5 best yorkers in the world right now

Among all the potent weapons that a bowler might have, the yorker has to be right up there when it is delivered right. If it’s fast, inswinging and into the block hole, it can be a nightmare even for the best batsmen in the world.

A yorker is a great weapon for a bowler because it is the go-to option in limited overs cricket when batsmen are trying to hit you out of the park. And if delivered perfectly, it is impossible to even defend against.

Let us look at 5 bowlers with the best yorkers in the world right now.

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#5 Junaid Khan

If you are thinking about consistency when it comes to delivering yorkers, you need to think of the Pakistani fast bowler Junaid Khan. Khan’s Yorker is a deadly missile that tails in and takes the off-stump out of even the very best batsmen in the world.

From Mahela Jayawardene to Keiron Pollard, he has done it to the best, both in the long and short formats of the game.

Batsmen have been out to his yorkers even while trying to defend him — this also makes it virtually impossible to score big off him in the slog overs in T20 cricket. Junaid Khan because of his perfection and consistency is known as ‘the yorker machine’.

He has also plied his trade in English county cricket for Lancashire where he was widely praised for his perfect yorkers in crunch situations and the experience helped him further hone his skills.

#4 Mitchell Starc

If you are thinking of an inswinging yorker at 150 kmph that breaks stumps and leaves batsmen clueless, you need to take Mitchell Starc into account. It’s the ball with which Starc dismissed the legendary Jacques Kallis in the BBL and Brendon McCullum in the World Cup.

Because Starc’s natural angle as a left-armer bowling over the wicket takes the ball away from right-handed batsmen, the fast, inswinging Yorker becomes a potent weapon. And when Starc is at his best, his yorkers are simply unplayable.

“I’ve spent a lot of time on trying to get it right,” Starc said in his interview with The Australian.

“A lot of work has gone into it, trying to get it right. Alan Davidson was part of the Western Suburbs cricket club in Sydney, where I’m from, and he always mentioned something like, ‘Your final six balls at practice should be yorkers’."

#3 Jasprit Bumrah

Often compared to Malinga because of his slingy action, Jasprit Bumrah, in fact, learned his tricks of the trade from the Sri Lankan quick with whom he has shared the Mumbai Indians dressing room for some time now.

But Bumrah has now clearly stepped out of his master’s shadow so much so that even in crunch situations in the IPL, he is now the preferred option to bowl for the Mumbai Indians ahead of Malinga.

Bumrah has gone on to replicate his success at the international level and is now Kohli’s go-to bowler in crunch situations in ODIs and T20Is. It is his pace and the perfect yorkers delivered with consistency that make him such a great success.

The Australian legend Glenn McGrath, who encouraged Bumrah to stick to his unorthodox bowling action, is usually all praise for the Indian youngster.

In an interview before the 2017 Champions Trophy, McGrath said about him, “The way he bowls at the death is impressive. In addition to a fine length, he also generates good pace. He can come up with occasional yorkers as well. He is a quality pacer and I hope he continues to improve.”

#2 Ben Stokes

England all-rounder Ben Stokes got everyone talking with his perfect yorker to send back Quinton de Kock on the fourth day of the third Test against South Africa. Stokes’ yorker in the 17th over during South Africa’s chase at The Oval, delivered from round the wicket, met with no answer from de Kock.

It was a perfect yorker pitched into the block hole and angling at just about the right pace to leave the batsman with no option of digging it out at the right moment. He then followed it up with a peach of a delivery to dismiss Faf du Plessis.

Stokes had admitted his regret of not bowling perfect yorkers after Carlos Braithwaite hit him for four sixes to win the match in the final of the ICC World T20 2016. Since then, he has brushed up on his skills and he can execute even the perfect wide yorker to keep batsmen from scoring in limited over internationals.

#1 Kagiso Rabada

WICKET Malan bowled by a vicious yorker from Rabada120/4 #ENGvSAFollow: https://t.co/a0qhO1p3jy pic.twitter.com/7WuvOPXJql

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 27, 2017

Unless you have been living under a rock for the last few days, the chances are you have heard of Kagiso Rabada’s unplayable yorker to David Malan. The video of the yorker went viral on the internet and people just could not stop talking about it.

The reason for that is pretty simple — Rabada’s yorker was the perfect picture of fast bowling in a cricketing world that has now come to be dominated by batsmen. Even in a Test which has witnessed some special bowling performances, Rabada’s yorker could easily be the ball of the match.

Bowling from over the wicket to the left-handed Malan, the ball swung in late viciously and left Malan falling over as it shattered his stumps. It was visceral with raw pace and late swing against which the very best in business would have also struggled.

This was not the first time that Rabada had bowled such a perfect yorker. In fact, the fast, full yorker that swings in late is a potent weapon that Rabada has often used to dismiss many a batsmen.

This is precisely what makes him so dangerous and perhaps the best young fast bowler, who has now beautifully stepped up to fill the shoes of the long absent Dale Steyn.