The best?

Shortly before I began drafting this entry, Brett Lee has just taken his 300th Test wicket for Australia. That makes him something like the 24th international player to achieve that significant milestone. This is a wonderful achievement but at the same time it made me think about just how much things have changed.

English fast bowler, 'Fiery' Fred Trueman was the first to achieve 300 wickets back in the 1964. He later retired after taking a total of 307 wickets, famously stating that anyone who passed that figure would be 'bloody tired'.

West Indian off-spinner, Lance Gibbs, slipped by Trueman against Australia in 1975-76, finishing with 309. Ironically this was the only time I can ever recall a crowd at the Melbourne Cricket Ground actually chanting for an opposition bowler to be given a bowl.

My boyhood idol, Dennis Lillee, passed the 300 mark in 1981, taking over from Gibbs as the record holder later that summer, ultimately retiring with 355 wickets.

Just over a century elapsed between the start of Test cricket and Dennis Lillee becoming the third player to achieve that record. Twenty-seven years later, more than twenty more players have achieved the milestone. The world record has progressed from 355 all the way to 756 (Muralitharan).

In light of this progression, I wondered just how well these bowlers from different eras shape up against each other. I decided to do a little statistical analysis. Starting with the current top ten wicket takers, I added Dennis Lillee, Fred Trueman, Lance Gibbs and Brett Lee to the mix. Then just to really throw a spanner into the works, I added in pre-World War Two Australian leg-spinner, Clarrie Grimmett.

	Player	Span	Mat	Wkts	Ave	wickets per test ratio
1	M Muralitharan (ICC/SL)	1992-2008	123	756	21.96	6.15
2	SK Warne (Aus)	1992-2007	145	708	25.41	4.88
3	A Kumble (India)	1990-2008	132	619	29.65	4.69
4	GD McGrath (Aus)	1993-2007	124	563	21.64	4.54
5	CA Walsh (WI)	1984-2001	132	519	24.44	3.93
6	N Kapil Dev (India)	1978-1994	131	434	29.64	3.31
7	Sir RJ Hadlee (NZ)	1973-1990	86	431	22.29	5.01
8	SM Pollock (SA)	1995-2008	108	421	23.11	3.90
9	Wasim Akram (Pak)	1985-2002	104	414	23.62	3.98
10	CEL Ambrose (WI)	1988-2000	98	405	20.99	4.13
	DK Lillee (Aus)	1971-1984	70	355	23.92	5.07
	LR Gibbs (WI)	1958-1976	79	309	29.09	3.91
	FS Trueman (Eng)	1952-1965	67	307	21.57	4.58
	B Lee (Aus)	1999-2008	73	300	30.35	4.11
	CV Grimmett	1925-1936	37	216	24.21	5.84

That list seems pretty straight forward. A heck of a lot more cricket is played today, as reflected in the total match figures. Compare say Lillee's 70 Tests to Kapil Dev's 131! So how do we compare things by taking this variation in total tests played into consideration? Here is a comparison by bowling average. Three of the current top ten wickets takers have dropped down out of the top ten positions in my list: Warne (708), Dev (434) and Kumble (619).

	Player	Span	Mat	Wkts	Ave	wickets per test ratio
1	CEL Ambrose (WI)	1988-2000	98	405	20.99	4.13
2	FS Trueman (Eng)	1952-1965	67	307	21.57	4.58
3	GD McGrath (Aus)	1993-2007	124	563	21.64	4.54
4	M Muralitharan (ICC/SL)	1992-2008	123	756	21.96	6.15
5	Sir RJ Hadlee (NZ)	1973-1990	86	431	22.29	5.01
6	SM Pollock (SA)	1995-2008	108	421	23.11	3.90
7	Wasim Akram (Pak)	1985-2002	104	414	23.62	3.98
8	DK Lillee (Aus)	1971-1984	70	355	23.92	5.07
9	CV Grimmett	1925-1936	37	216	24.21	5.84
10	CA Walsh (WI)	1984-2001	132	519	24.44	3.93
	SK Warne (Aus)	1992-2007	145	708	25.41	4.88
	LR Gibbs (WI)	1958-1976	79	309	29.09	3.91
	N Kapil Dev (India)	1978-1994	131	434	29.64	3.31
	A Kumble (India)	1990-2008	132	619	29.65	4.69
	B Lee (Aus)	1999-2008	73	300	30.35	4.11

Statistics may be massaged to show just about anything. At the end of the day however, I think that the real test of a bowler is their ability to keep consistently taking wickets. Certainly that is what a captain is looking for. I have sorted the list by a ratio of average number of wickets per test match played.

	Player	Span	Mat	Wkts	Ave	wickets per test ratio
1	M Muralitharan (ICC/SL)	1992-2008	123	756	21.96	6.15
2	CV Grimmett	1925-1936	37	216	24.21	5.84
3	DK Lillee (Aus)	1971-1984	70	355	23.92	5.07
4	Sir RJ Hadlee (NZ)	1973-1990	86	431	22.29	5.01
5	SK Warne (Aus)	1992-2007	145	708	25.41	4.88
6	A Kumble (India)	1990-2008	132	619	29.65	4.69
7	FS Trueman (Eng)	1952-1965	67	307	21.57	4.58
8	GD McGrath (Aus)	1993-2007	124	563	21.64	4.54
9	CEL Ambrose (WI)	1988-2000	98	405	20.99	4.13
10	B Lee (Aus)	1999-2008	73	300	30.35	4.11
	Wasim Akram (Pak)	1985-2002	104	414	23.62	3.98
	CA Walsh (WI)	1984-2001	132	519	24.44	3.93
	LR Gibbs (WI)	1958-1976	79	309	29.09	3.91
	SM Pollock (SA)	1995-2008	108	421	23.11	3.90
	N Kapil Dev (India)	1978-1994	131	434	29.64	3.31

Muralitharan has returned to the top of the list with a startling average of more than six wickets per Test. However Clarrie Grimmett has rocketed to second position with just short of six wickets per Test. Dennis Lillee comes in next, marginally ahead of Australia's nemesis during the 1980s, New Zealand's Sir Richard Hadlee. Akram, Walsh and Pollock all now drop out of the top ten.

So what does this all really mean? Does it show who was best? Does Clarrie Grimmett deserve to be holding the tag of best ever leg-spinner ahead of Shane Warne? Was Dennis Lillee the best fast bowler ever? I cannot really answer any of these questions. There are too many variables that cannot be fully taken into account. For example, Murilatharan plays a lot more cricket on turning wickets. Grounds, conditions and pitch preparation today are different to those of Grimmett's era. Even the rules changed here and there.

All I can really say is that I have seen all play except Grimmett and I am in absolute awe of all of the bowlers mentioned in this entry. Without doubt, each has truly been an exceptional exponent of the bowling art.

All statistics and images from www.cricinfo.com