The second installment of my Greatest Ever series is here! In this series I will look at the greatest talents to grace various sports. This time, carrying on from The Top Ten Batsmen of All Time, I look at the Top Ten Bowlers of all time. Enjoy!
A good bowler can win a game of cricket for you almost on his own. If a great bowler is having a great day, he can rip through the oppositions batting line and set up an easy victory for his team. There have been many great bowlers over the years, here I try and condense it down into the top ten.
10. Wasim Akram (PAK) - A fast left-handed bowler, the "Sultan of Swing" took over 400 Test wickets, and holds the record for amount of wickets in ODIs (502) and List A cricket (881). An average of 23.62 in Test matches from 104 appearances is an impressive one. He is only one of three bowlers to record two hat-tricks in Test cricket, and only one of three to have achieved the same feat in ODI cricket.
9. Courtney Walsh (WIN) - Bowling over 5,000 Test match overs and taking over 500 Test match wickets, Walsh was a fast right-handed bowler. His partnership with Curtly Ambrose was one of the most feared in cricket throughout the 90s, carrying on the reputation left behind by previous West Indies fast bowlers.
8. Glenn McGrath (AUS) - McGrath was a key reason for Australia's domination of cricket since the mid 90s. His 563 Test wickets is the most any fast bowler has ever got, and fourth in the all time list. He has also taken more World Cup wickets than any other player. His average of 21.64 from 124 Tests is one of the best you will find on this star-studded list.
7. Curtly Ambrose (WIN) - This 6'7" colossus bowled over 1,000 maiden overs in just 98 Tests, and took 405 wickets. As already mentioned, his partnership with Courtney Walsh was a feared one, and his average of just 20.99 shows why that was so. His 2 metre plus frame was an intimidating sight for any batsman, and allowed him to get bounce on whatever pitch he played on.
6. Dennis Lillee (AUS) - Very unlucky to miss out on the top five, Lillee was a fearsome fast bowler with a fiery temper. His 355 Test wickets was a record when he retired in 1984, and his average of 23.92 isn't too shabby either. Few, if any batsmen ever looked forward to facing Lillee, as they knew they would be in for a tough time.
5. Sir Richard Hadlee (NZ) - Hadlee was the first bowler to ever pass the 400 Test wickets mark. It was often said that Hadlee always thought 'what would Lillee do?' when trying to get his man out. The Kiwi went on to eclipse his idol with 431 Test wickets and an average of just 22.29.
4. Malcolm Marshall (WIN) - Marshall's Test bowling average of 20.94 is the best of any bowler to have taken more then 200 wickets. His aggressive fast bowling became feared among batsmen, especially his bouncer, which people attempted to get banned on more than one occasion. He recorded 376 Test match wickets.
3. Shane Warne (AUS) - The third and final Aussie to be featured on this list, Shane Warne is the greatest leg-spin bowler in cricket history. One of only two men to have achieved over 700 Test match wickets, he was the only bowler to be voted as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Century. He is popular to a huge amount of fans around the world, but because of his outspoken personality is unpopular among many more.
2. Sydney Barnes (ENG) - The first Englishman on this list, and perhaps a surprise choice. Despite not taking too many wickets, Barnes' Test match average remains the best I've seen. He only played in 27 Test matches and took 189 wickets. That's an average of a phenomenal 16.43. His first-class career was more of the same, with an average of just over 17, recording 719 wickets in 133 matches.
1. Muttiah Muralitharan (SRI) - Murali is without doubt the greatest off-spinner of all time, and, according to me, the greatest bowler of all time. In an unspectacular Sri Lankan side he has taken 735 wickets in Test matches, which is more than anyone else. His highest average in all forms of the game is 23.00, in ODI, and he has a 19.06 average in first-class, having recorded well over 1,000 wickets. He is second in the list of all time ODI wicket takers. His most potent weapon is perhaps his infamous doosra, which no-one has been able to master like he has done.
24 comments Last one added about 1 month ago — Leave a Comment
Kiran Gokarn about 1 year ago
No Anil Kumble ??
You must be kidding..!!!
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Shyam Parthasarathi about 1 year ago
Was wondering the same thing..
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Faisal Khatri 2 months ago
To Kiran and Syam: I think waqar youniis is much much better bowler then Kumble. if you say kumble, then there are lots of bowlers who deserve to be in list. Like Imran Khan, Alan Donald, Saqlain Mushtaq, Darren Gough, and so on. Dont be bias only for ur country..i think its a fair list. I was wondering waqar younis the master of all swinger to be in the list but i guess thats the best lilst.
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Salaar Arshad Shamsi about 1 year ago
Geoff Lawson,Waqar Younis,Abdul Qadir,Micheal Holding,Bedi might fancy themselves...good list Barney..Thanks for Sharing!
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Anon Payn about 1 year ago
a good list... but it's based too much on stats for my liking. statistics can often be misleading... eg. kumble! he has a lousy average compared to Warne, but his rate of picking wickets is on par with the Ausie.
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Barney about 1 year ago
just for the record anil kumble was on the original list, but then i read about Sydney Barnes and kumble was the unfortunate one to miss out. I couldn't decide which one to leave out so i picked the one with the worst average out of them. kumble would be 11th if thats any consolation!
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Faisal Khatri 2 months ago
Whats ur consideration about Waqar Younis? If you are considering kumble as 11th. and about Alan Donald?
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Jon Naylor about 1 year ago
Kumble's had an exceptional career-do you think Mishra or Chawla will be able to fill the void in the India side?
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Shyam Parthasarathi about 1 year ago
Mishra and Chawla are similar bowlers but Kumble is totally different.. only time will tell whether they're good enough to fill his shoes.
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Kiran Gokarn about 1 year ago
Considering the fact that umble hardly turned the ball to a great extent like Warne or Murli, he should be in the top 5.....hands down...
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jake kendall about 1 year ago
whilst the statistics prove you right to put Muttiah Muralitharan ahead of Shane Warne, i believe Warne to be the better bowler. He always strove to outthink a batsman, using clever variations: sliders, flippers and the occasional googly. Murali, although a great, merely tries to spin the ball as far as possible
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Danny Elliott about 1 year ago
sorry mate but Warne is the best I reckon! Murali is great, but the guile of Warne was phenomonal! He brought a dead art form back into the game and followed in the footsteps of some great like Benaud and Bousquet ( I know thats wrong it's late and i can't be bothered checking!)
Have you read the Atherton article on Warne in the last Wisden? i think its on cricinfo anyway, guve me a shout if you want to read it and can't find it! great debate though mate.
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David Stone about 1 year ago
I'll say from the outset that I am an Australian so naturally I am going to disagree with your choice of Muralitharan as number one. The fact that you have placed him there, and the make-up of your top ten suggests that you have simply chosen the ten best you've seen, or at least the ten best of the era in which you have watched cricket. To place Muralitharan as the best of all time when the laws of cricket and what constituted "chucking" had to be changed to allow him to continue playing is a problem not only Australian's are going to struggle with. Had he grown up in Australia, England, New Zealand or South Africa, India, West Indies or Pakistan his action would have been corrected as a junior or he wouldn't have been allowed to play. The only reason such latitude was given to what is blatant chucking is that Sri Lanka needed assistance to be competitive. The ICB decided to ignore the rules, then bend the rules then change the rules to cater for Murally. Bowlers such as Brett Lee and Shoab Akhtar were called for chucking with only minor bending and straightening of the elbow, no-one in the history of cricket has been allowed to chuck a cricket ball and call it bowing - except Muttiah Muralitharan. In an experiment where he was forced to bowl in a cast to prevent him chucking Murally could still bowl his full arsenal of balls. The difference was the ferocious spin and dip was missing - in other words he was ineffective unless he could use his chucking action. He is without peer as the best chucker of all time - not the best bowler.
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wayne challenger about 1 month ago
why are u so quick to jump at murali? didnt warne take drug enhancement pills? i know u are going to root for shane warne but dont you realize warne cant get wickets against batsmen who could play quality spin? he was rubbish against india who have great spin players and he was rubbish against west indies as well who had lara and hooper. there are only one batsman in the history of cricket who could say they got the better of murali and that is brian lara, i could call 10 who made shane warne look like a school boy.
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sarma vishnubhotla 11 months ago
My computer gives the following ratings:
(1) Sydney F Barnes (1000) (2) Muttiah Muralitharan (979) (3) Clarence V Grimmett (955) (4) William J O'Reilly (950) (5) Colin E H Croft (911) (6) Hugh Tayfield (909) (7) Anil Kumble (903) (8) Malcolm Marshall (902) (9) Joel Garner (890) and (10) Richard Hadlee (881).
vsssarma@gmail.com
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TinJu Jishnu 10 months ago
1.wasim akram
2.richard hadley
3.michel holding
4.dennis lillee
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TinJu Jishnu 10 months ago
where is joel garner & alan donald??????????????
chandrasekhara is india's best bowler ever
but kumblai is the best match winner
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TinJu Jishnu 10 months ago
wazim akram at 10th position
this is too much...
his bowling is the best thing in the cricket history
and he is the 2nd bestplayer of alltime!! 2nd only to sir garfield saint obourne sobers!!!!!!!!!!!!
ask gavaskar,lara,sachin,atherton,mark waugh..they wl tel u wazim akram is da best
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chandra shekar 9 months ago
where is polly?????????
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rajitha herath herath 7 months ago
evryone r support thir country n disagree wth what othrs say... but first look @ evry players stats...thn u can chnge ur minds.. bcause.. MURALI is the best.. evr.,..
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Pradeep de Alwis 5 months ago
first reply to david...u r just a VERY jealous Aussie....
but i do agree with most of the people....stats alone cant decide who the best bowler is. Personally I'd put Murali and Warne in the same position. Again surprising to see no Donald, Garner,Holding, Waqar ( though obviously cant fit them all in the list)...
Then we need to think about the countless bowlers we really havn't geard that much about ( in the 50's 40's etc)....
But good list overall...take Barnes out and you could call it the "Beast Bowlers of the O.D.I era"
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Dai Fring 4 months ago
Ambrose and Houlding were capable of maidens and high wicket hauls reagrdless of he pitch conditions. Houlding was so elegant even his return walk for his run up looked like poetry.
Murali has the stats, but the fact he bowls with bent arm will always ditract from the enjoyment of watching his highlight reels.
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S B 3 months ago
No Holding.... Garner? Suspicious list.
I agree with all the above people's comments as well.
This article should be redone.
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S B 3 months ago
You mention Akram but without Younis?
Bollocks.
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