Best Medium Pace Bowler Of All Time?

[pugsville]

Very hard to compare players of different eras, classications are difficult across era. that said.

Barnes is just outstanding one of the best bowlers of all time.

 

[Borisdog]

It would be no contest between G S Sobers and Jacques Kallis so far of the ones I've seen. And I'm old.

 

[The hands of stone]

Barnes is my immediate nomination, and still to me one of the most fascinating players ever. His figures are nuts for starters, and he only bowled against Australia and South Africa so zero cheap wickets. The thing is it wasn't like he was in the mix as one of the top bowlers then - most contemporaries said he was universally the best. The visiting West Indians in the late 20s said he was the best bowler they faced and he was in his fifties! Must have been one hell of a player.

Cool thing too - he STILL holds the record for the most wickets in a series. Over 100 years later.

By all reports was a bit of a character too .
Far preferred playing minor county cricket to get paid more over county cricket .
Probably well ahead of his time .

 

[Ohitsthatguy]

Vern and it isn't close

 

[Cursed Cat]

How about Sarfraz Nawaz, he would have been close

Mohammad Asif is the great coulda-been Medium Pacer.

Generally bowled around the high-120's but he could make the ball sing; genuine shame that he was busted for match fixing as he might well have been a generational talent for Pakistan.

 

[PhatBoy]

Mohammad Asif is the great coulda-been Medium Pacer.

Generally bowled around the high-120's but he could make the ball sing; genuine shame that he was busted for match fixing as he might well have been a generational talent for Pakistan.

If I could dream of the sort of cricket I would want to watch, it would be Asif and Philander on a cloudy day bowling on a green top to blokes like Dravid, Border, Graeme Smith, Chanderpaul etc.

Absolute surgeons

 

[Kappa]

Mohammad Asif is the great coulda-been Medium Pacer.

Generally bowled around the high-120's but he could make the ball sing; genuine shame that he was busted for match fixing as he might well have been a generational talent for Pakistan.

Probably was tampering with the ball.

 

[Heeney2Franklin]

James Anderson

 

[Westend]

Bruce Reid

 

[Richard Pryor]

For Aus and England

1. Syd Barnes (ENG)
2. George Lohmann (ENG)
3. Charlie Turner (AUS)
4. J.J. Ferris (AUS)
5. Bert Ironmonger (AUS)
6. Bill Bowes (ENG)
7. Ernie Toschack (AUS)
8. Bob Appleyard (ENG)
9. Bob Massie (AUS)
10. Tom Cartwright (ENG)

 

[PhatBoy]

James Anderson

Still periodically nudges close to 140km/h even at 40. He does often bowl medium pace but as a career bowler he probably sits outside the criteria

 

[craffles]

Man I miss the days when the bats would get a bowl and rock the nude meds. Martyn, Ponting, Waugh, Blewett etc.

I have huge love for Ian Harvey, one of the craftiest bowlers who in todays era either would have dominated the T20 circuit or never made it because district pathways are obsessed with pace and height.

 

[PhatBoy]

i wonder if the over rates have anything to do with it?

Once upon a time if you wanted a circuit breaker from a ‘non-specialist’ all rounder it was 50-50 if that bowler would be a spinner or a medium pacer.

When I was a kid England would turn to Graham Gooch to bowl his garbage medium pace here and there, the West Indies would turn to Viv Richards bowling off spin, Australia had Allan Border bowling left arm tweak, Steve Waugh bowling medium pace, Mark Waugh bowled both.

For most of these guys who were batsmen first and foremost, they probably also did what most gun cricketers have always done and practiced their general skills in the nets just as a matter of habit: you go to the nets, you bowl at least a bit, they can all bowl at least a bit at varying qualities.

But nowadays if you are going to toss the ball to someone to bowl 4-5 overs to give the main bowlers a break and try and buy a wicket chances are you are already behind the over rate and you want to rush through them as quick as you can so the guys who are a bit stronger with spin get a start

 

[Gethelred]

Philander count?

Very frequently working in the 120's, but an absolute surgeon with ball in hand.

Edit: PhatBoy, get outta my head!

 

[craffles]

i wonder if the over rates have anything to do with it?

Once upon a time if you wanted a circuit breaker from a ‘non-specialist’ all rounder it was 50-50 if that bowler would be a spinner or a medium pacer.

When I was a kid England would turn to Graham Gooch to bowl his garbage medium pace here and there, the West Indies would turn to Viv Richards bowling off spin, Australia had Allan Border bowling left arm tweak, Steve Waugh bowling medium pace, Mark Waugh bowled both.

For most of these guys who were batsmen first and foremost, they probably also did what most gun cricketers have always done and practiced their general skills in the nets just as a matter of habit: you go to the nets, you bowl at least a bit, they can all bowl at least a bit at varying qualities.

But nowadays if you are going to toss the ball to someone to bowl 4-5 overs to give the main bowlers a break and try and buy a wicket chances are you are already behind the over rate and you want to rush through them as quick as you can so the guys who are a bit stronger with spin get a start

Great point, I also think the sport including all the talent pathways has put so much emphasis on stats that blokes who don’t regurlarly bowl just get overlooked unless sides are getting absolutely pumped and are desperate. It’s rarely used offensively, mainly as a well what the **** do we do here approach

 

[Gethelred]

Great point, I also think the sport including all the talent pathways has put so much emphasis on stats that blokes who don’t regurlarly bowl just get overlooked unless sides are getting absolutely pumped and are desperate. It’s rarely used offensively, mainly as a well what the **** do we do here approach

Australia under McDonald has been pretty good at using part timers, I think.

 

[Gough]

Lol Ned Larkins.

 

[SG34]

Looking at footage before my time, I could have sworn Alan Davidson, the Australian key bowler of the ‘50’s and early ‘60’s was a medium pacer, but reading about him proved to the contrary. Apparently, he was quite fast.

But another bowler before my time piqued my interest. His name was Neil Hawke and he played quite a few tests and took and very respectable number of wickets. Anyone know if he’d be considered a true medium-pacer?

The GOAT if medium, if I can trust my memory, going back 40 years to reading cricket books, is an Englishman named Alex Bedser.

I agree it’s confusing. Our current crop ‘quicks’ frequently bowl in the 129-137 range except for the Stark.

All rounders such as Kallis and Green lumber up to the crease and barely bend their backs but record 136too!

Go figure.

McGrath bowled 129s like clockwork. Even Courtney Walsh, at the end of his career, was a ‘one-two-niner’

 

[PhatBoy]

Looking at footage before my time, I could have sworn Alan Davidson, the Australian key bowler of the ‘50’s and early ‘60’s was a medium pacer, but reading about him proved to the contrary. Apparently, he was quite fast.

But another bowler before my time piqued my interest. His name was Neil Hawke and he played quite a few tests and took and very respectable number of wickets. Anyone know if he’d be considered a true medium-pacer?

The GOAT if medium, if I can trust my memory, going back 40 years to reading cricket books, is an Englishman named Alex Bedser.

I agree it’s confusing. Our current crop ‘quicks’ frequently bowl in the 129-137 range except for the Stark.

All rounders such as Kallis and Green lumber up to the crease and barely bend their backs but record 136too!

Go figure.

McGrath bowled 129s like clockwork. Even Courtney Walsh, at the end of his career, was a ‘one-two-niner’

Walsh was running in a back up generator by the end of his career. He was a little bit overweight and just operating from muscle memory. Still very smart but he’d lost all the snap. Early on and at his peak he was very quick and was another one of those West Indians who loved to slant the ball back towards the batsman and make things awkward

McGrath was never ever quick but also never ever had a problem bowling a good bouncer or extracting something from a pitch.

 

[SG34]

Walsh was running in a back up generator by the end of his career. He was a little bit overweight and just operating from muscle memory. Still very smart but he’d lost all the snap. Early on and at his peak he was very quick and was another one of those West Indians who loved to slant the ball back towards the batsman and make things awkward

McGrath was never ever quick but also never ever had a problem bowling a good bouncer or extracting something from a pitch.

Yep, Courtney Walsh was 38 years old when he played his last test. It’s amazing that he could keep going at all. A 17-year test career. (And he was captain of a team crumbling before his very eyes, as the great West Indian dynasty checked out)