The greatest bowlers of the modern era

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Cricket has gone a sea of change in the last 20 years. The evolution of fast, batting friendly wickets, smaller grounds, better bats and an overall attacking mentality has seen the game become more batsman oriented in these two decades. While this has added to the excitement factor as well as a growth in attendances for matches, it has brought about a rapid decline of those fearsome bowlers of the golden era.

Bowlers these days have become supporting acts in the team, with batsmen hogging the limelight most of the times. There have been several bowlers however, who have stamped their undeniable authority on the game and have become all time greats. The following list is only of the best test bowlers in the last twenty years, since this period has seen a revolution in the way the game is played.

10. Allan Donald

Allan Donald is to South African cricket what Malcom Marshall was to West Indies. Fast, fearsome, with a permanent scowl on his face and a phenomenal control on the ball.

Donald was a genius when it came to making great use of the red ball, and was a genuine match winner for South Africa. His 330 wickets was a national record before Shaun Pollock broke it a few years later.

Donald though was beyond numbers; the psychological effect he had on batsmen was terrifying. Some of his greatest duels have been with arguably the best players on the planet, and some like with Tendulkar in 1996 or Atheron in 1998 are part of Test Cricket folklore. Donald has booked his place in history as one of the all time greats of modern day cricket.

9. Courtney Walsh

Walsh was the first fast bowler to break the 500 wicket mark, and 519 wickets in 132 tests at under 25 runs per wicket is an excellent record to have. He wasn’t express pace, but his accuracy and discipline was second to none and he was notoriously difficult to score off. He was also capable of bowling long spells at a time, and along with Curtly Ambrose formed one of the most lethal opening partnerships in world cricket.

The paradox in his nature was, unlike his aggressive contemporaries, he didn’t display that in-your-face aggression so common with fast bowlers. He was rather known for his exemplary sportsmanlike conduct on the field, and was without doubt one of the finest exponent of seam bowling in cricket.