An aggressive fast bowler capable of bowling at speeds in excess of 150 km/h, South Africa’s Dale Steyn is capable of generating considerable swing and is usually chosen to bowl with the new ball to maximize these attributes.
These qualities have seen him take 256 T20 wickets and 64 for South Africa.
His best bowling of 4 for 9 came against the West Indies at Port Elizabeth in December 2007 in a match South Africa lost by five wickets.
Full name: Dale Willem Steyn
Born: June 27, 1983, Phalaborwa (37)
Major teams: South Africa, Africa XI, Botha XI, Cape Cobras, Cape Town Blitz, Deccan Chargers, Essex, Glamorgan, Gujarat Lions, Hampshire, Islamabad United, Jamaica Tallawahs, Melbourne Stars, Nelson Mandela Bay Stars, North Eastern Transvaal, Northerns, Proteas, Rest of South Africa, Royal Challengers Bangalore, South Africa A, South African Invitation XI, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Titans, Warwickshire
Playing role: Bowler
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Right-arm fast
Mat Inns Balls Runs Wkts BBI BBM Ave Econ SR 4w 5w 10w
47 47 1015 1175 64 4/9 4/9 18.35 6.94 15.8 2 0 0
Mat Inns Balls Runs Wkts BBI BBM Ave Econ SR 4w 5w 10w
220 217 4883 5499 256 4/9 4/9 21.48 6.75 19.0 4 0 0
Sohail Tanvir's disguised pace variations and the mistiming he creates from a wrong-footed action made him a sought-after purchase around the world and his 350-plus wickets speak to his value to the teams he represents.
Playing for the Rajasthan Royals on May 4, 2011, Tanvir took a match-winning six wickets against the Chennai Super Kings at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur. He ended the tournament as the highest wicket-taker, with 22 wickets from 11 matches at an average of 12.09, an economy rate of 6.46 and a strike rate of 11.20, the best among bowlers with more than six wickets.
In the final of the tournament, on June 1, at the Dr DY Patil Sports Academy in Mumbai, with Rajasthan chasing 164 to win, Tanvir added 21 runs along with Captain Shane Warne. He hit the winning runs off the final ball of the innings, to see the Royals home.
He was later presented with the "Purple Cap", an award for the leading wicket-taker of the tournament.
In February 2012, Tanvir featured in the inaugural Bangladesh Premier League tournament representing Sylhet Royals. He took 13 wickets and scored 78 runs in the tournament.
Full name: Sohail Tanvir
Born: December 12, 1984, Rawalpindi, Punjab (35)
Major teams: Pakistan, Edmonton Royals, Federal Areas, Federal Areas Leopards, Guyana Amazon Warriors, Hampshire, Karachi Kings, Khan Research Laboratories, Lions, Multan Sultans, Quetta Gladiators, Rajasthan Royals, Rawalpindi, Rawalpindi Rams, South Australia, St Kitts and Nevis Patriots, St Lucia Zouks, Sylhet Royals, Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited
Playing role: Bowler
Batting style: Left-hand bat
Bowling style: Left-arm medium-fast
Mat Inns Balls Runs Wkts BBI BBM Ave Econ SR 4w 5w 10w
57 57 1214 1454 54 3/12 3/12 26.92 7.18 22.4 0 0 0
Mat Inns Balls Runs Wkts BBI BBM Ave Econ SR 4w 5w 10w
336 329 7085 8627 351 6/14 6/14 24.57 7.30 20.1 7 2 0
With 63 international T20 wickets, Imran Tahir is South Africa’s leading bowler in that format.
At the 2014 ICC World Twenty20, Tahir returned his best figures of 4–21 in South Africa's match against the Netherlands and was awarded man of the match. Tahir was joint highest wicket-taker in the tournament along with Ahsan Malik from the Netherlands; both took 12 wickets in the tournament.
In the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup quarter-final match between South Africa and Sri Lanka, Tahir helped South Africa to their first ever World Cup knockout win with a Man of the Match performance of 4-26.
In February 2017, he reached the top position in both the ODI and T20I rankings for bowlers, and three months later was named T20I Cricketer of the Year at Cricket South Africa's annual awards.
Full name: Mohammad Imran Tahir
Born: March 27, 1979, Lahore, Punjab (41)
Major teams: South Africa, Chennai Super Kings, Delhi Daredevils, Derbyshire, Dolphins, Durham, Durham 2nd XI, Duronto Rajshahi, Eastern Transvaal, Easterns, Guyana Amazon Warriors, Hampshire, Hampshire 2nd XI, Hampshire 2nd XI, ICC World XI, Lahore City, Lahore Lions, Lahore Ravi, Lahore Whites, Lions, Middlesex, Middlesex 2nd XI, Multan Sultans, Nelson Mandela Bay Giants, North Eastern Transvaal, Nottinghamshire.
Playing role: Bowler
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Legbreak googly
Mat Inns Balls Runs Wkts BBI BBM Ave Econ SR 4w 5w 10w
38 38 845 948 63 5/23 5/23 15.04 6.73 13.4 2 2 0
Mat Inns Balls Runs Wkts BBI BBM Ave Econ SR 4w 5w 10w
290 276 6203 7246 365 5/23 5/23 19.85 7.00 16.9 10 2 0
Sunil Narine, a mystery spinner, caught the West Indies selectors' attention by taking all 10 wickets in a trial match and received a call up to the Trinidad & Tobago squad in January 2009. Every time Narine came to bowl, he looked like taking a wicket. His arsenal of carrom balls, knuckle balls and skidders led West Indies to the World T20 title in 2012.
He was one of the chief architects of Kolkata Knight Riders' two title victories in 2012 and 2014 - well worth the investment they put in him. He was bought at US $700,000 in 2012, promptly became the Man of the Tournament and has been retained by the franchise ever since.
Narine once bowled more overs than runs conceded in a Twenty20 match, with 21 dot balls out of 24 in the Caribbean Premier League 2014. After nearly 650 overs, he went into IPL 2016 with 216 wickets at an economy rate of 5.52.
He was ranked the No. 1 bowler in T20Is when he was picked for the World T20 in 2016.
Full name: Sunil Philip Narine
Born: May 26, 1988, Arima, Trinidad & Tobago (32)
Major teams: West Indies, Barisal Burners, Cape Cobras, Comilla Victorians, Dhaka Dynamites, Guyana Amazon Warriors, Kolkata Knight Riders, Lahore Qalandars, Melbourne Renegades, Montreal Tigers, Quetta Gladiators, Sydney Sixers, Trinbago Knight Riders, Trinidad & Tobago, Trinidad & Tobago XI, West Indies A, West Indies Under-19s
Playing role: Bowling allrounder
Bowling style: Right-arm off-break
Mat Inns Balls Runs Wkts BBI BBM Ave Econ SR 4w 5w 10w
51 49 1102 1105 52 4/12 4/12 21.25 6.01 21.1 1 0 0
Mat Inns Balls Runs Wkts BBI BBM Ave Econ SR 4w 5w 10w
336 331 7682 7720 379 5/19 5/19 20.36 6.02 20.2 11 1 0
Of the top wicket-takers, few have a lower average than Joel Garner’s 20.98.
Garner made his debut for the West Indies in 1977 and became an integral part of the outstanding West Indian cricket teams of his era, alongside Colin Croft, Michael Holding, Andy Roberts, and Malcolm Marshall to form some of the most daunting bowling partnerships in cricket history.
Not blessed with great speed like many of his contemporaries, Garner used his height to good advantage. Standing at 6-foot-eight, the Barbadian was able to extract steep bounce and use his unerring accuracy to deadly effect.
That accuracy, when combined with his toe-crunching yorkers, made Garner more than a handful. That he did not take more than 258 wickets is down to the other bowlers he bowled in tandem with more than any inability to penetrate the defence of the world’s best batsmen.
In fact, as alluded to above, Garner was one of the stingiest bowlers in all forms of cricket and averaged just less than five wickets per Test throughout his career.
He was selected Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1980. In the 1983–84 Test series against visiting Australia, Garner took 31 wickets.
Full Name: Joel Garner
Born: December 16, 1952, Enterprise, Christ Church, Barbados
Bowling style: Right-arm fast
Height: 6 ft 8 in
Test Career: West Indies (1977-1987)
Mat Inns Balls Runs Wkts BBI BBM Ave Econ SR 4w 5w 10w
58 111 13169 5433 259 6/56 9/108 20.97 2.47 50.8 18 7 0
Career highlights
The master of reverse swing Waqar Younis once had the best strike rate of any fast bowler until the arrival of Dale Steyn will be remembered as one of the most potent not just of the 1980s but also in the history of the game.
His trademark was his ability to reverse swing a cricket ball at high speed, which enabled him to snare 373 Test wickets in just 87 Tests. Together with Wasim Akram, he formed one of the world's most feared bowling attacks.
Waqar Younis has taken five or more wickets in an innings on 22 occasions in Test cricket.
Full name: Waqar Younis Maitla
Born: November 16, 1971, Vehari, Punjab
Major teams: West Indies, Barbados, Somerset, South Australia
Bowling style: Right-arm fast
Test career: Pakistan (1989-2003)
Mat Inns Balls Runs Wkts BBI BBM Ave Econ SR 4w 5w 10w
87 154 16224 8788 373 7/76 13/135 23.56 3.25 43.4 28 22 5
Career highlights
Blessed with pace, swing and the ability to bowl an explosive bouncer, Malcolm Marshall was arguably the best bowler of the West Indies attack in the 1980s.
He also possessed an uncanny ability to outthink any batsman. He later developed a serious leg-cutter that made him even more cunning.
His strike rate of 46.22 was phenomenal, his average of 20.95 equally so.
In 1984, he broke his left thumb while fielding early in a Test against England but with his left hand in a plaster cast, destroyed the England batting, taking 7 for 53.
Four years later, on an Old Trafford wicket prepared specifically for spinners, he pitched the ball up and swung and cut it to such devastating effect that he took 7 for 22.
Marshall died of cancer in 1991 at the age of 41.
Full name: Malcolm Denzil Marshall
Born: April 18, 1958, Bridgetown, Barbados
Died: November 4, 1999, Bridgetown, Barbados (aged 41 years 200 days)
Bowling style: Right-arm fast
Test Career: West Indies (1978-1991)
Mat Inns Balls Runs Wkts BBI BBM Ave Econ SR 4w 5w 10w
81 151 17584 7876 376 7/22 11/89 20.94 2.68 46.7 19 22 4
Career Highlights
Secured 376 wickets in 81 Tests
At the height of his career, Dale Steyn was perhaps South Africa's best-ever bowler. His extreme pace, the ability to swing the ball both ways, and accuracy made him the bane of the world’s batsmen.
He played just seven first-class matches before he was selected for South Africa and made his debut against England in 2004.
He did not have an immediate impact, but after honing his craft playing for Essex in Division 2 of the county championship and the 2005-06 domestic season, he returned a different beast.
He took 16 wickets in his second series against New Zealand but when he faced them the following season, the summer of 2007-08, he announced himself as one of the fierce fast men.
Steyn took 10 wickets in the first Test in Johannesburg. Then, shortly after lunch on the first day of the second Test in Centurion, he delivered a short ball to Craig Cumming, who missed. The ball crashed into his face and sent him to intensive care.
The flow of wickets became a gush, and in 2008, he became the fastest South African at the time, and the 15th fastest overall, to reach 100 Test wickets. That September, Steyn was named ICC Test Player of the Year after taking 86 wickets in 14 matches at an average of 18.10.
He went on to win the Test championship with the team in England in 2012 and took his 300th Test wicket the following year against New Zealand. He was only the fourth South African to rack up that many scalps.
Full name: Dale Willem Steyn
Born: June 27, 1983, Phalaborwa
Major teams: South Africa, Africa XI, Botha XI, Cape Cobras, Cape Town Blitz, Deccan Chargers, Essex, Glamorgan, Gujarat Lions, Hampshire, Islamabad United, Jamaica Tallawahs, Melbourne Stars, Nelson Mandela Bay Stars, North Eastern Transvaal, Northerns, Proteas, Rest of South Africa, Royal Challengers Bangalore, South Africa A, South African Invitation XI, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Titans, Warwickshire
Playing role: Bowler
Bowling style: Right-arm fast
Test Career: South Africa (2004-2019)
Mat Inns Balls Runs Wkts BBI BBM Ave Econ SR 4w 5w 10w
93 171 18608 10077 439 7/51 11/60 22.95 3.24 42.3 27 26 5
Career Highlights
Seen more as a support act to Muttiah Muralitharan in his early years, Rangana Herath eventually evolved into Sri Lanka’s go-to bowler.
His unrelenting accuracy and his ability to subtly vary his pace and flight have made him a potent force even overseas, where conditions don't always favour spin bowling.
On Sri Lanka's tour to South Africa in 2011-12, Herath's match haul of 9 for 128 helped the team to their first Test win in South Africa.
The following season he also had an impressive tour of Australia, bowling long spells, taking wickets and keeping the runs in check when the fast bowlers struggled
He was the leading wicket-taker in Tests in 2012, with 60 at an average of 23.61, thus proving conclusively that he had broken out of Murali's shadow, and was among the best left-arm spinners in the world.
Full name: Herath Mudiyanselage Rangana Keerthi Bandara Herath
Born: March 19, 1978, Kurunegala
Major teams: Sri Lanka, Hampshire, Kandurata Maroons, Kurunegala Youth Cricket Club, Moors Sports Club, Sri Lanka A, Surrey, Tamil Union Cricket and Athletic Club, Wayamba
Playing role: Bowler
Bowling style: Slow left-arm orthodox
Test Career: Sri Lanka (1999-2018)
Mat Inns Balls Runs Wkts BBI BBM Ave Econ SR 4w 5w 10w
93 170 25993 12157 433 9/127 14/184 28.07 2.80 60.0 20 34 9
Career highlights
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