Tests Decades - Best Fast Bowlers In 1990s Featured

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 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. 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. WKTS/INN
5.4. IMPACT INNINGS
5.5. 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, Wkts/Inn, 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 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 100

Against All Teams

RANK BOWLER INNS RUNS WKTS AVE R AVE RAT
TS CEL Ambrose 128 6224 309 20.14 20.49 200.00
1 CEL Ambrose 128 6224 309 20.14 20.49 200.00
2 SM Pollock 67 3294 161 20.46 21.35 191.96
3 Wasim Akram 111 6199 289 21.45 21.70 188.81
4 Waqar Younis 101 5927 273 21.71 22.31 183.66
5 AA Donald 105 6200 284 21.83 22.44 182.62
6 GD McGrath 112 6086 266 22.88 22.95 178.57
7 IR Bishop 69 3539 145 24.41 24.69 165.96
8 CA Walsh 143 7895 304 25.97 26.07 157.18
9 CJ McDermott 85 5597 211 26.53 26.61 154.01
10 CL Cairns 70 4335 150 28.90 27.73 147.78

Against Top Teams

RANK BOWLER INNS RUNS WKTS AVE R AVE RAT
TS CEL Ambrose 117 5760 288 20.00 20.34 200.00
1 CEL Ambrose 117 5760 288 20.00 20.34 200.00
2 SM Pollock 54 2738 131 20.90 21.81 186.58
3 Wasim Akram 89 5041 232 21.73 21.98 185.07
4 GD McGrath 100 5413 231 23.43 23.50 173.12
5 AA Donald 82 4999 216 23.14 23.79 171.05
6 IR Bishop 60 3092 128 24.16 24.44 166.49
7 Waqar Younis 77 4534 185 24.51 25.19 161.55
8 CA Walsh 134 7427 293 25.35 25.45 159.90
9 CJ McDermott 70 4592 170 27.01 27.09 150.17
10 CL Cairns 52 3127 107 29.22 28.04 145.10

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 100
RANK BOWLER INNS BALLS WKTS SR R SR RAT
TS Waqar Younis 101 11179 273 40.95 41.11 300.00
1 Waqar Younis 101 11179 273 40.95 41.11 300.00
2 AA Donald 105 12996 284 45.76 45.16 273.15
3 Wasim Akram 111 14134 289 48.91 48.62 253.68
4 CL Cairns 70 8188 150 54.59 51.16 241.09
5 GD McGrath 112 13956 266 52.47 51.88 237.76
6 CEL Ambrose 128 16148 309 52.26 52.06 236.93
7 IR Bishop 69 7591 145 52.35 52.33 235.69
8 SM Pollock 67 8470 161 52.61 52.48 235.01
9 CJ McDermott 85 11559 211 54.78 53.81 229.24
10 CA Walsh 143 18079 304 59.47 58.67 210.24

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 Wasim Akram 7/119 6/43 6/48 6/62 6/67 5/28 5/43 5.86 91.11
5 CA Walsh 7/37 6/18 6/54 6/79 6/80 5/39 5/45 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 half of the DECADES Rating, i.e. 500 pts.

RANK BOWLER PRO CON ATT BBW RAT PRI PTS
1 CEL Ambrose 200.00 400.00 236.93 100.00 936.93 468.47
2 Waqar Younis 176.70 345.21 300.00 100.00 921.91 460.96
3 AA Donald 183.82 353.67 273.15 95.56 906.20 453.10
4 Wasim Akram 187.06 373.89 253.68 91.11 905.74 452.87
5 GD McGrath 172.17 351.69 237.76 95.56 857.18 428.59
6 CA Walsh 196.76 317.07 210.24 91.11 815.19 407.60
7 SM Pollock 104.21 378.55 235.01 84.44 802.21 401.10
8 CJ McDermott 136.57 304.18 229.24 88.89 758.88 379.44
9 IR Bishop 93.85 332.45 235.69 75.56 737.55 368.78
10 CL Cairns 97.09 292.88 241.09 86.67 717.73 358.86

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 250.00
Away 1,000.00
Favourable Conditions 250.00
Unfavourable Conditions 1,000.00

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: 20

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 CEL Ambrose 71 172 19.45 51.76 924.51 231.13
2 Waqar Younis 43 129 18.60 36.64 897.53 224.38
3 AA Donald 59 156 21.88 45.29 870.51 217.63
4 Wasim Akram 45 118 18.86 43.03 858.23 214.56
5 CJ McDermott 54 146 24.25 49.74 833.74 208.43
6 SM Pollock 41 97 20.37 49.38 806.80 201.70
7 GD McGrath 58 133 23.09 54.17 795.52 198.88
8 CA Walsh 70 151 25.39 60.22 764.77 191.19
9 CL Cairns 33 74 28.80 55.58 670.07 167.52
10 IR Bishop 29 55 24.98 51.95 667.85 166.96

Away From Home

Min Innings: 20

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 Wasim Akram 66 171 23.23 52.96 920.81 920.81
2 AA Donald 46 128 21.77 46.34 901.27 901.27
3 Waqar Younis 58 144 24.49 44.81 899.78 899.78
4 CEL Ambrose 57 137 21.01 52.88 898.38 898.38
5 GD McGrath 54 133 22.67 50.77 877.01 877.01
6 CA Walsh 73 153 26.54 58.73 817.01 817.01
7 IR Bishop 40 90 24.06 52.60 774.66 774.66
8 SM Pollock 26 64 20.59 57.50 771.85 771.85
9 CL Cairns 37 76 29.00 53.62 737.71 737.71
10 CJ McDermott 31 65 31.63 66.11 610.48 610.48

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: 20

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 CEL Ambrose 118 291 20.00 52.01 953.79 238.45
2 AA Donald 93 255 21.96 45.48 908.95 227.24
3 GD McGrath 96 239 21.74 50.72 881.93 220.48
4 SM Pollock 62 151 20.28 52.79 815.21 203.80
5 CA Walsh 125 264 26.31 60.61 797.94 199.48
6 CJ McDermott 76 190 25.93 53.83 774.39 193.60
7 IR Bishop 60 125 24.10 52.38 749.25 187.31
8 CL Cairns 52 120 27.94 53.84 711.60 177.90

Asians Outside Asia

Min Innings: 10

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 Wasim Akram 54 139 24.35 55.65 963.64 240.91
2 Waqar Younis 50 128 24.55 45.54 954.48 238.62

Unfavourable Conditions Rating

Non Asians In Asia

Min Innings: 10

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 CA Walsh 18 40 23.73 51.93 950.58 950.58
2 AA Donald 12 29 20.66 48.21 874.02 874.02
3 CL Cairns 18 30 32.73 57.57 795.08 795.08
4 GD McGrath 16 27 32.93 67.96 699.16 699.16
5 CEL Ambrose 10 18 22.50 56.33 685.60 685.60
6 SM Pollock 5 10 23.20 49.80 500.00 500.00
6 IR Bishop 9 20 26.30 52.20 500.00 500.00
6 CJ McDermott 9 21 31.90 63.43 500.00 500.00

Asians In Asia

Min Innings: 20

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 Wasim Akram 57 150 18.76 42.66 944.16 944.16
2 Waqar Younis 51 145 19.20 36.90 941.26 941.26

CONDITIONS RATING

The total of the above four criteria comes out to be 2,500.00 points. The Conditions Rating is the addition of the points a bowler scored in the four criteria. The Weightage of the Rating is one-fourth of the DECADES Rating, i.e. 250 pts.

RANK BOWLER AWAY HOME UC FC TOT CON PTS
1 Wasim Akram 920.81 214.56 944.16 240.91 2,320.44 232.04
2 Waqar Younis 899.78 224.38 941.26 238.62 2,304.04 230.40
3 AA Donald 901.27 217.63 874.02 227.24 2,220.16 222.02
4 CA Walsh 817.01 191.19 950.58 199.48 2,158.27 215.83
5 CEL Ambrose 898.38 231.13 685.60 238.45 2,053.55 205.35
6 GD McGrath 877.01 198.88 699.16 220.48 1,995.53 199.55
7 CL Cairns 737.71 167.52 795.08 177.90 1,878.20 187.82
8 SM Pollock 771.85 201.70 500.00 203.80 1,677.36 167.74
9 IR Bishop 774.66 166.96 500.00 187.31 1,628.93 162.89
10 CJ McDermott 610.48 208.43 500.00 193.60 1,512.51 151.25

SECONDARY CRITERIA

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

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

CRITERIA POINTS
Top Form Home 200.00
Top Form Away 800.00
Wkts Per Inn 500.00
Impact Innings 1,000.00
TOP FORM RATING

Points to note about Top Form Rating:-

  • Top Form is calculated by taking the best 30 consecutive innings of a bowler.
  • There are two TF Ratings used in our DECADES Rating: Home and Away.

TOP FORM AT HOME

Min Innings: 10

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 Waqar Younis 30 102 17.58 34.56 942.63 188.53
2 AA Donald 30 90 18.28 37.27 872.35 174.47
3 Wasim Akram 30 84 17.98 39.71 829.09 165.82
4 GD McGrath 30 82 19.78 47.13 804.59 160.92
5 SM Pollock 30 76 18.18 43.87 803.62 160.72
6 CEL Ambrose 30 72 17.11 46.32 800.57 160.11
7 CJ McDermott 30 86 23.58 50.50 773.30 154.66
8 CA Walsh 30 74 22.43 50.54 716.39 143.28
9 CL Cairns 30 64 28.16 55.92 660.14 132.03
10 IR Bishop 29 55 24.98 51.95 624.27 124.85

TOP FORM AWAY

Min Innings: 10

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 Wasim Akram 30 93 19.95 45.20 930.26 744.21
2 Waqar Younis 30 90 20.94 37.64 920.10 736.08
3 AA Donald 30 92 20.82 42.54 914.56 731.65
4 GD McGrath 30 91 20.24 44.97 913.50 730.80
5 CEL Ambrose 30 82 17.85 50.32 890.82 712.66
6 CA Walsh 30 83 23.34 49.83 823.91 659.12
7 IR Bishop 30 74 21.51 48.74 786.88 629.51
8 CL Cairns 30 70 27.14 49.89 756.45 605.16
9 SM Pollock 26 64 20.59 57.50 754.12 603.30
10 CJ McDermott 30 64 30.86 65.36 627.52 502.02

WKTS/INN

WKTS/INN RATING

Points to note:-

  • This rating gives points for wkts taken per inn.
  • All Teams, Top Teams and Top 7 Batsmen are the criteria used.

Min Innings: 50

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS WKTS/INN RAT WTG
1 AA Donald 105 284 2.70 1,000.00 500.00
2 CJ McDermott 85 211 2.48 946.47 473.23
3 Waqar Younis 101 273 2.70 942.53 471.27
4 CEL Ambrose 128 309 2.41 914.46 457.23
5 Wasim Akram 111 289 2.60 895.33 447.66
6 SM Pollock 67 161 2.40 893.96 446.98
7 GD McGrath 112 266 2.38 889.12 444.56
8 CA Walsh 143 304 2.13 781.65 390.83
9 CL Cairns 70 150 2.14 780.08 390.04
10 IR Bishop 69 145 2.10 777.23 388.62

IMPACT INNINGS

Impact Innings (II)

Impact Innings 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: 50

RANK BOWLER INNS II II Perc RAT WTG
1 AA Donald 105 60 57.14 1,000.00 1,000.00
2 Waqar Younis 101 57 56.44 913.78 913.78
3 GD McGrath 112 52 46.43 797.21 797.21
4 CEL Ambrose 128 55 42.97 761.91 761.91
5 CJ McDermott 85 40 47.06 755.87 755.87
6 SM Pollock 67 32 47.76 736.29 736.29
7 Wasim Akram 111 47 42.34 723.88 723.88
8 IR Bishop 69 29 42.03 665.01 665.01
9 CL Cairns 70 29 41.43 615.66 615.66
10 CA Walsh 143 46 32.17 590.46 590.46

SECONDARY RATING

The total of the above three criteria comes out to be 2,500.00 points. The Conditions Rating is the addition of the points a bowler scored in the three criteria. The Weightage of the Rating is one-fourth of the DECADES Rating, i.e. 250 pts.

RANK BOWLER TF HM TF AW WPI II TOT SEC RAT
1 AA Donald 174.47 731.65 500.00 1,000.00 2,406.11 240.61
2 Waqar Younis 188.53 736.08 471.27 913.78 2,309.65 230.96
3 GD McGrath 160.92 730.80 444.56 797.21 2,133.49 213.35
4 CEL Ambrose 160.11 712.66 457.23 761.91 2,091.91 209.19
5 Wasim Akram 165.82 744.21 447.66 723.88 2,081.57 208.16
6 SM Pollock 160.72 603.30 446.98 736.29 1,947.29 194.73
7 CJ McDermott 154.66 502.02 473.23 755.87 1,885.78 188.58
8 IR Bishop 124.85 629.51 388.62 665.01 1,807.98 180.80
9 CA Walsh 143.28 659.12 390.83 590.46 1,783.69 178.37
10 CL Cairns 132.03 605.16 390.04 615.66 1,742.89 174.29

DECADES RATING

DECADES Rating is the addition of the points of all the above criteria. The rating is out of 1,000 Pts. Half the points are for Primary Criteria; one-fourth for Conditions; and one-fourth for Secondary Criteria.

RANK BOWLER NAT PRI RAT CON RAT SEC RAT FIN RAT
1 Waqar Younis PAK 460.96 230.40 230.96 922.32
2 AA Donald SA 453.10 222.02 240.61 915.73
3 Wasim Akram PAK 452.87 232.04 208.16 893.07
4 CEL Ambrose WI 468.47 205.35 209.19 883.01
5 GD McGrath AUS 428.59 199.55 213.35 841.49
6 CA Walsh WI 407.60 215.83 178.37 801.79
7 SM Pollock SA 401.10 167.74 194.73 763.57
8 CL Cairns NZ 358.86 187.82 174.29 720.97
9 CJ McDermott AUS 379.44 151.25 188.58 719.27
10 IR Bishop WI 368.78 162.89 180.80 712.47

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 NZ ENG
1970s PAK ENG IND WI SA
1980s PAK WI ENG NZ IND
1990s IND PAK SA AUS SL WI
2000s AUS IND SL PAK SA ENG
2010s IND PAK SL ENG NZ SA
2020s IND AUS PAK NZ ENG SL

Top Teams Outside Asia

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

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