My XI
'Marshall is my No. 1 fast bowler'
Part 11: Graham Gooch on his toughest competitors: Malcolm Marshall was the most intelligent quick bowler ever
Producer: Tanveer Gogada
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- Players/Officials : Malcolm Marshall
Jan 29, 2016 Part 11: Graham Gooch on his toughest competitors: Malcolm Marshall was the most intelligent quick bowler ever
Producer: Tanveer Gogada
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is this list going from 11 - 1 being the best competitor being number 11?
I have never seen Malcolm Marshall. But his bowling career average shows his class. Best thing about Malcolm Marshall. He didn't picked wicket only on seaming wickets, he also picked wickets in dead pitches. I have seen some videos of Malcolm Marshall on YouTube. I think he's mostly deceptive fast bowler. Batsmen mostly miss read his delivery because of his height. It's really hard for any batsmen. When they were facing 4 fast bowlers pair, 3 of them were over 6ft and then 4th one comes with short height. Marshal hit deck very hard and also swing bowl in both way, which was his Xfactor.
In my limited knowledge if anyone would have asked me which bowler gave Gooch the most problems, I wouldn't have said Marshall, but I'd have gone for Terry Alderman.
I have spoken to a couple of guys who faced Marshall. Their response when asked if he was genuinely fast was extremely dismissive, in fairly offensive terms, about anyone who said he was'nt. Not the fastest ever, not top 5 fastest, but a genuine fast bowler, People tend to think tall bowlers who make the ball fly through more are quicker, speed guns show up this fallacy.
Whoever did the sound for this clip needs a good talking-to. I'm not sure if the issues were with recording, editing, or mastering, but regardless, it's poor. Still, great to (mostly/almost) hear Gooch waxing poetic over Marshall, who surely was one of the greatest - if not perhaps *the* greatest - fast bowlers every to play the game.
It is impossible to make an aboslutely accurate rating of Marshall's position amongst great paceman as he played for a champion team ,arguably the best team ever,against relatively weaker opposition.However that could have prevented him from acheiving greater statistical milestones or more staggering figures.Marshall may have had 5 wicket hauls or 10 wicket scalps like Richard Hadlee or surpassed Hadlee's aggreagate playing for a weak team.Ona green top Hadlee or Mcgrath may have overshadowed Marshall,on a broken top Ambrose may have been more lethal about on flat wicket arguably even Lillee did not posess Marshall's craft and innovative ability.I think in the final xi the most suitable accomplices for Marshall would be Wasim Akram and Richard Hadlee which to me would blend control ,pace and innovation in perfect proportion.
Overall Marshall may just make the top dozen cricketers of all time if you asses impact on games and contribution to team's performance.
Malcolm Marshall was not as clasically complete as Dennis Lillee,as fast as Jeff Thomson,as accurate as Ambrose or as relentless as Curtly Ambrose,but in terms of creativity and originality he surpased all those great fast bowlers.In many ways he was a connoction of all of them.He could bowl a ball in a manner other bowlers could not like when he swung a ball at different angles and at different speeds or deployed the skidding bouncer.Wasim Akram was marginally more talented or creative but lacked Marshall's agression and consistency nor could equal Marshall's mastery over the skidding bouncer.Marshall had the trajectory for the flat wickets of the sub-continent as lhe showed in India in 1983-84 and in Pakistan in 1986.His best spells to me were at Adeiaide in 1984-85 and in Sydney in 1988-89 ,the latter on a flat turning pitch.
From 1983-1991 his figures were staggering taking 342 wickets in around 70 tests at an average of around 19.6 and strike rate of around 40.
Malcolm Marshall was the most lethal of all fast bowlers.There were paceman quicker,more accurate and more aesthetic but none craftier of more intelligent.No right-arm pace bowler was as creative as Malcolm .Marshall blended the skill of a surgeon with the creativity of a musician,stamina of a workhorse and the agression of a boxer .No bowler ever posessed such mastery in skidding a cricket ball which at times produced unplayable slithering bounce.Marshall could bowl and outswinger and inswinger with the same action making it often impossible for the batsmen to read.Malcolm' strike rate of 46.7 and average of 20.94 is better than greats like Lillee,Mcgrath,Hadlee.or Akram.Statistically Marshall.In games won Marshall had a better average than any post-war quickie.Considering he palyed amonst 3 of the best ever fast bowlers those figures are phenomenal.No bowler ever in a series in England supassed Marshall's peformance in 1988 when he took 35 wickets bowling more at fast-medium.
Malcolm marshall is not fast bowler and he is not that fast. But fast really do not mean speed here though. He was deceptive. Because of his action he can change length last minute after batsman made his move. He is master of length more than speed. His ball always dips on length. All the balls. Only waqar younis able to have that kinda dip. He has best technique for the fast bowler. Not even wasim akram. Wasim akram can make ball talk but inorder to get wicket you really have to have full mastery of length. Because of his action , his bouncers were life threatening because he delivers ball so late that batsman really do not have time to adjust. Malcolm marshall was quick. I always felt quickness is better than pure speed. I watched old videos of malcolm marshall now and see how batsman were scared of him. I give edge to malcolm marshall over akram because marshall was more scary. Akram with all god given skills , big show off than assasin.