10 greatest fast bowling pairs of all time

Shoaib Akhtar once said that you have to be mad to be a fast bowler. To see the new ball bowlers send down the red cherry at lightning pace is one of the most riveting sights in cricket.Fast bowlers hunt in pairs, they say. There have been numerous new ball partnerships over the years, the success of one bowler rubbing on the other, or egging him on for a better performance.Here’s a list of the ten best new ball bowling pairs over the years. The statistics are based on innings in which both bowlers opened the bowling.

#1 Waqar Younis and Wasim Akram

Waqar and Wasim were simply unplayable when they were on song

Waqar was one of the fastest of his time, known for his stump-shattering yorkers. His galloping run-up and searing in-swingers made him one of the most fearsome bowlers ever. 57% of his career dismissals were bowled and leg before alone. The youngest ever to captain Pakistan, he ended up with 373 Test wickets and the best strike rate (43.5) among his peers.

Wasim Akram’s was a more rhythmical run-up which culminated into a beautiful whippy action. He could move the ball both ways, put in the odd bouncer or slower delivery, and was devastating with both the new and old ball. He ended with 414 Test victims, averaging 23.62 with the ball.

Their feud and personal rivalries aside, the two W’s combined to become one of the most lethal bowling pairs of the 90s.

Together: 476 wickets at 22.39 in 56 Tests.

#2 Allan Donald and Shaun Pollock

Pollock and Donald complemented each other perfectly

The first bowler from South Africa to take 300 Test wickets, Donald was both feared and appreciated by batsmen all over the world. With a vociferous face smeared with zinc on his cheeks, he was affectionately known as White Lightning. Although injuries stalled his progress in the latter part of his career, he maintained a strike rate of 47 in Tests and 31 in ODIs.

Shaun Pollock, the other half of this successful new ball partnership in the latter half of the 90s, could move the ball either way. Though not as quick as Donald, Pollock was more accurate and possessed a remarkable stamina to become the first South African to break the 400-wicket barrier, and eventually end with 829 international wickets.

Together: 346 wickets at 21.36 in 44 Tests.

#3 Courtney Walsh and Curtly Ambrose

Ambrose and Walsh held the West Indian attack together in the 90s

The West Indian batting became fragile in the 90s, but the bowling was held by two pillars, Courtney Walsh and Curtly Ambrose.

With an unconventional action, Walsh showed remarkable longevity to play 132 Tests, sending down more than 5000 overs, the most by any fast bowler. He made his foray into international cricket after the departure of Andy Roberts and essayed the role of the fourth bowler in the presence of Holding, Marshall and Garner.

He became a new ball bowler early in the 1990s, ending up with the most wickets in Test matches at that time (519). The 2000 series against England immortalized him forever as he took an astonishing 34 wickets in 5 tests at 12.82

Turning into a musician post-retirement, Ambrose used to give some serious chin music to batsmen during his playing days. His 6 feet 7 frame meant that he hurtled down deliveries from close to 10 feet, bowing out with more than 400 wickets in 98 Tests.

Ushered late into serious cricket, Ambrose made up for lost time with unforgettable spells, especially the 7 for 1 against Australia, and the 6-24 against England in 1993/94.

Together: 412 wickets at 22.10 in 52 Tests.

#4 Malcolm Marshall and Joel Garner

The pair celebrate with their teammates

The West Indies of the 1980s popped out fast bowlers aplenty, some of whom ended with legendary careers and record breaking numbers. Malcolm Marshall, standing at 5’11’, wasn’t as tall as his mates, but used his ordinary height to bowl deceptive bouncers, and later, inswingers and leg-cutters. His averaged 20.94 with the ball and took 22 five-wicket hauls, more than Ambrose and Walsh.

With a towering frame measured at 6 ft 8 inches, Joel Garner, or Big Bird as he was rightly called, served deliveries at a searing pace, and sometimes garnished them with his unplayable yorkers. He started his career in 1977, taking six wickets in his first match, as he replaced an injured Michael Holding in the team. Over the course of 57 more Tests, he took a total of 259 wickets, at an average of 20.97.

Together: 230 wickets at 20.16 in 23 Tests.

#5 Michael Holding and Andy Roberts

Holding and Roberts were deadly with the ball

Michael Holding, Whispering Death as he was called, used to hustle towards the batsmen with his long and elegant run-up and smooth bowling action. In 1976, fairly early in his career, he took a West Indian best of 14-149, which is a record till date.

One of his many fiery spells resulted in what historians call the greatest overs of all-time, when he cleaned up Geoff Boycott off the sixth ball after troubling him with the previous five.

His face wouldn’t say so, but Andy Roberts’s menace lay in his express pace, sending many a batsmen’s careers, stumps, and sometimes faces, in disarray. He used to bowl disconcerting bouncers, move the ball in and away, all with a deadpan expression on his face. He captured his 100th test victim in just his 19th test, the quickest to get there in his time.

Together: 216 wickets at 25.27 in 28 Tests.

#6 James Anderson and Stuart Broad

Broad and Anderson have more than 700 Test wickets between them

They don’t carry the swagger of the West Indies, nor do they have a menacing physique. Anderson and Broad are the unassuming pair that has quietly become just the third to take more than 500 combined Test wickets.

Anderson swings the ball both ways and extracts movement off the pitch. He gets natural seam and couples it with pin-point accuracy to deliver consistent results. “Jimmy” became the first English bowler to take 400 Test wickets, overtaking the great Ian Botham, and has been part of three successful Ashes campaigns.

Baby-faced yet mature and pugnacious, Stuart Broad has grown from strength to strength since his debut as a 20-year-old in 2006. He claimed series-winning figures of 5-37 in 12 overs, which helped England reclaim the Ashes in 2009. Broad has more than 300 Test wickets to his name, at an average of less than 30, including 14 five-wicket hauls. And he still hasn’t turned 30.

Since they are the only active players in the list, when playing together, their statistics are: 611 wickets in 80 Tests.*

*Including England vs Pakistan, Sharjah, 1 Nov 2015

#7 Bob Willis and Ian Botham

Botham and Willis formd a weird and wonderful bowling pairing

Willis, a lanky fast bowler from Sunderland, replaced Alan Ward in England’s 1970-71 Ashes tour of Australia, taking three wicket hauls in Sydney and Melbourne. Later, when he became England’s main new ball bowler, he played an instrumental role in the Ashes wins of 1977 and 1978-79. Yet, he is fondly remembered for his 8-43 at Headingley in 1981, in what is termed as the Botham Test.

One of the finest all-rounders of his time, Ian Botham had a larger than life persona, built around his versatile bowling and flamboyant batting. In 1978, aged 22, he took 37 wickets in 6 Tests, at 14.75. He ended with 383 Test wickets at an average of 28, catapulting England to famous victories single-handedly.

He used his effective swing bowling to good effect, even late into his career, making him England’s highest wicket taker, a record which stood until recently.

Together: 187 wickets at 28.95 in 26 Tests

#8 Jeff Thomson and Dennis Lillee

Theirs was a partnership that sparkled briefly but brightly

Thomson and Lillee formed one of the most terrifying new ball pairs of the 70s and are especially remembered for the 1974-75 Ashes against the touring English.

His slinging action took a toll on his body, limiting his participation to only 51 Tests. Yet, Jeffrey Thomson is regarded as the arguably the fastest bowler to have played the game. He generated off-cutters at serious pace and surprised batsmen with the occasional bouncer. He took exactly 200 Test wickets.

Dennis Lillee was the cornerstone of Australia’s bowling attack of the 70s, a well-rounded bowling machine packaged with a textbook bowling action. By the latter part of his career, courtesy various injuries, his pace had given way to accuracy and clever variations. He surpassed Lance Gibbs’ world record, and eventually finished with 355 Test wickets.

Together: 132 wickets at 26.05 in 16 Tests.

#9 Brian Statham and Fred Trueman

Trueman celebrates with his teammates

With a reserved personality and gentlemanly behavior, Brian Statham hardly had the traits of a typical fast bowler. Yet, he terrorized batsmen throughout the 50s with his fierce pace and accuracy, consistently delivering just outside off stump and pegging the ball back in. At 20, he debuted against New Zealand, and fourteen years and 70 tests later, ended up with 252 wickets.

Outspoken and brash, Trueman was the exact opposite. “Fiery Fred” was the first English player to claim over 300 Test wickets, and he achieved that at an average of 21.57. In only his third match, he took figures of 8-31, leaving India in tatters. He took five-for in both innings in consecutive Tests in 1963, taking a total of 17 five wicket hauls in 67 matches.

Together: 283 wickets at 25.75 in 35 Tests.

#10 Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie

McGrath and Gillespie were one of the most under-rated bowling pairs

He could bowl incessantly on the off-stump line, and combine it with the perfect length. With a smooth action and nagging pace, McGrath claimed a record 563 test wickets, at an average of 21.64, in the 124 matches he played for Australia. He also took 29 five-wicket hauls in Tests and helped Australia win 22 of the 30 Ashes matches he played in.

Jason Gillespie was the ideal foil to McGrath’s unerring line, bowling in the mid-140s early in his career. His pace dropped after a spate of injuries, but he remained a dependable support-bowler, nipping the ball both ways, over-after-over, almost relentlessly.

Statistically, his pairing with McGrath was one of the most successful for Australia, with match-winning partnerships, such as in Barbados 1999 and Lords’ 2001, where they combined to take 15 wickets in each match.

Together: 362 wickets at 23.02 in 47 Tests.