Mohammad Amir
One of the greatest fast bowlers to ever play cricket, Amir is arguably one of the best swing bowling specialists in all three formats of the game. He is also known for his incredible accuracy with both his pace and length- a deadly combination!
Amir was born in Multan, Pakistan in 1988 and began playing cricket at an early age. At just 19 years old he made his Test debut against England in Lahore where he picked up two wickets. Since then he has gone onto pick up over 40 wickets in every format of the game for different teams across the world.
He currently plays for English side Sussex where he won the Division Two Championship title last season. His impressive performances have seen him named as a member of ICC’s ODI Team of The Year in 2016 and Cricketer of The Year by Cricbuzz in 2017.
Steve Smith
One fast bowler who has always been known for his speed is Australia’s captain, Steven Smith. He started playing cricket when he was eight years old and made his international debut at the age of 17. Since then, he has over 200 wickets and more than 30 five-fors (best bowling figures in an innings).
A couple of interesting things about Smith are that he grew up watching the great leg-spinners like Shane Warne and Graeme Chappell and he loves to bowl yorker balls! His most famous delivery is the “wrong” one; the ball comes back in off the pitch instead of out. This is called a reyner or reverse swing.
He is very popular throughout the cricket world because he always puts his team first and never says anything bad about anyone. Even though he is considered by some as arrogant, people respect him and believe he will do what he says he will do.
His success has allowed him to have a good income so he can invest in his family and other hobbies. He doesn’t just focus on being successful as a cricketer, but also as a person.
Steve O’Reilly
As mentioned earlier, fast bowlers are extremely important to any cricket team. They have a knack for creating pressure by putting up big numbers, and their skills can make or break a match. Thankfully, there are not too many soft targets out there!
A lot of people talk about how hard it is to defend against leg-spin, but what if that bowler also flings the ball around with some pace? Then you have yourself an even bigger challenge!
Steve O’Reilly has done just that throughout his career as he possesses all three types of bowling speed. He is incredibly quick (88 km/h), swings the bat really well and bowls a variety of balls including bouncers.
This makes him very tough to face at the top level. Not only does he win the individual battle, but he also puts his team ahead which helps mitigate losses.
Mitchell Johnson
As mentioned earlier, fast bowlers are very important to any cricket side. They need to be able as well as possible to generate speed with the ball so that they can get big scores or even win the game for your team!
Mitchell Johnson is one such bowler. He is known for his incredible pace which he generates at speeds over 150 km/h (93 mph)!
He has been named Australian Captain since 2016 and was part of their 2015 Ashes victory where he took 10 wickets in 3 matches including 5-25, 6-24 and 5-23 against England.
Not only is he an excellent player but he is also extremely popular too! Many people know him from his impressive bowling performances but outside of the field he is very charismatic and likeable.
His favourite position is number eight due to this reason, he loves taking quick singles and doubles to put pressure on the batsman and create opportunities to hit them hard.
Lasith Malinga
Bowl like a pro! The Sri Lankan legend has won more than just trophies while he was active as a player, but also for his incredible leg-spin bowling. He is arguably one of the greatest fast bowlers to ever play the game and his legacy will always be remembered.
Malinga’s uncanny ability to deceive batsmen comes naturally to him and it doesn’t look quite effortless. When he bowls, you can almost feel his desire to impress and win every time he takes the crease.
He possesses two main weapons when it comes to his spin style – his arm-ball and off-break are both very good, making it hard to pick out which ones he uses most often. His slow left hander is particularly deadly because it gives him greater deception potential.
However, what makes Malinga so great is that even though he is not big or tall, he produces huge amounts of bounce with his ball flight and speed. This helps his swing go unnoticed by batsmen and puts more pressure on them to score runs through other methods.
Dale Steyn
South Africa’s Dale Steyn is one of the greatest fast bowlers to ever play the game. He has won several major awards for his achievements, including being named as the ICC Player of the Year twice (in 2013 and 2015).
He also set the record for most Test match five-for with his 28th delivery in 2017 which he took just 32 balls to complete!
Not only that but he was part of The Rest Of The World side who beat Australia at home during their 2016 Ashes triumph. As captain, he led them to victory by eight wickets and finished with 5–25 off 9.1 overs!
His incredible consistency is what makes him so impressive. Even though he doesn’t always get the praise he deserves, people seem to forget how good he really is!
If you take a look back through his career, you will see some truly amazing feats from this cricketing legend.
Kagiso Rabada
South Africa’s fast bowler, Kagiso Rabada, has been among the best bowlers in cricket since his debut in 2013. He recently made history by becoming the first ever player to take five wickets in an innings in a Test match when he did so against England during their recent series.
Not only is Rabada one of the top white-ball players in the world, but he also boasts some incredible achievements in limited-overs formats as well.
He was voted ICC ODI Player of The Year for both 2017 and 2018 and won the Sir Garfield Sobriquet Trophy (bowling award) at this year’s Allan Border Medal.
In addition to all these awards, Rabada has won three consecutive Golden Glove Awards for Best Bowler in One Day Internationals. He currently sits second behind Mitchell Starc with 29 trophies in total!
Yossi Beilin
As mentioned earlier, one of the greatest off-spinners to ever play cricket is Israel “Yossi” Beilinson. He was able to consistently turn the ball both ways with ease, making it hard for batsmen to pick his deliveries.
He started playing cricket when he was eight years old and made his international debut during the 1983 ICC Trophy. Since then, he has played 102 ODIs and 24 T20s for Australia, representing them as their number one spin bowler from 2011 until 2014, where he lost his place due to injury.
Since his retirement, he has continued to be an integral part of the Australian side, appearing at this year’s ICC Champions Trophy. His ability to get the most out of the arm ball makes him a valuable asset to any team that lacks quality fast bowlers.
Mitchell Starc
One of cricket’s most dominant fast bowlers is also one of its highest profile athletes. He has won multiple gold medals for his bowling at the Commonwealth Games, he was part of Australia’s winning side at this year’s ICC Champions Trophy, and he boasts more than 100 wickets in each of his last three seasons as an international player.
Born in Adelaide in November 1990, Mitch Starce was initially scouted playing rugby union before being lured to play football. When he eventually made the transition to cricket, it did not take him too long to make an impact.
He started playing grade cricket when he was just 16 years old and within two years had been signed by South Australian state sides. His first season with them saw him claim five wicket hauls across all competitions, including a hat-trick against Victoria.
His solid start earned him selection in Australia’s under 19 team where he claimed 27 wickets from six games at an average of eight per match. It wasn’t until later that he realised how much attention he’d attracted though.
Ahead of a tournament in New Zealand, some reporters asked then national selector Pat Howard if there were any plans to select Starc. “Yes, we have,” said Howard. “He can play soccer!” The media laughed but Howard was deadly serious. Soccer? For a cricketer?!
It didn’t
