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This list includes the bowlers that have taken 50 wickets in each period. 2002-2011 and 2012-2023. The reason I have decided this divide is because 2012 is roughly when we switched to 2 new balls.
For the 2002-2011 period, it includes bowlers from the 10 test playing nations. And from 2012 it includes bowlers from the 12 test playing nations.
During the history of ODI cricket wickets are the toughest to take to obtain during middle overs followed by PP followed by Death Overs. So a bowler is expected to take wickets during the death. Hence why a bowler that can take wickets during the PP or the middle overs is seen as more valuable. This what I will be tracking.
They will be judged on custom metrics called True ER and True Wickets.
True ER is the difference between their ER and the ER of the average bowler that bowls the same overs as them.
True Wickets is the difference between their Wickets and Expected wickets of the average bowler that bowls the same overs as them.
If a bowler has a negative True ER and a Negative True wickets then they are a defensive bowler. If a bowler has a positive True ER and a positive True Wickets they are a strike bowler. If they have a negative True ER and a positive True Wickets they are approaching elite territory. And if they have a positive True ER and a negative True Wickets they are not very good. This is usually either batting all rounders or part timer territory.
Here’s the link.
Brett Lee was arguably the greatest strike bowler in ODI history and we can see why. And he did with a negative True Er. He’s arguably in the top 5 bowlers of all time. We also that Ntini and Johnson also do well here. Both were great strike bowlers and are probably forgotten for how good they were in this format.
Murali manages to be a great strike bowler and a great defensive bowler. Amongst the pacers its McGrath who also does that.
Bond and Hogg do quite well here with Hogg being instrumental in two Aussie wins and Bond being a forever What If. Kyle Mills was highly underrated. Ajit Agarkar once we factor in where he bowls wasn’t actually very expensive. And with the bonus he provides with his strike bowling he’s a plus bowler. Arguable ahead of his time in a way. Indian cricket usually frowned upon expensive strike bowlers.
Pollock is the best defensive bowler on the list. The fact that he was also an al rounder is remarkable. Other all rounders that fare well here are Vettori and Flintoff. Flintoff especially being a good strike bowler and a good defensive bowler. He’s arguably one of the best all rounders in ODI history. He was truly remarkable.
On the opposite extreme we have Sreeshant, he took a few wickets but he was very expensive. Absurdly expensive infact. We also see Ishant and RP Singh here. A few Indian fast bowlers here actually. Nehra and Pathan find their way on this side as well.
So if you had to pick a bowling attack, you’d want to have McGrath, Murali and Lee for sure. And since Polly could bat at 8 he can be a very good 4th bowler. That leaves a gap for a 5th bowler. And on this list the best all rounder is Flintoff. You could also go with Afridi or Vettori if you want another spinner.
Here’s the link.
Mitchell Starc is quite clearly the best strike bowler during this period. And like Lee Starc does it with a good ER as well. He’s a brilliant ODI bowler. Amongst the spinners Kuldeep Yadav is best strike bowler. Arguably the greatest strike spinner in ODI history since Saqlain (once you factor in eras). Shami is the second best strike bowler in this era. He’s been brilliant to watch.
This has been the wrist spinners era as we see Zampa, Adil, Tahir and Chahal all being right up there. With Tahir being the best of the lot.
Although on the opposite extreme, Bhuvi has a terrible True wickets, part of the reason being that India forced him to be a defensive bowler and the batters on top of that didn’t take a lot of risks against him.
Amongst the defensive bowlers, Ajmal, Rashid and Narine top it for spinners. With all of them doing it with a positive True wickets. Ik with Rashid there will be the argument for taking his wickets vs weak opposition. But he doesn’t choose who he plays against. And he hasn’t played a lot vs the big boys for us to know how good he is. He’s probably a strike bowler vs poorer teams but a defensive bowler vs the better teams.
Bumrah is the best defensive seamer on here and it isn’t even close really. He also did it with a positive True Wickets.
On the opposite spectrum we have Lord Thakur. As expensive as you believe he is, he’s still been better than Sreeshant. And he takes a lot of wickets. Rauf finds himself here as well.
If you had to pick a bowling attack for this era, you’d definitely pick Starc, Shami, Bumrah as your seamers. And for the spinner (if you don’t completely rate Rashid) if you want a strike bowling you can go with Kuldeep, if you want a defensive spinner you can pick Narine or Ajmal. I’ll choose Rashid as he can bat as well. And unlike the previous era there isn’t a standout 5th bowler. So you pick and choose who you want. You could take Jaddu or Santner as a defensive spinner. Hardik as a strike fast bowler. It’s upto you really.
Here’s the link.
If you had to a combined attack you’d take Lee, Starc and McGrath for sure. There’s a reason they won 4 WCs since 2002 lads. You’d probably pick Murali as a spinner. And you’d take Freddie or Polly as the 5th bowler.
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