Year in Review: Top 10 bowlers in Test cricket in 2013

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As another year passes by, we can look back on what has been a time filled with wonderful performances on the cricket field. 2013 was a year that saw Test cricket at its engrossing best. 2013 was also a year filled with memorable individual performances. There were great innings from the batsman to be savoured, but there was a contest between bat and ball, and that meant that the bowlers were not left too far behind.

Here is a look at the top 10 bowlers in Test matches in 2013

1. Vernon Philander

Vernon Philander

When one is at the top of the ICC Rankings, it is hard to look beyond him as the best bowler in Tests in 2013. Philander has taken 35 wickets from 7 tests at a measly average of 16.99. Philander’s combination of a nagging line and length, and his ability to move the ball in the air, and off the pitch, more than compensates for his lack of pace. It helped that he had partners like Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel, and with Imran Tahir also doing a decent job when called on, Philander was supported well enough. But, he still had to let the ball do the talking, and that, he achieved with considerable success.

2. Ravichandran Ashwin

Ravichandran Ashwin

India have played 7 tests so far in 2013, 6 of them at home. No surprise then, that a spinner has been their best bowler through the year. But, it wasn’t as easy as it looks for Ashwin. He had a poor series against England last year, and was criticized heavily for not doing justice to his ability. Against Australia earlier this year, Ashwin left all the fancy stuff in his locker, and stuck to his off-break, with variations in his pace. It was a change that worked wonders for Ashwin, as he picked up 29 wickets in 4 Tests on his way to bagging the Man of the Series award. Ashwin was also very reliable in the recent Sachin Tendulkar swansong series against the West Indies, picking up 12 wickets in 4 innings. 41 wickets in 7 games this year, and Ashwin has well and truly answered his critics.

3. Stuart Broad

Stuart Broad

13 games. 59 wickets. Leading wicket taker in this calendar year. 2013 may be the year that Stuart Broad is remembered for all the controversies surrounding him, but he has had a stellar year with the ball. Alongside Jimmy Anderson, Broad has been talismanic for England this year. Be it the Tests against New Zealand, or the Ashes held in the English summer, Broad was consistently among the wickets. Alastair Cook very often turned to Broad to break a threatening partnership, and he did not disappoint. Maybe, minus the controversies, this is just the best year Stuart Broad has had with ball in hand.

4. Dale Steyn

Dale Steyn

No list such as this, can be complete without Steyn’s name on it. Philander may be no.1 in the rankings, but Steyn has undoubtedly been Test cricket’s outstanding bowler for a while now. 2013 was a routine year for Steyn. The pace didn’t drop. The swing has not gone away, and the fire still burns. After all the battles in 2013, Mohammad Hafeez would now be sick and tired of the sight of Steyn. But 42 wickets in 8 Tests is a remarkable return, and one can say, 2013 has been just another year in the life of the world’s best Test bowler.

5. Trent Boult

Trent Boult

In a somewhat resurgent New Zealand bowling attack in Tests, Trent Boult has been the leader. A skiddy left arm pacer, Boult has the ability to get the ball to swing at pace. He finished the year as the third most successful Test bowler in the world, and has made everyone take notice of his performances. In any conditions, 46 wickets in a calendar year is no mean feat. The recent series against West Indies saw Boult deliver stunning performances, including one day in the second Test, where he took 9 wickets in a single day to lead New Zealand to an innings victory. At just 24, Boult has a long way to go, and with performances like these, he’s only going in one direction.

6. Ryan Harris

Ryan Harris

After he came into the team in the second Test of the last Ashes series, there has been no looking back for Ryan Harris. He has very quickly taken up the mantle of being the leader of the attack, and Michael Clarke has been more than happy to use him as strike bowler. Harris has got 36 wickets in 7 Tests in 2013, and has formed a potent pace bowling attack for the Aussies along with Mitchell Johnson and Peter Siddle. That ball to Alastair Cook at the WACA will probably go down as the best delivery bowled by a fast bowler in 2013.

7. Saeed Ajmal

Saeed Ajmal

Someone who very often goes under the radar, Ajmal has had another year where he has been Pakistan’s most consistent performer, in a team that is otherwise cursed to inconsistent performances. Once again, very few batsman managed to outsmart Ajmal and his bag of tricks. 37 wickets in 7 test matches is not a bad return at all, especially if 5 of those 7 Test matches were against the world’s no.1 team. Although Ajmal would have liked a better year for Pakistan as team – They lost a Test to Zimbabwe – he can be proud of his personal feats, as he finished as Pakistan’s leading international wicket taker for the 5th year running.

8. James Anderson

James Anderson

Anderson has well and truly been the leader of the pack as far as the English bowlers have been concerned. He has been the seond most successful bowler in 2013, and along with Broad, helped England on their way to having a glorious summer in their own backyard. The lasting memory of Anderson from 2013, will be the spell that he bowled in the first Ashes Test at Trent Bridge, where he showed incredible ability, guile and stamina to take England through to a 14 run win, and set them on their way to winning the series quite comprehensively.

9. Mitchell Johnson

Mitchell Johnson

Johnson played two Tests in the early part of he year, but was hardly successful, taking 3 wickets in the Test against Sri Lanka at Sydney and going wicket-less against India at Delhi. But, the Johnson that has graced this Ashes series has been a completely different one. The pace is up, the swing is back, and the aggression is more then ever before. That has meant that Johnson has tormented England in the ongoing Ashes series, picking 23 wickets in 3 Tests, and being the single biggest contributor to Australia regaining the urn with 2 Tests still to play.

10. Graeme Swann

Graeme Swann

Although 2013 ended on a slightly tumultous note for him, Swann can look back at the year with a great degree of personal satisfaction. 43 wickets in 10 Test matches, has meant that Swann has taken a share of the workload along side Anderson and Broad and has put in his share of the contribution too. Swann absolutely ripped through Australia in both innings of the Lord’s Test in the summer, and gave England a 2-0 lead, one that Australia were always going to find difficult to erase.