5 Fast Bowlers of last decade.

Fast Bowlers, Speed & Thrill.

Top 5 Fast Bowlers in the last decade

Living in India and watching the Indian fast bowlers has never pleased me. I have been pleading for the last couple of years for one genuine fast bowler to be produced by India, but no hope so far. When I was a kid I used to enjoy Waqar – Wasim working in tandem with their Yorkers and reverse swing at breath taking speed.  Although Cricket is known as a batsman’s game but a good Fast bowler can knock down any batsman and can give him nightmare throughout his life. A Fast bowler can be as elegant as McGrath or Unorthodox like Malinga. A Fast bowler at his peak is a treat to watch in test cricket. Eight out of ten fast bowlers are prone to injuries. A fit fast bowler can rattle any batsman on his day. Cricmatez.com brings you the top 5 fast bowlers in the last decade.

5) James Andersen –

James Andersen is on 5^th number of my last 13 years fast bowlers list, with his mixed international career. Debuting at age of 20 a prime time for a young fast bowlers he was expected to knock off batsman too frequently but couldn’t met the expectation & later dropped from squad. But he made a strong come back at international level & now he is the leading pace man for England from last 6 years. He is also Englands most wicket taker combined all form of Cricket & to be counted as a one of the best fast bowlers playing today. His Ability is to swing bowl at good pace above 140+ kph with Surprising Yorkers.

4) Brett Lee –

The Quickie from New South Wales is the most loved fast bowler of his time especially for his “digging into ground” style after taking wicket.  He was consistent in bowling fast & taking wickets. Although he was dependent on pace to take a wicket he used to bowl a good bouncers & Yorkers too. His average speed used to be 145kp/h through out the match. “Speed isn’t everything” but Lee has the technique to bowl batsman out & he was a naturally gifted quickie too. He was named wisden’s cricketer of the year in 2006.

3) Shane Bond –

2 Fast 2 Furious, Easily the best fast bowler of New Zealand after Richard Hadlee. In his debut series itself he clears that he is the best bowler to come out after Legend Hadlee. Steady Run up, elegant action & the follow through, everything about his bowling was perfect, his strength was not only to bowl 140+ kph consistently but also to swing the ball prolifically. If not Malinga then I would definitely go with Shane Bond if ask about Yorker, who can forget his Devastating Yorker to Gilchrist in ODI & the Banana Yorker to England’s Ex-Captain Mr. Vaughan? May be we can but not these two batsmen’s. He used to bowl Yorker at 150kph leaving batsman on the ground & then a late swing to trouble batsman even more. He was a star performer for Kiwis in 2003 world cup too scalping 17 opponents in just 8 Matches. Bond’s career average in tests was 22 with a strike rate of almost 38 and in ODIs it was 21 and 29 respectively. But he was a fragile Injury was his major concern through out his international career; he missed most of the matches in 2003-2007 also faced ban because of signing for ICL. Injury did damage to his career & he only lasted for 18 test matches taking 86 wickets.  If he was ready to sacrifice his pace & few skill he would have a big career at international level but he was not ready to sacrifice what he is known for. My Last word about Bond “One of the best fast bowlers ever… If he wasn't plagued by injuries he would have been very famous. ” and the Name is Bond, James Bond.

2) Shoaib Akhtar

“Controversially yours” perfect name for his book & for him. The most annoying, arrogant & the most loving speedster of his generation. The Pakistan Airline celebration that annoying smile & the marathon run up all reminds us to one name Shoaib Akhtar. He was light & fast in his initial career and used to bowl 145+ kph easily but as he grown old his speed decreases a bit but still he was able to bowl 140kph. Despite of Fast Grounds & flat Pitches there have been a lot of fast bowlers produced by Pakistan Wasim, Waqar & Imran too name few, but Akhtar was the crowd puller, his run up was the longest I ever saw, He was the self speed gun, ruthless & fearless. He also own the crown of the fasted ball bowled by any bowler in any format of the game, clocking 161.7 to Knick Knight (Few may argue).  He was the most exciting bowler & favorite among youngster in early 2000’s, coming from long run up & beating world’s best batsman with his pace was his remark. He is regarded as one of the fastest ever bowler in history of Cricket & also known as Rawalpindi Express.

1)      Dale Steyn

Natural Speed, Accuracy, Variations & Technique make one the best bowler in the world, & Steyn got this all. The Best & most successful fast bowler of current era, regarded as the most dangerous & skill full bowler today name is Dale Steyn. Pitching on Off side off stump, hitting same length & beating batsman is Steyn’s strength. He always has chances against batsman, Bowled, LBW or Edge behind as corridor of uncertainty is his strength where batsman left stranded by deliveries whether to leave or to play. Occasional bouncer & Yorker in death overs is added weapon in Steyn’s arm. Yet another elegant bowling action with steady body follows up. He is leading South Africa’s pace attack from last 5 years. Opposition batsman gets chill in there spine when this man is bowling, spectators enjoy’s watching him bowl too.  More then 5 wicket in test & averaging near 23 is clearly a symbol of Great bowler ever in Cricket. Steyn in Rhythm is Monster running on Open Street. He is quick but the amount of control which he have on his bowling is awesome too, he has mastered the most difficult delivery for Batsman “AN OUT SWINGER”. He is 30 years of old & I am sure when he will be there right beside Walsh, Ambross, Hadlee, Waqar, Marshal, Wasim, Murali & Wanre. For Me he is clearly the best Fast Bowler I ever saw.