ODI Decades Rating - Best Fast Bowlers In 2000s Featured

Top ODI Fast Bowler of the Decade (2000 – 2009)

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This Rating takes into account only the matches played in the 2000s. Brief explanation of the ratings is given before each section (Detailed Explanation). So, here are the Top 10 Fast bowlers in ODI cricket in the 2000s.

*Note: All ODI Ratings are updated till 2025-02-15

CONTENTS
1. THE CRITERIA
2. QUALIFICATION
3. PRIMARY CRITERIA
3.1. PROLIFIC
3.2. CONSISTENT
3.2.1. Against All Teams
3.2.2. Against Top Teams
3.3. ECONOMIC
3.3.1. Against All Teams
3.3.2. Against Top Teams
3.4. BEST BOWLING BY WKTS (NWT)
3.5. BEST BOWLING BY ECO (NWT)
3.6. PRIMARY RATING
4. CONDITIONS CRITERIA
4.1. HOME/AWAY
4.1.1. At Home
4.1.2. Away From Home
4.2. FAVOURABLE/UNFAVOURABLE CONDITIONS
4.2.1. Favourable Conditions Rating
4.2.1.1. Non Asians Outside Asia
4.2.1.2. Asians Outside Asia
4.2.2. Unfavourable Conditions Rating
4.2.2.1. Non Asians In Asia
4.2.2.2. Asians In Asia
4.3. CONDITIONS RATING
5. SECONDARY CRITERIA
5.1. WORLD CUP
5.2. TOP FORM
5.3. IMPACT INNINGS
5.4. SECONDARY RATING
6. DECADES RATING
7. NON WEAK TEAMS
8. TOP TEAMS

THE CRITERIA

CRITERIA CONSTITUENTS
Primary Wickets, Average, Economy, BBI (Wkts & Eco)
Conditions Home, Away, In Asia, Outside Asia
Secondary World Cup, Top Form, Impact Inns
The Trend Setter (TS)

TS is the player which does the best in a criteria. The rating of all other players are calculated taking the TS as the benchmark. Know All About TS. Here is an example:-

  • TS Ave: 25.00; Player X Ave: 30.00; Section Points: 300.00
  • TS Points: 300.00(Max); Player X Points: TS Ave/Ave X 300 = 25.00/30.00 X 300 = 250.00
  • Ratings of all sections are calculated similarly with Ave being replaced by the Criteria Stat.
Top Teams (TT) and Non Weak Teams (NWT)

Some sections consider performances only against the top teams and non weak teams. Here is some information:-

  • Win/Loss Ratio is used to determine TT and NWT.
  • They are calculated by decades.
  • A bowler’s performace is counted in TT or NWT if it comes against that team in the specific decade.
  • Knock Out and Super Six matches of ODI World Cup are also counted.
  • TT & NWT may be found in the last section.

QUALIFICATION

Min Innings (TT) 20

PRIMARY CRITERIA

The Primary Rating is divided into 5 main sections:-

CRITERIA STAT POINTS
Prolific Wickets Taken 200.00
Consistent Average 250.00
Economic Strike Rate 250.00
Best Bowling Top Inns (Wkts) 150.00
Economic Bowling Top Inns (Eco) 150.00

PROLIFIC

Criteria: Points For Wickets Taken

RANK BOWLER NAT INNS WKTS RAT
TS B Lee AUS 182 324 200.00
1 B Lee AUS 182 324 200.00
2 SM Pollock SA 215 275 169.75
3 M Ntini SA 170 264 162.96
4 WPUJC Vaas SL 195 247 152.47
5 GD McGrath AUS 147 234 144.44
6 Shoaib Akhtar PAK 117 180 111.11
7 NW Bracken AUS 116 174 107.41
8 A Flintoff ENG 111 162 100.00
9 SE Bond NZ 75 138 85.19
10 JN Gillespie AUS 78 119 73.46

CONSISTENT

R Ave

Relative Average (R Ave) is a more accurate type of average. Know How It Is Calculated. Briefly it takes into account:-

  • Strength of Opposition.
  • Venues at which a bowler has played.
  • Time Period in which he has been active

Criteria: Points For Relative Average

Min Qualification For TS
Min Wickets 40
Min Wickets (TT) 20

Against All Teams

RANK BOWLER INNS RUNS WKTS AVE R AVE RAT
TS SE Bond 75 2880 138 20.87 20.86 100.00
1 SE Bond 75 2880 138 20.87 20.86 100.00
2 GD McGrath 147 4746 234 20.28 21.01 99.27
3 A Flintoff 111 3893 162 24.03 23.44 88.98
4 B Lee 182 7456 324 23.01 23.68 88.08
5 Shoaib Akhtar 117 4403 180 24.46 24.32 85.76
6 NW Bracken 116 4240 174 24.37 24.55 84.97
7 M Ntini 170 6528 264 24.73 25.19 82.79
8 JN Gillespie 78 2885 119 24.24 25.35 82.29
9 SM Pollock 215 6872 275 24.99 25.55 81.63
10 WPUJC Vaas 195 6663 247 26.98 27.09 77.00

Against Top Teams

RANK BOWLER INNS RUNS WKTS AVE R AVE RAT
TS GD McGrath 90 3027 154 19.66 20.36 150.00
1 GD McGrath 90 3027 154 19.66 20.36 150.00
2 SE Bond 51 2106 92 22.89 22.88 133.51
3 B Lee 117 4936 205 24.08 24.78 123.27
4 Shoaib Akhtar 83 3168 126 25.14 25.00 122.18
5 A Flintoff 80 2977 113 26.35 25.70 118.86
6 NW Bracken 75 2911 114 25.54 25.72 118.74
7 M Ntini 112 4497 176 25.55 26.03 117.33
8 JN Gillespie 47 1798 70 25.69 26.85 113.75
9 SM Pollock 139 4811 179 26.88 27.48 111.15
10 WPUJC Vaas 133 4841 159 30.45 30.57 99.91

ECONOMIC

R ER

Relative Economy Rate (R ER) for bowlers is calculated using the same method as R Ave with average being replaced with ER.

Criteria: Points For R ER

Min Qualification For TS
Min Balls 1000

Against All Teams

RANK BOWLER INNS BLS RUNS ER R ER RAT
TS SM Pollock 215 11365 6872 3.63 3.39 100.00
1 SM Pollock 215 11365 6872 3.63 3.39 100.00
2 GD McGrath 147 7521 4746 3.79 3.53 95.86
3 WPUJC Vaas 195 9663 6663 4.14 3.86 87.82
4 JN Gillespie 78 4195 2885 4.13 3.91 86.55
5 SE Bond 75 4036 2880 4.28 3.96 85.43
6 A Flintoff 111 5382 3893 4.34 3.98 85.07
7 NW Bracken 116 5759 4240 4.42 4.07 83.16
8 M Ntini 170 8627 6528 4.54 4.24 79.79
9 B Lee 182 9478 7456 4.72 4.40 77.04
10 Shoaib Akhtar 117 5551 4403 4.76 4.41 76.85

Against Top Teams

RANK BOWLER INNS BLS RUNS ER R ER RAT
TS GD McGrath 90 4729 3027 3.84 3.58 150.00
1 GD McGrath 90 4729 3027 3.84 3.58 150.00
2 SM Pollock 139 7451 4811 3.87 3.62 148.65
3 JN Gillespie 47 2586 1798 4.17 3.96 135.89
4 WPUJC Vaas 133 6693 4841 4.34 4.04 132.89
5 A Flintoff 80 4020 2977 4.44 4.08 131.89
6 NW Bracken 75 3840 2911 4.55 4.19 128.21
7 SE Bond 51 2775 2106 4.55 4.22 127.50
8 M Ntini 112 5724 4497 4.71 4.41 121.99
9 Shoaib Akhtar 83 3935 3168 4.83 4.47 120.18
10 B Lee 117 6141 4936 4.82 4.49 119.68

BEST BOWLING BY WKTS (NWT)

BBW

In this criteria, we have taken the top 5 bowling performances by Wkts of a bowler against Non Weak Teams in the 2000s. Best Bowling By Wickets (BBW) is simply the total wickets taken in the 5 innings divided by 5.

Criteria: Points For Wkts Taken In Top 5 Inns

RANK BOWLER 1 2 3 4 5 BBW RAT
TS Waqar Younis 7/36 6/59 5/31 5/38 4/41 5.40 150.00
1 SE Bond 6/19 6/23 5/23 5/25 4/21 5.20 144.44
2 Shoaib Akhtar 6/16 5/19 5/25 5/54 4/28 5.00 138.89
2 B Lee 5/22 5/27 5/27 5/30 5/38 5.00 138.89
2 M Ntini 6/22 5/21 5/31 5/37 4/24 5.00 138.89
5 WPUJC Vaas 6/25 5/14 5/39 4/22 4/33 4.80 133.33
6 SM Pollock 5/20 5/23 5/37 4/18 4/24 4.60 127.78
6 GD McGrath 5/27 5/37 5/49 4/8 4/16 4.60 127.78
8 A Flintoff 5/19 5/56 4/14 4/17 4/21 4.40 122.22
8 NW Bracken 5/47 5/67 4/19 4/29 4/29 4.40 122.22
10 JN Gillespie 5/22 5/70 4/43 3/13 3/20 4.00 111.11

BEST BOWLING BY ECO (NWT)

BBE

In this criteria, we have taken the top 5 bowling performances by Economy of a bowler against Non Weak Teams. Best Bowling By Economy (BBE) is the Relative Economy of the bowler in the 5 Inns. Only 30+ Balls performaces are counted in this criteria.

Criteria: Points For Economy In Top 5 Inns

RANK BOWLER 1 2 3 4 5 BBE RAT
TS SM Pollock 10.0/9 5.0/6 9.5/12 7.0/9 10.0/13 1.09 150.00
1 SM Pollock 10.0/9 5.0/6 9.5/12 7.0/9 10.0/13 1.09 150.00
2 GD McGrath 10.0/8 6.0/6 6.0/7 10.0/13 9.4/16 1.12 146.47
3 WPUJC Vaas 6.0/6 7.0/8 8.0/10 8.0/11 9.3/14 1.19 138.25
4 A Flintoff 9.4/14 10.0/15 10.0/17 7.0/12 5.0/10 1.50 109.55
5 B Lee 6.0/5 8.0/8 8.2/18 10.0/22 10.0/22 1.65 99.39
6 SE Bond 5.0/7 10.0/15 10.0/19 10.0/21 9.0/19 1.70 96.22
7 NW Bracken 8.0/11 8.0/15 9.4/19 7.0/15 6.0/13 1.74 94.24
8 JN Gillespie 10.0/13 10.0/16 10.0/20 10.0/22 9.0/20 1.76 93.13
9 M Ntini 7.0/12 10.0/18 7.0/13 10.0/20 9.0/19 1.78 92.00
10 Shoaib Akhtar 8.0/9 9.0/16 10.0/23 8.0/19 8.0/19 1.85 88.56

PRIMARY RATING

The total of the above five criteria comes out to be 1,000.00 points. The Primary Rating is the addition of the points a bowler scored in the five criteria. The Weightage of the Rating is half of the DECADES Rating, i.e. 500 pts.

RANK BOWLER PRO CON ECO BBW BBE RAT PRI PTS
1 GD McGrath 144.44 249.27 245.86 127.78 146.47 913.81 456.91
2 SM Pollock 169.75 192.78 248.65 127.78 150.00 888.96 444.48
3 B Lee 200.00 211.35 196.71 138.89 99.39 846.35 423.17
4 WPUJC Vaas 152.47 176.90 220.70 133.33 138.25 821.66 410.83
5 M Ntini 162.96 200.12 201.79 138.89 92.00 795.76 397.88
6 SE Bond 85.19 233.51 212.93 144.44 96.22 772.30 386.15
7 A Flintoff 100.00 207.84 216.95 122.22 109.55 756.57 378.28
8 Shoaib Akhtar 111.11 207.94 197.03 138.89 88.56 743.53 371.76
9 NW Bracken 107.41 203.71 211.37 122.22 94.24 738.95 369.47
10 JN Gillespie 73.46 196.04 222.45 111.11 93.13 696.18 348.09

CONDITIONS CRITERIA

The Conditions Rating is calculated by applying the five criteria of Primary Rating to various conditions. If Innings are less than the Qualification than the Player gets 50% of the Points.

The four conditions criteria and thier weightage is as follows:-

CRITERIA POINTS
Home 200.00
Away 800.00
Favourable Conditions 200.00
Unfavourable Conditions 800.00

HOME/AWAY

HOME/AWAY RATING

Points to note:-

  • U.A.E. is considered as a second Home for Pakistan and Afghanistan.
  • All Home and Away stats of Pakistani and Afghani bowlers are calculated accordingly.

At Home

Min Innings Vs Non Weak Teams: 5

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE ECO RAT WTG
1 SM Pollock 93 143 20.24 3.48 951.01 190.20
2 B Lee 81 146 22.89 4.57 840.61 168.12
3 GD McGrath 56 88 20.91 3.66 831.56 166.31
4 M Ntini 76 122 23.98 4.42 784.65 156.93
5 A Flintoff 41 69 20.55 4.28 722.77 144.55
6 WPUJC Vaas 53 61 23.62 3.58 703.23 140.65
7 Shoaib Akhtar 47 73 23.96 4.78 701.32 140.26
8 SE Bond 16 31 18.65 3.95 688.76 137.75
9 NW Bracken 52 77 24.82 4.51 683.68 136.74
10 JN Gillespie 28 35 31.17 4.10 554.15 110.83

Away From Home

Min Innings Vs Non Weak Teams: 10

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE ECO RAT WTG
1 WPUJC Vaas 142 186 28.08 4.32 889.28 711.43
2 GD McGrath 91 146 19.90 3.87 876.04 700.83
3 B Lee 101 178 23.11 4.85 823.13 658.50
4 SE Bond 59 107 21.51 4.37 813.88 651.11
5 SM Pollock 122 132 30.13 3.74 789.26 631.41
6 M Ntini 94 142 25.37 4.64 765.83 612.66
7 NW Bracken 64 97 24.01 4.34 754.29 603.43
8 JN Gillespie 50 84 21.36 4.14 738.26 590.61
9 A Flintoff 70 93 26.61 4.38 737.50 590.00
10 Shoaib Akhtar 70 107 24.80 4.75 717.01 573.61

FAVOURABLE/UNFAVOURABLE CONDITIONS

FAVOURABLE/UNFAVOURABLE CONDITIONS RATING

Points to note:-

  • Unfavourable Conditions (UC) is Outside Asia for Spinners and In Asia for Pacers.
  • Favourable Conditions (FC) are the opposite.

Favourable Conditions Rating

Non Asians Outside Asia

Min Innings Vs Non Weak Teams: 10

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE ECO RAT WTG
1 GD McGrath 130 205 20.30 3.74 897.15 179.43
2 SM Pollock 169 213 25.06 3.58 879.18 175.84
3 B Lee 158 288 22.89 4.72 866.56 173.31
4 SE Bond 64 118 20.51 4.20 795.53 159.11
5 M Ntini 134 205 25.21 4.49 780.97 156.19
6 A Flintoff 87 131 23.05 4.34 747.77 149.55
7 NW Bracken 89 128 25.73 4.53 713.51 142.70
8 JN Gillespie 71 110 24.56 4.20 693.53 138.71

Asians Outside Asia

Min Innings Vs Non Weak Teams: 5

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE ECO RAT WTG
1 WPUJC Vaas 95 130 27.42 4.31 942.67 188.53
2 Shoaib Akhtar 53 83 24.59 4.99 768.04 153.61

Unfavourable Conditions Rating

Non Asians In Asia

Min Innings Vs Non Weak Teams: 5

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE ECO RAT WTG
1 SM Pollock 46 62 24.74 3.79 919.75 735.80
2 M Ntini 36 59 23.05 4.75 855.59 684.47
3 NW Bracken 27 46 20.59 4.06 839.95 671.96
4 GD McGrath 17 29 20.14 4.15 731.95 585.56
5 A Flintoff 24 31 28.16 4.34 730.61 584.49
6 B Lee 24 36 24.03 4.69 714.41 571.53
7 SE Bond 11 20 23.00 4.78 596.82 477.45
8 JN Gillespie 7 9 20.33 3.27 571.06 456.85

Asians In Asia

Min Innings Vs Non Weak Teams: 10

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE ECO RAT WTG
1 WPUJC Vaas 100 117 26.48 3.95 900.25 720.20
2 Shoaib Akhtar 64 97 24.35 4.58 852.90 682.32

CONDITIONS RATING

The total of the above four criteria comes out to be 2,000.00 points. The Conditions Rating is the addition of the points a bowler scored in the four criteria. The Weightage of the Rating is 200 pts.

RANK BOWLER AW HM UC FC TOT CON PTS
1 WPUJC Vaas 711.43 140.65 720.20 188.53 1,760.80 176.08
2 SM Pollock 631.41 190.20 735.80 175.84 1,733.25 173.33
3 GD McGrath 700.83 166.31 585.56 179.43 1,632.13 163.21
4 M Ntini 612.66 156.93 684.47 156.19 1,610.25 161.03
5 B Lee 658.50 168.12 571.53 173.31 1,571.46 157.15
6 NW Bracken 603.43 136.74 671.96 142.70 1,554.82 155.48
7 Shoaib Akhtar 573.61 140.26 682.32 153.61 1,549.81 154.98
8 A Flintoff 590.00 144.55 584.49 149.55 1,468.60 146.86
9 SE Bond 651.11 137.75 477.45 159.11 1,425.42 142.54
10 JN Gillespie 590.61 110.83 456.85 138.71 1,296.99 129.70

SECONDARY CRITERIA

The Secondary Rating consists of three parts. If Innings are less than the Qualification than the Player gets 50% of the Points.

The three secondary criteria and thier weightage is as follows:-

CRITERIA POINTS
World Cup 1,000.00
Top Form 1,000.00
Impact Innings 1,000.00

WORLD CUP

Min Innings Vs Top Teams: 3

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE ECO RAT WTG
1 GD McGrath 22 47 14.19 3.97 882.86 882.86
2 WPUJC Vaas 20 36 17.14 3.72 817.88 817.88
3 SE Bond 16 30 17.27 3.51 800.10 800.10
4 NW Bracken 10 16 16.13 3.60 675.20 675.20
5 B Lee 10 22 17.91 4.74 663.69 663.69
6 A Flintoff 13 21 20.86 3.72 659.38 659.38
7 SM Pollock 16 16 29.25 3.55 537.02 537.02
8 M Ntini 13 16 29.31 4.07 505.25 505.25
9 Shoaib Akhtar 5 11 22.91 5.73 500.00 500.00
10 JN Gillespie 4 8 12.25 3.27 479.37 479.37
TOP FORM RATING

Points to note:-

  • Top Form is calculated by taking the best 50 consecutive innings of a bowler.
  • Only Inns against Non Weak Teams are considered in the rating.
  • Non Weak Teams may be found in the last section.

TOP FORM

Min Innings Vs Non Weak Teams: 20

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE ECO RAT WTG
1 SE Bond 50 97 19.67 4.22 881.72 881.72
2 GD McGrath 50 84 18.52 3.66 864.54 864.54
3 B Lee 50 105 19.91 4.71 837.63 837.63
4 NW Bracken 50 94 19.72 4.32 835.34 835.34
5 SM Pollock 50 71 22.76 3.73 825.17 825.17
6 Shoaib Akhtar 50 82 21.46 4.49 796.44 796.44
7 M Ntini 50 89 21.09 4.38 795.82 795.82
8 WPUJC Vaas 50 71 24.25 4.15 758.01 758.01
9 JN Gillespie 50 77 24.10 4.09 753.43 753.43
10 A Flintoff 50 72 23.96 4.16 753.14 753.14
IMPACT INNINGS (II)

Impact Innings are those innings which have an impact either in terms of wickets or economy rate. Know All About II. These are the criteria for an inning to be included in II:-

  • A Bowler takes equal to or more wickets than 4.
  • A Bowler bowls more than 30 balls and has a low ER.
  • The ER should be less than 75% of the ER of the better team.

IMPACT INNINGS

Min Innings Vs Top Teams: 20

RANK BOWLER INNS II II Perc RAT WTG
1 SM Pollock 215 127 59.07 940.63 940.63
2 GD McGrath 147 82 55.78 856.10 856.10
3 JN Gillespie 78 41 52.56 763.81 763.81
4 A Flintoff 111 54 48.65 714.08 714.08
5 SE Bond 75 38 50.67 661.10 661.10
6 NW Bracken 116 52 44.83 656.87 656.87
7 WPUJC Vaas 195 77 39.49 628.49 628.49
8 B Lee 182 68 37.36 600.34 600.34
9 M Ntini 170 63 37.06 598.14 598.14
10 Shoaib Akhtar 117 37 31.62 457.74 457.74

SECONDARY RATING

The total of the above three criteria comes out to be 3,000.00 points. Secondary Rating is the addition of the points a bowler scored in the three criteria. The Weightage of the Rating is 300 pts.

RANK BOWLER WC TF II TOT SEC RAT
1 GD McGrath 882.86 864.54 856.10 2,603.50 260.35
2 SE Bond 800.10 881.72 661.10 2,342.92 234.29
3 SM Pollock 537.02 825.17 940.63 2,302.82 230.28
4 WPUJC Vaas 817.88 758.01 628.49 2,204.39 220.44
5 NW Bracken 675.20 835.34 656.87 2,167.41 216.74
6 A Flintoff 659.38 753.14 714.08 2,126.60 212.66
7 B Lee 663.69 837.63 600.34 2,101.66 210.17
8 JN Gillespie 479.37 753.43 763.81 1,996.61 199.66
9 M Ntini 505.25 795.82 598.14 1,899.22 189.92
10 Shoaib Akhtar 500.00 796.44 457.74 1,754.18 175.42

DECADES RATING

DECADES Rating is the addition of the points of all the above criteria. The rating is out of 1,000 Pts.

RANK BOWLER NAT PRI PTS CON PTS SEC PTS FIN RAT
1 GD McGrath AUS 456.91 163.21 260.35 880.47
2 SM Pollock SA 444.48 173.33 230.28 848.09
3 WPUJC Vaas SL 410.83 176.08 220.44 807.35
4 B Lee AUS 423.17 157.15 210.17 790.48
5 SE Bond NZ 386.15 142.54 234.29 762.98
6 M Ntini SA 397.88 161.03 189.92 748.83
7 NW Bracken AUS 369.47 155.48 216.74 741.70
8 A Flintoff ENG 378.28 146.86 212.66 737.80
9 Shoaib Akhtar PAK 371.76 154.98 175.42 702.16
10 JN Gillespie AUS 348.09 129.70 199.66 677.45

NON WEAK TEAMS

DECADE OF MAT 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1970s WI ENG AUS NZ PAK SL IND
1980s WI ENG AUS PAK IND NZ SL ZIM
1990s SA AUS PAK WI IND SL ENG NZ ZIM
2000s AUS SA SL PAK IND NZ ENG WI BAN
2010s IND SA AUS ENG NZ PAK SL BAN WI
2020s IND PAK NZ AUS SL SA BAN ENG WI AFG

TOP TEAMS

DECADE OF MAT 1 2 3 4 5 6
1970s WI ENG AUS NZ PAK SL
1980s WI ENG AUS PAK IND NZ
1990s SA AUS PAK WI IND SL
2000s AUS SA SL PAK IND NZ
2010s IND SA AUS ENG NZ PAK
2020s IND PAK NZ AUS SL SA

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