5 bowlers with unusual actions who faded away

They were the queers on a cricketing pitch. Wrong footed, straight bodied, eyes-on-the-feet at the time of delivery - time and again, cricket has thrown up such mavericks who’ve redefined the way bowlers bowl. These bowlers arrived with a bang but vanished with a whimper, mostly because they got found out by the batsmen.From Pakistan to Sri Lanka; India to South Africa, each nation has produced bowlers who set the stage on fire with their unusual bowling actions.Sportskeeda takes a look at five such bowlers who amazed initially, hung around for a bit till their surprise element wore off and fell out of the radar soon after. 

#1 Paul Adams (South Africa)

Paul Adams broke into the scene as an 18-year-old in 1995 with his “frog in the blender” action. The action was so quirky and different that the results were instantaneous. In his debut series, despite playing just two of the five Tests, he ended as the sixth highest wicket-taker. Over the next three years, he picked up 82 wickets from 27 Tests, confounding batsmen with his element of surprise.

But soon this success started to wear off as more and more batsmen deciphered his enigma. With fleeting returns across formats, Adams found himself out of favor with the South African selectors and played his last Test in 2004. He never quite managed to kickstart his ODI career either but hung around in the domestic setup, picking up wickets in a heap.

He announced his retirement from the game in 2008 and is currently associated in a coaching capacity with the Cape Cobras cricket team.