Top 10 New Zealand fast bowlers of all time

8 Lance Cairns

Lance Cairns

The all-rounder, who was an integral part of the New Zealand Test and one-day international sides from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s also ended his career as one of his country's most successful fast bowlers.

There was hardly anything orthodox about Lance Cairns' bowling action and in fact, he had not even watched a Test match at the time he made his debut. The right-arm medium-fast bowler bowled off the wrong foot and had an awkward open-chested action but he had the ability to generate prodigious inswing, that proved tough for many batsmen.

On the other hand, in one-day internationals, he could vary the pace and bowl excellent slower balls that made Cairns a difficult bowler to slog against. In Test cricket, he picked up 130 wickets at an average of 32.93 in 43 games, while in one-dayers, he claimed 89 wickets in 78 games and recorded an economy rate of only 4.06.