5 dream cross-generation bowling combinations that we'll never get to see 

Great fast bowlers are at their deadliest when they hunt in pairs, and over the course of cricket's history, many such pairs have wrecked havoc . They combine different skill sets to create an incredibly tough challenge for most batsmen.

Let's take a look at five bowling pairs that exist only in imagination, but could have been extremely effective if they had teamed up during their peaks.

#5 Richard Hadlee-Shane Bond

New Zealand has been blessed with several gifted fast bowlers over the years, but Sir Richard Hadlee is, without doubt, the greatest of them all. With 431 Test wickets and 158 in ODIs, Hadlee's ability to swing the ball and extract seam movement on any pitch made him a deadly bowler.

If one had to think of a dream bowling partner for him, it would have to be speedster Shane Bond. Hadlee's superb control of swing bowling coupled with Bond's speed, movement and bounce would have instilled fear in any batting line-up in the world.

Surviving the hostility of Bond and then facing the guile of Hadlee would have been the stuff of nightmares for even the best batsmen!

#4 Kapil Dev-Zaheer Khan

Zaheer Khan

For over 40 years since India's first Test match in 1932, the team did not have any fast bowlers of note. Kapil Dev came along and changed the face of Indian cricket when he debuted for India in 1978.

In a career spanning 16 years, he took 687 wickets across all formats. However, for most of his career, he did not have a good enough partner.

It is interesting to ponder what could have happened if Kapil Dev had played with India's best modern-day fast bowler, Zaheer Khan. Kapil Dev's swing, accuracy and pace, coupled with Zaheer Khan's left arm swing, cutters, slower balls and fast yorkers would have made them one of the best fast bowling duos in cricket.

#3 Andy Roberts-Curtly Ambrose

Curtly Ambrose

The West Indies have had plenty of super fast bowling duos, but it would have been a delight to watch two of their greatest fast bowlers, Andy Roberts and Curtly Ambrose, work together.

Batsmen would not have enjoyed it very much - while Roberts had fearsome pace, swing, a variety of bouncers, and the intelligence to identify a batsman's weakness early, Ambrose could simply blast into batsmen with his seam movement, bounce and the ability to cut the ball off at a good length.

Considering their sterling records across two different eras, they would have made a truly fearsome fast bowling duo if they had ever bowled together.

#2 Dale Steyn-Allan Donald

Donald appeals for wicket

This is the only fast bowling duo that could just have been a possibility, since Allan Donald retired only a year and a half ahead of Dale Steyn's debut. Even then, having them bowl together at their peak would never have happened.

There is no doubt that a Donald-Sten duo could have ended up being one of the greatest fast bowling combinations across eras. While "White Lightning" Donald was known for troubling batsmen with his extreme pace, bounce and seam movement, Steyn could swing the ball at pace both ways and was also an exponent of reverse swing.

It is unlikely that many batting lineups would have fancied facing this particular duo.

#1 Dennis Lillee-Glenn McGrath

Glen McGrath running in

Both Glenn McGrath and Dennis Lillee, two of the world's greatest fast bowlers, formed great partnerships with other pacemen during the course of their illustrious careers. However, the prospect of two of Australia's greatest ever pacemen bowling together is something that must have crossed the minds of most cricket fans over the years.

During the 1970s, Lillee was the fastest bowler in the world. He took 355 wickets in only 70 Test matches. If he had paired up with McGrath, there would have been very little for batsmen to work with.

McGrath (563 Test wickets and 381 ODI wickets) bowled at a decent clip and never gave the batsmen an inch. He could move the ball to just the right degree to induce the inevitable once the batsmen lost patience. Some of the best batsmen in the world struggled against him.

This particular pairing would not only have been lethal, but also suffocating for most batting sides.