The fourth man could be an instant hit like Clark: Mitchell Johnson, the regular understudy, has been auditioning well. Equally, it could take him 10 or 15 Tests to settle at the highest level. He will certainly be targeted. Throw in a bit of Andrew Symonds' allsorts and Michael Clarke's amiable slow left-arm, and what have you got? A testing but not daunting attack.

Not that the other countries have much to write to Australia about. South Africa have the strongest seam attack now that Shaun Pollock has found his niggardly old mojo, but they still haven't discovered the existence of spin: even when he desperately needed fourth-innings
wickets yesterday, Graeme Smith barely used Paul Harris.

England had a fine seam attack for two years, but when the feisty fourth seamer, Simon Jones, got injured, and their coach Troy Cooley left, the unit fell apart. Matthew Hoggard and Andrew Flintoff are dependable, Steve Harmison has forgotten how to take wickets overseas, and everybody else is either shunned (Jon Lewis) or growing up in public (Jimmy Anderson, Saj Mahmood, Liam Plunkett).

Mitchell Johnson is Australia's man in waiting, but will he be an instant hit? © Getty Images

India have the best spin attack in Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh, but Greg Chappell doesn't like playing them in the same team, which must be a relief to most of his opponents, even if Harbhajan has not been at his best lately. Zaheer Khan, Irfan Pathan and Sreesanth are on their way to being a fine seam attack, but they are merely handy at the moment.

Pakistan have probably the best attack in the world on paper, but in practice ... well, if they were all fit, not banned, and speaking to the captain and the coach, they'd be terrific: Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif to open, with Mohammad Sami or Umar Gul in support, a bit of Abdul Razzaq or Shahid Afridi ... but then a weakish link in Danish Kaneria. New Zealand have Shane Bond, who is very fast and very good, but nothing else to frighten the horses. Sri Lanka have one genius, one yeoman, and one interesting slinger. West Indies? Well, their one-day
bowling is promising.

They all seem much of a muchness. One way of distinguishing between them is to use the LG ratings. Australia's top four bowlers are Clark at 7, Lee at 12, MacGill at 21 and Jason Gillespie (my dear old thing!) at 22. Total 62. I wondered if any other country could do better. Here
are the results for the main teams, taking their top four bowlers and using the ratings as they stood yesterday.

England 65

Hoggard 6, Flintoff 8, Harmison 18, Panesar 33

Pakistan 58

Shoaib 9, Gul 15=, Kaneria 15=, Asif 19

India 67

Kumble 3, Pathan 14, Harbhajan 24, Sreesanth 26

Sri Lanka 74

Murali 1, Vaas 11, Malinga 30, Fernando 32

South Africa 48

Ntini 2, Pollock 4, Nel 17, Kallis 25

New Zealand 62

Bond 6, Franklin 13, Vettori 20, Martin 23

West Indies 118

Collymore 10, Collins 29, Edwards 39, Taylor 40

And the winner is ... South Africa. (Although they still don't have a spinner.) The ratings are not, of course, gospel. They are too swayed by recent form, as if reacting against career averages, which are not swayed enough by it. But they are not crazy either. And by their reckoning, Australia now have only the third best attack in the world, equal with New Zealand. By the time of their next Test, in November, they will be even lower, because Johnson, or whoever, will start with a much lower rating than the one Gillespie is clinging onto. Test cricket is about to become more interesting.

one problem with your post. Calling Stuart clark a supporting act. The man is a carbon copy of Mcgrath, so he didn't lead the attack against England but with Mcgrath out, he will be sharing the new ball with Brett Lee. I think he can certainly lead the attack, there is nothing that suggests he will struggle to fill Mcgraths shoes, he's the best bowler the Aussies have in test cricket at the moment.

How about Murali and Vaas combo? the world no.1 and world no.11? second only to Warne and Mcgrath

I do think Clark could lead the attack if need be, who is to say he is unable? With the start to test cricket he has had I find it very possible for him to be good enough to lead any attack.

There are still many fine bowlers around and I am sure more will come through very soon (Johnson I think will be a fine bowler and I am sure there are many from around the world).

I also think Pakistan is well set with Asif, Gul and Sami if he eventually makes his mark.

I think you underestimate Danish Kaneria. With Aktar, Gul, Asif and Kaneria they have the best attack in the world. They are also a young outfit and will get better. On another Pakistan issue you allude to I think Woolmer is not the right man to take them forward. It'll take a man of stature from Pakistan to lead them all the way.

Okay..... Let me set on thing straight…..
Warne and McGrath are the GODS of test cricket bowling..... NOBODY can replace Warne and McGrath.... Nobody....So I dont belive in their carbon copy theory...
The Australians should watch out... Every South Asian team is waiting in line to take a shot at Australia in the post-Warne/McGrath era... I can’t wait for My Pakistan to thrash the Aussies next season.... Its payback time boys.... hehe

Following the 2nd test between SA and Pak, the Pakistani quartet has taken over the Proteas with the combined ratings.

Vaas and Murali have taken 772 wickets in 81 tests while McGrath-Warne have 1001 in 101 tests. If SL got to play as much test cricket as Aus, there's no doubt that Vaas-Murali would have overtaken the Aussie combo

I think another problem with your post is the fact that it rates NZ as having the second best test bowling attack in the world. What? Bond is very good and very alone, and while not very, at least quite crippled. When was the last time NZ played a test match?
In all fairness, I think this is less of a problem with your post than with the rating system. No-one claims its perfect, but that stat alone suggests its not even close.

I do believe you have been unfair with the New Zealand and Pakistan bowling line-ups. James Franklin, Chris Martin and Jacob Oram are a very strong and capable attack. Clearly, Pakistan has half a dozen or so quality fast bowlers. Kaneria isn't that bad - he is just very unlucky.......

Pakistan has the best attack by far-what with the venom of Akhtar and Sami, the control and swing of Asif, Gul, Rana Naved and Shabbir, the spin of Kaneria and the support of Afridi, Malik and Razzaq would anyone question Pakistan's strenght in terms of bowling resources?

The trouble with NZ's attack is that it's very rarely at full strength- i.e. Bond seems to be constantly one game away from another injury. That said, if it had the full lineup of Bond, Martin, Franklin, Oram and Vettori, it's more than solid- both Bond and Vettori are genuine matchwinners, while the other three are very useful indeed, particularly on pitches that get a lot of swing. That said, remove one of those (particularly Vettori or Bond) and it looks far shakier indeed. Personally, I would love to see a full-strength Pakistan attack again, despite the fact that the likes of Akram and Younis spent the better part of their career terrifying the opposition! Provided that South Africa find a spinbowler, I would say that they would have the most balanced attack these days, along with Australia. Likewise, England's full armoury of Hoggard, Harmison, Flintoff, Panasear and Jones/Anderson should've been a match for Australia, but poor bowling, fielding and captaincy against some superb Australian batting saw that Ashes 2006/07 turned out the way it did...

The thing with Australia is that although their attack looks considerably shakier with the departure of Warne and McGraugh, their batting lineup (Pontin, Hayden, Hussey, Gilchrist, Michael Clarke) practically wins it for them each time. And Stuart Clarke should slot into the McGraugh role with ease. It's leg-spinners that are harder to replace.

My opinion is BCCI should give full rights to DD (Doordarshan), with a deal. DD can share their rights to any other pay-channel or free-to-air channel all over the world. To been an Indian, it’s very disappointed to watch Indian match off live (One Day and Test Matches).

The Aussies will maintain the best attack status for at least a season because they will have MscGill to come into the team in Warne's place. However, Stuey only has maybe one year, maybe two at best, left of international cricket left because he is just getting too old. After that, the Aussies will be on the way down a bit because we don't have any real good quality spinners in the domestic comp. Cullen is promising, but his performances this year have been pathetic. And while we have pretty good pace bowlers waiting in the wings, I don't think we could develop an attack like South Africa's where they don't need an overly decent spinner to be succesful. Imagine the Aussies lining up with a four man pace attack next season looking like this Clark, Lee, Johnson and Watson. Then Cullen to back up the pace. Not too many shivers up the spines. Pakistan have a very promising attack, and I think it's worth throwing Razzaq in the mix too because he has had success with the ball in the past, same with Afridi. If Pakistan found a really good opening pair, they could become the most balanced team in the world actually, with Younis, Yousuf and Inzi in the middle, Razzaq or Afridi in allrounder position, Akmal, then their seemingly endles line in pace bowlers backed up by Kaneria. Also, Bond makes the NZ team and he gets injured pretty much every second game, thus you can't really rate their attack too highly.

Just on the New Zealand situation:
First of all, NZ seem to have the worst luck with injuries. If New Zealand had the top XI, bowlers line up would look thus:

Bond, Mills, Franklin/Mason/Martin/Gillespie (unproven, but highly talented), Oram and Vettori/Patel

I personally would go for playing Vettori and Gillespie, and the attack is very balanced and penetrating (see current commonwealth bank series).

A fine article. The conclusion that South Africa have the best attack at the moment is probably right. It would be interesting to review things in retrospective a year later and review the central arguements of this article.
Which leads me to my next suggestion - we have had a lot of good posts from cricinfo writers..but it is always good to review these articles at the end of the year to see how the predictions went..this is something currently missing in cricinfo..I feel it would be a good and much appreciated addition..

I think you have underrated the Kiwi's. A full strength bowling attack of Bond, Mills, Oram, Vettori, Gillespie/Franklin matches up with any in world cricket. Not to mention that Oram, Vettori and Franklin all have first class hundreds. If only they could bat.

Pakistan also has a good attack, although I was dissappointed with the drugs fiasco. Unfortunately it makes the outfit appear as cheats.

How could you say South Africa has the best attack when the attack listed (ntini, pollock, nel, kallis) played Australia last season in tests and got hammered! (lost 2-0 is Aus, then lost 3-0 at home!)
I think Pakistan would have the best attack, I would love to see Asif and Gul bowl to the aussies right now.
As for Australia, they will still be in the top two with clark, lee, johnson, tait, hilfenhaus (who can swing the ball), and cullen/magill.

Joe, your point about Sri Lanka playing more tests doesn't really add up. If you do the maths, you'll find that if Vaas and Murali continue in the same vein after 101 tests they'll have 960-odd wickets.
I would like to add that going on ratings alone doesn't take into account the psychological aspect of the game into account. Warne and McGrath were incredibly strong mentally. I think SA's best (Ntini and Pollock) are mentally strong. Pakistan's quicks, while being world beaters on their day, are inconsistent. The same could be said about England's attack, as well as the West Indies and India. Murali and Vaas, along with Malinga give Sri Lanka a solid looking attack. I'm expecting a lot from them in the next couple of years. NZ have potential if they can keep them fit.
I'm looking forward to the next few years of Test cricket. Australia will come back to the field somewhat and this should generate some interest. I still feel Australia will continue to dominate the game. The batting is strong and who knows, the Clarks, Johnsons, Taits, Hilfenhauses et al. could step up like a certain G McGrath did in 1995.

These are my views on each of the teams bowling lin ups:

Australia: Even with the loss of Mcgrath and Warne Australia's line up is still very strong. Lee and Clark both bowled very well and Johnson and Bracken are both good left arm bowlers. Australia will lack in the spin department after Macgill is gone.

England: They have a lot of problems with their good players especially Harmison and Jones. If England can get all their right players fit they will be good. They have some young talent like Monty Panesar and saj mahmood

South Africa:

They have a very strong fast bowling line up in Makhaya Ntini, Shaun Pollock, Jacques Kallis and Andre Nel and they have the promising Dale Steyn but they lack a good spinner. They have tried a lot of spinners but they havn't given them a permanent spot.

India: Opposite problem to south africa. Good spinners but not so good quicks. Although they do have a lot of talent in sreesanth, Pathan and Singh

Pakistan: A strong bowling line up in Asif, Akhtar, Gul and Kaneria. Rana Naved Ul Hasen isn't to bad either. Add in the part timers Razzaq, Malik and Afridi and you have a versatile line up. Sami isn't to great. So much potential but hasn't delivered.

Sri Lanka: They have one Muralitharen so they have a good spin attack. Apart from him they have the reliable Vaas, the raw and talented Malinga and the quick Fernando. Throw in Jayasuria who is one of Sri Lanka's highest wicket takers.

NZ: NZ's bowling attack is underrated. They have Bond, but he is often injured. James Franklin is like James Anderson can be good when he wants to and Kyle Mills. They also have the economical Daniel Vettori and the young Jeetan Patel.

Windies: Not to threatening at the moment. Collymore is a consistant bowler. And Jerome Taylor looks good. Fidel Edwards is quick but erratic. They lack a good spinner but they haven't had a good one since Lance Gibbs. Dwayne Bravo looks useful

Looking at my analysis I say AUSTRALIA HAS THE BEST BOWLING LINE UP

On the contrary I am quite excited about young fast bowling prospects at the moment

Pakistan: Asif is one of the best in the world already, a genuine class act who will take 400 wickets in a canter. He also has a strike rate and average better than anyone except Bond (who barring injury would have been talked about as the best since Lillee, and I'm Australian!)

Australia: Mitchell Johnson is a great find, he will initially be the third seamer in the attack, but he won't be for long

West Indies: Jerome Taylor. They have 5 or 6 good, if not brilliant, fast bowlers, but this young man looks the goods, and he has a long way to go yet at such a young age.

England: Personally I'm more a fan of the young Broad than the other prospects, pace and accuracy with a bit of descent movement.

India: I really like the look of Sreesanth, he looks like he has enough to worry the best batsmen out there.

The other countries will have their young bowlers as well, but these ones do excite me. I think it's just a changing of then guard at the moment as Warne, McGrath and a number of other older bowlers bow out.

In my view at the moment Pakistan has the best bowling attack in the world. But you are right they are best on the papers. if we analyse according to ICC rankings, Pakistan has even good rating as compared to South Africa.
I would really love to see them bowling against Ponting, Gilchrist, Clarck, Hussy and Symonds...

Theperfectnext gen combo ll be, MOHAMMED ASIF & DINESH KANERIA.
Asif is clearly a very able bowler, who contioniously is improving and ll keep the honour of the Ppaki side. and kaneria, with a grt ability to spin also has a good deceiving googly.

I think the Sri Lankans are the most underrated. They toured NZ recently and Stephen Fleming (who admittadley is no Ricky Ponting - but he has been on the international scene for 13 seasons) said between not knowing which way Murali is going to turn it, the accuracy and experience of Vaas, and it being near impossible to pick up Malinga's first 12 balls - at 150km/h+!!! they are the most challenging line up he has faced.

Add Jayasuriya, Jayawardene, and Sangakarra and you've got a pretty formidable core line up heading into the World Cup.

I think by now it is more than evident that the Lankans's are truly the most diverse and effective in terms of piercing the oppositions defence.