The ManicaPost
On the point with Aubrey Kamba
LAST week as I was hanging out with one group of crazy friends that I have and are crazy about cricket, we argued about the best players in the world and picking up a world’s 11 with current and old players. We had a long argument and I had a plan of writing about the best test bowlers ever so that we can prolong the argument. In cricket, unlike any other sport I know of, you can debate about cricket without any one having emotions ruining the fun because we look at the sport from various angles.
So I hope to catch Bally, Shinhi, TK AND Alex who have been giving me really good feedback and healthy arguments. So this is my top 10 best test bowlers.
10. Shaun Pollock, one of the top 10 greatest bowlers of all time
Shaun Pollock is a right arm medium fast bowler who played for South Africa from 1995 to 2008. He also had a good hand in batting and was a good all-rounder during his time. Shaun Pollock is considered one of the best ever bowlers playing for South Africa. He was a street smart bowler, Accuracy and sharp swing being his greatest strength. He has claimed more than 800 wickets in international cricket at a very impressive average. Shaun Pollock occupies the number 10 position in our list of top 10 greatest bowlers of all time.
9. Waqar Younis
Waqar Younis is a right arm fast bowler who played for Pakistan from 1989 to 2003 and is widely regarded as one of the top 10 bowlers of all time. He made his ODI debut against at Sharjah on October 14, 1989 and Test debut against India at Karachi on November 15, 1989. Lethal yorker and reverse swing was his chief armor by virtue of which he had troubled the world’s best batsmen of his time. He is widely regarded as the sultan of reverse swing, an art which the Pakistani bowlers have mastered. He pocketed nearly 800 wickets in his international career and occupies the Number Nine position in our list of top 10 greatest bowlers of all time.
8. Dennis Lillee, one of the top 10 greatest bowlers of all time
Dennis Lillee is a right arm fast bowler who played for Australia during 1971 to 1984. He is regarded as one of the top 1o greatest bowlers of all time for Australia. He started his career as an express fast bowler but injury forced him to cut down his speed eventually. Dennis Lillee made his Test debut against England at Adelaide on January 29, 1971. He has 355 test wickets and 103 ODI wickets to his name during his 13-year long career. On December 17, 2009, Dennis Lillee was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame. Dennis Lillee gets the Number Eight rank in our list of top 10 greatest bowlers of all time.
7. Richard Hadlee
Sir Richard Hadlee is an all-rounder who player for New Zealand during 1973 to 1990. He is one the best cricketer New Zealand has ever produced. He was a very intelligent bowler having great control and accuracy in his line and length. He was the first to claim 400 test wickets. He is regarded as one of the top ten bowlers of all time and one of the top 4 all-rounders of the 1980’s. Sir Richard Hadlee was one of the most feared bowlers of the 1980’s and he occupies the Number Seven spot in our list of top 10 greatest bowlers of all time.
6. Glenn McGrath one of the top 10 greatest bowlers of all time Glenn McGrath is a medium fast bowler who played for Australia from 1993 to 2007. He made his Test debut against New Zealand at Perth on November 12, 1993 and ODI debut against South Africa at Melbourne on December 9, 1993. His main strength was his consistent off stump line and a perfect length which made him one of the top 10 bowlers of all time. Glenn McGrath gets the Number Six position in our list of top 10 greatest bowlers of all time.
5. Anil Kumble
Anil Kumble, a wrist spinner, is by far the most successful bowler of India. He made his ODI debut against Sri Lanka at Sharjah on April 25, 1990 and Test debut against England at Manchester on August 9, 1990. Accuracy, consistency in line and length is his main strength. Although he is not a big turner of the ball yet he stands in the same league of Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan due to his accurate line and length. He has more than 900 international wickets to his name and is so far the highest wicket taker for India and 3rd highest wicket taker in the World in International Cricket. Anil Kumble occupies the fifth position in our list of top 10 greatest bowlers of all time.
4. Wasim Akram, on of the top 10 best bowlers of all time
Wasim Akram was a left arm fast bowler who played for Pakistan during 1984 – 2003. He made his ODI debut against New Zealand at Faisalabad on November 23, 1984 and also made his Test debut against the same opponent at Auckland on January 25, 1985. He is considered the best left arm fast bowlers of all time in the world. Having mastery over swing and reverse swing, he is known as the Sultan of Swing. He has scalped over 900 wickets in his 19 years long international career. Wasim Akram occupies the Number Four position in our list of top 10 best bowlers of all time.
3. Shane Warne
Shane Warne is one of the top 10 greatest bowlers of all time. Shane Warne was a right arm wrist spinner playing for Australia during 1992 – 2007. One can say Shane Warne and controversy are synonymous as controversies followed him one after the other both on and off the field. Nevertheless, he is one the greatest bowler of in the history of cricket. The fact that he has scalped 1001 wickets in international is itself a wonder of cricket. Considering the fact that he had taken most of his wickets in no so helpful conditions for spinners makes him one of the top 10 greatest bowlers of all time in the world. He is given the Number Three position in our list of top 10 greatest bowlers of all time.
2. Muttiah Muralitharan
Muttiah Muralitharan is the greatest spinner the world has ever seen. He played for Sri Lanka during 1992 – 2011. Murali made his Test debut against Australia at Colombo on August 28, 1992 and ODI debut against India at Colombo on August 12. Controversies always followed him, but that could not dent his performance on the field and he kept tumbling the records one after the other. He is the highest wicket taker in both Tests and ODIs. With over 1300 wickets to his name, Muralitharan occupies the Number Two position in our list of top 10 greatest bowlers of all time.
1. Sydney Barnes
Sydney Barnes is the Number One among top 10 greatest bowlers of all time. Sydney Barnes was an English fast bowler and is regarded as the best bowler of all time in the history of the game. He had a wide variation in his pace bowling from slow medium to Medium Fast. He made his Test debut against England at Sydney on December 13, 1901. He is ranked Number One in the ICC Best-Ever Test Championship Rating for bowlers. He took 1,432 wickets playing for Staffordshire at an awe-inspiring average of nine runs per wicket and played for the county until the age of 61. In Test cricket, Barnes played for England on 27 occasions from 1901 to 1914, scalping 189 wickets at a healthy average of 16.43 runs each.
