After doing a series of stats Comparison articles about the best wicket keepers and having so much fun writing them, it is now time to talk about 3 of the best fast bowlers in test cricket and they did extremely well in ODI Cricket as well. These 3 were the best fast bowlers for their nations and 3 of the very best of the last 25 years. We will be talking about James Anderson, Glenn McGrath and Dale Steyn. And we will be starting with Jimmy Anderson vs Glenn McGrath.
Before we get into the stats Comparison I just want to say thank you to all these 3 great bowlers that they entertained us for the last 25 years and ever since the time I started watching cricket these 3 were on my TV screens and especially in test cricket they have taken more than 1600 wickets combined which is mind boggling.
Let’s get to the stats Comparison of James Anderson vs Glenn McGrath
James Anderson
Jimmy Anderson is the only one among the 3 that is still actively playing test cricket and he is also the leading wicket taker amongst the 3. Jimmy Anderson is the best England fast bowler and that is a big statement because England have had a lot of great fast bowlers over the 100+ years they have been playing test cricket and he has done really well in ODI Cricket too.
Test Cricket
In Test Cricket Jimmy Anderson is like the Sachin Tendulkar of fast bowling as all the records are in his name and he has played the second most number of test matches in the history of the game at 175. He has till now taken 667 Test Wickets In his career and he very well might be the 1st fast bowler to take 700 Test Wickets. He is simply a phenomenon as approaching 40 years old he is still in peak fitness.
Also Read | Best James Anderson bowling performances
ODI Cricket
Jimmy Anderson was also extremely successful in ODI Cricket as well but very few people talk about it. He played 194 ODIs for England and in those Matches he took 269 ODI wickets and this is amongst the highest wicket takers in ODI Cricket for England. Jimmy Anderson has taken a total of 936 international wickets so far.
Glenn McGrath
Glenn McGrath was the perfect fast bowler for both formats of the game and he was equally successful and he was someone who did not have much pace but he used his line and lengths and all the batters got out to him as he could bowl on one spot. I loved watching him bowl and he troubled the greatest batters on a regular basis.
Also Read: Glenn McGrath vs Dale Steyn - Stats Comparison as Fast Bowler
Test Cricket
Glenn McGrath in my opinion is the best fast that Australia has ever seen in test cricket and the numbers also say the same. Glenn McGrath has played a total of 124 Test Matches and he took 563 Test Wickets in his career and in those he took 29 Five wicket hauls in his test career and he was a true legend. Glenn McGrath held the record for the record for the most wickets by a fast bowler in test cricket before it was broken by James Anderson
Also Read | Best bowling performances of Glenn McGrath
ODI Cricket
Glenn McGrath was equally successful in ODI Cricket as well as he played 250 ODIs for Australia and in those Matches he has taken a total of 381 wickets which is one of the most in the history of ODI cricket. He took 7 Five wicket hauls in ODI cricket and he was the lead bowler has Australia won 2 World Cups in 2003 and 2007.
Stats Comparison
It is so hard to compare these 2 greats of the game but by purely looking at the stats then in test cricket Jimmy Anderson is ahead of Glenn McGrath because he has more test wickets and he has played for a far longer period of time and has been consistent for 20 years. In ODI Cricket it is Glenn McGrath who takes the lead as he has got more than 100 wickets than Jimmy Anderson.
Also Read: Dale Steyn vs James Anderson - Stats Comparison as Fast Bowler
