Decades Rating - Best Test Fast Bowlers In 1990s

Top Test Fast Bowler of the Decade (1990 – 1999)

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This Rating takes into account only the matches played in the 1990s. Brief explanation of the ratings is given before each section (Detailed Explanation). So, here are the Top 10 Fast bowlers in Test Cricket in the 1990s.

*Note: All Test Ratings are updated till 2026-02-05

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. ATTACKING
3.4. BEST BOWLING (WKTS)
3.5. 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. TOP FORM AT HOME
5.2. TOP FORM AWAY
5.3. IMPACT INNINGS
5.4. SECONDARY RATING
6. DECADES RATING
7. TOP TEAMS
7.1. Top Teams In Asia
7.2. Top Teams Outside Asia

THE CRITERIA

CRITERIA CONSTITUENTS
Primary Wickets, Average, Strike Rate, Top Inns
Conditions Home, Away, In Asia, Outside Asia
Secondary Top Form Home, Top Form Away, 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)

Some sections consider performances only against the top teams. Here is some information about the Top Teams:-

  • Win/Loss Ratio is used to determine top teams.
  • The top teams are calculated by decades.
  • Further, they are divided into In Asia and Outside Asia.
  • A bowler's performace is counted in TT if it comes in the specific condition and in the specific decade.

QUALIFICATION

Min Innings (TT) 20
Min Career Wkts 50

PRIMARY CRITERIA

CRITERIA STAT POINTS
Prolific Wickets Taken 200.00
Consistent Average 400.00
Attacking Strike Rate 300.00
Best Bowling Top Bowling Performances 100.00

PROLIFIC

Criteria: Points For Wickets Taken

RANK BOWLER NAT INNS WKTS RAT
TS CEL Ambrose WI 128 309 200.00
1 CEL Ambrose WI 128 309 200.00
2 CA Walsh WI 143 304 196.76
3 Wasim Akram PAK 111 289 187.06
4 AA Donald SA 105 284 183.82
5 Waqar Younis PAK 101 273 176.70
6 GD McGrath AUS 112 266 172.17
7 CJ McDermott AUS 85 211 136.57
8 SM Pollock SA 67 161 104.21
9 CL Cairns NZ 70 150 97.09
10 IR Bishop WI 69 145 93.85

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 player has played.
  • Time Period in which a bowler has been active

Criteria: Points For Relative Average

Min Qualification For TS
Min Wickets 20

Against All Teams

RANK BOWLER INNS RUNS WKTS AVE R AVE RAT
TS CEL Ambrose 128 6224 309 20.14 20.36 200.00
1 CEL Ambrose 128 6224 309 20.14 20.36 200.00
2 SM Pollock 67 3294 161 20.46 21.26 191.53
3 Wasim Akram 111 6199 289 21.45 22.04 184.67
4 AA Donald 105 6200 284 21.83 22.24 183.06
5 Waqar Younis 101 5927 273 21.71 22.59 180.25
6 GD McGrath 112 6086 266 22.88 23.15 175.89
7 IR Bishop 69 3539 145 24.41 24.47 166.38
8 CA Walsh 143 7895 304 25.97 25.94 156.95
9 CL Cairns 70 4335 150 28.90 26.62 152.94
10 CJ McDermott 85 5597 211 26.53 26.91 151.29

Against Top Teams

RANK BOWLER INNS RUNS WKTS AVE R AVE RAT
TS CEL Ambrose 107 5456 272 20.06 20.26 200.00
1 CEL Ambrose 107 5456 272 20.06 20.26 200.00
2 SM Pollock 48 2522 118 21.37 22.12 183.16
3 GD McGrath 89 4818 212 22.73 22.75 178.13
4 AA Donald 72 4521 194 23.30 23.50 172.42
5 IR Bishop 56 2874 121 23.75 23.66 171.26
6 Wasim Akram 64 3772 156 24.18 23.86 169.81
7 CA Walsh 121 6805 265 25.68 25.61 158.18
8 Waqar Younis 57 3319 126 26.34 26.23 154.46
9 CL Cairns 47 2847 97 29.35 26.27 154.22
10 CJ McDermott 53 3584 131 27.36 27.68 146.36

ATTACKING

R SR

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

Criteria: Points For R SR or Balls/Wkt

Min Qualification For TS
Min Wickets 20
RANK BOWLER INNS BALLS WKTS SR R SR RAT
TS Waqar Younis 101 11179 273 40.95 41.46 300.00
1 Waqar Younis 101 11179 273 40.95 41.46 300.00
2 AA Donald 105 12996 284 45.76 44.97 276.54
3 Wasim Akram 111 14134 289 48.91 49.23 252.65
4 CL Cairns 70 8188 150 54.59 49.28 252.39
5 CEL Ambrose 128 16148 309 52.26 51.59 241.09
6 IR Bishop 69 7591 145 52.35 51.67 240.70
7 GD McGrath 112 13956 266 52.47 52.30 237.79
8 SM Pollock 67 8470 161 52.61 52.44 237.17
9 CJ McDermott 85 11559 211 54.78 54.26 229.22
10 CA Walsh 143 18079 304 59.47 58.19 213.71

BEST BOWLING (WKTS)

BBW

In this criteria, we have taken the top 7 bowling performances by Wkts of a bowler. Best Bowling By Wickets (BBW) is simply the total wickets taken in the 7 innings divided by 7.

Criteria: Points For Wkts Taken In Top 7 Inns

RANK BOWLER 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 AVE WT RAT
TS CEL Ambrose 8/45 7/25 6/24 6/34 6/51 6/52 6/74 6.43 100.00
1 CEL Ambrose 8/45 7/25 6/24 6/34 6/51 6/52 6/74 6.43 100.00
1 Waqar Younis 7/76 7/86 7/91 6/34 6/44 6/78 6/78 6.43 100.00
3 AA Donald 8/71 7/84 6/53 6/59 6/88 5/32 5/36 6.14 95.56
3 GD McGrath 8/38 7/76 6/47 6/85 6/86 5/28 5/32 6.14 95.56
5 CA Walsh 7/37 6/18 6/54 6/79 6/80 5/39 5/45 5.86 91.11
5 Wasim Akram 7/119 6/43 6/48 6/62 6/67 5/28 5/43 5.86 91.11
7 CJ McDermott 8/97 6/38 6/53 5/42 5/49 5/54 5/76 5.71 88.89
8 CL Cairns 7/27 6/52 6/77 5/31 5/44 5/50 5/62 5.57 86.67
9 SM Pollock 7/87 6/50 5/32 5/33 5/37 5/39 5/43 5.43 84.44
10 IR Bishop 6/40 5/32 5/41 5/43 5/84 4/22 4/29 4.86 75.56

PRIMARY RATING

The total of the above four criteria comes out to be 1,000.00 points. The Primary Rating is the addition of the points a bowler scored in the four criteria. The Weightage of the Rating is 40%.

RANK BOWLER PRO CON ATT BBW RAT PRI PTS
1 CEL Ambrose 200.00 400.00 241.09 100.00 941.09 376.44
2 Waqar Younis 176.70 334.70 300.00 100.00 911.40 364.56
3 AA Donald 183.82 355.47 276.54 95.56 911.39 364.55
4 Wasim Akram 187.06 354.49 252.65 91.11 885.30 354.12
5 GD McGrath 172.17 354.02 237.79 95.56 859.53 343.81
6 CA Walsh 196.76 315.13 213.71 91.11 816.71 326.69
7 SM Pollock 104.21 374.69 237.17 84.44 800.51 320.20
8 CJ McDermott 136.57 297.65 229.22 88.89 752.33 300.93
9 IR Bishop 93.85 337.64 240.70 75.56 747.75 299.10
10 CL Cairns 97.09 307.16 252.39 86.67 743.31 297.32

CONDITIONS CRITERIA

The Conditions

The Conditions Ratings are calculated by applying the four criteria of the Primary Rating to diffirent 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 30.00
Away 120.00
Favourable Conditions 30.00
Unfavourable Conditions 120.00

HOME/AWAY

HM/AW 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 Top Teams: 10

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 CEL Ambrose 71 172 19.45 51.76 935.44 28.06
2 AA Donald 59 156 21.88 45.29 881.13 26.43
3 Waqar Younis 43 129 18.60 36.64 880.70 26.42
4 Wasim Akram 45 118 18.86 43.03 850.48 25.51
5 CJ McDermott 54 146 24.25 49.74 839.19 25.18
6 SM Pollock 41 97 20.37 49.38 810.28 24.31
7 GD McGrath 58 133 23.09 54.17 799.67 23.99
8 CA Walsh 70 151 25.39 60.22 774.38 23.23
9 IR Bishop 29 55 24.98 51.95 681.80 20.45
10 CL Cairns 33 74 28.80 55.58 678.85 20.37

Away From Home

Min Innings Vs Top Teams: 10

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 AA Donald 46 128 21.77 46.34 904.85 108.58
2 CEL Ambrose 57 137 21.01 52.88 895.52 107.46
3 Wasim Akram 66 171 23.23 52.96 888.30 106.60
4 Waqar Younis 58 144 24.49 44.81 887.22 106.47
5 GD McGrath 54 133 22.67 50.77 873.97 104.88
6 CA Walsh 73 153 26.54 58.73 809.58 97.15
7 CL Cairns 37 76 29.00 53.62 772.04 92.64
8 IR Bishop 40 90 24.06 52.60 771.77 92.61
9 SM Pollock 26 64 20.59 57.50 761.38 91.37
10 CJ McDermott 31 65 31.63 66.11 584.48 70.14

FAVOURABLE/UNFAVOURABLE CONDITIONS

FC/UC 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 Top Teams: 10

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 CEL Ambrose 118 291 20.00 52.01 955.19 28.66
2 AA Donald 93 255 21.96 45.48 907.93 27.24
3 GD McGrath 96 239 21.74 50.72 879.59 26.39
4 SM Pollock 62 151 20.28 52.79 806.89 24.21
5 CA Walsh 125 264 26.31 60.61 792.67 23.78
6 CJ McDermott 76 190 25.93 53.83 767.06 23.01
7 IR Bishop 60 125 24.10 52.38 750.91 22.53
8 CL Cairns 52 120 27.94 53.84 717.04 21.51

Asians Outside Asia

Min Innings Vs All Teams: 5

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 Waqar Younis 50 128 24.55 45.54 958.71 28.76
2 Wasim Akram 54 139 24.35 55.65 954.60 28.64

Unfavourable Conditions Rating

Non Asians In Asia

Min Innings Vs All Teams: 5

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 CA Walsh 18 40 23.73 51.93 912.47 109.50
2 AA Donald 12 29 20.66 48.21 850.23 102.03
3 CL Cairns 18 30 32.73 57.57 811.15 97.34
4 CEL Ambrose 10 18 22.50 56.33 686.26 82.35
5 IR Bishop 9 20 26.30 52.20 686.20 82.34
6 GD McGrath 16 27 32.93 67.96 654.27 78.51
7 CJ McDermott 9 21 31.90 63.43 620.18 74.42
8 SM Pollock 5 10 23.20 49.80 618.58 74.23

Asians In Asia

Min Innings Vs Top Teams: 10

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 Wasim Akram 57 150 18.76 42.66 947.05 113.65
2 Waqar Younis 51 145 19.20 36.90 934.37 112.12

CONDITIONS RATING

The Conditions Rating is the addition of the points a bowler scored in the four criteria. The Weightage of the Rating is 30%.

RANK BOWLER AWAY HOME UC FC CON PTS
1 Wasim Akram 888.30 212.62 947.05 238.65 274.39
2 Waqar Younis 887.22 220.18 934.37 239.68 273.77
3 AA Donald 904.85 220.28 850.23 226.98 264.28
4 CA Walsh 809.58 193.60 912.47 198.17 253.66
5 CEL Ambrose 895.52 233.86 686.26 238.80 246.53
6 GD McGrath 873.97 199.92 654.27 219.90 233.77
7 CL Cairns 772.04 169.71 811.15 179.26 231.86
8 IR Bishop 771.77 170.45 686.20 187.73 217.94
9 SM Pollock 761.38 202.57 618.58 201.72 214.11
10 CJ McDermott 584.48 209.80 620.18 191.76 192.75

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
Top Form Home 30.00
Top Form Away 120.00
Impact Innings 150.00
TF RATING

Points to note about Top Form Rating:-

  • Top Form (TF) is calculated by taking the best 20 consecutive innings of a bowler.
  • There are two TF Ratings used in our DECADES Rating: Home and Away.

TOP FORM AT HOME

Min Innings Vs All Teams: 10

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 Waqar Younis 20 83 14.01 29.87 973.66 29.21
2 AA Donald 20 61 16.56 31.84 860.80 25.82
3 CEL Ambrose 20 51 15.25 43.61 792.44 23.77
4 SM Pollock 20 57 16.88 40.88 786.05 23.58
5 GD McGrath 20 62 18.42 42.53 765.84 22.98
6 Wasim Akram 20 57 17.39 39.09 751.69 22.55
7 CJ McDermott 20 57 20.40 44.00 746.43 22.39
8 CA Walsh 20 48 20.92 49.48 657.12 19.71
9 IR Bishop 20 44 21.39 46.32 651.04 19.53
10 CL Cairns 20 44 24.36 52.34 631.85 18.96

TOP FORM AWAY

Min Innings Vs All Teams: 10

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 Waqar Younis 20 68 17.91 31.74 971.77 116.61
2 GD McGrath 20 65 18.43 39.15 908.28 108.99
3 AA Donald 20 65 18.77 41.20 904.03 108.48
4 Wasim Akram 20 63 18.16 40.98 902.78 108.33
5 CEL Ambrose 20 65 17.32 48.85 886.63 106.40
6 CA Walsh 20 56 18.07 43.07 859.68 103.16
7 IR Bishop 20 54 17.20 40.67 847.86 101.74
8 CL Cairns 20 50 23.98 46.18 785.82 94.30
9 SM Pollock 20 53 19.06 56.87 767.89 92.15
10 CJ McDermott 20 51 24.16 51.98 689.02 82.68

IMPACT INNINGS

II RATING

Impact Innings (II) are those innings which have an impact either in terms of wickets or strike 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 5.
  • A Bowler equal to or more wickets than 2 at a good AVE or SR.
  • 1st and 2nd; and 3rd and 4th inns are clubbed together.
  • The required AVE or SR is calculated by the number of wickets taken.

Min Innings Vs Top Teams: 20

RANK BOWLER INNS II II Perc RAT WTG
1 AA Donald 105 63 60.00 986.90 148.03
2 CEL Ambrose 128 63 49.22 853.50 128.03
3 Waqar Younis 101 55 54.46 845.51 126.83
4 Wasim Akram 111 57 51.35 839.52 125.93
5 GD McGrath 112 54 48.21 795.30 119.29
6 CJ McDermott 85 43 50.59 785.46 117.82
7 SM Pollock 67 34 50.75 778.62 116.79
8 IR Bishop 69 30 43.48 654.52 98.18
9 CA Walsh 143 48 33.57 599.48 89.92
10 CL Cairns 70 29 41.43 598.10 89.71

SECONDARY RATING

The Secondary Rating is the addition of the points a bowler scored in the three criteria. The Weightage of the Rating is 30%.

RANK BOWLER TF HM TF AW II SEC RAT
1 AA Donald 25.82 108.48 148.03 282.34
2 Waqar Younis 29.21 116.61 126.83 272.65
3 CEL Ambrose 23.77 106.40 128.03 258.19
4 Wasim Akram 22.55 108.33 125.93 256.81
5 GD McGrath 22.98 108.99 119.29 251.26
6 SM Pollock 23.58 92.15 116.79 232.52
7 CJ McDermott 22.39 82.68 117.82 222.89
8 IR Bishop 19.53 101.74 98.18 219.45
9 CA Walsh 19.71 103.16 89.92 212.80
10 CL Cairns 18.96 94.30 89.71 202.97

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 RAT CON RAT SEC RAT FIN RAT
1 AA Donald SA 364.55 264.28 282.34 911.18
2 Waqar Younis PAK 364.56 273.77 272.65 910.98
3 Wasim Akram PAK 354.12 274.39 256.81 885.33
4 CEL Ambrose WI 376.44 246.53 258.19 881.16
5 GD McGrath AUS 343.81 233.77 251.26 828.84
6 CA Walsh WI 326.69 253.66 212.80 793.14
7 SM Pollock SA 320.20 214.11 232.52 766.83
8 IR Bishop WI 299.10 217.94 219.45 736.49
9 CL Cairns NZ 297.32 231.86 202.97 732.15
10 CJ McDermott AUS 300.93 192.75 222.89 716.57

TOP TEAMS

Top Teams In Asia

DECADE OF MAT 1 2 3 4 5 6
1950s AUS WI PAK IND ENG
1960s WI AUS PAK IND ENG SA
1970s PAK ENG IND WI SA AUS
1980s PAK WI ENG NZ AUS
1990s IND PAK SA AUS WI
2000s AUS IND SL PAK SA ENG
2010s IND PAK SL ENG SA AUS
2020s IND AUS PAK NZ SA ENG

Top Teams Outside Asia

DECADE OF MAT 1 2 3 4 5
1950s AUS ENG WI SA PAK
1960s ENG AUS WI SA NZ
1970s SA ENG WI AUS IND
1980s WI NZ AUS ENG PAK
1990s AUS SA WI PAK ENG
2000s AUS ENG SA IND NZ
2010s SA AUS ENG NZ IND
2020s AUS NZ SA ENG IND

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