Ashes 2013: Top five bowlers

The Ashes 2013 season has recently concluded with the English sweeping the series 3-0. One of the main reasons for the way the Kangaroos were thrashed was the impeccable success of the English bowling spearheads Jimmy Anderson, Stuart Broad and Graeme Swann. Even for the Aussies, the bowling department did bring some respite in the form of Ryan Harris and Peter Siddle. Here’s having a look at the top 5 bowlers in the 2013 Ashes:

1. Ryan Harris

If there were any moments when the Aussies were able to give a tough fight to the hosts, then they were all because of this man. Ryan Harris was arguably the best bowler in the series with 24 wickets in just 8 innings at a fabulous average of 19.58 which won him the Australian man of the series award, one of the meagre positives for Australia. He was not included in the eleven for the first test. He, then replaced left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc in the next game at Lord’s where he got a crucial 5 wicket haul in the first innings and ended up with 7 wickets in the match. His best came at Chester-le-Street, where he absolutely rattled the strong English batting line up with 7 wickets in the 2^nd innings. However, his performance was overshadowed as Stuart Broad ended up getting 11 wickets in the match to guide England to victory. Though he is at number 2 on the list of highest wicket takers in the series behind Graeme Swann, who took 10 innings to achieve the feat, the contribution of Ryan Harris to Australia’s cause was sensational. He was, more or less, the lone fighter for the tourists.

2. Graeme Swann

There were speculations before the Ashes that the pacers will prove to be more dangerous than the spinners on the hard and bouncy pitches of England. But, this was certainly not the case with the world’s number 6 Test bowler, Graeme Swann. The off break bowler finished as the highest wicket taker with 26 wickets in 10 innings. He was at his very best at Lord’s where he sent five Aussies back to the pavilion in the first innings. He continued in similar fashion in the second innings to finish the match on a high, scalping 4 wickets. He went on to take another fiver in the first innings of the drawn test at Old Trafford. He chipped in with crucial wickets in every innings for his team with his accurate line and length and thus, he is placed at No. 2 on this list.

3. Stuart Broad

Another reason, the Englishmen retained the Ashes was this right-arm pacer. Stuart Broad took 22 wickets in the series in 10 innings, at an average of 27.45. Though he looked off-colour in the first three matches, he absolutely destroyed the Australian batting line-up at Chester-le-Street. After England were dismissed for a paltry 238, Stuart Broad led the bowling for the hosts with 5 wickets to bowl out Australia at 270. However, his best was yet to come. He took 6 wickets in the 2^nd innings under immense pressure when the target for the Australians was a modest 299. He shared the new ball with Jimmy Anderson and stupefied the audience with superb figures of 6/50 from almost 19 overs.

4. James Anderson

England’s best wicket taker in recent times was expected to be the best one as well. He got 22 wickets in the series from 10 innings. In the very first test at Trent Bridge, he showed why he is considered such a potent swing bowler. He got 5 wickets in the first innings, which included a ripper of an out-swinging delivery to dismiss the Australian captain Michael Clarke. He scalped 5 Australian batsmen in the 2^nd innings as well, where he cleaned up the tail to deny the Aussies a nail-biting victory. However, in the later matches of the series, he was negotiated nicely by the Aussies and was of wickets. Except for a 4-wicket haul in the last Test, he was handled carefully well by the Australians. Thus, he has been placed at No. 4 on this list.

5. Peter Siddle

Another pace spearhead for the Kangaroos, Peter Siddle, features in the top five wicket taking bowlers in the 2013 Ashes. He collected 17 wickets in the series from 10 innings, at an average of 31.58 and with a very impressive economy of 2.82. His best performance came in the first innings of the very first Test at Nottingham, where he took 5 wickets for just 50 runs from 14 overs. He was absolutely influential in dismissing England for just 215 runs. He tried to continue with his rhythm, getting 3 in the next innings, but unfortunately, was not enough for the Aussies in the end. He chipped in with important wickets in the 2^nd test at Lord’s and the 3^rd Test at Old Trafford. But, his contributions were not enough as the English batting line-up did enough to wary him down.

The conditions in England’s backyard did prove to be helpful for the bowlers, but only the English bowling line-up could take full advantage of them. Leaving Ryan Harris and Peter Siddle aside, there was no other bowler from the Aussies who could extract something out of the pitches to trouble England with the pace, bounce and turn.