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Malinga vs Tait for T20

Who is a better T20 bowler?


  • Total voters
    32

pasag

RTDAS
Tait is great in the format, I'd have him around my best XI every day of the week, Malinga is on another level though. He's the first name on the world XI teamsheet and one of the only bowlers in the world who is awesome at any stage of an innings.
 

Athlai

Not Terrible
Thats a pretty good point, Malinga is a guy who the captain can bowl at any stage of the innings and expect a stellar effort from him. I'd say while Tait is a very good T20 bowler that he isn't quite as versatile.
 

social

Well-known member
Tait is great in the format, I'd have him around my best XI every day of the week, Malinga is on another level though. He's the first name on the world XI teamsheet and one of the only bowlers in the world who is awesome at any stage of an innings.
If the question was "who's the better death bowler?"

Then the obvious answer is Malinga

However, that wasnt the question

The assertion that Malinga is a better T20 bowler overall simply isnt supported by the facts

Tait takes more wickets per match at a lower average with a better strike rate and economy rate

Furthermore, we're not talking slightly better figures here, Tait's figures are MUCH better
 

Athlai

Not Terrible
Tait has played SFA so statsifying this argument is pointless. 40 overs of bowling vs. 71.3, neither have figures that really reflect anything meaningful besides that they are both talented T20 bowlers.
 

pasag

RTDAS
If the question was "who's the better death bowler?"

Then the obvious answer is Malinga

However, that wasnt the question

The assertion that Malinga is a better T20 bowler overall simply isnt supported by the facts

Tait takes more wickets per match at a lower average with a better strike rate and economy rate

Furthermore, we're not talking slightly better figures here, Tait's figures are MUCH better
You and Sir Alex are a match made in heaven.
 

vic_orthdox

Global Moderator
What makes Tait such a huge asset is that, with the new ball, he can nullify the first six overs when he wrecks a team, like he has done in the past. That's invaluable, and makes every other bowler's job easier.

What Malinga provides is more of an option when the cat is already out of the bag. I'd probably pick both of them in my world T20 team.
 

Sir Alex

Banned
If the question was "who's the better death bowler?"

Then the obvious answer is Malinga

However, that wasnt the question

The assertion that Malinga is a better T20 bowler overall simply isnt supported by the facts

Tait takes more wickets per match at a lower average with a better strike rate and economy rate

Furthermore, we're not talking slightly better figures here, Tait's figures are MUCH better
There is a difference between 'Who has the better statistics' and 'Who is the better bowler'. Otherwise in a Warne vs Murali debate, Murali would be the undisputed victor.

Malinga has the better eco rate in t20s which is for me all that matters in that format.
 
Last edited:

Faisal1985

Well-known member
Personally feel Tait will over take Malinga in this format soon. He has the advantage of pace and we have seen that he can bowl that slower one very well too...
 

NasserFan207

Well-known member
I think Malinga is slightly overrated tbh. Good bowler who had a real purple patch, but he's been average recently. Tait has been more effective.
 

social

Well-known member
There is a difference between 'Who has the better statistics' and 'Who is the better bowler'. Otherwise in a Warne vs Murali debate, Murali would be the undisputed victor.

Malinga has the better eco rate in t20s which is for me all that matters in that format.
Malinga has a slightly better eco rate in club cricket but, in any event, that stat is more than offset by Tait's vastly superior strike rate

Tait concedes one run per over less in the real stuff, takes double the number of wickets per match and basically, by any measure, is better
 

vic_orthdox

Global Moderator
I think at this stage, with Twenty20 in its embryonic stage still, its worth looking at the IPL and domestic stuff because the sample sizes aren't huge yet in the International arena.
 

Jono

Virat Kohli (c)
Umm, because club games are irrelevant when it comes to discussing the best players in the world
No they're not.

Some of the matches in the KFC Big Bash and IPL are far more worthwhile than the earlier T20 internationals, which were the definition of a piss-take.
 

Sir Alex

Banned
Malinga has a slightly better eco rate in club cricket but, in any event, that stat is more than offset by Tait's vastly superior strike rate

Tait concedes one run per over less in the real stuff, takes double the number of wickets per match and basically, by any measure, is better
Strike rates are irrelevant in a format that allows you to lose one wicket every 12 balls and still get away with it, if you manage a good eco rate.

Also, the higher eco rate suggests people takes more chances at Tait than Malinga and hence Tait ends up with more wickets.

The argument that Tait slows down scoring due to him taking wickets is void ab initio considering he bleeds more runs per over than Malinga.

Also Tait had the fortune of playing most of his t20s on favorable conditions. Malinga has maintained an exemplary record despite having played in the subcontinent where even a mi**** can fetch sixes. Figure in fielding etc etc.

They haven't played enough at International level to arrive at a proper conclusion.
 

andyc

Well-known member
May be he's below the cut off.
I wasn't sure what Cricinfo meant when they said against the 'top teams,' but even with games not including Bangladesh, he's definitely bowled more than the 40 overs needed to get in the list. Again, I wasn't sure whether Cricinfo's analysis included Bangladesh, so these are his figures with and without them. Not trying to make any judgment from this, I'm pretty much on the fence when it comes to all this, but it is interesting. I'd say Malinga's probably perceived as being one of the best pacemen going around, but in terms of T20Is, Tait does certainly have considerably better figures. Still, Malinga's played over twice the games Tait has, and that's still only 22 games, so all of this should be taken with a hefty grain of salt.
 

Faisal1985

Well-known member
Numbers Game: The pace-spin equation in Twenty20, and a D/L snippet | Regulars | Cricinfo Magazine | Cricinfo.com

Has Tait coming in at second behind Gul in terms of the best fast bowler against Top 10 teams, with Malinga nowhere to be seen.
I must say i am surprised to see that Malinga is not on that list of stats.

I would think perhaps Malinga lacks consistency. Tait, even though has a relatively smaller amount of games he played has been consistent.

But both bowlers are Snipers on their day.
 
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