Every aspiring cricket player, at some point in their career, ends up playing Monopoly with the Australian commentators, hearing them say either ‘Send to Jail’ or ‘Pass Go and Collect $200’, as they survey the player’s talent. In the years of Richie Benaud & Bill Lawry, not only were these guys so informed about the game, they presided over games played in their own backyard, the hardest place of all for foreigners, where their weaknesses are quickly exposed.

The longing of every cricketer –  especially NZ ones, whether they admit it or not – is to hear them say ‘Pass Go’, but it happens so rarely. And making Monopoly all the more miserable is the way these commentators are adoring cheerleaders of their own players, ushering them through Go in their hordes, even as one foreigner after another is ‘sent to jail’.

And so it came to pass that the New Zealand team visited those Australian shores. A new TV deal meant new commentators who, I thought, were more charitable. Most of these New Zealanders were new to this game of Aussie Monopoly and even though they fancied themselves passing Go, most of them ended up in Jail. It was a disaster. One of the new breed commentators said it well: ‘Very few cricketers visit these shores and leave with their reputations enhanced.’

In the end only one player enhanced his reputation.
Neil Wagner, rising to 2nd place in the rankings for Test bowlers.
[With Test cricket being the purest ‘n truest form of the game, played over five days, not four].

But that is not the half if it…
Neil Wagner is a phenomenon.
There is still more that needs to be said.

Stick with me – enjoy this with me – as we dig into the statistics a bit more.

Let’s lay out some tight criteria for our evaluation. Let’s go for longevity in career so that ups-and-downs in form and home-and-away games factor each other out. So 10,000 balls bowled is the benchmark. Let’s go for success in career helping us ensure we have the best. So 200 wickets is the benchmark. Let’s go with the quicker pace bowlers, leaving the slower spin bowlers for another post. Let’s go with players post-WW2 because, before that time, the ground/pitches were left uncovered, giving an advantage to bowlers.

Then let’s focus on the two key statistics:
(a) the bowling average – or, the number of runs scored off their bowling per wicket taken.
(b) the strike rate – or, the number of balls bowled per wicket taken.
Among these twin statistics is where the great bowlers are found.

Bowling Average (runs scored per wicket taken)
20.94       Malcolm Marshall (West Indies)
20.97       Joel Garner (WI)
20.99       Curtly Ambrose (WI)   [NB: this incomparable Windies trio is so close to each other!]
21.57       Fred Trueman (England)
21.64       Glenn McGrath (Australia)
22.10       Vernon Philander (South Africa)
22.25       Allan Donald (SA)
22.29       Richard Hadlee (New Zealand)
22.81       Imran Khan (Pakistan)
22.95       Dale Steyn (SA)
23.03       Ray Lindwall (A)
23.11       Shaun Pollock (SA)
23.56       Waqar Younis (P)
23.62       Wasim Akram (P)    [NB: this lethal Pakistani duo is so close, but still behind the PM!]
23.68       Michael Holding (WI)
23.92       Dennis Lillee (A)
24.44       Courtney Walsh (WI)
24.84       Jack Statham (E)
24.89       Alec Bedser (E)
25.20       Bob Willis (E)
25.61       Andy Roberts (WI)
26.13       Jason Gillespie A)

and in 23rd place … drum roll, please …
26.63 Neil Wagner (NZ)

Any cricketing connoisseur looks down this list and goes ‘WOW – this is a Who’s Who of fast bowlers since the War. This is a Hall of Fame stuff’ – until they get to Number 23. ‘What on earth is Wagner doing there? Isn’t he a composer?’ But he is there. The longevity and the success of his career means he deserves to be there. Yes, this quiet, unassuming, lionhearted Wagner – probably with more 10+ over spells by a fast bowler since the War as well – is in that list. It is amazing.

But wait, there is more.
I am only just getting started.
Draw the screen a little closer.


Strike Rate (balls bowled per wicket taken)
42.3     Dale Steyn
43.4     Waqar Younis
46.7     Malcolm Marshall
47.0     Allan Donald
48.1     Mitchell Starc
49.4     Fred Trueman
50.2     Vernon Philander
50.8     Joel Garner
50.8     Richard Hadlee
50.9     Michael Holding
51.1     Mitchell Johnson
51.6     Darren Gough
51.9     Glenn McGrath
52.0     Dennis Lillee

and in 15th place … drum roll, please …
52.1 Neil Wagner

‘What?! Neil Wagner in 15th place? You must be mad. Where are Thommo, Lee, Willis, Ntini, Imran, Ambrose, Akram, Anderson Montgomery Everton Roberts (I’ve loved that name since I was a kid – a bit like Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards – I always spell it out fully), Anderson and Broad?’ I’ll tell you where they are. They are, every single one of them, below Wagner on this list – and in this order (added especially for Anderson & Broad fans out there!)

OK. Now let’s have some fun. To create The Elite List of pace bowlers, let’s add Bowling Average to Strike Rate together to create the ranking of bowlers who not only get batsmen out more frequently than any others, they do it more economically as well.

The Elite List: Bowling Average + Strike Rate
No self-respecting cricketing connoisseur is going to argue about this being a premier collection of pace bowlers since the War, with Vernon Philander being the surprise package.

Here is the Top Ten:
65.25     Dale Steyn
66.96     Waqar Younis
67.64     Malcolm Marshall
69.25     Allan Donald
70.97     Fred Trueman
71.77     Joel Garner
72.30     Vernon Philander
73.09     Richard Hadlee
73.54     Glenn McGrath
74.58     Michael Holding

What about the Next Ten?
Well, well, well – look who slips in at #17 overall…

75.07     Mitchell Starc
75.49     Curtly Ambrose
75.92     Dennis Lillee
76.51     Imran Khan
78.22     Wasim Akram
78.60     Bob Willis
78.73   Neil Wagner
79.50     Mitchell Johnson
79.99     Darren Gough
80.60     Jeff Thomson

While I’ve got you (and I’m having such a good time) – here are a few more lists:
1. The If Only list.
Be it through injury, or a late start to their career, some recent bowlers were on such a good trajectory towards the 10,000/200 benchmark, but didn’t get there:
                                         Balls/Wickets     Average      Strike Rate   Combo
Shane Bond (NZ)                3372/87                22.09               38.70             60.79
Shoaib Akthar (P)              8143/178               25.69               45.70             71.39
Colin Croft (WI)                 6165/125               23.30               49.30             72.60
Mohammad Asif (P)         5171/106               24.36               48.70             73.60
Ryan Harris (A)                  5736/113               23.52               50.70             74.22
Shane Bond really was something special…

2. The Watch Out – Here They Come list.
Current bowlers who have not yet reached 10,000 balls bowled and/or 200 wickets taken, but with such impressive records. There are a whole bunch of them coming our way:
Kagiso Rabada (SA)           7843/195               22.69               40.20               62.89
Pat Cummins (A)                6761/143              21.82               47.20              69.02
Mohammad Abbas (P)       3606/72               20.90               50.00              70.90
Mohammed Shami (I)       8602/175              27.09               49.10              76.19
Rabada is a young man with a long way to go in his career – but his record is ridiculous…

3. The Whatever Happened to India? list.
Finally a mention of an Indian, with Mohammed Shami. Historically, India has been a country for spinners, not pace bowlers. When I was a kid living here, they’d give the ball to Eknath Solkar and Syed Abid Ali for a few overs, before four spinners took over for the rest of the innings. It is hard to believe that this ever happened, from way over here in 2020. I can say the names in my sleep. Bedi, Chandrasekhar, Venkataraghavan, Prasanna. The occasional pace bowler has done OK, but nowhere near the elite lists above. Interestingly, the Big Four all have such similar Combo numbers:
Zaheer Khan (93.34); Kapil Dev (93.54); Ishant Sharma (94.49); and Javagal Srinath (94.49).

Against this historical background, the contemporary situation with India’s pace bowlers is stunning. That they should have not one, but four, pace bowlers shining brightly all at the same time is one of the absorbing features for any cricket connoisseur today. It is why they are way out in front as the best Test-playing country in 2020.
Jasprit Bumrah                    2711/62              19.24               43.70              62.94
Mohammed Shami            8602/175            27.09               49.10              76.19
Bhuvneshwar Kumar          3348/63             26.09               53.10              79.19
Umesh Yadav                      7191/142            30.26               50.60              80.86

Statistics don’t tell the whole story, but they can tell a significant story when handled carefully.

nice chatting – well, to other cricket connoisseurs anyway.

Paul