Australian misery for overseas fast bowlers

There used to be a time when fast bowlers would queue up to travel to Australia: the wickets had bounce and helped seam movement, and overseas teams had the quality to exploit the conditions. Over the last few years, though, the equation has changed considerably. The wickets have eased up - even Perth no longer offers the trampoline-like bounce it once used to. The Kookaburra ball doesn't swing or seam much, overseas teams haven't always had a competent line-up of fast bowlers, and the Australian top order has developed into such a formidable unit that fast bowlers have had little chance against the likes of Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting and Co.

The first day of the Brisbane Test was the latest example of overseas fast bowlers coming a distant second-best, after Mahela Jayawardene put Australia in to bat in what looked like helpful bowling conditions. Chaminda Vaas, Farveez Maharoof and Dilhara Fernando returned combined figures of 1 for 166, and only Muttiah Muralitharan's wizardry allowed Sri Lanka to stay in the contest.

The table below shows how fast bowlers have performed in each country since 2000. New Zealand and South Africa are the two where fast bowlers have relished bowling (Bangladesh takes top spot, but that can be partly explained by the fact that their batsmen struggle against pace), but Australia figures way down in the list - only in India do fast bowlers concede more runs per wicket.

It wasn't always so bad for the overseas fast bowlers, though. In the 1970s and 1980s - when West Indies, England, New Zealand and Pakistan all had high-quality pace bowlers - they averaged around 30 per wicket in Australia. Over the last seven years, though, that number has zoomed up to 50. The only foreign fast bowler to take ten wickets in a Test during this period was Andrew Caddick, who took 10 for 215 in a match-winning performance in Sydney (though England had already lost the series by then).

Sri Lanka's decision to leave Lasith Malinga out from the team for the Brisbane Test was a baffling one - even more so considering he has been the best overseas fast bowler in Australia in the last seven years. In the two Tests he played in Darwin and Cairns in 2004, Malinga twice took four-wicket hauls, and finished with ten at an average of 26.40. Andre Nel and Merv Dillon are the only others who managed a sub-30 average.

Far more illustrious names have terribly disappointing stats: Courtney Walsh had just 11 wickets from five games at 43.72. Shaun Pollock has done even worse, with 16 wickets at 46.68; Chris Cairns' ten have cost him 45.50 each, while Steve Harmison has had two eminently forgettable tours: in ten Tests he has picked up 23 wickets at an exorbitant 50.86 apiece.

The quality of Australia's own fast bowlers has ensured, though, that their numbers have remained more or less constant through the decades. Glenn McGrath has led the attack outstandingly, while Brett Lee and Jason Gillespie have offered wonderful support. The only team that has handled Australian pace with aplomb during this period has been India - they average 39.77 per wicket in five Tests - but crucially, McGrath was missing in four of those matches.

And how have Australian fast bowlers performed in each country during this period? The table below shows they've enjoyed conditions in New Zealand, South Africa, and quite surprisingly India, more than the conditions back home. However, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and even England, have been more difficult to conquer.