Top 5 left arm pacers of all time

Top 5 left arm pacers of all time: It is said that in the game of cricket the left-armers are blessed with the natural swinging delivery that nips back into the right-handed batsman and goes away for the left-handers. Left-arm pacers have always been a rare product in the game and emerged out to be effective in any form of the game. They might have come in small numbers, but they have definitely wreaked havoc when they arrived in full form. Here is a list of some of the most amazingly talented left arm pace bowlers in the world who we think are definitely the best 5 left arm pacers of all time: 1. Wasim Akram (Pakistan): Wasim Akram is regarded one of the best cricketers of all time. He is always in the fray when it comes to the list of best bowlers to have ever played the game. Akram was the first bowler to reach the 500-wicket mark in ODI cricket during the 2003 World Cup. In the year 2002, Wisden released its list of best players of all time. Wasim was ranked as the best bowler in ODI of all time with a rating of 1223.5, ahead of Allan Donald, Imran Khan, Waqar Younis, Joel Garner, Glen McGrath and Muttiah Muralitharan. He featured in 356 ODIs and picked up 502 wickets. In Tests, he absolutely tormented the opposition with his swing bowling. He bowled in tandem with Waqar Younis, and the duo was a nightmare for the opposition batsmen. In Tests, he scalped 414 wickets in 104 appearances with 25 five-wicket hauls. He is regarded as the ‘King of swing’. Also Read – Top 10 Best right-arm pacers in cricket history 2. Alan Davidson (Australia): Not many people would know who Alan Davidson is. This is a piece of information for them. Alan Davidson is a former Australian left-arm pace bowler who played in the 1950s and 1960s. He was the mainstay of the Australian bowling dominance then. Davidson had the ability to get the ball to swing very late which fetched him many wickets. During a non-first-class match on tour, he took 10/29 in an innings and made 157 not out. He had a staggering match record and 186 wickets under his name in just 44 Tests at an average of 20 runs per wicket and a strike rate of a wicket every 10 overs. Davidson was regarded as unplayable in the period 1958 to 1963. Neil Harvey, another former Australian cricketer, was heard to say that good as Hayden was, Davidson would have got him in one over. Such was the regard for Davidson’s bowling. Now that is a true legend for you and one of the all-time best left-arm pacers. 3. Chaminda Vaas (Sri Lanka): Chaminda Vaas singlehandedly carried the burden of fast bowling for Sri Lanka for over 15 years. In 2001–02, he took 26 wickets in a series win against the West Indies with a match figures of 14 wickets, a feat only achieved by two fast bowlers in the subcontinent, the other being Pakistan’s Imran Khan. Vaas holds the record for the best bowling figures in ODIs with figures of 8/19 (v Zimbabwe in 2001). He was the fourth bowler to take 400 ODI wickets. Vaas has taken two ODI hat tricks in his career which is an evidence of his class. With 355 wickets in his Test career and 400 wickets in his ODI career, Chaminda Vaas etched his name in the record books for being the most successful pacer from Sri Lanka. He is definitely one of the best left arm pacers of all time. 4. Zaheer Khan (India): Zaheer Khan is regarded as the second-most successful Indian pace bowler after Kapil Dev and the most successful left-arm pace bowler that India has produced. He made his debut in 2000 and this man from Shrirampur spearheaded the Indian bowling attack for years to come. Zaheer was the leading wicket-taker in the 2011 World Cup which India won, joint with Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi on 21. Zak (44 wickets in 23 matches) is 5th in the world and leading Indian wicket taker in a world cups along with Javagal Srinath (44 Wickets in 34 matches). His favorite bunny was former South African skipper Graeme Smith who he dismissed 13 times in 25 meetings. Zaheer took 311 wickets in the 92 Test matches that he played for India and is undoubtedly one of the best left-arm pacers of all time. To add to his talents was his impeccable ability to get the ball to reverse swing which further yielded him many wickets. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dj6Wk33pAj8 5. Mitchell Johnson (Australia): The fiery fast bowler from Australia, who recently retired as the 4th highest wicket taker for Australia (313 wickets) in Tests, is the third highest wicket-taker among left-arm fast bowlers in Tests, behind Wasim Akram (414) and Chaminda Vaas (355). Johnson has the best bowling figures for a left-arm fast bowler in a single Test innings – 8/61 which he achieved against South Africa in 2008. The Aussie paceman tormented the English side and got 37 scalps at an average of 13.97 in the 2013-14 Ashes and became the nightmare for all English batsmen. Kudos to the efforts of Johnson, Australia won the series 5–0 and regained the Ashes for the first time since 2006–07. He won International Cricket Council (ICC) Player of the Year award in 2009 and 2014.

Topics

Featured Section

Current Series

IPL 2025 Auction

IPL Teams

Cricket Fantasy Tips

Cricket Stats

ICC Rankings

Interviews

Twitter Reactions

Cricket Appeal

Social Tracker

More Links

# Follow Us

Other Sports

Top 5 left arm pacers of all time

Latest Articles

Mandhana scripts record for most WODI hundreds in a year

Rana, Badoni get involved in tussle during SMAT 2024 QF

Sutherland, Gardner help Australia make 3-0 against India