Tests Decades - Best Fast Bowlers In 2000s Featured

Top Test 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 Test Cricket in the 2000s.

*Note: All Test Ratings are updated till 2023-08-09

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. TOP 7 VICTIMS
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, Top 7 Batsmen
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 25
Min Wickets (TS AVE SR) 50

PRIMARY CRITERIA

PROLIFIC

Criteria: Points For Wickets Taken

RANK BOWLER NAT INNS WKTS RAT
TS M Ntini SA 182 380 200.00
1 M Ntini SA 182 380 200.00
2 GD McGrath AUS 131 297 156.32
3 SM Pollock SA 135 260 136.84
4 MJ Hoggard ENG 122 248 130.53
5 WPUJC Vaas SL 141 247 130.00
6 JN Gillespie AUS 113 209 110.00
7 DW Steyn SA 63 172 90.53
8 Shoaib Akhtar PAK 57 144 75.79
9 CA Walsh WI 36 93 48.95
10 Mohammad Asif PAK 29 73 38.42

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

Against All Teams

RANK BOWLER INNS RUNS WKTS AVE R AVE RAT
TS CA Walsh 36 1835 93 19.73 16.79 200.00
1 CA Walsh 36 1835 93 19.73 16.79 200.00
2 GD McGrath 131 6100 297 20.54 18.26 183.90
3 Mohammad Asif 29 1680 73 23.01 19.10 175.84
4 Shoaib Akhtar 57 3199 144 22.22 19.41 173.01
5 DW Steyn 63 4123 172 23.97 21.60 155.51
6 SM Pollock 135 6439 260 24.77 22.64 148.36
7 JN Gillespie 113 5662 209 27.09 24.06 139.59
8 M Ntini 182 10884 380 28.64 26.08 128.76
9 WPUJC Vaas 141 7335 247 29.70 26.12 128.58
10 MJ Hoggard 122 7564 248 30.50 27.34 122.87

Against Top Teams

RANK BOWLER INNS RUNS WKTS AVE R AVE RAT
TS CA Walsh 27 1409 70 20.13 17.13 200.00
1 CA Walsh 27 1409 70 20.13 17.13 200.00
2 GD McGrath 95 4701 224 20.99 18.66 183.60
3 Mohammad Asif 29 1680 73 23.01 19.10 179.38
4 Shoaib Akhtar 42 2534 101 25.09 21.92 156.28
5 DW Steyn 47 3276 126 26.00 23.43 146.26
6 SM Pollock 84 4310 165 26.12 23.88 143.49
7 JN Gillespie 77 4155 134 31.01 27.54 124.41
8 MJ Hoggard 72 4675 143 32.69 29.30 116.94
9 M Ntini 114 7292 222 32.85 29.91 114.54
10 WPUJC Vaas 97 5311 153 34.71 30.53 112.22

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

RANK BOWLER INNS BALLS WKTS SR R SR RAT
TS Shoaib Akhtar 57 5714 144 39.68 38.15 300.00
1 Shoaib Akhtar 57 5714 144 39.68 38.15 300.00
2 DW Steyn 63 6880 172 40.00 40.32 283.85
3 Mohammad Asif 29 3351 73 45.90 42.93 266.59
4 GD McGrath 131 15292 297 51.49 50.28 227.62
5 M Ntini 182 20082 380 52.85 53.33 214.58
6 CA Walsh 36 5323 93 57.24 53.55 213.72
7 JN Gillespie 113 12008 209 57.45 55.74 205.31
8 MJ Hoggard 122 13909 248 56.08 55.94 204.58
9 SM Pollock 135 15883 260 61.09 61.29 186.71
10 WPUJC Vaas 141 16087 247 65.13 62.58 182.88

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 GD McGrath 8/24 7/76 6/17 6/50 6/115 5/21 5/37 6.14 100.00
1 GD McGrath 8/24 7/76 6/17 6/50 6/115 5/21 5/37 6.14 100.00
1 WPUJC Vaas 7/71 7/120 6/22 6/29 6/73 6/108 5/31 6.14 100.00
3 MJ Hoggard 7/61 7/63 7/109 6/57 5/73 5/92 5/144 6.00 97.67
4 M Ntini 7/37 6/59 6/66 6/95 6/100 5/19 5/35 5.86 95.35
5 Shoaib Akhtar 6/11 6/30 6/50 5/21 5/24 5/48 5/60 5.43 88.37
5 SM Pollock 6/30 6/39 6/56 6/78 5/28 5/40 4/24 5.43 88.37
7 DW Steyn 6/49 6/72 5/23 5/34 5/47 5/56 5/59 5.29 86.05
8 CA Walsh 6/61 6/74 5/22 5/36 5/83 4/43 4/50 5.00 81.40
9 Mohammad Asif 6/44 5/27 5/67 5/76 5/89 4/40 4/41 4.86 79.07
9 JN Gillespie 6/40 5/39 5/53 5/56 5/89 4/24 4/25 4.86 79.07

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 GD McGrath 156.32 367.50 227.62 100.00 851.44 425.72
2 Shoaib Akhtar 75.79 329.29 300.00 88.37 793.45 396.73
3 DW Steyn 90.53 301.77 283.85 86.05 762.20 381.10
4 M Ntini 200.00 243.31 214.58 95.35 753.24 376.62
5 CA Walsh 48.95 400.00 213.72 81.40 744.06 372.03
6 Mohammad Asif 38.42 355.22 266.59 79.07 739.30 369.65
7 SM Pollock 136.84 291.85 186.71 88.37 703.78 351.89
8 MJ Hoggard 130.53 239.81 204.58 97.67 672.60 336.30
9 JN Gillespie 110.00 264.00 205.31 79.07 658.38 329.19
10 WPUJC Vaas 130.00 240.80 182.88 100.00 653.69 326.84

CONDITIONS CRITERIA

The Conditions

The Conditions Ratings are calculated by applying the four criteria of the Primary Rating to diffirent conditions. Unfavourable Conditions (UC) is Outside Asia for spin bowlers and In Asia for pacers. Favourable Conditions (FC) is the opposite. If Innings are less than the Qualification than the Player gets 50% of the Points. Here are those conditions and their weightage:-

  • HOME – 250 PTS
  • AWAY – 1,000 PTS
  • FC – 250 PTS
  • UC – 1,000 PTS

HOME/AWAY

At Home

Min Innings: 10

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 M Ntini 99 245 23.83 44.90 825.42 206.36
2 GD McGrath 73 156 21.87 55.29 777.37 194.34
3 Shoaib Akhtar 34 86 23.67 41.94 754.44 188.61
4 DW Steyn 38 100 23.69 40.13 747.18 186.80
5 WPUJC Vaas 82 148 24.84 57.68 735.42 183.86
6 CA Walsh 19 48 19.13 58.40 733.05 183.26
7 SM Pollock 68 138 21.59 54.80 728.54 182.13
8 JN Gillespie 51 101 24.85 56.13 658.72 164.68
9 MJ Hoggard 60 122 30.74 54.86 602.44 150.61
10 Mohammad Asif 7 10 42.30 81.10 500.00 125.00

Away From Home

Min Innings: 10

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 GD McGrath 58 141 19.06 47.28 895.06 895.06
2 Shoaib Akhtar 23 58 20.05 36.33 835.95 835.95
3 Mohammad Asif 22 63 19.95 40.32 809.21 809.21
4 DW Steyn 25 72 24.36 39.82 760.53 760.53
5 CA Walsh 17 45 20.38 56.00 725.73 725.73
6 MJ Hoggard 62 126 30.27 57.27 702.38 702.38
7 SM Pollock 67 122 28.36 68.20 659.94 659.94
8 JN Gillespie 62 108 29.19 58.69 643.27 643.27
9 M Ntini 83 135 37.38 67.27 625.99 625.99
10 WPUJC Vaas 59 99 36.96 76.26 538.30 538.30

FAVOURABLE/UNFAVOURABLE CONDITIONS

Favourable Conditions Rating

Non Asians Outside Asia

Min Innings: 10

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 GD McGrath 111 252 21.15 52.29 818.84 204.71
2 M Ntini 150 332 27.79 50.82 757.99 189.50
3 CA Walsh 36 93 19.73 57.24 748.74 187.18
4 DW Steyn 47 126 24.84 41.98 706.04 176.51
5 SM Pollock 109 210 25.14 61.76 672.71 168.18
6 MJ Hoggard 97 198 31.08 55.29 643.45 160.86
7 JN Gillespie 87 155 28.53 60.14 599.56 149.89

Asians Outside Asia

Min Innings: 5

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 Shoaib Akhtar 13 37 19.73 33.62 806.73 201.68
2 Mohammad Asif 18 46 23.35 45.57 725.03 181.26
3 WPUJC Vaas 39 60 41.08 82.95 572.52 143.13

Unfavourable Conditions Rating

Non Asians In Asia

Min Innings: 5

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 DW Steyn 16 46 21.59 34.57 893.73 893.73
2 GD McGrath 20 45 17.09 47.02 861.47 861.47
3 JN Gillespie 26 54 22.96 49.76 840.95 840.95
4 SM Pollock 26 50 23.18 58.26 797.06 797.06
5 MJ Hoggard 25 50 28.22 59.24 760.04 760.04
6 M Ntini 32 48 34.52 66.90 675.06 675.06
7 CA Walsh 0 0 NA NA 500.00 500.00

Asians In Asia

Min Innings: 10

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 Shoaib Akhtar 44 107 23.07 41.78 824.25 824.25
2 WPUJC Vaas 102 187 26.04 59.41 802.46 802.46
3 Mohammad Asif 11 27 22.44 46.48 788.42 788.42

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 GD McGrath 895.06 194.34 861.47 204.71 2,155.58 215.56
2 Shoaib Akhtar 835.95 188.61 824.25 201.68 2,050.49 205.05
3 DW Steyn 760.53 186.80 893.73 176.51 2,017.57 201.76
4 Mohammad Asif 809.21 125.00 788.42 181.26 1,903.88 190.39
5 SM Pollock 659.94 182.13 797.06 168.18 1,807.32 180.73
6 JN Gillespie 643.27 164.68 840.95 149.89 1,798.79 179.88
7 MJ Hoggard 702.38 150.61 760.04 160.86 1,773.89 177.39
8 M Ntini 625.99 206.36 675.06 189.50 1,696.91 169.69
9 WPUJC Vaas 538.30 183.86 802.46 143.13 1,667.75 166.77
10 CA Walsh 725.73 183.26 500.00 187.18 1,596.18 159.62

SECONDARY CRITERIA

Top Form And Top 7 Victims

The Secondary Rating consists of three parts. Top Form is calculated by taking the best 30 consecutive innings of a bowler such that his overall points are maximum. Top Form is calculated seperately for Home and Away innings. Top 7 Victims are defined as the wickets taken by the bowler against the top 7 batsmen by batting order against Top Teams. 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:-

  • TOP FORM AT HOME – 500 PTS
  • TOP FORM AWAY – 1,000 PTS
  • TOP 7 VICTIMS – 1,000 PTS

TOP FORM AT HOME

Min Innings: 5

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 DW Steyn 30 88 20.05 35.17 911.79 455.90
2 M Ntini 30 96 20.86 38.63 904.16 452.08
3 Shoaib Akhtar 30 82 21.74 39.21 891.19 445.60
4 GD McGrath 30 68 17.63 45.59 857.36 428.68
5 WPUJC Vaas 30 67 20.39 49.13 823.90 411.95
6 SM Pollock 30 70 17.54 47.87 821.14 410.57
7 JN Gillespie 30 69 21.41 49.19 773.33 386.66
8 CA Walsh 19 48 19.13 58.40 724.76 362.38
9 MJ Hoggard 30 67 25.37 43.01 722.24 361.12
10 Mohammad Asif 7 10 42.30 81.10 354.80 177.40

TOP FORM AWAY

Min Innings: 5

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 GD McGrath 30 81 15.93 41.36 958.06 958.06
2 Shoaib Akhtar 23 58 20.05 36.33 839.30 839.30
3 DW Steyn 25 72 24.36 39.82 835.74 835.74
4 Mohammad Asif 22 63 19.95 40.32 835.50 835.50
5 MJ Hoggard 30 69 26.23 51.25 783.62 783.62
6 SM Pollock 30 63 22.98 54.27 744.39 744.39
7 CA Walsh 17 45 20.38 56.00 714.54 714.54
8 JN Gillespie 30 58 23.91 55.45 699.54 699.54
9 M Ntini 30 59 29.24 54.36 698.00 698.00
10 WPUJC Vaas 30 58 30.83 63.50 641.95 641.95

TOP 7 VICTIMS

Min Innings: 25

RANK BOWLER INNS T7 WKTS PERC WT/IN T7 RAT WTG
1 Mohammad Asif 29 60 82.19 2.07 868.97 868.97
2 GD McGrath 131 169 56.90 1.29 747.36 747.36
3 CA Walsh 36 51 54.84 1.42 671.53 671.53
4 Shoaib Akhtar 57 73 50.69 1.28 573.02 573.02
5 M Ntini 182 174 45.79 0.96 565.43 565.43
6 DW Steyn 63 77 44.77 1.22 555.84 555.84
7 WPUJC Vaas 141 123 49.80 0.87 522.84 522.84
8 MJ Hoggard 122 107 43.15 0.88 520.04 520.04
9 SM Pollock 135 119 45.77 0.88 501.52 501.52
10 JN Gillespie 113 104 49.76 0.92 499.31 499.31

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 T7 WKTS TOT SEC RAT
1 GD McGrath 428.68 958.06 747.36 2,134.10 213.41
2 Mohammad Asif 177.40 835.50 868.97 1,881.86 188.19
3 Shoaib Akhtar 445.60 839.30 573.02 1,857.91 185.79
4 DW Steyn 455.90 835.74 555.84 1,847.47 184.75
5 CA Walsh 362.38 714.54 671.53 1,748.45 174.84
6 M Ntini 452.08 698.00 565.43 1,715.50 171.55
7 MJ Hoggard 361.12 783.62 520.04 1,664.79 166.48
8 SM Pollock 410.57 744.39 501.52 1,656.47 165.65
9 JN Gillespie 386.66 699.54 499.31 1,585.51 158.55
10 WPUJC Vaas 411.95 641.95 522.84 1,576.74 157.67

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 GD McGrath AUS 425.72 215.56 213.41 854.69
2 Shoaib Akhtar PAK 396.73 205.05 185.79 787.57
3 DW Steyn SA 381.10 201.76 184.75 767.60
4 Mohammad Asif PAK 369.65 190.39 188.19 748.23
5 M Ntini SA 376.62 169.69 171.55 717.86
6 CA Walsh WI 372.03 159.62 174.84 706.49
7 SM Pollock SA 351.89 180.73 165.65 698.27
8 MJ Hoggard ENG 336.30 177.39 166.48 680.17
9 JN Gillespie AUS 329.19 179.88 158.55 667.62
10 WPUJC Vaas SL 326.84 166.77 157.67 651.29

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 SL IND PAK SA ENG
2010s IND PAK SL ENG SA AUS
2020s IND ENG PAK AUS NZ

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 SA ENG IND NZ
2010s SA AUS ENG NZ IND
2020s AUS NZ SA ENG IND

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