ICC Champions Trophy 2017: Top 5 bowlers in the tournament
Cricket is no more a bowler's game. The people championing this philosophy in the days of short versions of the game received a rude awakening in the 2017 Champions Trophy. The tournament many can claim belonged to the bowlers – accompanied by a few delightful batting knocks.
The pitches were slow and dry and surprisingly, there was no swing to aid the bowlers. But with some exceptional tactics throughout the 18-day journey of this mega event, the men with the ball in hand found ways to run through the defences. Pakistan's reverse swinging pacers and India's death bowling were some of the best showpieces in the tournament.
On that note, here are the top five bowlers from the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 who rattled the batsmen and sizzled on the biggest of stages:
#5 Josh Hazlewood (Australia)
The Australian swing bowler had the best figures in this competition as he finished with figures of 6/52 in the game against New Zealand. This was the joint best effort in Champions Trophy history, only bettered by Farvez Maharoof’s spell of 6/16 in 2006. Though there was no swing available to him, Hazlewood bowled the right lengths and took full advantage of the extra bounce on offer.
He broke the spine of New Zealand with his cross-seam deliveries and took wickets at regular intervals. Hazlewood also took two crucial wickets against England but unfortunately, his side’s dreadful batting and bouts of rain meant that the Aussies failed to reach the knockout stages.The 26-year-old bowled at an average of just 15.77 along with an economy of just over 5.
In an event where captain Steve Smith described their attack with the ball as "one of the worst bowling displays", it was Josh Hazlewood who deserved to go unscathed from that criticism.