With Bob Willis, Ian Botham and Glenn McGrath preceding them, it is Australians who lay claim to be the most successful bowlers of all time,
Dennis Lillee (Australia, 1971-84)
Lillee established an early reputation as one of the fastest bowlers in the world, and his partnership with Jeff Thomson made them among the most feared duo in test cricket. Stress fractures forced him to modify his action, but nothing could curb his aggression and he remained a fierce competitor, never prepared to give opponents an inch.
From the start of his international career, he took a particular liking to English batters, taking 31 wickets in hs first Ashes series at an average of 17.67, and 25 in this second at 23.84. In all, he took 167 wickets against England.
Lillee, a man with a distinctive moustache, delivered one of his finest performances against England in the Centenary Test of 1976/77. He took 11 wickets to help Australia win by 45 runs.
Shane Warne (Australia, 1992-2007)
Since from the first ball he bowled against England, Shane Warne appeared to have the Indian sign over England. That ball seemed to be heading down leg side before jagging back sharply to clip off stump. The Ashes media hailed it as the Ball of the Century.
In truth, few English batters had little idea how to play him, and were made to look foolish by his ability to beat them through the air and off the pitch. So complete was his mastery over some of them that he had them mentally beaten even before they went out to bat.
The second highest wicket-taker of all time in Test cricket – after Muttiah Muralitharan – Warne took 195 wickets at 23.25 against the old enemy. That included four matches in which he took 10 wickets in all, and 11 five wicket hauls.
Ironically, his most successful Test series against England in 2005, in which he took 40 wickets, was the only Ashes series where Australia lost the urn during his career.