5 bowlers who bowled with extreme pace despite having an unusually short run-up

As any cricket fan will agree, watching an express fast bowler running in off a long run up and then letting fly is one of the most exhilarating sights in the game. The run-up is the key element for many of the greatest fast bowlers who have played the game and helps them generate the pace that makes them such a difficult proposition for most batsmen.

On the other hand, there is that rare breed of bowlers who can be just as quick without an elaborate run-up. Now, this is not a joke, it needs immense talent and boisterous shoulder strength. Hence there very few bowlers who can bowl at an extreme pace with a short run-up. That said, there have been bowlers, both past, and present, who have confounded batsmen with their ability to generate such extreme pace from a short run-up. Here is a look at 5 of them.

#5 Andre Adams

Former New Zealand all-rounder had a rather unremarkable career, spanning around 5 years in the international cricket, during the course of which he played 42 one day internationals and a solitary Test match along with 1 T20.

Adams was a big-hitting batsman and scored quick runs for New Zealand lower down the order, but it was his bowling that was more intriguing.

Coming in off a short innocuous run-up, Adams could really let it rip and often bowled at speeds of around 90 miles per hour. Although he did not possess the other skills like movement in the air or off the pitch, generating pace was never one of the problems for Adams and throughout his short career, he often troubled batsmen with his deceptive pace and made their life difficult.

#4 Craig White

Craig White

England's former all-rounder Craig White was a fixture in the side in the late 1990s and early noughties.

He played 30 Tests and 51 one day internationals for England and was a vital cog in the team's bowling attack. White bowled from a short run up and it almost looked as if that he was going to deliver tepid medium pace, but his bowling had genuine venom as far as pace was concerned, which is why he was often asked to bowl first change by the captains under whom he played.

His average speed was around 90 miles per hour and in addition to that, his action was slingy which made life difficult for the batsmen.

With the older ball, White had the ability to generate reverse swing as well and that coupled with his pace made him a pretty difficult customer to face.

#3 Mark Wood

Mark Wood

27-year-old Mark Wood is the latest in the long line of modern English bowlers, who are express fast and can trouble the best batsmen in the world with their pace.

However, there is something that distinguishes him from the rest of English quick bowlers and in fact from many other fast bowlers in the world at the moment. He bowls off a remarkably slow run-up but generates pace in excess of 90 miles per hour on even the most unresponsive pitches and that is, in fact, one of the primary reasons why he got into the national team in the first place.

His run up maybe short but it is a pounding one. He is slippery and skiddy and has a surprise boncer too. powerful run off a handful of steps.

Wood has 10 Tests since his debut in 2015 but it is amply clear that he will play much more in the years to come if he takes care of his body.

#2 Simon Jones

Simon Jones

Welshman Simon Jones was perhaps one of the most gifted fast bowlers in world cricket when he burst onto the scene back in 2002 and his greatest gift was that he could bowl at a scorching pace that made some of the best batsmen in the world look silly.

However, he generated that fearsome pace, sometimes rising to as much as 95 miles per hour when he was on song, from an extremely short run-up. Jones' run up consisted of a mere 9 steps and all the pace that he used to generate came from his powerful approach to the bowling increase coupled with extremely strong shoulders.

His greatest series was the historic Ashes series in England in 2005 and Jones's mastery of high-speed reverse swing had the great Australian team rattled.

He picked up 21 wickets in the four Tests that he played in and remains one of England's most loved cricketers, despite having played only 18 Tests.

Injuries eventually cut his career short and this was probably because of his action and short run-up which took a massive toll on his body.

#1 Wasim Akram

Wasim Akram

The former Pakistan great is arguably one of the greatest fast bowlers to have ever played the game and he is rightly called the 'sultan of swing' owing to the vast arsenal of tricks he had up his sleeve.

However, what is often forgotten is that he could be as quick as the fastest bowlers of his era when he wanted to and Akram did it all from a run up that was no more than 7-8 steps at most.

When he first started off playing for Pakistan back in 1984, he had a much longer run up but after a few seasons he altered it and it is one of the reasons that he was able to radiate through in both forms of the game till 31.

Akram had great strength in the shoulder and coming off that sort of a run-up, he could generate serious pace that often had the batsmen hopping. That said, he was not truly deceptive since batsmen all over the world were aware of the fact that Akram could let it rip off that short run up whenever he wanted.