2019 was an especially good year for bowlers, mainly those of the fast bowling variety, as many of them reached high peaks of performance. The likes of Kagiso Rabada, Pat Cummins and Stuart Broad continued to be top performers. But they were also joined by the likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Jofra Archer, who proved their mettle to the world.
So as we come to the end of 2019, let us look back at the 5 best bowling performances witnessed this year. The assessment is based not just on raw figures, but also on the match situation, opposition, conditions and the quality of bowling.
5. Neil Wagner (5/44 vs England, Mount Maunganui)
Most people would think a medium-pace bowler can’t bounce out a batsman. However, New Zealand’s South Africa-born seamer Neil Wagner has made a career out of proving this idea wrong. Known for his unstinting tenacity and unrelenting perseverance, Wagner is the ideal bowler to have when the pitch isn’t doing anything.
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His bull-headed approach was fully on display against England in the first Test of a two-match series at Mount Maunganui. On a pitch that was completely flat and had seen his own team pile up a score of 615/9 declared, Wagner ran in tirelessly and kept banging the ball short. While those short balls didn’t necessarily get him wickets, they softened up the batsmen.
The left-arm seamer ended with a much-deserved five-for and sealed his team’s victory. This one win was enough for his side to capture the series 1-0.
4. Nathan Lyon (6/49 vs England, Birmingham)
Nathan Lyon has emerged as one of the best spin bowlers in the world of late. This year, it can be said with certainty that he was the best among the tweakers. His finest performance was a match-winning one in the very first Test of the Ashes series.
The English team was chasing a target of 398 runs in the fourth innings. The pitch was assisting the spinners but was certainly not a dustbowl.
Lyon, whose greatness stems from the fact that he manages to get wickets even in the most unhelpful conditions, bowled at his best to bamboozle the home team’s batsmen.
Using his potent weapons of flight, rip, drift and accuracy, Lyon the ‘GOAT’ got the ball to turn viciously and dismantle the English batting order. His wickets – bowled through the gate, edged to the wicketkeeper and slips, bat-pad catches - were all an off-spinner’s delight.
Lyon’s effort was the best demonstration of spin bowling this year in the longest format.
3. Jofra Archer (6/62 vs Australia, The Oval)
By any standard, Jofra Archer got off to a flying start in his career. In his debut Test, he bowled a hostile spell to Steve Smith and forced him to retire hurt with a concussion. In the final Test of the Ashes series, he produced another splendid bowling performance to pick up his second six-wicket haul of the series.
Bowling at high pace and getting the ball to rear up from a length, he created trouble for even the mighty Smith who, otherwise, had looked impenetrable in the entire series. But it wasn’t just the short ball that he used to great effect; the right-arm pacer also used the full-length deliveries in a most effective manner.
Batsmen were hesitant to come forward because of his pace. By pitching the ball up and getting it to swing, Archer ended the misery of several Aussie batsmen. It was a masterclass in pace bowling from the English speedster.
The most impressive part of this performance was the spell he bowled to Matthew Wade. It was one of the most riveting patches of Test cricket in 2019 and saw the two combatants not just fighting with their skills but also with their words and body language. It was, simply, cricket at its best.
2. Kemar Roach (4/52 vs England, Antigua)
Kemar Roach has been West Indies’ best Test bowler this decade, but hasn’t got the attention and admiration he deserves. And when his team sensed a historic series win against England, the pacer swung into action and produced a devastating spell to ensure that his team got over the line.
Roach had already made a mark by picking up four wickets in the first innings. With his team earning a 119-run lead, they had a great opportunity to win the match and the series.
West Indies are well-known for letting go of great chances. However, that wasn’t going to be the case this time.
At 88/4, England still had a chance of wiping off the first-innings deficit and earning a big lead. But Roach then delivered a spell where he cleaned up the danger man Ben Stokes as well as very capable lower-order batsmen Moeen Ali and Ben Foakes. He also got the wicket of Stuart Broad to deliver the killer blow and set up his team’s comprehensive 10-wicket win.
It was Roach’s ability to pitch the ball up and get it to swing that proved decisive. He showed that while the world looks at the likes of James Anderson and Stuart Broad for their ability to move the ball in the air, he isn’t too far behind.
1. Mark Wood (5/41 vs West Indies, St Lucia)
England had been searching for a bowler with raw pace for a long time, and their hopes seemed to rest on Jofra Archer qualifying to play for them. But it turned out to be another bowler, short and slight in built, who first brought high speed to their bowling arsenal.
Mark Wood produced an astonishing spell of lightning-fast bowling at Gros Islet, St Lucia to pummel the West Indian batting line-up. The same batsmen who had successfully negotiated the English bowlers in the first two Tests of the series, now looked as helpless as English batsmen had done against Mitchell Johnson in the 2013/14 Ashes.
This wasn’t just the best spell of fast bowling this year, but also one of the best spells of pace bowling in the recent history of English cricket. It was clear that, in the form of Wood, England had found a genuinely quick and hostile speedster - one who, on his day, could rip the heart out of any batting line-up.
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