Recently, the legendary West Indian fast bowler Michael Holding stated that Imran Khan and Denis Lillee were the best fast bowlers of his time and they could virtually do anything with the ball. This statement of his has only reinforced what was always obvious to the trained eye. What set aside Imran and Lillee from the other great fast bowlers was their ability to considerably swing the ball both ways at a blistering pace. As it is a batsman is normally not very comfortable against fast bowling and when that is coupled with the darting around of deliveries it is a batsman’s nightmare.
In the hands of these two bowlers the ball was like a yoyo and they could virtually do anything with it. That was their mastery and art. No other bowler has commanded as much crowd adulation as these two have. The moment they would begin their run up they would be accompanied by a deafening roar from the crowd and the tempo would accelerate as they would approach the stumps and would climax at the time of delivery. There was an air of expectation with every ball bowled. One definitely cannot ask for more.
Most of the great fast bowlers ruled the roost from mid seventies to early nineties. Since then there has been a considerable decline in the quantum of fast bowlers and prior to mid seventies there was also a dearth of the same. Michael Holding himself was a class act and was often referred to as ‘Whispering death’, his footfalls being so quiet even at the time of delivery and his entire motion being almost as silent as the wind.
Fast bowlers can basically be placed in six categories. The first category to which Imran and Lillee belong consists of the best bowlers. The other five categories, however, do not imply that any one particular category bowler is better than the other. The second category consists of bowlers who were a shade slower than Imran and Lillee, but who could also swing the ball substantially. Richard Hadlee and Waqar Younis would fall into this category. The third category consists of very fast bowlers who bowled an immaculate line and length on a consistent basis. Approximately eighty per cent of their deliveries were pitched on the middle and off stumps and most of their victims fell between the wicketkeeper and the slip cordon. Almost all the West Indian bowling greats including Michael Holding, Malcolm Marshall, Courtney Walsh, Curtly Ambrose, Joel Garner, Andy Roberts, Colin Croft and Wesley Hall fell in this category, apart from Freddie Trueman and Ray Lindwall. There is a lot to be said for these bowlers as they bowled consistently accordingly to a game plan and to their field.
In the fourth category one can place bowlers who were above medium pace and could swing the ball considerably both ways. Wasim Akram, Ian Botham and Fazal Mahmood would fall under this category. Whereas Wasim was quick in his early days, for the greater part of his career he bowled from a shortened run up and reduced his pace accordingly. Fazal too was a master at his craft and was instrumental in several victories. In those days tours were far and few between and in spite of that he had 13 hauls of five wickets in an innings and four of 10 wickets in the match.
In the fifth category one can place those bowlers who bowled immaculate line and length but whose swing and pace were relatively limited. Glen McGrath and Kapil Dev would fall under this category. McGrath is a very effective bowler who fully utilises his abilities. He realises his limitations and bowls well within himself never going flat out nor erring in his line and length. It is good controlled pace bowling. Kapil Dev is a fringe inclusion among the great fast bowlers. India kept playing him to break Hadlee’s world record of 431 Test wickets and no sooner had he done that he was left out of the team. He also had an unflattering bowling average of 29.64. One is reminded of the West Indians in the sixties when they continued playing a finished Lance Gibbs till he broke Freddie Trueman’s world record of 307 wickets. In the sixth category one can place bowlers who were very fast but highly unpredictable. Jeff Thomson and Shoaib Akhtar would fall under this category. Imran and Lillee both had 23 hauls of five wickets in an innings and six wickets in a match. The former had a tally of 362 Test wickets whereas the latter took 355 wickets.
