Top 5 bowlers with best bouncers

Top 5 bowlers with best bouncers: The existence of bouncers is being questioned today post the tragic demise of Australian batsman Phil Hughes after he was hit by a rising delivery from New South Wales bowler Sean Abbott. That gave us the inspiration to dig into the history of cricket and pick out the best bouncer bowlers and justify why is this delivery so dear to the bowlers and a must have the weapon. So a bouncer is the effort delivery, usually bowled by a fast bowler; the one he pitches short of length so that it bounces off the pitch and rises high enough to fly off in front of the batsman’s eye. It is bowled once in a while, used mostly for playing with the minds of the batsmen and for pushing him to the back foot and then setting him up for a fuller one. This intimidatory style of bowling was famously used for the first time in the 1932/33 Ashes series which was also termed as “The Bodyline series”. It was famously used by the Englishmen as a tactic to stop the touring Australians, especially Sir Don Bradman from piling up huge totals. Later during the 1970s to 1980s, bouncers were used as part of a team’s intimidating tactics to subject batsmen to additional pressure; especially by the West Indies team. This particular type has been used by the bowlers to challenge the batsman and add spice to the contest between the ball and the bats, this fact has been accepted by many fast bowlers who love to bowl the shorter stuff. Although it is a tough delivery to handle, with proper technique it gives the batsman a scoring opportunity as well. If the batsman has the ability to read the length of the delivery early he can choose his option either to duck under the delivery or to defend it and can attack it with the hook the pull shot. However modern-day batsman have more innovative options to cope with the chin music bowlers subject them to. The attacking approach tends the batsmen to take on it with the upper cut, which if hit with perfect timing guarantees at least a four, even six sometimes. Still the effectiveness and impact a well pitched and directed bouncer has can never be ignored. Who can forget the havoc Mitch Johnson wrecked on English batsmen at the Ashes that they looked helpless in front of him. In another and rather rare incident India’s Ishant Sharma pulled up a historic and match winning performance at the Lords test this summer bouncing 6 England batsmen out. India eventually won the test match and made history with it. Here are some bowlers who had utmost control on their bouncers with which they unsettle the best batsman’s around the cricket world: 5.Malcolm Marshal (West Indies): Malcolm Marshal bowled the most controlled bouncers among the West Indian greats. (Photo Source: Getty Images) Arguably the best fast bowler amongst many others West Indies has produced. Malcolm Marshal had a very good control over his line and length and would outsmart and surprise the batsman with short delivery, most of the times also resulting into painful blows. He had hit Mike Gatting during an ODI in Jamaica in 1986 on face leaving him with a bleeding nose. The impact of the blow was so horrid that the ball rebounded to the bowler after hitting Gatting. 4.Andy Roberts (West Indies): Andy Roberts is one of the bigger names when it comes to bowling bouncers. (Photo Source: Getty Images) His trademark was the use of two different bouncers. Andy Roberts delivered one at a slower pace this was a ploy to put the batsman into a false sense of security. He would then deliver the second and a vicious bouncer, pitching in a similar spot, but at a greater pace. The batsman would attempt to play this delivery in similar fashion and would get beaten by the extra pace and bounce of the ball. Many batsmen’s were dismissed and ruffled up by Roberts. 3.Shoaib Akhtar (Pakistan): Shoaib Akhtar liked to pitch the ball short and make the batsmen hop around. (Photo Source: Getty Images) Shoaib Akhtar one of the fastest bowlers of the modern era. The Pakistani speedster was nicknamed as Rawalpindi express for his raw pace. He used bouncers regularly in his career with great success. The batsman would fall on the ground while trying to duck the ball. He injured both Gary Kirsten in the 2003 and Brian Lara in the year 2004 with fast bouncers. Both batsmen had to be taken off the field. Akhtar used it as a real asset in his arsenal and the ball would fetch him fruit too. 2.Brett lee (Australia): Brett Lee would charge in and challenge every batsman in the would with his pace and bounce.(Photo Source: PA Photos) Brett Lee another really quick bowler; delivered brute bouncers and would spare none. A naturally aggressive Lee troubled most of the batsman for the pace and bouncer he could generate including the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Brain Lara the batting Demi god’s among others found him too hot to handle. In the year 2008 West Indies batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul was knocked out for several minutes after being hit by a bouncer from one of the best Australian fast bowler Lee during a test match. In a similar incident he hit New Zealand’s Brendon McCullum and broke his nose in the Big Bash T20 League match. 1.Mitchell Johnson (Australia): Mitchell Johnson picked up 37 wickets at an average of 13.97 in that series. (Photo Source: Action Images) On of the best fast bowlers in the current lot of and perhaps the most aggressive and attacking bowler. Johnson’s most recent exploits include his series winning performances where he single-handedly dismantled the English team in the Ashes 2013-14 in Australia with his lethal bowling; he picked up 37 wickets at an average of 13.97 in that series. The English batsmans had no answers to the bouncers Johnson directed towards them and the entire English lineup surrendered to him. Fast bowlers Like Ray Lindwall, Fred Trueman, Michael Holding, Joel Garner, Denis Lillee, Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Dale Steyn and many others were better or equally good in terms of fast bowling to the ones who feature in the list. But the intention was to list down the bowlers who were distinctively known for using bouncers with more precision and intent.

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Top 5 bowlers with best bouncers

1.Mitchell Johnson (Australia):

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