5 best short ball bowlers in the world right now

Assume you are a batsman. Now what would you rather face? Praveen Kumar’s gentle, medium pace swinging deliveries or Mitchell Johnson’s fast head-high bouncers?

The thing is both Praveen Kumar and Mitchell Johnson were equally capable of getting wickets in conditions that suited their bowling. But, Johnson, along with picking your wicket, could leave you with one or two broken fingers.

A good short ball is a batsman’s worst nightmare! Well, there is no such thing as a good short ball if you are a batsman. All the short balls are bad news!

The gentlemen’s game has seen lot of unfriendly, hostile spells of fast bowling. A few of them have even caused bloodshed on the pitch. As much as the fiery bouncers are frightening to see, they are also a vital part of the game.

There have been many great bowlers who were excellent exponents of short-pitch bowling, Malcolm Marshal, Dennis Lillee, Shoaib Akhtar and Mitchell Johnson to name a few. These quick bowlers would rattle the batsmen with aggression and throw them off guard. That in turn would make a normal length delivery into a wicket-taking one.

Here, in this article we shall look at the five best short bowlers in the world at present.

5. Morne Morkel

The 6 foot 4 tall South African bowler is a dangerous customer on surfaces that have good pace and carry. He operates mainly around back of length region and with his height giving him an added advantage, the quickie is very hard to get away with when he starts bowling short stuff.

Bowling good bouncers comes naturally to Morkel as he grew playing Cricket on South African pitches with good pace and bounce.

The lanky pacer has been the back bone of the Proteas bowling attack along with Dale Steyn for many years. Though he began as just a quick bowler he developed his repertoire and became a reliable player for South Africa.

4. Stuart Broad

Stuart Broad has been brilliant for England in Tests

English pacer Stuart Christopher John Broad rose through the ranks with impressive performances in County Cricket and was drafted into the national side in 2007.

Broad is very effective with the new ball with his seam bowling.

The tall bowler can trouble the batsmen by bowling nagging lengths but is more than effective with quick short balls. Broad bowls at a discomforting pace and with his high-arm action he can generate extra bounce from even docile pitches, such as in subcontinent.

This is probably one of the reasons why he is more successful than his countryman James Anderson outside England.

3. Mohammed Shami

Mohammed Shami is a dangerous customer on pacy wicketsIndian pacer Mohammed Shami is a different bowler from the rest of the players in this list. While most of the bowlers take advantage of their height in bowling shorts balls, the Bengal pacer can be deceiving with his skiddy pace. He has great control over the bouncer and slips in one or two when the batsmen is least expecting.

That is the key to his success- the surprise element. Also, the fact that his run up and action doesn’t change much when bowling a bouncer makes it even harder for the batsmen.

Despite being consistently hit with injuries, Shami has maintained his pace and aggression. The stubby paceman is a vital cog in the current Indian bowling line up. And he, along with Umesh Yadav and Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, will have to a play a key role in India’s upcoming away tours.

2. Mitchell Starc

The Australian fast bowler made his Test debut in 2011 against New Zealand in Brisbane, and has grown in stature in the past couple of years to become the most fearsome bowler in cricket today.

The tall bowler is probably the quickest on this list. He operates in the high 140kmph range, and can cause problems to the batsmen with sheer pace.

Starc is also one of the best Yorkers in the world at the moment and that is always playing on the batsman’s mind. Imagine the combination of a toe-crushing Yorker followed by a deadly bouncer!

The quickie always had a good short ball in his arsenal but over the years he has mastered the art of using it effectively. He is an expert at wiping off the tail-enders with his wide range deliveries. When he is running in at full throttle, Starc can be a real danger to the batsmen in any part of the world.

With age on his side at only 27 years old, Starc promises great things in the next few years.

1. Kagiso Rabada

Rabada shot to the limelight after he shattered Bangladeshi batsmen with a 6-wicket haul on his ODI debut in 2015. Just after two years since his debut, the lanky pacer has become the leading bowler for South Africa. From a rhythmic run up to a whippy release and hostile pace, Rabada has everything a batsman doesn’t want in a fast bowler.

The 22-year-old South African is the youngest and probably the best short ball bowler on this list. Like Starc, Rabada too bowls at around 145kmph and if he is fired up, higher speeds are reachable too.

Rabada played a key role in South Africa’s series win in Australia. The youngster was the wrecker in chief as he bowled some fantastic spells on surfaces with good pace. With Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel nearing the end of their career, Rabad will have to lead the pace attack.

At the rate he is progressing he could be one of the best fast bowlers ever.