Top 10 New Zealand fast bowlers of all time

The Kiwis have always been known for their horde of medium fast bowlers and due to the conditions in New Zealand, it is not really a surprise that the best bowlers to have emerged from the country have almost always been of the faster variant.

New Zealand's usually green pitches, 'English weather' and windy conditions have encouraged a production line of excellent swing and seam bowlers who revel in making the life of visiting batsmen difficult.

Right from the time when they first played Test cricket to the present day, the team has depended heavily on the exploits of its faster bowlers and here is a look at 10 of the best among them.

10 Richard Collinge

Richard Collinge

The left-arm fast bowler was one of the earliest greats among New Zealand's bowlers and when he finally called time on his 13-year career, he was the highest wicket-taker in the country's Test history at the time.

Richard Collinge came into bowl off a pretty long run up and was an extremely accurate medium-fast bowler, who could swing the ball with ease. In addition to that, he bowled a fuller length and that made it doubly difficult to negotiate whatever swing that he was able to extract.

Collinge played only 35 Tests, primarily because of his reluctance to go on tours, but still managed to pick up 116 Test wickets at an average of 29.25. He played 15 one-dayers as well but his returns were a rather modest haul of 18 wickets.

9 Ewen Chatfield

Ewen Chatfield gets a wicket

Right arm medium-fast bowler Ewen Chatfield debuted in 1975, but it was not till the start of the 1976-77 season that he decisively established himself in the New Zealand team.

Chatfield was a disciplined seam and swing bowler, who bowled at a fair pace and formed an excellent combination with New Zealand's greatest bowler Sir Richard Hadlee (more on him later). Chatfield played till 1989 and appeared in 43 Test matches, during the course of which he claimed 123 wickets at an average of 32.17.

He was a regular in the New Zealand one-day team as well and played in 114 games. He picked up 140 wickets in those games, at an average of 25.84 and an excellent economy rate of 3.57.

8 Lance Cairns

Lance Cairns

The all-rounder, who was an integral part of the New Zealand Test and one-day international sides from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s also ended his career as one of his country's most successful fast bowlers.

There was hardly anything orthodox about Lance Cairns' bowling action and in fact, he had not even watched a Test match at the time he made his debut. The right-arm medium-fast bowler bowled off the wrong foot and had an awkward open-chested action but he had the ability to generate prodigious inswing, that proved tough for many batsmen.

On the other hand, in one-day internationals, he could vary the pace and bowl excellent slower balls that made Cairns a difficult bowler to slog against. In Test cricket, he picked up 130 wickets at an average of 32.93 in 43 games, while in one-dayers, he claimed 89 wickets in 78 games and recorded an economy rate of only 4.06.

7 Danny Morrison

He is nowadays known more for his over-the-top commentary but during his cricketing career that lasted from 1987 to 1997, Danny Morrison was one of New Zealand's best bowlers and the spearhead of the attack during the latter half of his career.

Morrison was a wicket-taking bowler, who could swing the ball either way and bowled at a decent pace, that kept the batsmen honest. In addition to that, he was extremely accurate and developed plenty of variations later on in his career, including the slower ball which made him a potent limited-overs bowler as well.

He played 48 Tests for New Zealand and returned a haul of 150 wickets with an average of 34.68. In one-dayers, he played 96 games and picked up 126 wickets.

6 Chris Cairns

Chris Cairns

Former New Zealand is arguably the greatest all-rounder to have played for the country and during his 15-year career for the country from 1989 to 2004, Chris Cairns emerged as one of the most dependable bowlers in the side.

Cairns' bowling was by no means explosive, but he could swing the ball and could call upon a wide range of variations that confused some of the world's finest batsmen.

He was one of the best exponents of the slower ball in the 1990s and was as a result a key member of New Zealand's one-day international side. In Test cricket, he picked up 218 wickets in 62 games at an average of 29.40 and in one-dayers, he claimed 201 wickets in 215 games. His economy rate of 4.84 in one-dayers was also on the expensive side. Cairns remains the 4th highest wicket-taker in New Zealand Test cricket history.

5 Neil Wagner

Neil Wagner

He might have made his debut for New Zealand in Test cricket only in 2012, but over the past five years, the South African-born Neil Wagner has added a unique extra edge to the teams bowling attack and much of it has to do with his singular approach to bowling.

Wagner is quite simply the battering ram of the bowling attack and his ability to bowl short and at the batsmen's body makes the left-arm fast bowler an extremely awkward customer to handle. The short-ball is Wagner's stock ball and he has the ability to go at it over after over, over long spells. In addition to that, he can swing the ball and recently, he has developed the skill of swinging the old ball as well.

It has made him an extremely difficult bowler to handle. He has only played Test cricket for New Zealand and has already picked up 144 wickets in merely 34 Tests, at an excellent average of 27.87.

4 Chris Martin

Chris Martin

He might be known more for his ridiculous record with the bat (average 2.36 in Tests and 1.60 in one-dayers) but what is often forgotten is that Chris Martin was also New Zealand's main strike bowler during the noughties.

He played 71 Tests for his country from 2000 to 2013 and his whippy, accurate, swing and seam bowling fetched him 233 wickets at an average of 33.81.

He wasn't express quick, nor could he swing the ball both ways, but it was his seam movement that often proved to be his most potent weapon and he used it to great effect during his career. Despite his excellent shows in Test cricket, Martin could not quite shine in the limited overs versions of the game and could only play 20 one-dayers and a handful of T20Is.

3 Tim Southee

Tim Southee

New Zealand's right arm fast bowler Tim Southee has been a rock of the team's bowling unit in all formats of the game for close to a decade now and he is one of the few players who made the big leap from Under-19 World Cup success to international acclaim.

Southee can bowl quickly when he wants, but he is quintessentially a swing bowler and in addition, he is extremely accurate. In limited-overs cricket, he is well known for his variations and is currently one of the best exponents of the yorker outside off-stump.

In 58 Test matches, he has picked up 208 wickets at an average of 31.45, while in one-dayers he has claimed 166 wickets in 122 games at an average of 33.22 and an economy rate of 5.41. In the modern era, such an economy rate is excellent.

In T20Is, Southee has proven to be quite a wily bowler but since he bowls during the most frenetic overs, his economy rate of 8.74 in 41 games is not to be sniffed at.

2 Trent Boult

Trent Boult

The left-arm fast bowler first played Test cricket for New Zealand back in 2011, but over the past six years, he has established himself as the team's main strike bowler and pace spearhead, across the three formats of the game. Boult's pace, accuracy, ability to swing the ball either way and intelligence has made him one of the toughest bowlers to face in modern cricket.

He is rightly considered among the best fast bowlers in the world at the moment and over the years, he has also added the perfect yorker as well as the slower ball to his repertoire to become an excellent limited overs bowler.

In 52 Test matches, Boult has taken 200 wickets at an average of 28.56 and a strike rate of 57.6. On the other hand, in 54 one-dayers, he has taken 94 wickets and has recorded a superb economy rate of only 5.04. He has only played 17 T20Is so far but has still recorded an impressive economy rate of 8.16. Boult has taken 26 wickets in the shortest format.

1 Sir Richard Hadlee

Richard Hadlee

With a tally of 431 wickets in just 86 Test matches, Sir Richard Hadlee is not only New Zealand's greatest ever fast bowler but one of the greatest bowlers to have ever played the game.

Hadlee bowled at a decent pace but what made him a truly devastating bowler was his accuracy, control over his swing and the ability to extract movement from any pitch.

On top of that, he hardly ever gave the batsmen an inch irrespective of the stage of the game and it is not really a surprise that the picked up those many wickets, at an average of only 22.29 and a strike rate of 50.8 in Test cricket.

He also played 115 one-dayers and reigned as one of the world's premier bowlers in the format for much of his career (1973-1990). Hadlee claimed 158 wickets at an average of 21.56 and an incredible economy rate of only 3.30. The crown of the greatest Kiwi fast bowler is simply not up for debate.