Personally I think Vs threads are one of the most pointless threads in existence. I consider them the brainchild of adolescents. Hence I keep asking equally pointless questions that really have no right answer. My bad.
I think it's disrepectful to both players to try and say one was better than the other, as essentially both were awesome in their own ways, but also completely different bowlers, they would, in my opinion compliment each other very well. It always just comes down to personal preference in those issues, there is no right or wrong answer. Why must the world be black and white when there is so much variation in colour and tone?
Obviously, don't let me stop you all
I seem to remember when I last used this forum a few years ago Versus threads constantly cropped up in some form or another, and essentially just degenerate into people insulting very talented cricketers. A glorified "my Dad is stronger than your Dad!" "Yeah, well my favourite cricketer is better than your favourite cricketer!"
Now, if you maybe asked what new ball pairing through time (whether a double act or sticking two different players together) would make you race to the first morning of a Test Match in the hope of not missing a single ball if they bowl. That might have been more interesting? In fact, to expand on that, what ground, in what conditions and against which batsmen? What would make your ideal first test match morning?
After all, you yourself said, ignoring various things like inspirationability (what? It can be a word haha).
Well, the right answer is McGrath, but that's not the point