Fast bowling is something which puts the thrill in the game of cricket. History of the game has seen some great fast bowlers who fired up the pitch with their pace and bounce. A battle between top batsman and a fast bowler is a treat to watch for the spectators. Fast pace plus swing plus bounce makes it intimidating for any batsman in the world.
Note: Champion Peoples is not affiliated with any of the bowlers listed below
Curtly Ambrose (West Indies)
Curtly Ambrose is one of the tallest cricketers of all time. Ambrose was 6ft 7in, and he could release the ball from almost 10ft high. He was one of the most dangerous fast bowlers with a lethal pace, bounce, and swing. He took 7 wickets for only 1 run against Australia at WACA 1992/93 season. That was one of the best bowling figures of all time.
Curtly Ambrose took 405 test wickets in 98 matches, with an average of 20.99, and also 225 ODI wickets in 176 matches. Without any doubt, he is the greatest and fastest bowler of all time.
Wasim Akram (Pakistan)
Wasim Akram was rated as the greatest bowler of all time. The influence of this man on the cricketing pitch is just unmatchable. He is known for his reverse swing and toe-crushing swinging yorkers. He was a part of the World Cup-winning team in 1992 and was also adjudged the Man of the Match for his all-around performance of 3/49 and 33 of 18.
The world of cricket may never witness a bowler like Wasim Akram again. His capability of swinging the ball in both ways and his lethal Yorkers are just impossible to face. Wasim Akram is widely considered one of the greatest fast bowlers in cricket history, known for his exceptional swing and reverses swing bowling abilities.
Malcolm Marshall (West Indies)
A slanted run-up was used by Malcolm Marshall, as opposed to a straight run-up. Bob Willis had a similar run-up in the same vein, although he wasn’t as quick as Marshall was. To date, Marshall has arguably bowled the most bouncers, and they’ve all been so effective that they’ve damaged a few batters and discouraged a lot more.
Bounty deliveries were sent to right-handed batters from around the wicket, with a middle and leg line such that batters did not even have a chanceto avoid the body hit. He averaged 20.94 and bowled at 90+ mph for most of his career. Test bowlers with more than 200 wickets have failed to beat his average of 20.94 runs per wicket. From 1978 until 1992, he represented the West Indies on the international stage.
Dennis Lillee (Australia)
Dennis Lillee broke Lance Gibbs’ World record of taking the most number of wickets in his test career (309). He ended up with 355 wickets in 70 test matches. Lillee was a very Dangerous bowler with a combination of speed and movement of the pitch and in the air. Lillee also took 103 wickets in 63 ODI matches with an average of 20.82.
He also has a prolific career in first-class and county cricket. Lillee took 882 wickets in 198 first-class matches he ever played.
Sir Richard Hadlee (New Zealand)
One of the greatest New Zealand bowler ever in their history. If a tag of Intelligent pacer in cricket it would be suited on Sir Richard Hadlee.
Most accurate bowler and had the ability to confuse the batsman with his lethal outswinger makes him most destructive bowler of his era. The first ever bowler in the history to breach the barrier of 400 wickets mark and ended at 431 wickets which was highest by that time among any bowler.
Glenn McGrath (Australia)
One of the best Australian cricketers of all time, McGrath was the hunter of the “biggest fishes” like Bian Lara and Atherton. In our opinion, McGrath was the all-time best fast bowler in terms of “using the no Ball.” With spot-on line and length, McGrath took 563 test wickets in 124 matches.
He was the first fast bowler to play 100 test matches. McGrath also took 381 ODI wickets in 250 matches. He has the best bowling figure of 8/24.
Allan Donald (South Africa)
The only superstar of South African bowling in the 90s. Donald troubled the great batsman with sheer pace. The unplayable spell against Mike Atherton at Trent bridge defined what this genius was stand for – Short length deliveries at Raw pace Atherton was no where in picture. 21.78 average is one of best average in history among bowler who took 200 wickets.
Waqar Younis (Pakistan)
Waqar Younis has the best strike rate of any bowler who took over 200 wickets in test matches. Mr. Younis took almost 800 international wickets with an average of under 24 per wicket in both formats.
He has the world record for most five wickets hauls in one-day cricket. Waqar took 373 wickets in 87 test matches and also took 416 wickets in 262 ODI matches.
Dale Steyn (South Africa)
When you talk about swing, pace, and rhythm you have to talk about Dale Steyn. He is number 10 on the list of the world’s best fast bowlers of all time. Steyn is one of the best fast bowlers of his generation. After the era of Allan Donald, it was Steyn who led the fast attack of the South African team all over the world. It is remarkable to see the achievements of Dale Steyn over the years.
There are only a few bowlers around the world who can distract any batsmen with both pace and swing and Steyn is one of them. Getting 400 test wickets in just 80 matches shows the caliber of the modern great. The best part is that he is equally effective in home and away fixtures.
Kapil Dev (India)
Kapil Dev is one the greatest fast bowlers of all time and he is far and away the best fast bowler India has ever produced. He had a fantastic start to his career and was skilled at quickly swinging the ball away from the bat with his beautiful, high action which challenged the best batsmen.
He was extremely accurate fast bowler. India didn’t typically produce fast bowlers, but Kapil defied the norm. One of the best all rounder in the world, at age 21, Kapil completed the 1,000-run/100-wicket double in less than a year, the quickest time ever and a record that still holds today.
