Overall, it can’t be said that 2019 was dominated by bowlers but it still produced some highly credible performances from players belonging to various countries. Some of the best bowling spells came in the World Cup where both pacers and spinners received more help from the pitches than expected.
When determining which performances deserve to be counted among the best, one needs to take into consideration the pitch, the occasion, the opposition, and the nature of dismissals. As a result, it’s not just the five-wicket hauls that count among the best. Sometimes, the economy rates and the timing of the spells isarelso important.
So, let us count down to the five finest bowling performances in ODI cricket this year.
#5 Pat Cummins (2/38 vs India, Delhi)
Bowling in limited-overs cricket anywhere is a challenge these days, even more so in Indian conditions. But such is the quality of Patrick Cummins that even here, he is able to make a mark. In the decider of the 5-match ODI series hosted by India, the Aussie quick bowled a decisive spell which led to his team’s successful defense of a target of 273.
On a flat wicket, a pacer needs to have the genuine speed to trouble the batsmen, as well as consistency of line and length. Cummins possesses both those qualities. By bowling an extremely tight opening spell, he pushed India on to the backfoot, a position from which they couldn’t recover.
By conceding just 38 runs in his 10 overs, the speedster made an invaluable contribution to his team’s win. He also got the key wicket of Shikhar Dhawan early on in the innings, thereby breaking a very dangerous opening partnership that could have taken the game away from Australia.
In his later spell also, he maintained his line and length and ended a dangerous-looking innings from Bhuvneshwar Kumar. It was another example of the high quality possessed by Cummins.
#4 Pat Cummins (3/23 vs Pakistan, Abu Dhabi)
This was another great instance when Pat Cummins proved that he doesn’t need helpful conditions to succeed. Bowling in the deserts of UAE has always been a challenge for fast bowlers. But Cummins, armed with twin weapons of speed and unerring accuracy, managed to torment Pakistani batsmen even here.
In a devastating opening spell, he picked up three wickets to pretty much seal the game for his team. Getting the white ball to move even in these arid conditions, Cummins was too hot to handle for the host team.
Even in his later spell, when the ball had lost its shine and there was no movement, he stuck to an unforgiving line and length to give no easy runs to the opposition. The result was a performance where he conceded just 23 runs in 8 overs. So, a combination of penetrative bowling at the top and strangling of the run flow made Cummins the man of the match for this game.
#3 Mitchell Santner (2/34 vs India, Manchester)
For quite some time, it has been clear that Indian batsmen of today are not as good as those from earlier generations in playing spin. This was again proven by Mitchell Santner in the World Cup semi-final.
Yes, the left-arm spinner came for bowling when the Indian top-order had already been taken out. Yet, there were two very dangerous batsmen in Hardik Pandya and Rishabh Pant at the crease. Santner, who is not a big spinner of the ball, bowled a near-perfect line and length to both the big hitters and completely choked out their scoring.
The result was a desperate shot from Pant which got him out. The Kiwi tweaker then picked up the scalp of Pandya as well to put India nearly out of the game. His performance in this match was a classic display of finger spin bowling in limited-overs cricket.
While the more skillful bowlers may try to use flight and guile to deceive the batsmen, it was Santner’s uncompromising line and length that proved to be nearly impossible to put away for Indian batsmen.
By bowling 10 tight overs in the middle of the innings, Santner helped push up the required run-rate so high, even big hits later in the innings couldn’t help India cross the line. This was simply a terrific performance.
#2 Jofra Archer (1/42 and Super Over vs England, Lord’s)
On the face of it, this performance doesn’t look all that stunning. But one has to look at the match closely to understand how important Jofra Archer’s contribution to his team’s eventual triumph was.
To begin with, Archer bowled superbly in the death overs of the New Zealand innings to prevent them from getting a big score. The way ODI cricket is played these days, a team is often able to take their score from a modest one to an impressive one through some big hitting in the last few overs.
In the World Cup final, it was the brilliant death bowling of Archer that scuttled New Zealand’s attempts to post a bigger total than what they achieved. Known for bowling at high-speeds and possessing a great slower ball and yorker, the Barbados-born bowler proved his value in the death overs of the biggest match in the cricket calendar.
But that wasn’t the end of his day. He then came back to bowl the Super Over and, despite conceding a six, managed to seal the title for his team. For a bowler who is so young and new to international cricket, handling such pressure and succeeding is a marvelous accomplishment.
#1 Matt Henry (3/37 vs India, Manchester)
India was clearly the best team in the Cricket World Cup and their top-order looked the most dangerous. Rohit Sharma had scored five centuries before coming into the semi-final while KL Rahul had also been in good form. Virat Kohli’s greatness is well-known.
India had an ordinary-looking target of 240 in front of them. But the much-vaunted Indian top-order was destroyed by the New Zealand new ball bowlers, especially Matt Henry. Getting the ball to swing beautifully, it was Henry who removed the in-form Rohit as well as his opening partner KL Rahul.
He also picked up the wicket of Dinesh Karthik to reduce India to 24/4. It was this opening spell that sealed India’s fate. Henry’s later spell was obviously not as dangerous as his opening burst since the ball wasn’t swinging but still, he managed to hold his nerve and finish with figures deserving of the man of the match award.
It won’t be an exaggeration to say that Matt Henry’s performance played the biggest role in the mighty Indian team getting knocked out. Since this effort came in the big stage of a World Cup semi-final, it deserves to be regarded as the best of the year.
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