The Deadly Duos of the 90's

[Papa_Smurf]

The 90's was a brilliant period for fast bowling. Most teams had atleast one deadly spearhead who they could rely on to get them wickets. Certain teams were blessed that they had two. More specifically, I'm referring to the deadly duo's of Wasim/Waqar, Ambrose/Walsh and Donald/Pollock.

But which of them were the deadliest? At the end of the day, it might just come down to personal bias as they were all so brilliant. I've spent the last half-hour or so compiling these stats for a comparison basis.

Note, I'm not referring to individual performances, but how they performed when together.

Allan Donald and Shaun Pollock:

Matches: 47
Wickets: 397
Average: 21.85

Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis:

Matches: 61
Wickets: 559
Average: 22.12

Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh:

Matches: 95
Wickets: 762
Average: 22.67

Personally, I'm going to go with the Wasim and Waqar. Purely on the basis that it was watching them that first got me intrigued about cricket.

 

[sami ullah khan]

The Two Ws for me. They made me a fan of fast bowling, those two did. The best thing was that those two bowled even better with the old ball and complemented each other so well. Pakistan were gifted to have those two bowling at the same time for us.

 

[Fenil]

Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh.

 

[BKB1991]

I missed the peak of the two Ws, but even in the end of their careers they were a joy to watch.

 

[sifter132]

Ambrose and Walsh for my 2 cents worth. Main reason being was because they were the duo that gave Australia the most headaches - and that means in my mind I remember them as the most impressive. I don't think Waqar ever did much against Australia, and the SA boys never had much joy either.

Also because I think Walsh is one of the most underrated of modern bowlers. So is Shaun Pollock, but Ambrose > Donald IMHO.

Of course, the usual caveat: raw skill wise the Pakistan pair were fantastic, but they also bowled too many loose balls, too many no-balls and never stuck to their plans for long enough - relying on their brilliance for wickets rather than strategy. Too often their skills are romanticised, and reality is forgotten. Great bowlers, just a tad overrated for me.

 

[Papa_Smurf]

Also because I think Walsh is one of the most underrated of modern bowlers. So is Shaun Pollock, but Ambrose > Donald IMHO.

I would add Waqar to that list. Many people forget the fact that he suffered serious injuries in 1995, and was never the same bowler he was from '89-'95. If you look at his overall career, he managed around 167 wickets during his last 6 years vs the 200 he picked up in his first 5.

Strange that. All 3 of Walsh, Pollock and Waqar are under-rated as opposed to their most infamous partners in Ambrose, Donald and Wasim.

I guess another thing to note is though all 6 played in 90's, the SA and Pak bowlers never actually had a stiff contest as who's the best pair. Wasim and Waqar were at their best in the first half of that decade. After Waqar's injuries, the 2 W's didn't play together as much due to injuries and team politics. It was around the same time that Donald and Pollock actually got together.

But yeah, Walsh and Ambrose were the more consistent of the 3 pairs. But not by a lot. The averages are almost similar, as is the no. of matches to wickets ratio.

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The ratio's actually that all 3 pairs managed to bag 8-9 wickets per match.

 

[cricket_icon]

Wasim and Waqar for me. They were the best to watch by miles, tuning into watch Walsh didn't exactly get the pulse racing. And the fact that the Pakistani pair managed to be at the top of their game for so long, amidst al the crazy inter-team politics is a little miracle. I think Waqar is vastly under rated, he is one of the greatest bowlers of all time and has a SR which was, for many of his early years just jaw dropping. None of the other pairs had to put up with the subcontinental conditions on a regular basis either.

 

[War]

You could add McGrath/Gillespie and Gough/Caddick to this list although they didn't play as much as the aforementioned trio during the 90s.

But this question has been posed to me personally before and i think its impossible to say which one of Ambrose/Walsh, Donald/Pollock, Wasim/Waqar regardless of stats.

All three of these duo's bowling at their absolute bests during the 90s caused all opposition batsmen equal headaches.

The most you can say is that Wasim/Waqar were the best to watch in full flight, but that's saying little.

 

[puddleduck]

I loved watching Ambrose and Walsh. Even when they were skittling the English batting lineup yet again. They didn't need any gimmicks. They just got you out.

 

[Papa_Smurf]

You could add McGrath/Gillespie and Gough/Caddick to this list although they didn't play as much as the aforementioned trio during the 90s.

Yup, I didn't include McGrath/Gillespie cos they also bowled during the 00's. Also, McGrath's more known for his partnership with Warne than Gillespie. I'm just discussing fast bowling partnerships. Cough/Caddick were good, but I personally don't rate them in the same bracket as the aforementioned trio.

But this question has been posed to me personally before and i think its impossible to say which one of Ambrose/Walsh, Donald/Pollock, Wasim/Waqar regardless of stats.

That's the thing - you can't distinguish between them using just stats. Quite astonishing how similar they are. All 3 pairs managed to take 8-9 wickets per test, at an average around 22. Which is why I think it comes down to personal preference. Interestingly, no one's mentioned Pollock/Donald yet.

 

[sami ullah khan]

Donald was exhilarating to watch. I can't say the same about Pollock. Polly was one helluva bowler though. A bit boring but he did get the job done. Pollock/Donald and Ambrose/Walsh are perhaps better than Akram/Younis partnership with the new ball but with and old and expertly rough up ball, there is, there was and there will be no comparing any two bowling partners with the great Ws.

 

[Fenil]

Donald was exhilarating to watch. I can't say the same about Pollock. Polly was one helluva bowler though. A bit boring but he did get the job done. Pollock/Donald and Ambrose/Walsh are perhaps better than Akram/Younis partnership with the new ball but with and old and expertly rough up ball, there is, there was and there will be no comparing any two bowling partners with the great Ws.

Glenn McGrath and Shaun Pollock were similar type of bowlers. Both dead acurate, both strike bowlers. Glenn McGrath was a little quicker of the two during the end of their careers, otherwise both were almost the same kind of bowlers.

 

[Papa_Smurf]

My skills with statsguru are very limited. Anyone know how I can find the stats in which was the peak period for each pair when bowling in tandem?

 

[War]

My skills with statsguru are very limited. Anyone know how I can find the stats in which was the peak period for each pair when bowling in tandem?

Well as i mentioned before i this thread http://www.planetcricket.org/forums/cricket-discussion/did-glenn-mcgrath-have-peak-test-cricket-72950.html

I consider McGrath's best peak to be from Port Elizabeth 1997 - MCG 2002, because during this period he bowled with tremendous accuracy & his pace in this period was consistently between 85-89 mph (although at times he would drop between his trademark 80-82 mph), while he occasionally even touched 90 mph. 65 tests, 312 @ 20.24

With Pollock i consider his peak between his debut in 1995 - 2001/02 series in AUS, when he suffered a serious back injury that curtailed his career afterwards.