.

Option 4

Readers have the Fourth option of choosing 5 Greatest Opening Pace duo from present era.

I hope the multiple options now available will facilitate selections of Greatest Opening pace duo for all and sundry


Good Luck to all and Cheers!

 

[King Pietersen]

Marshall and Holding
Waqar and Wasim
Lillee and Thomson
Donald and Pollock
Larwood and Voce
Tyson and Statham
McGrath and Gillespie
Hall and Griffith
Miller and Lindwall
Walsh and Ambrose

Here's my Top 10 in no particular order.

 

[Cricketman]

Srinath and Zaheer

 

[SaiSrini]

Wasim-Waqar (because they're the guys that I have seen together when they were deadly)

 

[robin2855]

Helpful guidelines for selection

Here’s some Test career record info I would like to share with readers that was considered in my Selection. Off Course these were not the only factors that were considered.

I have also considered other factors like (already mentioned in my first post)
Intimidation, instilling Fear in the heart of opposing batsman by virtue of Height, Physical Appearance to gain a psychological advantage, Bowling Speed, Variety of balls they have in their bowling armory (in swing, Out swing, Reverse swing, Slower one, Bouncer, Yorkers to name a few) , Duo’s role in bringing about a win or salvaging a draw in a tight situation.

Below is provided the Test Career records of the pace duo that I chose in my selection.

Please note the following for those of you who are not familiar with the abbreviations used.

Ave: means Average runs conceded per wicket.

SR: Means Strike Rate - Average number of balls bowled by a bowler to get a wicket.

5W: Number of times a Bowler took 5 or more wickets.

10W: Number of times a Bowler took 10 or more wickets in a test match.

1. Wasim & Waqar

Wasim Akram Test Matches : 104 ( Wickets : 414, Ave : 23.62, SR :54.6, 5W: 25, 10W:5).

Waqar Younus Test Matches : 87 ( Wickets : 373, Ave : 23.56, SR :43.4, 5W: 22, 10W:5.)

2. Courtney Walsh & Courtley Ambrose

Courtney Walsh Test Matches :132 (Wickets : 519, Ave : 24.44, SR : 57.8, 5W: 22, 10W:3).

Courtley Ambrose Test Matches : 98 (Wickets : 405, Ave : 20.99, SR : 54.5, 5W: 22, 10W:3).

3. Dennis Lillee & Jeff Thompson

Dennis Lillee Test Matches :70( Wickets : 355, Ave : 23.92, SR: 52.0, 5W: 23, 10W:7).

Jeff Thompson Test Matches :51 ( Wickets : 200, Ave : 28.00, SR: 52.6 5W: 8, 10W:0).

4. Wesley Hall & Charlie Griffith

Wesley Hall Test Matches :48 (Wickets : 192, Ave : 26.38, SR 54.2, 5W: 9, 10W:1).

Charlie Griffith Test Matches: 28(Wickets : 94, Ave : 28.54, SR: 59.9, 5W: 5, 10W:0).

5. Keith Miller & Ray Lindwall

Keith Miller Tests :55 (Wickets : 170, Ave : 22.97, SR: 61.5, 5W: 7, 10W:1).

Ray Lindwall Test Matches :61 (Wickets : 228, Ave : 23.03, SR :58.8, 5W: 12, 10W:0).

6. Malcolm Marshall , Andy Roberts & Michael Holding

Malcolm Marshall Test Matches: 81 (wickets : 376, Ave : 20.94, SR : 46.7.1 5W: 22, 10W:4).

Andy Roberts Test Matches : 47(Wickets : 202, Ave : 25.61, SR : 55.1, 5W: 11, 10W:2).

Michael Holding Test Matches :60 (Wickets : 249, Ave : 3.68, SR : 50.9, 5W: 13, 10W:2).

7. Freddie Trueman & Brian Statham

Freddie Trueman Test Matches : 67(Wickets : 307, Ave : 21.57, SR :49.4, 5W: 17, 10W:3).

Brian Statham Test Matches :70 (Wickets : 252, Ave : 24.84, SR :63.7, 5W: 9, 10W:1).

8. Shaun Pollock & Alan Donald

Shaun Pollock Test Matches : 108(Wickets : 421 , Ave : 21.57, SR : 57.8, 5W: 16, 10W:1).

Alan Donald Test Matches :72 (Wickets : 330, Ave : 24.84, SR : 47, 5W: 20, 10W:3).

9. Glenn McGraw & Jason Gillespie

Glenn McGraw Test Matches :124 (Wickets : 563, Ave : 21.64, SR : 51.9, 5W: 29, 10W:3).

Jason Gillespie Test Matches :71 (Wickets : 259, Ave : 26.13, SR : 54.9, 5W: 8, 10W:0).

10. Harold Larwood & Bill Voce, Jack Gregory & Ted McDonald, Neil Adcock & Peter Heine

Harold Larwood Test Matches:21 (Wickets : 78, Ave : 28.35, SR :63.7 5W: 4, 10W:1).

Bill Voce Test Matches 27 (Wickets : 98, Ave : 27.88, SR :64.8 5W: 3, 10W:1).

Jack Gregory & Ted McDonald

Jack Gregory Test Matches :24 (Wickets : 85 , Ave : 21.15, SR : 65.6 5W, 4, 10W:0).

Ted McDonald Test Matches :11 (Wickets : 43, Ave : 33.27.08, SR : 67.0, 5W: 2, 10W:0).

Neil Adcock & Peter Heine

Neil Adcock Test Matches :26 (Wickets : 104 , Ave : 21.10, SR : 61.14 ,5W: 5, 10W:0).

Peter Heine Test Matches 14: (Wickets : 58, Ave : 25.08, SR : 67.0 , 5W: 4, 10W:0).

I will be happy if these test records assist readers in some way to make their own selection.

Good Luck and Cheers!

 

[Gunner786]

what about imran khan and sarfraz nawaz?

 

[Aoun13]

All time best was Wasim and Waqar because they were a deadly in ODIs as they were in tests.

 

[robin2855]

A Good one Gambino

what about imran khan and sarfraz nawaz?

Missed a Good one.

You have indeed stumped me on this one.

Before Wasim and Waqar Imran and Sarfarz were a great bowling pair for Pakistan and have many memorable performances as a duo.

Imran Needs no introduction. He is a Legend and could be an automatic choice for a place in any All time Bowling, All-Rounder and Test Eleven.

Sarfraz was an awesome bowler. His Bowling performance against Australia in Australia in 1979 is a folklore. In that match he bowled 33 unplayable deliveries taking 7 wickets for just 1 run. Unbelievable!

He is the founder of Reverse Swing which was later to become a deadly weapon for many great fast bowlers to rattle the best of batsmen in the world.

I have no hesitation to include him and Immy in my 10 greatest Opening Pace duo Eleven. I will credit you by putting G beside his and Immy’s name.

You have Bulls Eye Mate. A valuable input from your end.

This is the beauty of a forum. Share and enrich knowledge with others.

Here’s Tests Career records of Imran Khan and Sarfraz Nawaz.

Imran Khan & Sarfaraz Nawaz

Imran Khan Test Matches :88 (Wickets : 362 , Ave : 22.81, SR : 53.7 ,5W: 23,

10W:4).

Sarfaraz Nawaz Test Matches 55: (Wickets : 177, Ave : 32.75, SR : 78.8 , 5W: 4, 10W:1).

Cheers!

 

[Slowcoach]

Sorry to say it, but it is Ambrose and Walsh for me.

Wasim and Waqar took too many wickets against weak opposition to be taken seriously.

 

[robin2855]

Which countries do you consider Weak & Strong amongst the test playing nations?

Sorry to say it, but it is Ambrose and Walsh for me.

Wasim and Waqar took too many wickets against weak opposition to be taken seriously.

Which countries do you consider Weak & Strong amongst the test playing nations that Waqar & Wasim, Ambrose and Walsh played?

With respect to Pakistan, Opponents:

Australia
Bangladesh
England
India
New Zealand
South Africa
Sri Lanka
West Indies
Zimbabwe

With respect to West Indies, Opponents:

Australia
Bangladesh
England
India
New Zealand
Pakistan
South Africa
Sri Lanka
Zimbabwe

Once you identify and tell me the weak and strong opponents I will give you an appropriate response.

BTW this discussion is meant to share and enrich each other with cricket knowledge, nothing personal.

Cheers!

 

[RoboRocks]

Wasim and Waqar have to be up at the top. You have a Left Arm Fast bowler from one end and a Right Arm Fast bowler from the other, they both could both over 90mph, they could swing the ball both ways and then reverse swing the ball later in the innings.
I would not want to be an opening batsmen against these two.

Miller and Lindwall can't be underestimated either. Lindwall was an accurate swing bowler who could bowl about 92mph and Miller was a tearaway hit the deck seamer who could also bowl 90mph.

Another pair that people won't have mentioned was Sydney Barnes and Frank Foster. Both bowlers would plug away bowling straight lines to the batsman and force a mistake. They were so effective that only one other front line bowler played, which was Johnny Douglas the captain.

 

[nz0003]

Butler and Bond IMO.

 

[Mercules]

Probably Malcolm Marshall & Joel Garner


But much more importantly, Jimmy & Stuey are the sexiest <3.

 

[irottev]

McGrath and Gillespie will always be a favorite of mine. One day McGrath would destroy a side with Gillespie putting pressure on at the other end and the next day Gillespie would be the destroyer and McGrath would be keeping it tight.

Aside from 2 of the other pairs, I never got to see any of them and what I saw of Pollock and Donald and Ambrose and Walsh wasn't much.