The best bowling trios in Test cricket
Determining the best bowling trios in Test matches by analysing various performance aspects of a bowling attack
Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath were the common factors in two great bowling trios in Test cricket • Getty Images
The bowling trios have been selected after a lot of preliminary analysis. Some of the wonderful bowling pairs did not have a third bowler to match their skills, while a few of the other bowling pairs had two high-quality third bowlers. I have selected 14 bowling trios and presented their numeric summaries only. My custom graphs have been well received but those will have to wait for the new year under a different article. I have made brief comments after every table and presented a concluding summary at the end.
Initially a brief list of the bowler trios which were considered but not included. It is unlikely that significant bowler trios beyond this list exist. I would not be doing any work on a reader-suggested bowler trio unless it is a genuine oversight on my part.
Bowling trio Tests Wkts
Warne, McGrath & Lee
P01. Total: 519 @ 25.53 Warne 202 @ 25.27, McGrath 170 @ 21.64, Lee 147 @ 30.37 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Warne : 1181(1992)-1826(2007) 202 @ 25.27 (506 @ 25.47) 99.2% McGrath : 1235(1993)-1826(2007) 170 @ 21.64 (393 @ 21.65) 100.0% Lee : 1479(1999)-1902(2008) 147 @ 30.37 ( 84 @ 33.74) 90.0% Trio Career: 1479(1999) to 1826(2007) All matches: 177 Wins: 111 (62.7%) Trio matches: 38 Wins: 30 (78.9%) Trio Home matches: 21 Wins: 17 (81.0%) Trio Away matches: 17 Wins: 13 (76.5%) Non-Trio matches: 139 Wins: 81 (58.3%) Non-Trio Home matches: 69 Wins: 46 (66.7%) Non-Trio Away matches: 70 Wins: 35 (50.0%) Team Wkts: 680 @ 26.56 Team WpT: 17.89 Trio WpT: 13.66 (76.3%) Balls: 36518 Trio %: 74.1 Warne %: 28.9 McGrath %: 24.4 Lee %: 20.9 Wkts: 680 Trio %: 76.3 Warne %: 29.7 McGrath %: 25.0 Lee %: 21.6 S/R: 53.7 Trio : 52.2 Warne : 52.2 McGrath : 52.4 Lee : 51.9
Lee brought in a much higher match-winning quality and raised the Warne/McGrath win % by well over 10% to an incredible 79%. That is 4 out of 5 Tests. Lee had the best strike rate amongst all three. These three captured over 75% of all team wickets.
Warne, McGrath & Gillespie
P02. Total: 625 @ 24.38 Warne 222 @ 26.81, McGrath 247 @ 19.34, Gillespie 156 @ 28.90 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Warne : 1181(1992)-1826(2007) 222 @ 26.81 (463 @ 24.50) 109.4% McGrath : 1235(1993)-1826(2007) 247 @ 19.34 (295 @ 23.42) 82.6% Gillespie : 1343(1996)-1799(2006) 156 @ 28.90 (103 @ 21.96) 131.6% Trio Career: 1343(1996) to 1760(2005) All matches: 172 Wins: 106 (61.6%) Trio matches: 47 Wins: 30 (63.8%) Trio Home matches: 16 Wins: 11 (68.8%) Trio Away matches: 31 Wins: 19 (61.3%) Non-Trio matches: 125 Wins: 76 (60.8%) Non-Trio Home matches: 69 Wins: 47 (68.1%) Non-Trio Away matches: 56 Wins: 29 (51.8%) Team Wkts: 803 @ 26.81 Team WpT: 17.09 Trio WpT: 13.30 (77.8%) Balls: 43993 Trio %: 74.6 Warne %: 28.3 McGrath %: 25.6 Gillespie %: 20.7 Wkts: 803 Trio %: 77.8 Warne %: 27.6 McGrath %: 30.8 Gillespie %: 19.4 S/R: 54.8 Trio : 52.5 Warne : 56.0 McGrath : 45.6 Gillespie : 58.2
The combination of Warne, McGrath and Gillespie gathered the most wickets by any bowling trio. Gillespie under-performed when bowling with the other two greats. McGrath raised his game significantly.
Miller, Lindwall & Johnston
P03. Total: 391 @ 22.96 Miller 107 @ 22.98, Lindwall 144 @ 22.12, Johnston 140 @ 23.80 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Miller : 0275(1946)-0430(1956) 107 @ 22.98 ( 40 @ 23.05) 99.7% Lindwall : 0275(1946)-0487(1960) 144 @ 22.12 ( 48 @ 21.06) 105.0% Johnston : 0290(1947)-0408(1955) 140 @ 23.80 ( 20 @ 24.70) 96.4% Trio Career: 0290(1947) to 0408(1955) All matches: 51 Wins: 30 (58.8%) Trio matches: 36 Wins: 24 (66.7%) Trio Home matches: 20 Wins: 14 (70.0%) Trio Away matches: 16 Wins: 10 (62.5%) Non-Trio matches: 15 Wins: 6 (40.0%) Non-Trio Home matches: 10 Wins: 4 (40.0%) Non-Trio Away matches: 5 Wins: 2 (40.0%) Team Wkts: 627 @ 24.63 Team WpT: 17.42 Trio WpT: 10.86 (62.4%) Balls: 41201 Trio %: 59.0 Miller %: 16.0 Lindwall %: 19.3 Johnston %: 23.7 Wkts: 627 Trio %: 62.4 Miller %: 17.1 Lindwall %: 23.0 Johnston %: 22.3 S/R: 65.7 Trio : 62.1 Miller : 61.5 Lindwall : 55.2 Johnston : 69.7
This trio of the 1950s has a very good winning percentage for that era.
Walsh, Ambrose & Bishop
P04. Total: 412 @ 23.92 Walsh 135 @ 25.27, Ambrose 139 @ 22.26, Bishop 138 @ 24.26 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Walsh : 0997(1984)-1544(2001) 135 @ 25.27 (384 @ 24.25) 104.2% Ambrose : 1095(1988)-1509(2000) 139 @ 22.26 (267 @ 20.43) 109.0% Bishop : 1117(1989)-1407(1998) 138 @ 24.26 ( 25 @ 24.56) 98.8% Trio Career: 1117(1989) to 1407(1998) All matches: 110 Wins: 51 (46.4%) Trio matches: 37 Wins: 16 (43.2%) Trio Home matches: 18 Wins: 9 (50.0%) Trio Away matches: 19 Wins: 7 (36.8%) Non-Trio matches: 73 Wins: 35 (47.9%) Non-Trio Home matches: 34 Wins: 18 (52.9%) Non-Trio Away matches: 39 Wins: 17 (43.6%) Team Wkts: 561 @ 27.40 Team WpT: 15.16 Trio WpT: 11.14 (73.4%) Balls: 34147 Trio %: 65.5 Walsh %: 22.3 Ambrose %: 22.4 Bishop %: 20.8 Wkts: 561 Trio %: 73.4 Walsh %: 24.1 Ambrose %: 24.8 Bishop %: 24.6 S/R: 60.9 Trio : 54.3 Walsh : 56.5 Ambrose : 54.9 Bishop : 51.4
A very even distribution of the spoils. But the win % dropped due to the general decline in West Indian cricket.
Holding, Garner & Marshall
P05. Total: 331 @ 22.51 Holding 98 @ 25.63, Garner 110 @ 21.04, Marshall 123 @ 21.33 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Holding : 0764(1975)-1068(1987) 98 @ 25.63 (151 @ 22.85) 112.2% Garner : 0797(1977)-1072(1987) 110 @ 21.04 (151 @ 21.13) 99.5% Marshall : 0837(1978)-1175(1991) 123 @ 21.33 (253 @ 20.93) 101.9% Trio Career: 0880(1980) to 1068(1987) All matches: 92 Wins: 42 (45.7%) Trio matches: 26 Wins: 16 (61.5%) Trio Home matches: 15 Wins: 10 (66.7%) Trio Away matches: 11 Wins: 6 (54.5%) Non-Trio matches: 66 Wins: 26 (39.4%) Non-Trio Home matches: 22 Wins: 11 (50.0%) Non-Trio Away matches: 44 Wins: 15 (34.1%) Team Wkts: 444 @ 24.18 Team WpT: 17.08 Trio WpT: 12.73 (74.5%) Balls: 24588 Trio %: 67.5 Holding %: 21.3 Garner %: 22.9 Marshall %: 23.4 Wkts: 444 Trio %: 74.5 Holding %: 22.1 Garner %: 24.8 Marshall %: 27.7 S/R: 55.4 Trio : 50.2 Holding : 53.4 Garner : 51.1 Marshall : 46.8
Good win % and share of team wickets.
Sobers, Gibbs & Hall
P06. Total: 421 @ 27.75 Sobers 124 @ 30.73, Gibbs 161 @ 25.93, Hall 136 @ 27.18 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Sobers : 0386(1954)-0738(1974) 124 @ 30.73 (112 @ 38.10) 80.7% Gibbs : 0448(1958)-0770(1976) 161 @ 25.93 (149 @ 32.78) 79.1% Hall : 0459(1958)-0648(1969) 136 @ 27.18 ( 56 @ 24.59) 110.6% Trio Career: 0461(1958) to 0648(1969) All matches: 72 Wins: 28 (38.9%) Trio matches: 37 Wins: 19 (51.4%) Trio Home matches: 14 Wins: 7 (50.0%) Trio Away matches: 23 Wins: 12 (52.2%) Non-Trio matches: 35 Wins: 9 (25.7%) Non-Trio Home matches: 17 Wins: 3 (17.6%) Non-Trio Away matches: 18 Wins: 6 (33.3%) Team Wkts: 620 @ 28.79 Team WpT: 16.76 Trio WpT: 11.38 (67.9%) Balls: 45323 Trio %: 67.3 Sobers %: 22.6 Gibbs %: 28.1 Hall %: 16.5 Wkts: 620 Trio %: 67.9 Sobers %: 20.0 Gibbs %: 26.0 Hall %: 21.9 S/R: 73.1 Trio : 72.4 Sobers : 82.7 Gibbs : 79.2 Hall : 55.1
Both Sobers and Gibbs prospered in the company of each other and Hall.
Willis, Hendrick & Botham
P07. Total: 204 @ 22.27 Willis 65 @ 24.02, Hendrick 54 @ 21.37, Botham 85 @ 21.51 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Willis : 0676(1971)-0991(1984) 65 @ 24.02 (260 @ 25.65) 93.6% Hendrick : 0739(1974)-0908(1981) 54 @ 21.37 ( 37 @ 31.78) 67.2% Botham : 0806(1977)-1190(1992) 85 @ 21.51 (302 @ 30.39) 70.8% Trio Career: 0806(1977) to 0908(1981) All matches: 112 Wins: 37 (33.0%) Trio matches: 17 Wins: 9 (52.9%) Trio Home matches: 11 Wins: 5 (45.5%) Trio Away matches: 6 Wins: 4 (66.7%) Non-Trio matches: 95 Wins: 28 (29.5%) Non-Trio Home matches: 48 Wins: 15 (31.2%) Non-Trio Away matches: 47 Wins: 13 (27.7%) Team Wkts: 290 @ 23.30 Team WpT: 17.06 Trio WpT: 12.00 (70.3%) Balls: 17897 Trio %: 62.7 Willis %: 19.2 Hendrick %: 20.7 Botham %: 22.8 Wkts: 290 Trio %: 70.3 Willis %: 22.4 Hendrick %: 18.6 Botham %: 29.3 S/R: 61.7 Trio : 55.0 Willis : 53.0 Hendrick : 68.6 Botham : 47.9
All three of the English trio performed better in each other's company.
Anderson, Broad & Swann
P08. Total: 428 @ 29.02 Anderson 140 @ 29.19, Broad 127 @ 29.69, Swann 161 @ 28.35 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Anderson : 1646(2003)-2062(2012) 140 @ 29.19 (138 @ 32.38) 90.2% Broad : 1853(2007)-2062(2012) 127 @ 29.69 ( 45 @ 38.27) 77.6% Swann : 1898(2008)-2062(2012) 161 @ 28.35 ( 49 @ 29.86) 94.9% Trio Career: 1901(2008) to 2062(2012) All matches: 124 Wins: 59 (47.6%) Trio matches: 37 Wins: 17 (45.9%) Trio Home matches: 21 Wins: 14 (66.7%) Trio Away matches: 16 Wins: 3 (18.8%) Non-Trio matches: 86 Wins: 42 (48.8%) Non-Trio Home matches: 47 Wins: 27 (57.4%) Non-Trio Away matches: 39 Wins: 15 (38.5%) Team Wkts: 598 @ 31.43 Team WpT: 16.16 Trio WpT: 11.57 (71.6%) Balls: 37399 Trio %: 68.5 Anderson %: 23.0 Broad %: 20.6 Swann %: 25.0 Wkts: 598 Trio %: 71.6 Anderson %: 23.4 Broad %: 21.2 Swann %: 26.9 S/R: 62.5 Trio : 59.9 Anderson : 61.4 Broad : 60.6 Swann : 58.0
Again all three of the English trio performed better together. Swann is slightly better than the others while Broad is the most improved. This is the only currently-playing trio.
Prasanna, ChandraSekar & Bedi
P09. Total: 266 @ 30.82 Prasanna 61 @ 40.02, ChandraSekar 103 @ 27.82, Bedi 102 @ 28.34 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Prasanna : 0520(1962)-0832(1978) 61 @ 40.02 (128 @ 25.79) 155.2% ChandraSekar: 0552(1964)-0851(1979) 103 @ 27.82 (139 @ 31.18) 89.2% Bedi : 0612(1967)-0854(1979) 102 @ 28.34 (164 @ 28.94) 97.9% Trio Career: 0614(1967) to 0832(1978) All matches: 83 Wins: 21 (25.3%) Trio matches: 24 Wins: 7 (29.2%) Trio Home matches: 11 Wins: 5 (45.5%) Trio Away matches: 13 Wins: 2 (15.4%) Non-Trio matches: 59 Wins: 14 (23.7%) Non-Trio Home matches: 31 Wins: 7 (22.6%) Non-Trio Away matches: 28 Wins: 7 (25.0%) Team Wkts: 346 @ 32.84 Team WpT: 14.42 Trio WpT: 11.08 (76.9%) Balls: 26287 Trio %: 75.1 Prasanna %: 23.6 ChandraSekar %: 23.6 Bedi %: 27.9 Wkts: 346 Trio %: 76.9 Prasanna %: 17.6 ChandraSekar %: 29.8 Bedi %: 29.5 S/R: 76.0 Trio : 74.2 Prasanna : 101.9 ChandraSekar : 60.2 Bedi : 71.8
It is amazing how much Prasanna faltered when playing in the company of the other two. It could be Prasanna's own insecurity while playing together or the way captains used them, Perhaps a mixture of both.
Kumble, Harbhajan & Zaheer
P10. Total: 316 @ 30.32 Kumble 125 @ 28.93, Harbhajan 116 @ 29.35, Zaheer 75 @ 34.15 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Kumble : 1149(1990)-1891(2008) 125 @ 28.93 (494 @ 29.83) 97.0% Harbhajan : 1413(1998)-2062(2012) 116 @ 29.35 (292 @ 33.43) 87.8% Zaheer : 1512(2000)-2062(2012) 75 @ 34.15 (219 @ 31.47) 108.5% Trio Career: 1589(2002) to 1887(2008) All matches: 159 Wins: 53 (33.3%) Trio matches: 25 Wins: 13 (52.0%) Trio Home matches: 14 Wins: 7 (50.0%) Trio Away matches: 11 Wins: 6 (54.5%) Non-Trio matches: 132 Wins: 40 (30.3%) Non-Trio Home matches: 55 Wins: 27 (49.1%) Non-Trio Away matches: 77 Wins: 13 (16.9%) Team Wkts: 417 @ 31.34 Team WpT: 16.68 Trio WpT: 12.64 (75.8%) Balls: 26758 Trio %: 74.8 Kumble %: 29.1 Harbhajan %: 28.2 Zaheer %: 17.5 Wkts: 417 Trio %: 75.8 Kumble %: 30.0 Harbhajan %: 27.8 Zaheer %: 18.0 S/R: 64.2 Trio : 63.3 Kumble : 62.3 Harbhajan : 65.0 Zaheer : 62.6
Kumble, Harbhajan and Zaheer secured over 12 wickets per Test, amongst the highest among non-Australian trio of bowlers. The overall results seem to be slightly below-par.
Wasim, Waqar & Mushtaq Ahd
P11. Total: 431 @ 23.69 Wasim 173 @ 18.97, Waqar 150 @ 23.18, MushtaqAhmed 108 @ 31.96 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Wasim : 1010(1985)-1584(2002) 173 @ 18.97 (241 @ 26.96) 70.3% Waqar : 1127(1989)-1637(2003) 150 @ 23.18 (223 @ 23.82) 97.3% MushtaqAhmed: 1135(1990)-1666(2003) 108 @ 31.96 ( 77 @ 34.39) 92.9% Trio Career: 1135(1990) to 1502(2000) All matches: 131 Wins: 48 (36.6%) Trio matches: 33 Wins: 16 (48.5%) Trio Home matches: 9 Wins: 4 (44.4%) Trio Away matches: 24 Wins: 12 (50.0%) Non-Trio matches: 97 Wins: 32 (33.0%) Non-Trio Home matches: 46 Wins: 16 (34.8%) Non-Trio Away matches: 51 Wins: 16 (31.4%) Team Wkts: 541 @ 26.00 Team WpT: 16.39 Trio WpT: 13.06 (79.7%) Balls: 29525 Trio %: 71.9 Wasim %: 26.3 Waqar %: 21.6 MushtaqAhmed %: 23.9 Wkts: 541 Trio %: 79.7 Wasim %: 32.0 Waqar %: 27.7 MushtaqAhmed %: 20.0 S/R: 54.6 Trio : 49.2 Wasim : 44.9 Waqar : 42.5 MushtaqAhmed : 65.4
The best third bowler for the Wasim/Waqar duo was Mushtaq Ahmed. He supported them well and these three raked in 431 wickets. All of them, especially Wasim performed very well in this combination.
Hadlee, Cairns & Chatfield
P12. Total: 197 @ 25.53 Hadlee 80 @ 21.54, Cairns 57 @ 29.82, Chatfield 60 @ 26.78 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Hadlee : 0710(1973)-1147(1990) 80 @ 21.54 (357 @ 22.35) 96.4% Cairns : 0730(1974)-1031(1985) 57 @ 29.82 ( 73 @ 36.15) 82.5% Chatfield : 0757(1975)-1116(1989) 60 @ 26.78 ( 64 @ 37.47) 71.5% Trio Career: 0798(1977) to 1031(1985) All matches: 71 Wins: 16 (22.5%) Trio matches: 17 Wins: 7 (41.2%) Trio Home matches: 10 Wins: 5 (50.0%) Trio Away matches: 7 Wins: 2 (28.6%) Non-Trio matches: 54 Wins: 9 (16.7%) Non-Trio Home matches: 26 Wins: 6 (23.1%) Non-Trio Away matches: 28 Wins: 3 (10.7%) Team Wkts: 249 @ 28.09 Team WpT: 14.65 Trio WpT: 11.59 (79.1%) Balls: 17343 Trio %: 71.0 Hadlee %: 25.2 Cairns %: 22.7 Chatfield %: 23.1 Wkts: 249 Trio %: 79.1 Hadlee %: 32.1 Cairns %: 22.9 Chatfield %: 24.1 S/R: 69.7 Trio : 62.5 Hadlee : 54.6 Cairns : 69.0 Chatfield : 66.7
Like the England trios, the Kiwis seem to have bowled very well together. Nearly 80% of the team wickets too.
Donald, Pollock & Kallis
P13. Total: 415 @ 22.80 Donald 175 @ 21.85, Pollock 163 @ 21.36, Kallis 77 @ 28.04 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Donald : 1188(1992)-1590(2002) 175 @ 21.85 (155 @ 22.72) 96.2% Pollock : 1312(1995)-1860(2008) 163 @ 21.36 (258 @ 24.23) 88.1% Kallis : 1318(1995)-2061(2012) 77 @ 28.04 (205 @ 34.28) 81.8% Trio Career: 1318(1995) to 1582(2002) All matches: 92 Wins: 41 (44.6%) Trio matches: 40 Wins: 20 (50.0%) Trio Home matches: 22 Wins: 15 (68.2%) Trio Away matches: 18 Wins: 5 (27.8%) Non-Trio matches: 51 Wins: 21 (41.2%) Non-Trio Home matches: 24 Wins: 10 (41.7%) Non-Trio Away matches: 27 Wins: 11 (40.7%) Team Wkts: 652 @ 26.23 Team WpT: 16.30 Trio WpT: 10.38 (63.7%) Balls: 39954 Trio %: 56.1 Donald %: 20.4 Pollock %: 23.1 Kallis %: 12.7 Wkts: 652 Trio %: 63.7 Donald %: 26.8 Pollock %: 25.0 Kallis %: 11.8 S/R: 61.3 Trio : 54.0 Donald : 46.5 Pollock : 56.6 Kallis : 65.7
It is Kallis who has given a good support to Donald and Pollock instead of Ntini. But the somewhat low win % is surprising.
Muralitharan, Vaas & Fernando
P14. Total: 248 @ 28.81 Muralitharan 128 @ 23.32, Vaas 60 @ 33.75, Fernando 60 @ 35.60 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Muralitharan: 1195(1992)-1964(2010) 128 @ 23.32 (672 @ 22.61) 103.1% Vaas : 1267(1994)-1927(2009) 60 @ 33.75 (295 @ 28.73) 117.5% Fernando : 1499(2000)-2048(2012) 60 @ 35.60 ( 40 @ 41.20) 86.4% Trio Career: 1499(2000) to 1909(2009) All matches: 149 Wins: 56 (37.6%) Trio matches: 23 Wins: 10 (43.5%) Trio Home matches: 13 Wins: 9 (69.2%) Trio Away matches: 10 Wins: 1 (10.0%) Non-Trio matches: 124 Wins: 46 (37.1%) Non-Trio Home matches: 65 Wins: 29 (44.6%) Non-Trio Away matches: 59 Wins: 17 (28.8%) Team Wkts: 335 @ 30.34 Team WpT: 14.57 Trio WpT: 10.78 (74.0%) Balls: 21783 Trio %: 71.8 Muralitharan %: 34.5 Vaas %: 20.5 Fernando %: 16.9 Wkts: 335 Trio %: 74.0 Muralitharan %: 38.2 Vaas %: 17.9 Fernando %: 17.9 S/R: 65.0 Trio : 63.1 Muralitharan : 58.7 Vaas : 74.3 Fernando : 61.2
Murali and Vaas achieved so much that the the third bowler was just a support bowler. However it must be said that these three bowlers played together in 23 Tests only and Fernando Fernando kept pace with Vaas.
Flintoff, Hoggard & Harmison
P15. Total: 383 @ 29.38 Flintoff 123 @ 28.62, Hoggard 133 @ 28.51, Harmison 127 @ 31.02 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Flintoff : 1421(1998)-1931(2009) 123 @ 28.62 (103 @ 37.77) 75.8% Hoggard : 1503(2000)-1866(2008) 133 @ 28.51 (115 @ 32.80) 86.9% Harmison : 1612(2002)-1931(2009) 127 @ 31.02 ( 99 @ 32.85) 94.4% Trio Career: 1612(2002) to 1824(2006) All matches: 119 Wins: 49 (41.2%) Trio matches: 33 Wins: 16 (48.5%) Trio Home matches: 15 Wins: 11 (73.3%) Trio Away matches: 18 Wins: 5 (27.8%) Non-Trio matches: 86 Wins: 33 (38.4%) Non-Trio Home matches: 48 Wins: 23 (47.9%) Non-Trio Away matches: 38 Wins: 10 (26.3%) Team Wkts: 545 @ 33.66 Team WpT: 16.52 Trio WpT: 11.61 (70.3%) Balls: 32762 Trio %: 63.1 Flintoff %: 20.3 Hoggard %: 20.1 Harmison %: 22.7 Wkts: 545 Trio %: 70.3 Flintoff %: 22.6 Hoggard %: 24.4 Harmison %: 23.3 S/R: 60.1 Trio : 53.9 Flintoff : 54.1 Hoggard : 49.5 Harmison : 58.4A worthwhile new addition. The numbers are very balanced and good. These three are also like the current English trio, excelling together. Thanks to Zulik and Paul.
The most successful trio of all time is the one of Warne, McGrath and Lee, even if the other trio of Warne, McGrath and Gillespie gathered more wickets. Probably the next best bowling trio honour should be given to the current English trio of Anderson, Broad and Swann. I would rate Holding, Garner and Marshall next. Wasim, Waqar and Mushtaq would be competing for these two places.
Let me remind the readers that I would be closing the entries for the all-time XV around 10 December. Click here to view the article. The wrap up article will appear around 17 December. I will not be doing any articles in January to get my shoulders back in shape.
Anantha Narayanan has written for ESPNcricinfo and CastrolCricket and worked with a number of companies on their cricket performance ratings-related systems