Legendary fast bowlers produced by Windies

The West Indies Cricket team may be a pushover these days, but back in the day, they were the team to beat. Incredibly powerful and highly skilled, the Windies was the most feared team in the world.

Whilst great batsmen like Sobers, Kalicharan, Grenidge, Richards, Haynes among others were responsible for this dreaded reputation, the string of hostile fast bowlers the Caribbean Islands produced enhanced the fear factor to unimaginable levels.

Here's taking a look at the top fast bowlers produced by the Windies.

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#10 Mervyn Dillion

Dubbed as the rightful successor to Courtney Walsh, Merv Dillion was the last great fast bowler produced by the Windies. And yet, Steve Waugh called him an underachiever.

Despite his tall and strong physique along with a high arm action, Dillon was not lightning quick. He relied on his nagging accuracy and ability to angle the ball in and make it hold the line a bit, which would help in inducing a false shot.

Dillion made his Test debut against India in 1997 as an understudy to the dynamic duo of Courtney Ambrose and Walsh, claiming three wickets.

His best performance was against the same opponents - India in 2002, when he claimed 5 wickets for 71 runs, leading the Windies to a series victory.

He played just one match in the Windies' victorious 2004 ICC Champions Trophy campaign, claiming his best limited-overs cricket figures of 5 for 29 against Bangladesh. His missed the rest of their campaign due to an injury.

Dillion ended his career in 2004 with 131 wickets in 38 Tests and 130 wickets in 108 ODIs.

#9 Colin Croft

Colin Croft

Colin Croft played international cricket for less than 5 full seasons and yet in the very limited time he did, he regularly troubled opposition batsmen with venomous pace and ability to angle the ball and then move it away, a trick later mastered by Courtney Walsh and Merv Dillion.

6 foot 5 inches tall and strong as an ox, Croft had an unusual action. He used to run in directly behind the umpire and he would move out of the ump's shadow only when very close to the popping crease, culminating in collisions with the umpires on several occasions. He famously collided with New Zealand umpire Fred Goodall in the ill-tempered Test series against the Kiwis in the 1979-80 season.

In 1982, Croft made a baffling decision to join the rebel tour to the apartheid-torn South Africa, violating an international ban on sports tours of the country. All players who participated in the tour were banned from international cricket and as a result, it wouldn't be incorrect to say that Croft killed his own international career.

Croft ended up taking 125 wickets in just 27 Tests. He played 19 ODIs picking up 30 wickets. Croft's figures of 8 for 29 against Pakistan in 1977 are still the best Test innings figures by a fast bowler from the West Indies.

#8 Patrick Patterson

Patrick Patterson

One of the most hostile bowlers to have played the game, Patterson joined the cricketing world with a bang in 1986, debuting at Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica, against England, claiming 7 wickets in a comfortable win for the hosts.

His claimed his best figures in Tests by taking 5 for 24 against India, bowling them out in just 30 overs. In the 1988 Boxing Day Test against Australia played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Patterson was furious when Steve Waugh bounced him frequently. At stumps, he entered the Aussie dressing room and proclaimed that he would 'kill' the batsmen on the pitch the next day. True to his word, Patterson claimed a spectacular five-wicket haul dismissing Aussies for a paltry 114 when they were chasing a target of 400 runs.

Over a short career spanning 7 seasons, Patterson took 93 wickets in 28 Tests at an impeccable strike rate of 51, though his attacking bowling and field-set up meant that his average was slightly on the higher side at 30.

Post-retirement, Patterson dwindled in obscurity for several years until Indian journalist Bharat Sundaresan found Patterson in Kingston, Jamaica after a number of years of trying to track him down. He has been battling with clinical depression and now lives separate from his family.

#7 Ian Bishop

Ian Bishop

If not for the serious back problems that plagued him throughout his career and forced him into retirement, Ian Bishop would have been ranked much higher even in an illustrious list like this one.

Bishop made his Test debut in 1989 against India, wreaking havoc in only his second Test picking up 6 wickets for 87 runs. Known for his teasing outswinger to the right-hand batsmen, the tall Trinidadian also possessed plenty of raw pace and generated an awkward bounce even from dead pitches. His best figures of 6 for 40 in Tests came at the Western Australia Cricket Association (WACA) Ground against Australia. In ODIs, Bishop claimed 5 wickets in an innings twice. Interestingly, on both occasions the opposition was Pakistan and remarkably, both those matches were played in Australia.

In a career spanning a decade, injuries resulted in Bishop playing just 43 Tests claiming 161 wickets at an impressive strike rate of 52 balls per wicket and an even better average of 24. Looking at these statistics, one can only wonder what this talented gentleman would have achieved had it not been for those niggling injuries.

Like several other former cricketers, he now tours the globe as a commentator.

#6 Joel Garner

Joel Garner

Towering over everyone else, 6 foot 8 Joel Garner was the tallest cricketer until the 7 foot 1 inch tall Mohammad Irfan debuted in 2010. 'Big Bird' as he was known, Garner debuted against Pakistan in 1977. Due to his immense height and well-built physique, Garner could bowl terrific bouncers and toe-crushing yorkers at will, whilst generating steep bounce from a length.

Joel 'garnered' 259 wickets in 58 Tests at an exemplary average of 21 and a strike rate of 51. In the limited-overs format, Garner was even more effective. His accurate yorkers were nearly impossible to score off in the death overs. Garner picked up 146 wickets in just 98 matches and is the only bowler with more than 100 ODI wickets to pick up wickets at an average of less than 20. His bowling figures of 5 for 29 in 1979 against England are the best ever figures in a World Cup Final.

#5 Sir Andy Roberts

Sir Andy Roberts

David 'Bumble' Lloyd once remarked that all the sledging by Aussie pacemen Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thompson didn't bother him as much as a death stare by Sir Andy Roberts. "After you've played and missed a few, Sir Andy would stand right in front of you and stare you right in the eye for about 10 seconds and that was enough for me to fear for my life", he said.

The first Antigua player to play Test cricket, Sir Anderson Montgomery Everton Roberts debuted against England in 1974 aged 23. His stock delivery was the bouncer, of which he could bowl two kinds. The first was a slower one, which the batsman would hit for runs pretty easily. Sir Roberts would then land the ball in the same spot as the first, but this second bouncer would be bowled at a much greater pace and would generate much greater bounce. Batsmen, who had played the first bouncer well, would try to play this bouncer in the same manner only to be befuddled by the zip generated from the wicket. This process, invariably, had only two results for the batsman: wicket or injury. Countless batsmen had fallen for this trap, even late in his career, when everyone was expecting that fast bouncer. This is a testament to the great man’s talent, accuracy and guile.

Sir Andy picked up 202 wickets in just 47 Tests at an average of 26 and a strike rate of 53. He also took 87 wickets at an average of 20 and a strike rate of 36. He was a part of two World Cup-winning sides in 1975 and 1979 and was the runner-up in 1983.

Roberts was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Nation (KCN) by the Antiguan Barbudan Government on 28 February 2014.

#4 Michael Holding

Michael Holding

One of the fastest bowlers to have ever played Test Cricket, Michael Holding was nicknamed "Whispering Death" by the umpires, the first part of the moniker came from his silent run-up and the second came from the fallout of his run-up. Gifted with a rare blend of colossal skill, vigour, strength and savagery with the ball, Michael Holding was regarded as the most handsome man in cricket for a number of years.

Holding used his training as a sprinter to perfect his run-up and his height to generate large amounts of bounce and zip off the pitch. His over to Geoff Boycott in 1981 in Bridgetown is considered to be 'the greatest over in Test history'. The first five balls landed on the spot, each faster than the previous one and Boycott, aged 40 at the time, was visibly exasperated but the crowd was overjoyed when Boycott was clean bowled off the last ball.

In just 60 Tests, he picked up 249 wickets at an average of 23 and a strike rate of 50. He holds the record for the best bowling figures in a match by a West Indian, 14 for 149, including a career-best 8 for 92 against England in 1976 at the Kennington Oval in London. He also picked up 142 wickets in 102 ODIs and was a part of the World Cup winning side in 1979. He was the last man dismissed in India's surprise World Cup Final victory over the mighty Windies.

#3 Courtney Walsh

Courtney Walsh

The first bowler to bowl 5000 overs in Test Cricket and reach the 500 wickets mark in Tests, Courtney Walsh's easy approach to the bowling creasing, coupled with an impressive discipline and the ability to swing the ball both ways doesn't have to make us wonder why the great man was so successful. His fast bowling partnership with Curtly Ambrose is one of the most lethal the world has ever seen.

In all, Walsh picked up 519 Test wickets at an average of 24 and a strike rate of 58. His best bowling figures of 7 for 37 came at Basin Reserve, Wellington against the Kiwis. His ODI career was not as remarkable as his Test career, though he picked 227 wickets in 202 matches at an average of 30 and a strike rate of 48, famously picking up 5 wickets for just 1 run against Sri Lanka in Sharjah in 1986

He presently serves as the fast bowling coach for the Bangladeshi Cricket team.

#2 Curtly Ambrose

Sir Curtly Ambrose

He seldom spoke and instead let his bowling do all the talking. And boy, did his overs talk or what! Preferring basketball in his youth, Sir Curtly Elconn Lynwall Ambrose ventured into cricket only at the behest and insistence of his mother.

Extremely tall, like Joel Garner, the man he replaced when the Big Bird retired in 1988, the 6 foot 7 giant relied on accuracy and conceding few runs whilst generating unpleasant bounce from the good length area. He had a knack of devastating the opposition by picking up several wickets in quick succession.

His best bowling figures of 8 for 45 came at the Kensington Oval, Barbados against England, who were playing for a draw and had 5 wickets in hand with one session to play. Ambrose persuaded captain Sir Vivian Richards to take the new ball and cleaned the innings up in 7 overs. However, his finest spell in a Test came at his favourite venue, the WACA, when he picked up 7 Aussie wickets in just 5.2 overs (32 balls) conceding just 1 run and led his team to an innings victory. In 1994, having picked up 5 wickets in the first innings, Ambrose proceeded to bowl England out for a paltry 46 as he finished up with 6 for 24 leading the Windies to victory.

Ambrose formed a formidable opening partnership with Courtney Walsh. In 52 Tests that the duo played together, Ambrose and Walsh took a staggering 412 wickets at an average of 22.

In 98 Tests, Sir Curtly picked up 405 wickets at an average of 21 and a strike rate of 55. In 176 ODIs, he picked up 225 wickets at an average of 24 and a strike rate of 42. His best ODI performance of 5 for 17 came at the MCG against the Aussies in 1988.

Ambrose was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Nation (KCN) by the Antiguan Barbudan Government on 28 February 2014. Presently, Ambrose is a bass guitarist for the Reggae band Big Bad Dread and the Baldhead.

#1 Malcolm Marshall

Malcolm Marshall

The only bowler on this list to not be over 6 feet tall, Malcolm Denzil Marshall was adept at swinging the ball both ways from a good length area and generated movement from the seam even on dead pitches. However, the most lethal weapon in his armoury was the bouncer as Dilip Vengsarkar and Mike Gatting (whose nose was broken by a Marshall bouncer) regularly found out.

In 81 Tests, Marshall picked up an astonishing 376 wickets at an average of 21 and a strike rate of 47. His best figures of 7 for 22 came at the Old Trafford in Manchester against the Poms. He played 136 ODIs and picked up 157 wickets at an average of 27 and a strike rate of 46.

During the World Cup in 1999, Malcolm Marshall, who at the time was working as the coach of the Windies, was diagnosed with colon cancer and died from the disease in November of the same year following an unsuccessful treatment.