5 bowlers who contributed greatly to team wins but didn't get much credit

Cricket matches, especially test matches, are won by bowlers rather than batsmen because if the bowlers do not pick up 20 wickets in test matches, a team would rarely win a match. Even Virat Kohli stresses on this fact and picks up five bowlers to win matches.Bowling has always been an underrated job in cricket and when there are famous strike bowlers in the team, even if a bowler wins matches on his own, he is overshadowed in the team.So let’s look at in our slideshow at 5 bowlers who contributed greatly to team wins but didn't get much credit :-

#5 Morne Morkel

Morne Morkel has been the unsung hero for the Proteas

Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander have been the biggest match winners with the ball for South Africa in the last few years.Morne Morkel though has bowled brilliant spells for South Africa in these years but has not quite got the credit he deserved.

The tall and lanky Morkel has got the pace and bounce which can trouble the best in the business.On the helpful home tracks in South Africa, he is a handful to handle with.On away tracks he sometimes struggles with his length but he is still a good bowler on most pitches.

Morkel has played 65 tests for the Proteas and picked up 218 wickets at an average of 29.76.In 103 ODIs he has picked up 176 wickets at an average of 23.98.Though Morkel has got a few years of cricket still left in him, in the matches he has played he has gone under the radar and not quite gained the limelight like others.

#4 Makhaya Ntini

Makhaya Ntini was a brilliant fast bowler

Makhaya Ntini was one of the best South African fast bowlers in the early 21 century.A bustling seamer he bowled spells full of energy and was a true powerhouse for his team.His abilities with the ball fetched him much success in the game.

Ntini was the South Africa’s first black African international cricketer and in 2008 he broke the record for the best figures by a South African cricketer by picking up a haul of 13 for 132 against West Indies in Queen’s Park Oval.

Ntini played 101 tests for South Africa and picked up 390 wickets at an average of 28.82.In 173 ODIs he picked up 266 wickets at an average of 24.65.His career bowling averages are quite good and are reflective of his bowling prowess.It is a little unfortunate that he was sometimes not given enough credit for the match winning performances for his nation.

#3 Craig McDermott

Craig McDermott was one of the greatest Australian bowlers of the 90s

In the modern era the names of McGrath and Lee are taken as Australia’s premium fast bowlers, the names of Lillie and Thompson come into people’s mind when they are asked about the best Australian seamers from eras gone by.One name that misses out which played in between those eras is of Craig McDermott.McDermott was Australia’s premium fast bowler in the nineties.

McDermott swung the ball viciously and on his day he was unplayable as England witnessed in Perth in 1990-91 when they crumbled from 191 for 2 to 244 all out and McDermott picked up 8 for 97.In 71 tests that McDermott played for Australia, he picked up 291 wickets at an average of 28.63.In 138 OdIs he picked up 203 wickets at an average of 24.71.His career stats are quite impressive and that is why it is a shame that he is not mentioned in the same light as some of the other great bowlers.

#2 Jason Gillespie

Jason Gillespie was overshadowed by other greats in the team

When a team has the names of Glen Macgrath and Brett Lee as the strike bowlers, it is not a surprize that the third bowler in the team is usually unheard of.Jason Gillespie was that third bowler in the mighty Australian team of last decade.

When Gillespie was not out of the team due to injuries, he would jag the ball both ways in his long marathon spells and complement Glenn Macgrath.Gillespie played 71 tests for Australia and picked up 259 wickets at an impressive average of 26.13.In 97 ODIs he picked up 142 wickets at an average of 25.42.

His impressive career records didnot quite fetch him the amount of limelight which was due to him.The biggest irony of his career was that he was dropped from the team after scoring a double hundred.One of the best fast bowlers for Australia in the modern era, Gillespie deserved more credit than he got.

#1 Matthew Hoggard

Matthew Hoggard didn’t hog much limelight

Matthew Hoggard was a classic swing bowler, his awayswingers were a delight to watch and when on song he was a handful to handle with.Hoggard was a part of the quartlet in the English team in 2004 which won almost everything including the famous Ashes win.

In 67 tests that he played for England, he picked up 248 wickets at an average of 30.50.Hoggard had some exceptional moments in the game like the hattrick he picked up in Barbados and his 12 wickets in Johannesburg.He was a true match winner when he got his swing going.Maybe his bowling average is not that great but not many can deny the impact he had on his good days.

Hoggard was a test match specialist and didn’t play many ODIs.The flamboyant players like Flintoff hogged the limelight in the team and Mathew Hoggard was surely not given enough credit for his match winning efforts.