It’s 60 years since Muhammed Ali declared “I am the greatest” before going on to knock out Sonny Liston and claim his first heavyweight world title as possibly the greatest boxer who ever lived.
Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood are about to cement themselves as the greatest new-ball combination Australia have ever produced as they attempt to land their own knockout blows against India in the first Test, beginning at Perth Stadium on Friday.
While all the focus has been on future debutant Nathan McSweeney plugging Australia’s David Warner-sized hole at the top of Australia’s batting order, the nation’s set and forget attack have been operating incognito.
But on a Perth Stadium pitch which has so far rolled out deliciously green ahead of Friday’s start, Starc and Hazlewood need just two wickets to become the first Australian opening bowling partnership to claim 400 wickets together.
And those two wickets may not take long to claim given India will be forced to reshuffle their batting order in the absence of captain and new father Rohit Sharma, and one of their most prolific batter of recent times, Shubman Gill, who suffered a broken thumb attempting a catch at training last week.
With India also yet to decide on their No.6, an unsettled batting line-up is the last thing the tourists need on what is reputed to be the fastest, bounciest pitch in the world.
Coming off an historic 3-0 loss to New Zealand on low, slow Indian wickets and with a coach, Gautam Gambhir, more wound up than a lubricated Lord’s crowd, the tension in India’s dressing room must be intense.
Facing the most successful Australian attack of all time in Perth is not usually a nerve settler.
Only four pairs of Australian opening bowlers have taken 200 or more wickets between them sharing the new ball. Starc and Hazlewood (398 wickets at 25.17) are followed by Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie (376 at 23.15), Ray Lindwall and Keith Miller (243 at 24.22) and McGrath with Brett Lee (214 at 25.04).
Of all the big names who have taken the new ball for Australia going back to the delightfully moustached Fred Spofforth, Starc and Hazlewood can lay claim to being the greatest combination.
And that’s not just because of the number of wickets they have taken as opening bowlers over such a sustained period. Their strike rate is under the magic figure of a wicket every 50 balls.
That strike rate (48.07) compares to McGrath and Gillespie (53.30), Lindwall and Miller (62.18) and McGrath and Lee (51.97).
Jason Gillespie and Glenn McGrath of Australia celebrate with the Border Gavaskar Trophy after winning the series 2 – 1 in 2004, Mumbai, India. (Photo by Hamish Blair/Getty Images)
Indeed, of the 20 new ball combinations who have opened the bowling in at least 10 Tests together for Australia, Starc and Hazlewood are one of only three to have a strike rate under 50. The others are Mitchell Johnson and Ryan Harris (113 wickets at 20.81 in 11 Tests, strike rate 42.67) and, surprise, surprise, Starc and captain Pat Cummins (130 wickets at 24.13 in 16 Tests, strike rate 45.38).
As a comparison the legendary, and fearsome, Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson opened the bowling in 16 Tests together, claiming 148 wickets at 26.71, strike rate 53.81.
The McGrath, Gillespie combination could have written a significantly larger piece of history for themselves if an unlucky Gillespie had not been so blighted by injuries.
However he happily hands the mantle of the best to the current crop, claiming that Starc was the “most impactful new ball bowler who has ever played Test cricket.
“The stats are ridiculous how he gets a wicket so early in his innings so regularly, and that’s gold. Having a team one down so early in the piece puts pressure on the opposition straight away,” Gillespie told me earlier this year.
“With the three quicks, when they first started playing together I said we’ll be talking about these guys as possibly the greatest trio of quicks who have played together for Australia, and that’s obviously coming to fruition.
“Throw in the best off-spinner Australia’s ever had in Nathan Lyon and it’s an unbelievable quartet.”
Unbelievable indeed! They are the most successful bowling quartet in Test history. Following their clean sweep of Pakistan last season, the 428 wickets this Australian attack had taken in their 26 Tests together went past the 415 collected by England’s Jimmy Anderson, Stuart Broad, Moeen Ali and Ben Stokes during their time in the same side.
So having flogged India in last year’s World Test Championship final before the Ashes, and produced one of Australian cricket’s epic performances to win the World Cup against India in India a year ago, let’s prepare to celebrate Australia’s greatest.
This may be the last season we get that opportunity.
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