Five greatest exponents of the yorker in cricket

No delivery seems as effective in cricket for stopping the batsman from scoring than a yorker. But even among this variety, one that uproots the stumps sets the pulse racing more than any other. Bowlers who can efficiently execute this kind of delivery are considered extremely useful.

With the growth of ODI and, lately, T20 cricket as well as the steep rise in scoring rates and average totals, the value of a good yorker has seen a corresponding increase. More and more bowlers are working on improving their ability to bowl a perfect toe-crusher.

But the yorker has been in the game and used as a potent weapon by the bowlers for a long time. Even before ODI cricket assumed its present importance, this delivery was regarded as very special.

When we look at the history of cricket, we find many great exponents of this art. While ascertaining who was best in using this famed delivery, we must be clear about our parameters of judgment.

A good yorker prevents the batsman from scoring but a great one gets him to lose his balance as he tries to avoid getting his toe broken, and sends the stumps flying. With this in view, let’s countdown to the five best deliverers of yorker cricket has seen.

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#5 Lasith Malinga

Lasith Malinga's bowling almost became synonymous with yorkers at one stage

No bowler in recent times has been associated with yorkers as much as the Sri Lankan veteran. Lasith Malinga made a career out of these devastating deliveries and managed feats like getting multiple hat-tricks and picking up wickets on four consecutive deliveries.

But the reason why he is placed at the bottom of this ranking is that his yorkers were not always accurate. In fact, very often, his attempts at bowling this delivery resulted in low full-tosses. Those deliveries still got wickets due to his unique, slingy action that batsmen found hard to get used to.

But the Indian batsmen, especially, Virat Kohli became nearly immune to his threat because of their great exposure to Malinga during IPL. Since the action was no longer a novelty for them, they were able to block out the good yorkers and punish those which just missed the mark.

A yorker has a very small margin of error – slightly fuller length makes it a full-toss while slightly shorter a half-volley. Malinga bowled so many yorkers that there were bound to be some imperfect ones. The likes of Kohli never missed out cashing in on those.

Still, he is the man who made the yorker fashionable and inspired many bowlers around the world to work on this delivery. As mentioned earlier, his side-arm action made his toe-crushers all the more troubling for the batsmen. However, at this stage of his career, he seems like a spent force.

#4 Jeff Thomson

It was this delivery that made the 'sandshoe crusher' famous

Among the many names used to describe a yorker, the one preferred by Australians and New Zealanders is ‘sandshoe crusher.’ This term was coined in the 1970s and the credit for making it famous goes to Jeff Thomson.

The story of how the ‘sandshoe crusher’ became a major weapon for Thomson was narrated by Ian Chappell in one of his commentary stints for Channel 9. According to him, during the Brisbane Ashes Test in 1974, when he was captaining the famous duo of Thomson and Lillee, English batsman Tony Greig had got under their skin.

As a result, Chappell says, in the first innings of the Test, both the fast men kept trying to knock Greig out with a bouncer. They proved unsuccessful prompting their skipper to ask them, sarcastically, whether they would try to hit the stumps in the second innings.

Thomson, regarded by many as the quickest fast-bowler of all time, responded to his captain’s call by delivering a devastating in-swinging yorker that hit the base of leg-stump as Greig just managed to get his leg out of the way.

This was the birth of ‘sandshoe crusher’ and it was subsequently used to great effect by Thompson in his career.

It’s not hard to understand why the batsmen would find so hard to deal with a yorker bowled by this famous Aussie pacer. When a bowler is letting the ball go at near-unnatural pace, as he did, facing even a regulation length ball would be a challenge. Imagine then, how one that is right in the blockhole would trouble the unfortunate man at the other end!

#3 Michael Holding

Michael Holding possessed a devastating yorker among his many weapons

Another man who was known for his sheer pace and used it to great effect when delivering yorkers was Michael Holding. One doesn’t need to look anywhere else than the famous Oval Test of 1976 played on a wicket that was as flat and lifeless as one could get.

Holding, a young fast bowler who was in the early stages of his career then, decided that since the pitch is not going to give him any help, he will take it out of the equation. What followed was one of the greatest bowling efforts in the history of the game.

Holding delivered yorker after devastating yorker to demolish the English line-up. The most prized wicket was that of Tony Greig. Before the start of the series, the South Africa-born captain of host team had lit a fire by declaring that he intends to make West Indies ‘grovel’ in the series.

Holding dismissed him with one of his lightning-fast yorkers which the over six-and-a-half feet tall batsman couldn’t block. He would be one of many to fall to Holding’s brilliance in that famous game.

The Jamaican quick went on to become one of the greatest of all time in the history of the game. The yorker was used to great effect many times in his storied career.

#2 Joel Garner

In his day, no one bowled yorkers with as much accuracy as Joel Garner

There are two types of fast bowlers that excite the fans most: those who are quick and those who are very tall. ‘Big Bird’ Joel Garner falls in the latter category. He was probably the slowest of all the West Indian great bowlers of his generation but no less effective than any of them.

A shoulder surgery early on in his career slowed down his pace but didn’t affect his skill. In ODI cricket, he was known to be the best bowler in the death overs. The biggest reason for this quality was his yorkers.

A man who was 6’8” and let the ball go at an even greater height bowling a perfect yorker would have been a great sight to behold. His accuracy was unerring and it was claimed by no less a person than Ian Botham that he never saw the big man getting hit around in the death overs. Sunil Gavaskar too, revealed that he saw Garner as the best exponent of the yorker.

When you are a giant like Garner, batsmen are anyway reluctant to get on the front foot due to the potential of extra bounce. So, when a delivery is heading towards the batsman’s toes, it would be a nightmare.

On top of that, the unerring accuracy which he possessed meant that his yorkers usually landed in the perfect spot. All that the batsmen could do is block. No wonder, batsmen of that era found him most difficult to score off in end overs.

#1 Waqar Younis

Nobody has bowled the yorker as effectively as Waqar Younis

Among all varieties of yorker, the most spectacular is one which curves in sharply, that too at a late stage. If such a delivery is bowled at a great pace, it is hardest for the batsmen. This is what Waqar Younis specialized in.

The art of reverse swing was taken to new heights by the duo of Wasim Akram and Waqar. But it was the latter who combined this rare skill with the equally special skill of hitting the blockhole to produce the most devastating toe-crushers in the history of the game.

A yorker is tough when it is bowled at a fast pace. It is tougher when swinging at a fast pace. And when swinging late at a very fast pace, the batsman can only rely on his luck to survive. This is why so many were at sea dealing with Younis’ toe-crushers. His yorkers were imbued with pace and reverse-swing. And, it is well known that when the ball reverse-swing, it swings very late.

As the batsmen tried to get their toes out of the way and bat in line to block these deliveries, the ball would keep curving in and follow the toes. Eventually, the batsman would be left limping or walking back to the pavilion with his stumps rattled.

Many batsmen lost their balance in their desperate attempt to get their feet out of harm’s way and suffered the double ignominy of ending up on their knees while seeing their stumps dismantled. Few sights in cricket have been as enthralling as this and Waqar produced them many times.