Top 10 Best right-arm pacers in cricket history

Top 10 Best right-arm pacers in cricket history: The game of cricket has always been dominated by the batsmen and the bowlers are those who struggle, fight it out and win the games for their teams. Bowlers have been an integral part of the teams and have always had a crucial role in determining the fate of the match. Green and bouncy pitches are a dream for any fast bowler and they rely on their swing, seam and pace unlike their counterparts who rely on the turn and bounce to chip in with wickets. From the likes of Sydney Barnes to Dale Steyn, there is a list of right-arm fast bowlers who have done remarkably well and are know to be the legends of the game. Here are the Top 10 Best right-arm pacers in cricket history: 1. Sydney Barnes (England): Sydney Barnes. (© Hulton Archive/Getty Images) Sydney Francis Barnes, an English cricketer who played from 1901-14 is regarded as the best bowler in Test cricket. He has the highest ranking for a bowler in the ICC Best-Ever Test Championship Ratings and in 2009, he was inducted into the hall of fame. He was right-handed and bowled at a pace that varied from medium to fast-medium with the ability to make the ball both swing and break from off or leg. Barnes started playing for cricket clubs in Smethwick from when he was 15 and then continued his journey upward and played for the Rishton Cricket club in the Lancashire league. Barnes made his first-class debut for Warwickshire against Gloucestershire in 1895. Later on the then, Lancashire’s Captain Archie MacLaren who was about to form an England team to tour Australia in 1901–02, invited Barnes to join the squad. He had a dream debut when he picked up a five-wicket haul for 65 against the Australians at Sydney. He has taken 189 wickets averaging 16.43. John Arlott had published a tribute to Barnes which commemorated his 90th birthday. Arlott wrote that of those who played with or against Barnes, “(they) had no doubt that he stood alone – the greatest bowler that ever lived”. Also Read – Best Bowler from Each Cricketing Nation 2. Courtney Walsh (West Indies): Courtney Walsh (Photo Source: Getty Images) Courtney Walsh is probably the most dangerous fast bowler a batsman has ever faced. The pacers of the then West Indies team were feared on the fields of cricket due to this man. Wisden noted his “three distinct speeds, all delivered with the same action”, and his “sparing use of the bouncer, his shorter deliveries generally threatening the batsman’s rib-cage, a tactic which, allied to change of pace, produced many catches in the short-leg area off splice or glove.” His partnership with Courtney Ambrose was one of the best bowling pairs West Indies has ever had. They both have combined wicket share of 421 wickets when they played together. He himself has a whopping 519 wickets to his name in the 132 Test matches he has played with an average of just 24.44. 3. Waqar Younis (Pakistan): Waqar Younis. (Photo Source: Reuters) Usain Bolt once said, “When I was really small I loved the Pakistan cricket team. Waqar Younis was one of the greatest bowlers ever, and I was a bowler so I really enjoyed watching him. I was a big Pakistan fan until I got older, when I noticed that I should actually support my home team.” When asked what if there was a match between Pakistan and Windies, Bolt remarked “I would still have supported Pakistan, that’s what I’m saying – when I was little, it was all about Pakistan.” This is the fan following this great speedster from Pakistan had. The bowling pair of Waqar Younis and Wasim Akram is known to bring fears into the mindsets of the batsmen. He was one of the few Pakistani bowlers who have been successful in bowling reverse swing. His method of aiming for the stumps rather than the batsman earned him the best strike rate of any bowler with over 200 Test wickets (until recently). Currently the coach of the Pakistan team, he has successfully helped their bowling emerge as one of the strongest in the world. Waqar has taken 374 wickets in Tests at an average of 23.56. 4. Dennis Lillee (Australia): Denis Lillee. (Photo Source: Getty Images) Dennis Lillee, considered by many to have been “the complete bowler”, was the heart of Australia’s attack for more than a decade. He used to be trusted by his captain to bring out wickets when it looked unlikely. He used to bowl with a pace that was frightening for the batsmen of his era. Throughout his career, whilst playing for both Australia and Western Australia, Lillee was famous for his ‘partnership’ with wicket-keeper Rod Marsh. The scorecard entry ‘c Marsh b Lillee’ appeared 95 times in Tests, a partnership record between a wicket-keeper and a bowler that is yet to be broken. In the field of creating legends, Dennis Lillee was also the person to advice Sachin Tendulkar to not become a pacer and to become a batsman when Sachin had joined the MRF pace academy as an aspiring cricketer. Dennis Lillee has picked up 355 wickets averaging 23.92 in Tests. 5. Sir Richard Hadlee (New Zealand): Richard Hadlee. (© Getty Images) One of the four greatest all-rounders in the 80’s along with Kapil Dev, Imran Khan and Ian Botham, Sir Richard Hadlee was not only known for his powerful batting, he was one of the best bowlers New Zealand has ever produced. Known as the original Sultan of Swing, he was the first person to reach the landmark of 400 Test wickets. He has taken 431 wickets averaging just over 22 in Tests for the Kiwis. 6. Glenn McGrath (Australia): Glenn McGrath. (Photo Source: Getty Images) Glenn McGrath has the highest tally of wickets for a pacer with 563 Test wickets to his name. He is one of the most lethal yet economical bowlers whose consistency in maintaining an accurate line and length got him the respect from all boundaries of the game. ‘Pigeon’ as he is fondly called, was responsible for Australia winning the 2007 World Cup in which he won the man of the tournament. He tended to involve in sledging which sometimes resulted in him scalping few wickets. McGrath in his 250 ODIs for Australia got rid of 381 batsmen. 7. Dale Steyn (South Africa): Dale Steyn. (Photo Source: BCCI) The dominant bowler from South Africa has remained unchallenged, being the best bowler in Tests since 2008. He also has the best bowling strike rate of all-time in Test cricket. Steyn is capable of generating great amounts of swing and uses it to his benefit to cut through the batting of the opposition. His pace directed with aggression has always troubled batsmen of all sorts. Being the only Test bowler to take five-wicket hauls against all Test playing nations, he is truly one of the best South Africans in the game of cricket. In his 81-match Test career, Steyn has scalped 402 wickets and will certainly end up as one of the greatest the game has seen. 8. Malcolm Marshall (West Indies): Malcolm Marshall. (Photo Source: Getty Images) A man of orthodox swing and a height which didn’t contemplate with the other tall bowlers like Joel Garner in his team, he is still regarded as the finest paceman ever to play the game of cricket. Later in his career, he developed a devastating legcutter which he used on dusty pitches. Marshall played 81 Test matches and picked up 376 wickets at an average of 20.94 and 157 wickets from 136 ODIs. He had all the different balls in his book and knew when to trouble the batsmen with those aggressive troubling deliveries. He lost his life to cancer at a young age of 41, the tragic loss was mourned by the entire cricketing world. 9. Fred Trueman (England): Fred Trueman. (© Allsport / Getty Images) In 1964, this young man from Yorkshire became the first cricketer to get 300 wickets in the history of the game. In 1952, he helped reduce India to 0 for 4 on his debut and took 8/31 which was the best bowling figures in Tests at that time. Trueman’s run-up is believed to be “curving and long but nicely modulated”. He was known for his in-swingers, out-swingers and moderation of pace. Wisden described Fred Trueman as “probably the greatest fast bowler England has produced”. 10. Kapil Dev (India): Kapil Dev. (© Bob Thomas/Getty Images) The Haryana Hurricane, as Kapil Dev was fondly called was one of the main reasons India won the 1983 World Cup. One of the best all-rounders of his time, not only was he known for his 175*, then the highest individual score in ODIs but also for his accurate bowling. Even though he averaged less than 4 wickets per match, his accuracy and ability to swing the ball gained him admirers all over. Kapil is the only player in the history of cricket to have taken more than 400 wickets (434 wickets) and scored more than 5,000 runs in Tests, making him one of the greatest all-rounders to have played the game. Also Read – 10 Best swing bowlers of this decade