6 bowlers who dropped pace and were still successful
From pacers to swingersThere is somewhat of an amazing feeling to see a fast bowler run at full speed towards the crease, take a leap and release the ball with all his might. If the bowler possesses silky curls or waves for hair, the ‘cool factor’ goes up by a notch or two.Let’s be honest here, there aren’t many – or any – people who haven’t felt a rush of adrenaline pumping through their veins as the bowler approaches the release point. I have been there. When Shoaib Akhtar started his run-up from the boundary line, with his hair flying against the wind, it gave me shrills and those emphatic waves within me killed a potential world-class Bangladeshi leg-spinner.Well, world class might be stretching it a bit, though I was a really good leg-spinner who could spin the tape tennis ball to gigantic angles on cement tracks, my desire to run a long way and bowl as quick as possible phased me out of the game eventually. But that’s what pace bowlers did – and still do – they give you a kick like none other.Running a long way and bowling seems infinite times cooler than taking 3-4 strides and gripping the ball, though the latter has more longevity. However, there have been some pace bowlers who started out bowling quick, but ended up dropping speed in favour of line and length and longevity.Here are they:
#1 Imran Khan
These days, he fervently spends throwing arguments at other politicians in the Pakistan parliament, but there was once a time he threw the cricket ball at batsmen with infuriating wrath.
In a fast bowling contest at Perth, he ended up third with a speed of 139.7 km/h – only behind Jeff Thomson and Michael Holding – and he could consistently bowl at that range and trouble the batsmen with his fierceness.
However, once he deciphered the art of reverse swing, he sacrificed pace in order to become an expert exponent of this deadly skill. In the end, it turned out to be a great decision as it not only got him more scalps, but also a career that spanned for almost 2 decades in the international level.
He finished his career with 362 and 182 wickets in 88 Tests and 175 ODIs, respectively, and carved his name on the eternal stone of great fast bowlers.