Asian subcontinental wickets have over the years ben renowned for their ability to favour the slower bowlers, who have made full use of the dry nature of the surfaces on offer.
However, there have been a few fast bowlers, who have also carved a niche for themselves on these decks and we take a look at 5 best fast bowlers who performed the best in Asia:
5.Richard Hadlee
There were quite a few bowlers during the 70’s and 80’s who terrorised batsman, but if there was one pacer who examined the batsman’s technique with his relentless accuracy and impeccable line-and-length, it was New Zealand’s Richard Hadlee.
Hadlee played a total of 13 Test matches in Asia and took 68 wickets at an average of 21.58. His best performance came in the Mumbai test of 1988 when he took 6 for 48 which helped his side win by 136 runs.
He also played a key role in the Kiwis’s innings and 61 runs win over Sri Lanka at the Ceylon Cricket Club(CCC), picking up a 10-wicket haul with figures of 5 for 73 in the first innings and 5 for 29 in the second.
In an overall career spanning 17 years, he took 431 wickets in 86 matches at an average of 22.52.
4.Malcolm Marshall
One of the most fearsome and complete fast bowlers to have ever played the game, Malcolm Marshall tasted a good amount of success in subcontinental conditions, picking up 71 wickets in 19 Tests at an average of 23.05.
Marshall’s best performance in Asia came in 1983 in Kolkata when he took 6 for 37 against India, helping his side win the game by an innings and 46 runs. In the same series, he also took 5 for 72 in Chennai in the same match that saw Sunil Gavaskar’s epic 236.
Marshall also played a key role in the West Indies's innings and 10 runs win over Pakistan in 1986, picking up match figures of 6 for 47 that helped skittle out the Men in Green for paltry totals in both innings in Lahore.
In a career that spanned 13 years, he took 376 wickets in 81 Tests at an average of 20.94.
3.Glenn McGrath
Another great fast bowler who had his share of success of Asian pitches was Australia’s Glenn McGrath, who in 19 Tests picked up 72 scalps at an average of 23.02. The 46-year-old’s best performance came in the 1998 Karachi Test against Pakistan, where he took 5 for 66.
But his more notable contribution came in the 2004 season, when in his team’s tour to India, he took 14 wickets in 4 Tests to help his country win their 1st series on Indian soil since 1969.
Overall, McGrath played in 124 Tests, picking up 563 wickets at an average 21.64.
2.Courtney Walsh
Unlike the quartet from the 70’s and 80’s, Courtney Walsh wasn’t fearsome in his pace, but he compensated that for his ability to bowl accurately all day that kept the batsman alert at all times.
Walsh was successful in Asian condition, where he took 77 wickets in 17 Tests at an average of 20.53. The Jamaican’s best performance came in Mumbai in 1994 where took figures of 6 for 79 against India albeit in a losing cause.
He also succeeded in one of the early visits to India in 1987, when he took identical figures of 5 for 54 against India in Delhi and Mumbai respectively. In the second innings of the latter, he also picked up a four-wicket haul.
Overall, Walsh took 519 wickets in 132 matches at an average of 24.44.
1.Dale Steyn
Perhaps the best fast bowler of the present generation, Dale Steyn has picked up 90 scalps in 20 Tests at an average of 22.66. The South African has tasted success in almost all conditions in the world and that’s maybe a factor that separates him from the rest of the pack.
His best showing on Asian soil in Nagpur in 2010, when in a superb display of fast bowling, he took figures of 7 for 51 which paved the way for his side’s innings and 6 runs win. Two years earlier, Steyn took 5 for 23 in Ahmedabad, that helped bowl India out for 76 and eventually help his side register a big win.
In 2014, he took 5 for 54 and 4 for 45 against Sri Lanka at Galle which helped South Africa win by 153 runs.
Although he has lost a bit of sting past year or so, there is no douting his capabilities as a fast bowler who in 84 Tests has taken 414 wickets and looks good to take more in the time to come.
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