CricTracker fan poll – 5 Best ODI bowlers of the year

The year of 2016 saw a great contest between the bat and the ball. The batsmen ruled on a few occasions with unprecedented success. Herculean knocks came to the fore in all the three formats of the game. Australia’s David Warner ruled the ODIs and India’s Virat Kohli was the man of the T20Is. England’s Joe Root had a dream Test run this year. Cricket is often believed to be a game of batsmen. With most rules giving the ‘benefit of the doubt’ to the batsmen, things are definitely not easy for the bowlers. However, just as ever before, some bowlers made the ball do the talking this year.

They did not let the batsmen dominate the proceedings and were often the key men for their sides. We gave CricTracker fans an opportunity to pick the best ODI bowler of the year among the five top names and with almost 3500 voters participating it was a fair poll to crown the best bowler from amongst the best. The year of 2016 kick started with a lot of ODI action. The mid phase saw the T20s dominate with the World T20 and IPL hogging the news. Towards the end of the year, some enriching brand of Test cricket was on display. But there was enough ODI action in the year for the fans to see the ODI format complement the other two formats of the game.

The fans witnessed some nerve-wracking 50-over matches and exuberant bowling displays. Here are the fan’s choice 5 best ODI bowlers of 2016:

5. Trent Boult – 2% votes

Kiwi speedster might have been an out-of-favor bowler in the shortest format of the game. But when it comes to the ODIs and Tests, Trent Boult is one tough customer to deal with. Boult had a phenomenal year with the ball in the ODIs. He finished as the leading wicket-taker for his side and the most successful non-Australian pacer of 2016. He bagged 25 wickets in the 13 matches that he featured in (including the first ODI against Bangladesh). His bowling average was off 26.72 during this phase.

Despite having the economy on the higher side of 5, he still managed to pick key wickets and break crucial partnerships. New Zealand had a tough tour to India and Australia. However, Boult’s performances were commended on both the tours. He ran in hard and bowled with the same rigour. He emerged as the 5th best bowler of the Crictracker fan polls for the best bowler of 2016.