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International Cricketer
- Joined
- Apr 13, 2011
Fast bowling has always been, in the eyes of many, the most attractive aspect of cricket. Big, athletic men with long manes of hair, running in to throw down a red or white object at high pace. Speed has always thrilled, Usain Bolt and Manny Pacquiao are great examples of athletes in our generation who have proven the monicker, "speed kills". In recent years, since the retirement of men such as Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Curtley Ambrose, Allan Donald, Shane Bond and more recently Shoaib Akhtar, the game has lost some of it's most iconic fast men. That is why I thought I would post my thoughts on who I believe are the greatest fast bowlers ever to lace on a pair of trainers.
Wasim Akram: Sir Don Bradman once said that "Wasim Akram is the greatest left-arm fast bowler the game of cricket has ever seen". I would go one step further, he is without a doubt the most complete fast bowler ever. He delivered the bowl at high pace from a left arm angle, off a short run, surprising the batsmen with his speed and most of all, cunning. In-swing, out-swing, bouncers, yorkers, slower balls and that most fabled of arts, reverse-swing, he was the master of them all. Over 900 international wickets, with over 500 in ODIs alone, the first man to do so, all at an average of just 23, numbers do not lie, but to look at Akram's career with just numbers would be wrong, he was an artist, may be even a genius, a word so often and so worngly used in sport. Here it fits perfectly.
Malcolm Marshall: Sadly the greatest of the great West Indian fast bowlers was before my time, yet thanks to the timeless wizardry of TV and the internet, I have been able to catch him at his best. Smaller than all the giants that surrounded him, he almost floated to the crease, more a dancer than a fiersome fast bowler, or so they would think, before he unleashed deliveries at sheering pace. Yorkers came almost as naturally as bouncers, in-swing accompanied by out-swing. He had all the tools and the mind to match. His figures of 7-53 against England will always stand out, not just for it's skillfull brilliance but also because "Maco" had to play through the pain of a broken finger on his left hand. Did I mention he had a test average of just 20?
Glenn McGrath: I would just like to say that I like my fast bowlers to actually be fast, supermen who can breach the sound barrier and McGrath never did that. However, when he first started his career he bowled at a brisk pace but soon realised that was not his true calling. He was more a thinker than a builder and he out worked, out thought and out played far too many batsmen. Men who should have dominated a bowler of his pace, Lara, Tendulkar, Inzamam, Jayasuriya, they all fell to his brilliance. He has picked up more Test wickets than any other fast bowler in cricket history, and he did so, with the limitation of not being a true swing bowler. He was not quite the greatest but I will never forget his haul of 23 wickets in the 2007 World Cup, a time when all the experts said "he no longer has it".
Imran Khan: His an allrounder, I hear you say but his fast bowling was always his piece de resistance. Menacing, athletic, nimble, beautiful, dangerous and ever so effective, he was a bowler with a Test average of just 22 with over 300 wickets. This belies his most important attribute, the ability to take wickets when it really mattered. Before him reverse swing was a myth, with him it became an art form which he passed on to his prodigies, Wasim and Waqar, who then taught it to the world. A pioneer in every sense of the word and a World Cup winning captain. Oh, and how can anyone forget, his bowling was crucial to Pakistan drawing three Test series' with the West Indies at a time when the caribbean islands ruled cricket with an iron fist.
Micheal Holding: Whispering death was quite possibly the most aesthetically pleasing bowler of his, or any other generation. He was deadly with the new and old ball, and at his peak as fast as anyone who has ever played the game. He ran into ball with a smooth, almost flawless run, mesmeric in his approach, the snake charming the charmer. That famous over at the Oval against Geoffrey Boycott will always be remembered for its sheer, brutal pace. Fast, no other word remains to describe him.
Dennis Lillee: If fast bowlers are meant to have long, ferocious manes, unruly facial hair and a heart stopping glare, then Lillee was a fast bowler. But, he was more than that, he could swing the ball late, at high speed and ever so accurately. His deliveries could sometimes resemble scud missiles, so it is no wonder he is considered by many as the most iconic fast bowler of all time. His death dealing spells against England will never be forgotten and I hear that retired English batsmen still wake up in sweats. The most menacing of Australia's fast bowlers, even if not it's most elegant. We need more like Dennis Lillee but sadly he is the type to only come once.
Curtly Ambrose: I grew up watching a West Indian team in an inevitable but sad decline, yet Ambrose still managed 405 Test wickets at an average of only 20.99, while all around him, new West Indian fast men came and went. Courtney Walsh was often his partner in crime but Wals could never match up to the force and guile of Ambrose's spells. 7-1 anyone? That first delivery against Atherton in Port-of-Spain? And has anyone made Tendulkar feel as uncomfortable at the crease? Curtly Ambrose was big and clever.
Fred Trueman: England's greatest bowler and one of the fastest to ever put on the whites of Test cricket. There is not much of Trueman that fans of my generation can see but his statistics are gigantic enough to earn him a place on this list. He picked up 307 wickets in just 67 tests, the first bowler ever to cross the magical 300 and he did it all with an outstanding average of just 21.57. In his Test debut, he took 8-31 against India and never looked back. He was possibly not as quick as he would have had you believe but he was fast enough. An icon of his time.
Allan Donald: The 1990s was a great time for fast bowlers and an even better time for a young cricket fan to be growing up in. It was a time for change and reconciliation, with Allan Donald leading the South African pace attack into a new era. White lightning was a fiersome competitor, a cricketer blessed with skill and talent and a true gentleman outside of the game. Phenomenal averages coupled with hundreds of wickets were not all that made him so important to South Africa, it was the way he carried himself and how he used his bowling to once again make his nation a force in cricket.
Joel Garner: "Big Bird" is statistically unbelievable and aesthetically frightening. At his peak he had possibly the most lethal yorker in the sport, delivered from a height of more than 10 feet, not many batsmen saw it coming. He was not as skilled as Akram, or as fast as Holding but he could make the ball sing when he wanted to. Fast, accurate, dangerous and a true wicket taker, a brilliant, never been beaten 5-38 in a World Cup final is testament to his greatness.
Thank you to anyone who has taken some time out to read this. Comments and may be ur own lists of fav fast bowlers would be appreciated.
Wasim Akram: Sir Don Bradman once said that "Wasim Akram is the greatest left-arm fast bowler the game of cricket has ever seen". I would go one step further, he is without a doubt the most complete fast bowler ever. He delivered the bowl at high pace from a left arm angle, off a short run, surprising the batsmen with his speed and most of all, cunning. In-swing, out-swing, bouncers, yorkers, slower balls and that most fabled of arts, reverse-swing, he was the master of them all. Over 900 international wickets, with over 500 in ODIs alone, the first man to do so, all at an average of just 23, numbers do not lie, but to look at Akram's career with just numbers would be wrong, he was an artist, may be even a genius, a word so often and so worngly used in sport. Here it fits perfectly.
Malcolm Marshall: Sadly the greatest of the great West Indian fast bowlers was before my time, yet thanks to the timeless wizardry of TV and the internet, I have been able to catch him at his best. Smaller than all the giants that surrounded him, he almost floated to the crease, more a dancer than a fiersome fast bowler, or so they would think, before he unleashed deliveries at sheering pace. Yorkers came almost as naturally as bouncers, in-swing accompanied by out-swing. He had all the tools and the mind to match. His figures of 7-53 against England will always stand out, not just for it's skillfull brilliance but also because "Maco" had to play through the pain of a broken finger on his left hand. Did I mention he had a test average of just 20?
Glenn McGrath: I would just like to say that I like my fast bowlers to actually be fast, supermen who can breach the sound barrier and McGrath never did that. However, when he first started his career he bowled at a brisk pace but soon realised that was not his true calling. He was more a thinker than a builder and he out worked, out thought and out played far too many batsmen. Men who should have dominated a bowler of his pace, Lara, Tendulkar, Inzamam, Jayasuriya, they all fell to his brilliance. He has picked up more Test wickets than any other fast bowler in cricket history, and he did so, with the limitation of not being a true swing bowler. He was not quite the greatest but I will never forget his haul of 23 wickets in the 2007 World Cup, a time when all the experts said "he no longer has it".
Imran Khan: His an allrounder, I hear you say but his fast bowling was always his piece de resistance. Menacing, athletic, nimble, beautiful, dangerous and ever so effective, he was a bowler with a Test average of just 22 with over 300 wickets. This belies his most important attribute, the ability to take wickets when it really mattered. Before him reverse swing was a myth, with him it became an art form which he passed on to his prodigies, Wasim and Waqar, who then taught it to the world. A pioneer in every sense of the word and a World Cup winning captain. Oh, and how can anyone forget, his bowling was crucial to Pakistan drawing three Test series' with the West Indies at a time when the caribbean islands ruled cricket with an iron fist.
Micheal Holding: Whispering death was quite possibly the most aesthetically pleasing bowler of his, or any other generation. He was deadly with the new and old ball, and at his peak as fast as anyone who has ever played the game. He ran into ball with a smooth, almost flawless run, mesmeric in his approach, the snake charming the charmer. That famous over at the Oval against Geoffrey Boycott will always be remembered for its sheer, brutal pace. Fast, no other word remains to describe him.
Dennis Lillee: If fast bowlers are meant to have long, ferocious manes, unruly facial hair and a heart stopping glare, then Lillee was a fast bowler. But, he was more than that, he could swing the ball late, at high speed and ever so accurately. His deliveries could sometimes resemble scud missiles, so it is no wonder he is considered by many as the most iconic fast bowler of all time. His death dealing spells against England will never be forgotten and I hear that retired English batsmen still wake up in sweats. The most menacing of Australia's fast bowlers, even if not it's most elegant. We need more like Dennis Lillee but sadly he is the type to only come once.
Curtly Ambrose: I grew up watching a West Indian team in an inevitable but sad decline, yet Ambrose still managed 405 Test wickets at an average of only 20.99, while all around him, new West Indian fast men came and went. Courtney Walsh was often his partner in crime but Wals could never match up to the force and guile of Ambrose's spells. 7-1 anyone? That first delivery against Atherton in Port-of-Spain? And has anyone made Tendulkar feel as uncomfortable at the crease? Curtly Ambrose was big and clever.
Fred Trueman: England's greatest bowler and one of the fastest to ever put on the whites of Test cricket. There is not much of Trueman that fans of my generation can see but his statistics are gigantic enough to earn him a place on this list. He picked up 307 wickets in just 67 tests, the first bowler ever to cross the magical 300 and he did it all with an outstanding average of just 21.57. In his Test debut, he took 8-31 against India and never looked back. He was possibly not as quick as he would have had you believe but he was fast enough. An icon of his time.
Allan Donald: The 1990s was a great time for fast bowlers and an even better time for a young cricket fan to be growing up in. It was a time for change and reconciliation, with Allan Donald leading the South African pace attack into a new era. White lightning was a fiersome competitor, a cricketer blessed with skill and talent and a true gentleman outside of the game. Phenomenal averages coupled with hundreds of wickets were not all that made him so important to South Africa, it was the way he carried himself and how he used his bowling to once again make his nation a force in cricket.
Joel Garner: "Big Bird" is statistically unbelievable and aesthetically frightening. At his peak he had possibly the most lethal yorker in the sport, delivered from a height of more than 10 feet, not many batsmen saw it coming. He was not as skilled as Akram, or as fast as Holding but he could make the ball sing when he wanted to. Fast, accurate, dangerous and a true wicket taker, a brilliant, never been beaten 5-38 in a World Cup final is testament to his greatness.
Thank you to anyone who has taken some time out to read this. Comments and may be ur own lists of fav fast bowlers would be appreciated.
