In a batsman hyped era, boundaries and sixes are desired for and batsmen gleefully oblige to the demands. Balls keep sailing over the boundary hoardings, crowd turn vociferous and TRPs soar up. Amidst the chaos, the plight of bowlers’ remains unheard as the might of the willow predominantly overpowers the ball.
Improvisations had been the roadmap for batsmen and bowlers took the route to return the favour back to them. Slower deliveries, over the last decade and a half, has been a prolific weapon in the armoury of bowlers.
Bowlers have adjusted efficiently with the elasticities of the sport and have eked out various styles of the slower deliveries. In our piece, we focus on a bunch of current bowlers who have given the delivery a different dimension altogether.
#5 Jasprit Bumrah
In his maiden IPL contest couple of years ago, Jasprit Bumrah was scorched for three consecutive cover-drives by Virat Kohli, but the lanky fast bowler stormed back to trap the right-hander in his fourth delivery. Albeit to a small extent, but somewhere down the line, the cool, calm and unruffled temperament of Bumrah caught the eyes.
The man from Gujrat probably has the most lethal slower deliveries in the game which is vicious enough to fox the best in the business. And teams have got the bitter taste of his off-cutters, especially during the death overs when his guile bamboozles batsmen into play false strokes.
Bumrah has been the man to deal with and his counterpunches in crunch moments have attracted ovations and accolades from around the globe. In the last one year, Bumrah has palpably been India’s answer to stifling batsmen down in the slog overs.
#4 Dwayne Bravo
The wily old all-rounder has been a revelation, especially in the limited overs version where he has wielded his magic all around the world. Rolling the fingers over the ball has turned into meat and drink for the veteran from Trinidad and Tobago.
In April 2016, he surpassed Lasith Malinga as the top wicket taker in all T20s and is currently perched at the helm with 367 wickets in the shortest format of the game. While honing his repertoire across several T20 leagues, Bravo has become an indispensable asset for any team.
Batsmen are conscious about his ability to take pace off the ball, but eventually, succumb to his acuity. Bravo is time and again trusted with the mantle of putting a lid on the scoring when batsmen are looking to throw the kitchen sink at the end of an innings. At 33, Bravo has been an indefatigable servant of cricket and still has a few years of cricket left in him.
#3 James Faulkner
The Tasmanian has been Australia’s go-to man in crisis situations when no other avenue can be traced to halt a spell of carnage by opposition batsmen. James Faulkner, apart from being a handy lower-order batsman, is no mug with the leather in hand.
Faulkner, with the surge of his career, has mastered the art of deploying the slower delivery to his benefit. Batsmen are constantly looking out for hints to detect the slower delivery and Faulkner hardly gets trapped as his arm speed for a normal and slower delivery remain more or less the same.
In addition, Faulkner has the back of the hand delivery in his catalogue, which is hard to execute and Faulkner has attained expertise on it. On slow and low wickets, the left-arm pacer has been a handful and his dazzling performances in the IPL are manifestations of the same.
#2 Tymal Mills
In modern day cricket, genuine pace can be as much a friend as a foe primarily for bowlers who can crank up some decent pace in the range of 140-155 kmph. The hulking Tymal Mills has the blessing of raw pace, but he also possesses a deceptive slower delivery that compliments seamlessly with his thunderbolts.
In 2015, Mills was diagnosed with issues involving his spinal cord and vertebrae. Two years later in 2017, he has defied all issues to play for England, which exhibits the grit and willfulness in the individual.
Mills is currently representing the England team in the T20 series against India and has shown a rich vein of form in the couple of matches he has played in. At 24, he had a rollicking start to his career, but the road ahead may not be to his liking.
#1 Mustafizur Rahman
Popularly known as ‘The Fizz’, - Mustafizur Rahaman’s advent to International cricket has been equivalent to a fairytale. Hailing from Bangladesh, Mustafizur has taken giant strides to be deemed as one of the sparkling youngsters.
His slower cutters are predictable, but batsmen are still searching for a way to combat them as he keeps on outwitting batsmen into his trap. One of the very few Bangladeshi bowler to get stardom at a tender age, the Fizz has been the best bet for any side he represents.
In July last year, he was ruled out due to a shoulder injury and recently has made his comeback in the tour of New Zealand. With age on his side, a sparkling future awaits the pacer provided injuries don’t form a roadblock.
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