Steyn vs Anderson: Who is the best fast bowler in the world?

On Sunday, England’s ‘Jimmy’ Anderson became the fourth English bowler to take 300 Test wickets. England’s bowling coach, David Saker, made a big statement when he called Anderson the most skillful bowler around. Note: not the best, but the most skillful. He meant that Anderson’s control of out swing, in swing and reverse swing across conditions is second to none. Many felt that this was at odds with the reality: that South Africa’s Dale Steyn is the best fast bowler in the world.

Three things put these pacers head and shoulders above the rest. First is their ability to get wickets across all conditions. Anderson has been masterful in Sri Lanka and Steyn in India. Secondly, they have two of the cleanest bowling actions I’ve seen in a long time. Dale Steyn is a rhythm bowler and once he’s found his groove, he doesn’t look to be exerting himself at all. Look at how his opening partner Morne Morkel grunts and strains himself to get pace and bounce. Similarly, James Anderson cocks the ball by his cheek just as you’re taught in school. None of the flailing arms of Andrew Flintoff.

Third, they’ve managed to steer clear of injuries and protect their bodies. One needs only look at India and Australia in recent times for cases where injuries to strike bowlers have killed the team’s chances.

The two are similarly aged (Anderson is 30 and Steyn in 29). Steyn took just 61 tests to reach the 300 wicket mark, whereas Anderson took 81. Let’s see how the two match up:

In my opinion, especially in test matches, fast bowlers like Anderson and Steyn are strike bowlers and my main interest is them getting top order wickets. It is clear that Jimmy Anderson has bowled a lot more than Steyn even though they are the same age. Even though Anderson has bowled 700 more test overs, Steyn still has more wickets and a far better average. In fact, at an astonishing 22.65, Dale Steyn’s test average is inferior only to McGrath, Ambrose, Malcolm Marshall and Hadlee in the all-time highest wicket takers list.

Anderson’s ability to swing the ball both ways is extremely useful and the fact he developed it recently it commendable. His 5-52 at Galle in 2012 showed his range of skills: the first two wickets moved away from left-handers, the third reversed into a right hander’s pads, the fourth was an off-cutter that bowled a right-hander and the fifth left the right hander. Anderson’s seam position is perhaps the best in the world and he is able to generate ferocious outswing to left-handers.

Dale Steyn’s 7-51 at Nagpur was another master class in fast bowling in hot, dry conditions. He was causing the Indian batsmen all sorts of trouble by bowling good length balls at searing pace. While Anderson is all about a controlled seam, Steyn’s main asset is much more primal: sheer pace. He is quick enough to blast through batting attacks on the subcontinent. Anderson is a thinking bowler but when you can bowl 140kph reverse swingers, perhaps you don’t need to think too much. Steyn also has a higher percentage of wickets taken away from home.

The two bowlers are much more evenly matched when it comes to ODI cricket. Interestingly, Anderson has bowled more than twice as many balls as Steyn has.

Anderson has a marginally higher percentage of wickets taken away from home in ODIs.

Because of the IPL, Steyn has played a lot more T20 cricket than Anderson and it shows.

There is no question that Dale Steyn is the better T20 bowler. His average in T20 Internationals is a staggering 16.64.

I think David Saker definitely had a point when he said James Anderson is the most skillful bowler in the world. Anderson has more variation and seam control than Steyn. But is bowling quick not a skill too? Steyn is a good 5 miles an hour faster than Anderson and tends to swing it later. Anderson is improving very fast: his test average has come down about 2 runs per year since 2007. Overall, I would have to say that Steyn is the better bowler but Anderson is on an upward trajectory. What constitutes skill? I’ll leave to you to decide.