John Newton once said, “A bowler can make or break a chap”!
The role of bowlers has always been underrated in the game of cricket. Cricket is always called the batsmen’s game with most of the heroes emerging from the game being batsmen themselves. While modern cricket is changing for good and the role of every player seems to be getting equal importance, the case was not always so. Despite all these factors, the world cricket has produced some great bowlers in every era, who have changed numerous games single-handedly. The aura of fast bowlers has specially been glorious. Some fast bowlers are very good with their pace, line, and length while some others are extraordinary who are able to perform in any kind of pitch. But, above all of them are the ferocious pacers who instill fear in the minds of the batsmen and dominate the game whenever they put their feet on the ground. There was a time when fast bowlers used to beat the batsmen just by pace. The list below mentions the top 5 of them.
5. Shoaib Akhtar: At the starting of the list is the Pakistani pacer, Shoaib Akhtar. Akhtar remains to be one of the fastest bowlers in the world cricket years after his retirement. Famous as the ‘Rawalpindi Express’, Akhtar shot fame with his bullet-like fast deliveries and deadly bouncers way before he made friends with controversies. For a very long time, Pakistan remained to be known as the factory of fast bowlers and Akhtar is among the top-most products of that factory joined by Waqar Younis and Wasim Akram. Akhtar bowled his fastest delivery at a pace of 161.3 km/h against Nick Knight of England. Despite a long list of injuries, Akhtar managed to troublesome the greatest batsmen of his time including Brian Lara, Sachin Tendulkar, and Ricky Ponting. Not to forget the fear that he used to instill in the minds of ordinary batsmen. He took 444 wickets across all three formats of the game.
4. Anderson Roberts: Popularly known as Andy Roberts, this pace machine was a symbol of fear for batsmen across the world in the later 1970s and early 80s. Roberts used to make life tough for the batsmen with his chin-kissing bouncers. A lethal combination of pace and bounce made him one of the toughest bowlers to face. He started his Test career against England and it was the English who faced his wrath the most. Roberts bagged 202 wickets in his short career of 47 matches, but it was big enough to place him in the list of most ferocious bowlers that the world has ever seen. Former Pakistan captain Imran Khan considered him the fastest bowler in the world.
3. Dennis Lillee: The Australians have ruled the world cricket for nearly 2 decades and this list can’t be complete without mentioning the Aussie pace-machine Dennis Lillee. Lillee was one of the most feared bowlers across the world in the 70s and 80s. Despite an uneasy start to his career, Lillee managed to put his act together and make life hell for even the bests batsmen in the world with his lethal deliveries. His Test career was particularly prolific and he bagged 355 wickets in just 70 matches. He took 10 wickets in a match 7 times. However, his ODI career was not as great as his test career. Despise this, he managed to take 103 ODI wickets in 63 matches that he played.
2. Michael Holding: Another West Indian great, Michael Holding was given the title ‘Whispering Death’ due to his quite run-up which was enough to trick the batsmen waiting to face him. Despite a very quiet action, his deliveries proved to be deadly for batsmen all across the world. A perfect combination of line, length, and pace made him an extremely difficult bowler to play. There were several instances when batsmen got injured while playing him due to the sheer pace that he used to generate. A lethal delivery by the ferocious pacer once left former English cricketer Dennis Amiss needing stitches during a practice match. Holding took 249 wickets in just 60 Test matches while 142 wickets in 102 ODI matches.
1. Malcolm Marshall: Right at the top is another deadly West Indian pacer, Malcolm Marshall. An epitome of aggression and speed, the lightning-fast deliveries of Marshall were a nightmare for even the best batsmen of that time. Marshall used to say, “I love blood on the pitch” and it was no exaggeration. Marshall left many batsmen injured in his career and his fear was instilled in the minds of teams around the world. It was the golden period of the Windies cricket that helped them earn the title ‘The Godfathers of Cricket’. “Kill’em man” was the chant that his teammates used to pump him during the runup and batsmen shivered to face him. The Barbados-born legend had an unmatchable record in domestic cricket and emulated it at the international level as well. Marshall ended his career with 376 wickets off just 81 Test matches and 157 wickets of 136 ODI matches.
