5 bowlers who are carbon copies of legendary bowlers

When one reminds himself of the street cricket he played, there will flood in memories of a few moments where he tried imitating great bowlers. Every game has its own set of legendary players and the game of cricket is no exception. Sadly, every legend’s career has to come to an end at some stage and who would not want to see them back in one way or the other?

With their memories etched in the heart of every fan, it looks as if some modern day cricketers have been born to bring those memories to reality again. While marquee batsmen like Sanath Jayasuriya and Shivnarine Chanderpaul seem to exist in players like Kusal Perera and Fawad Alam, the bowling department has also come up with new products that tend to dig out memories of the legendary ones.

Here are 5 modern-day bowlers who are carbon copies of certain legendary ones:

1. Matt Henry-Shane Bond

Matt Henry (L) and Shane Bond

It should come as no surprise that Matt Henry’s bowling action bears a canny resemblance to former Kiwi great Shane Bond, with the former most likely having spent his formative years idolising Bond.

Bond’s great strength was that he combined sheer pace with control and Henry seems to have those attributes too. While the 23-year-old is not blessed with as much speed as Bond, he certainly has the ability to rattle batsmen. Their quick run-up, slanting left arm and the release of the ball share no traces of differences, except for the fact that Bond bends his run up and his head a bit more.

Bond had a fairly short career due to being constantly plagued by injuries, but that didn’t prevent him from having success as he took 87 wickets from 18 Tests at a phenomenal strike rate of 38.7. While Henry is still very new in his international career, he looks like he will follow in Bond’s footsteps as he has taken three 4-wicket hauls in the 12 international games he has played so far.

2. Yasir Shah-Abdul Qadir

Yasir Shah (L) and Abdul Qadir

While there have been a lot of suggestions on social media recently that leg-spinner Yasir Shah resembles footballing great Lionel Messi in terms of looks, it is former Pakistan great Abdul Qadir that one is reminded of when it comes to his bowling.

Yasir does not only have a very similar approach to the crease as Qadir but also an identical follow-through post his delivery stride.

The one perceptible area of difference between the two bowlers is in regards to the googly, which is released from the back of the hand and turns into the right-hander. While Qadir was a masterful exponent of the delivery and used it with deadly effect to befuddle batsmen, Yasir does not have the same expertise and is quite a reluctant bowler of the googly.

However, Yasir already has three 4-wicket hauls in 7 Test matches under his belt, hinting that something special is just around the corner.

3. Tharindu Kaushal-Muttiah Muralitharan

Tharindu Kaushal ( L) and Muttiah Muralitharan

Named as Sri Lanka’s ‘Duplicate Murali’ by skipper Angelo Matthews during the recent World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, Tharindu Kaushal is another spinner from Sri Lanka who is blessed with some unique talent.

His curvy run-up followed by a short jump and the turn of the wrists brings in front of our eyes, the man with a colossal 800 Tests wickets: Muttiah Muralitharan. The doosra, by itself, is a tough delivery to pick, but Kaushal uses his fingers and wrists in a discrete way to execute a unique doosra which only makes the batsman’s job harder.

However, it would be unfair to place too many expectations on Kaushal at this early stage. After all, he is only 22 years old and only has a handful of domestic matches under his belt. It is safe to say that if he can become half as good as Murali was, Sri Lanka would have a very special bowler in their hands.

4. Josh Hazlewood-Glenn McGrath

Josh Hazlewood (L) and Glenn McGrath

This is perhaps one of the most prominent resemblances in the game today. The story between the two can’t get more enjoyable as Josh Hazlewood grew up idolising Glenn McGrath and also received the prestigious baggy green cap from his idol himself.

Apart from having a very similar run-up to McGrath, he also has an identical technique and relies on the principles that held the latter in such good stead – pinpoint accuracy in line and length. McGrath himself was full of praise for Hazlewood after the latter’s dream Test debut, where he took a five-wicket haul, opining that Hazlewood has what it takes to become one of the greats of the game.

5. Adam Zampa-Shane Warne

Shane Warne (L) and Adam Zampa

While there have been plenty of leg-spinners in recent years whose actions have resembled that of the great Shane Warne, none come closer than Adam Zampa.

Zampa was extremely impressive with the ball during the Big Bash League last season as he took 9 wickets for the Adelaide Strikers and finished in the 10 highest wicket-takers for the season. A part of the victorious Australian Under-19 squad in 2010, Zampa’s strengths are control and subtle variety with the 23-year-old not being a huge tweaker of the ball.

Although yet to receive a national call, Zampa is a bowler with immense potential and while expectations to match Warne are almost futile, Australia might just have found another match-winning leg-spinner.