Cricket is a game which welcomes eccentricity and with the rise and rise of Twenty20 cricket in recent years, bowling attacks with a range of styles have become a sought after commodity.
While Sri Lanka’s three ‘M’s’ lead the way at present with Murali, Malinga and Mendis bamboozling batsmen all over the world, we wait expectantly for the next generation of bowlers who make supporters jump up and wonder; ‘How did he do that?’
Sport.co.uk picks ten of the most eccentric bowling styles from the past decade and with all of them having enjoyed successful international careers, it does pose the question; should England be on the lookout for bowlers with rubber-wrists or double-jointed elbows?
Paul Adams
The left-arm chinaman bowler tops the list as he is on the tip of everyone’s tongue when it comes to eccentric bowling styles. The original ‘frog in a blender’ wrist spinner made his Test debut against England in 1995 and last appeared for South Africa against New Zealand in 2004. Adams spun his way to 134 wickets in 45 Tests with batsmen struggling to pick his bizarre action, especially in his early years. Weird action aside and despite a decent start to his career, Adams lack of variation cost him his international place and he retired from cricket in 2008.
Muttiah Muralitharan
Murali’s hyper-extendable elbows have been the most discussed joints in cricket ever since he burst onto the international scene in 1992 against Australia. 1304 international wickets later, the Sri Lankan off-break bowler will go down in history as one of the finest spin bowlers of all-time. Having been called for ‘chucking’ early on in his career, Muralitharan’s action eventually led to the ICC changing their guidelines on what constitutes a fair delivery. Sometimes disregarded by purists of the game who refuse to acknowledge him as one of the greats, Murali’s ongoing record of 792 wickets should speak for itself.
Shaun Tait
The ‘Wild-Thing’ is the first of three slingers on our list and has quite rightly been compared to fellow countryman Jeff Thomson. Although his action is not as smooth as Thomson’s, Tait set the record for the fastest recorded delivery in Australia, 160.7 kph, this month against Pakistan in a T20 international. The brute strength evident in Tait’s shoulder wrenching action has caused him injury problems and his future in the game may be restricted to limited overs cricket. Despite the fact that it is unlikely he will achieve the same success as Thomson, Tait is still one of the most exciting players in world cricket.
Lasith Malinga
The second of our slingshot style bowlers ‘Slinga Malinga’ is one of the most effective ‘death’ bowlers in international cricket. His low arm trajectory wreaks havoc with batsmen who struggle to differentiate between his bouncer and yorker in time to play them. Malinga’s trademark whippy round-arm action is said to have originated from bowling with a tennis ball on the streets of his home city Galle. A young Malinga found a way to skid the ball through the batsmen’s defences and stuck to it ever since. Less effective in the Test match arena, Malinga has a bright future ahead of him as the spearhead of Sri Lanka’s ODI attack.
Mushtaq Ahmed
For all his talent, ‘Mushy’ perhaps should have featured more on the international stage for Pakistan despite capturing 52 Test match caps, 144 ODI’s and a World Cup winners medal in 1992. Often finding himself behind Saqlain Mushtaq and then Danish Kaneria in the pecking order, Mushtaq endeared himself to English cricket fans with a highly successful career at Sussex. Mushy’s windmill style action helped him become the leading wicket-taker in the County Championship for four seasons in a row from 2003. Notorious for a well disguised googly, the smiling assassin is now a spin-bowling coach with the England side having held a previous role with the Pakistan team.
Chris Harris
A stalwart of the Kiwi’s one-day side throughout the 90s, all-rounder Harris is a cult-hero in New Zealand. He is the first ‘wrong-footer’ in this list with his looping, half-spin half-seam deliveries a constant thorn in the side of international batsmen. Reportedly a tearaway quick bowler in his youth, Harris’ distinctive bowling action will be remembered for delivering the ball off the wrong foot, helping him to capture 203 wickets in 250 ODI’s. Harris holds the record for the most caught and bowled dismissals in ODI history with 29 and he reached two World Cup semi-finals in 1992 and 1999.
Jimmy Anderson
The Burnley Express makes the list courtesy of his unique ability to deliver the ball at 85mph plus with the back of his head facing the batsman. Now the spearhead of England’s attack in all forms of the game, Anderson burst onto the international scene as a 19-year-old on England’s 2002 tour of Australia. His career has had its fair share of highs and lows, especially during the period when former England bowling coach Troy Cooley attempted to remodel his technique. Anderson’s quirky action was changed so that he delivered the ball with his head upright but the Lancastrian dropped a yard of pace in the process. With his natural style restored, Jimmy has gone from strength to strength and will lead England’s attack for years to come.
Fidel Edwards
The third slinger to feature on the list, Fiddy’s action enables him to generate genuine pace despite his slight physical build. Often favouring pace over accuracy, Edwards has had an up and down international career although he has claimed 122 wickets in his 43 Test appearances. Like his fellow round-arm bowlers he has suffered injury problems throughout his career, especially with his lower back, and is currently out of favour and out of contract with West Indies cricket having injured himself in the Champions League despite the WICB advising him to rest. Will not enjoy being below Jimmy Anderson in the list; the pair have had an on-going feud in recent series with Fidel peppering night-watchman Anderson with rapid bouncers whenever he gets the opportunity.
Sohail Tanvir
The Pakistani left-arm seamer is in the same bracket as Chris Harris when it comes to delivering the ball off the ‘wrong’ foot. Tanvir’s ability to swing the ball both ways has made him a successful T20 cricketer and he was the leading wicket taker in the 2008 Indian Premier League. From the waist up Sohail’s action appears unremarkably orthodox but his bustling stride pattern into the wicket and flurry of smaller steps at delivery gives the appearance that he is delivering the ball mid-sprint; a nightmare for batsmen to pick up.
Ajantha Mendis
The third of Sri Lanka’s diverse attack in limited overs cricket, 24-year-old Mendis needs a separate category to define his bowling style with the off-spinner, leg-spinner, googly, top-spinner, flipper and doosra all in his repertoire. He approaches the wicket like a medium pace bowler although it is his unique way of gripping the ball which gives him the ability to bowl his wide range of deliveries. Mendis’ unique ‘Carrom ball’ is bowled with a snap of the fingers on release and can be used to spin in either direction. Presumably still learning under Murali’s wing in the Sri Lanka squad, Mendis has an incredibly bright future ahead of him.
And an honourable mention for….
Alex Loudon
The former England A and Warwickshire spinner makes the list for gaining notoriety as a ‘one-ball wonder’. Having been a promising batsman in his youth and captained England at under-15 and under-19 level, it was Loudon’s right arm off-spin which enabled him to enjoy moderate success in county cricket, taking 116 wickets in 76 matches. Yet it was his ability to bowl a ‘doosra’, which brought him to the attention of then England coach Duncan Fletcher. Loudon was thrust into the England squad to tour Pakistan in 2005 as back-up for Ashley Giles although he didn’t feature on the field. Loudon’s ‘doosra’ was reported to be bowled in a similar fashion to Ajantha Mendis’ technique of ‘flicking’ the ball out with the fore-finger from an off-spinner’s grip. Unfortunately for English cricket Loudon’s mystery delivery proved to be over-hyped and he retired in 2007 having played one ODI.