Top 10 Fast Bowlers
No10: Kapil Dev
Arguably the greatest all-rounder to play the game, Kapil Dev would have made this list even if he’s been a terrible tailender with the bat. Accuracy and swing were responsible for his 431 Test wickets - India duly named him their cricketer of the last century.
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No9: Allan Donald
With a nickname like White Lightning, you’re either a big cider drinker or a stupidly fast bowler. Donald was the latter and had it not been for South Africa’s exclusion from cricket, he could have ended up with even more victims. Eventually getting his chance at the age of 26, Donald made up for lost time by taking 330 wickets with some seriously aggressive bowling.
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No8: Sir Richard Hadlee
New Zealand’s early years in Test cricket were tough to say the least. But one Kiwi goes down as one of the greatest to have played the game. With 431 wickets at 22 - as well as 15 half centuries with the bat - Hadlee was the nearest thing to a one-man team you’ll get.
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No7: Wasim Akram
Just shading his Pakistan strike partner Waqar Younis for a place in the top 10, Akram was the finest left-arm fast bowler of all time, combing pace with swing to deadly effect. Wasim retired in 2003 after bagging an eye-popping 916 international wickets, including 414 in Tests.
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No6: Jeff Thomson
In tandem with Aussie team-mate Dennis Lillee, Thomson terrorized international batsmen for 13 years, bowling express-paced deliveries from a slingy action. Injuries saw him play only 51 Tests, capturing 200 wickets in the process. But those stats only tell half the story - there have been few quicker in the game.
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No5: Dennis Lillee
One of the most iconic images in cricket as to be the sight of Dennis Lillee steaming in to bowl, with sweat band on his head and hairy chest on show. The textbook macho Australian, Lillee snared 355 Test wickets at 23, with 167 of those coming in the Ashes.
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No4: Michael Holding
Arguably the fastest of the fast bowlers, Michael Holding liked nothing better than to send the stumps of a batsman flying before he’d even considered what shot he might play. The West Indian’s 248 wickets from 60 Tests is impressive but the nickname “Whispering Death” probably tells you all you need to know.
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No3: Courtney Walsh
Walsh tore through top-orders like they were made of tissue paper. There has probably never been a bowler with so much heart and the fact he lasted 17 years at the top is testament to the West Indies legend. In his later years Walsh swapped pace for guile, eventually ending up on 519 Test wickets - a record at the time.
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No2: Malcolm Marshall
In possession of the deadliest bouncer, Marshall could get a batsman hopping around the crease like a cat on a hot tin roof. But his express pace was one of many strings to ther West Indian’s bow, along with swing, seam and radar-like accuracy. Sadly no longer with us, Marshall took 376 Test wickets at a phenomenal strike rate of a wicket every 46 balls.
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No1: Glenn McGrath
Speed is not everything in fast bowling and Glenn McGrath is a worthy occupant of our top spot. Using relentless accuracy, the Australian ace became the leading wicket-taker among fast bowlers in Test cricket, with 563 scalps in a career that spanned 14 years. Simply the best.
Source:www.thesun.co.uk
