If You Know Your History…

Where have all the editors gone?

A supposedly reputable news outlet – in other words not one linked to News Ltd – carried a story this morning on the Australian cricket team’s bowling attack. The Australian bowlers were feted as being a “famed bowling attack” and one “which now stands alone as the most prolific quartet in Test cricket history.” Talk about hyperbole!

While there is no doubt that Australia has a very strong bowling line up at the present time some would argue that Steve Waugh’s bowling attack when the team went on a run of 16 consecutive Test victories was certainly a match for today’s bowlers. In his team he had two true greats in Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath, who were ably supported by the likes of Damien Fleming and Michael Kasprowicz. Other bowlers would come into the side before and after, the likes of Jason Gillespie and Paul Reiffel.

While it may be OK to try and claim that this bowling attack is the best Australia has fielded, surely it is not as good as the West Indies line ups in the late 1970’s and 1980’s?

From the 1979 Test series against Australia over the next decade and a half, the West Indies dominated world cricket. They played 31 series, won 21, drew nine, and lost just one, controversially to New Zealand in 1980. The West Indies won 61 Tests and lost just16!

The West Indies relied heavily on a pace attack, but it paid dividends. That West Indies’ bowling attack averaged less than 26 runs per wicket. Their pace attack was responsible for 91.63% of the wickets taken by their bowlers at an average of less than 24.

One side effect of having such a great bowling attack was the wickets were shared around. To show this, the giant Joel Garner played 58 Tests without once taking 10 wickets in a match, and taking only seven five wicket hauls.

Garner finished his career with 259 wickets at less than 21 apiece. Malcolm Marshall, Garner, and Curtly Ambrose are still the only three bowlers in the history of Test cricket to take more than 200 wickets at averages of less than 21. Which tends to destroy the argument that the current Australians are the most prolific quartet in test history; although we acknowledge that only three bowlers share that honour!

For the record, at the time of writing Pat Cummins has taken 257 Test wickets at 22.13. Which is still exceptionally good. Josh Hazelwood sits on 245 wickets at 26.31, Nathan Lyon 506 at 31.00 and Mitchell Starc 344 wickets at 27.59. (Note as the Test is currently being played these figures will change).

Glenn McGrath finished his career with 563 wickets at 21.64, Shane Warne 708 wickets at 25.41 in Test matches which is superb for a spin bowler.

In that era of West Indian domination it is worth noting that apart from the three bowlers mentioned Ian Bishop took 83 wickets at 20.45, Michael Holding 239 wickets at 22.10, Colin Croft 125 at 23.30 and Courtney Walsh 255 at 24.77.

Incredibly, during this era there was no series home or away in which the West Indies attack conceded more than 26 runs per wicket. Even on the slow wickets of India, they managed to average 25.41 runs per wicket. These are truly remarkable statistics.

Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, Joel Garner, and Colin Croft were the original fast-bowling quartet. They played together 11 times together, the West Indies won five of these 11 Tests, while five were drawn.

Then along came Malcolm Marshall, Joel Garner, and Michael Holding. In the 26 Tests these three played together, the West Indies had an outstanding record, they won 16 and drew nine. The only Test they lost was a dead rubber against Australia in Sydney in 1985. Between them they averaged just under 13 wickets per Test, and conceded less than 23 runs per dismissal.

The conveyor belt kept churning out talent, next it was Marshall, Curtly Ambrose, and Courtney Walsh. This combination played 28 Tests together and between April and December 1988, when they won eight out of 10 Tests, and drew the other two. These three bowlers averaged around 12 wickets per match.

These statistics came from only looking at the West Indies attack in Test matches, at a time when most Test sides played each other every couple of years. Yet if one looks at their record in One Day Internationals it is just as impressive, and just as dominant.

If the editors are not going to read the stories before allowing their staff to publish them, maybe they need to ensure that their writers have a greater awareness of the history of the sports that they are writing about, or at least go back and check past records to see if what they are claiming is close to being the truth.

As good as Australia’s current bowling attack may be, one feels that they still have a long way to go to match the total dominance, and the statistical records of the West Indies in that golden era for them.

(Statistics were gathered courtesy of ESPNCricinfo).