Ian Chappell hails NZ's pace quartet better than that of Windies' lethal 80's attack

The strength of New Zealand’s pace attack burst out to the scene when their bowlers nipped out wickets in quick successions in the World Test Championship. With the likes of Kyle Jamieson who has been extremely impressive in the WTC cycle, the bowling line-up of New Zealand looked even lethal. Scalping the big wickets of the speedster strengthened the team to victory.

The left-right combination of Trent Boult and Tim Southee further proves pivotal for the team. Considering their lethal display with the ball, Ian Chappell drew parallels amongst the Kiwi’s pacers to that of the fearsome bowling attack of the then strong West Indies team. “To my mind, the best combination from those fearsome quartets was Andy Roberts, Malcolm Marshall, Michael Holding, and Joel Garner.

“If it’s the pace you’re talking about, the West Indies quartet wins hands down. However, if you look purely at results, the New Zealand four take the prize — five matches together for a 100% winning record. That West Indies combination only played together in six matches and while never beaten, they were held to three draws,” Chappell wrote in ESPN Cricinfo’s column.

Ian Chappell on New Zealand’s WTC victory

Pointing out the strengths of the Kiwi’s bowling line-up the former Australian captain also said that their pacers fancied their chances into the finals of the WTC. “New Zealand’s well-deserved win in the World Test Championship final highlighted an accepted adage in cricket: fast bowling rules,” Chappell said. “New Zealand’s pace quartet — Tim Southee, Trent Boult, Neil Wagner, and Kyle Jamieson — made possible their presence in the final. Then in the prolonged battle with India for supremacy, the quick bowlers led the last-day victory charge.”

Chappell also went effusive in praise of the tall and lanky Kyle Jamieson and stated that his dominant display with the ball has made him the spearhead of the team’s fast-bowling line-up. Adding to it he also opined that with a lot of experience under his sleeves, Tim Southee has also led the team further. Statistically, the leader of New Zealand’s group is undoubtedly Jamieson, with 28 wickets at the uncovered-pitches-average of 12.07 in these five Tests. However experience-wise, it’s swing bowler Southee who leads the way.”