Cricket World Cup History: Top 5 bowling figures in World Cup history
The twelfth edition of the most prestigious One Day International Tournament is all set to begin in a few days time. As the top 10 teams prepare for the round robin format of the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup, let us take a look at the previous 11 editions of the tournament.
After the 11 editions so far, most cricket experts agree to the statement that 'batsmen win you games, bowlers win you tournaments.' Be it the West Indies team that won the first two World Cups or the Australian team that dominated World cricket at the start of the 21st century, successful teams always had quality bowlers in their sides.
With an emphasis on the exploits of the bowlers in previous WCs, let us take a look at the top 5 bowling figures in World Cup history:
Also read: Top 8 Cricketers with the most 'Man of the Match' awards in World Cup history
#5 Gary Gilmour (Australia) - 6/14 vs England in 1975 Prudential World Cup
Australian cricketer Gary Gilmour, who was known for his left-arm swing bowling and a hard-hitting batsman played just 5 ODIs. Even with just a few handful matches to his name, Gilmour made it to the record books.
Gilmour, who made his ODI debut against New Zealand in 1974, did not play a single match in the group stages of 1975 World Cup. Australia unleashed him against England in the semi-finals as he made the most of the swinging conditions and demolished the English batting line-up by picking up six wickets for just 14 runs in the allotted 12 overs.
By sending six of the top 7 English batsmen to pavilion, Gilmour helped Australia restrict England to just 93 runs. Even in the finals, Gilmour picked up five wickets for 48 runs but Clive Lloyd's century ensured that West Indies emerged victorious by 17 runs in the first ever World Cup.