Top 5 ODI bowlers of 2014

In an era where both the pitches and the playing conditions are heavily loaded in favour of the batsmen, the art of bowling has become grossly difficult, especially in the shorter formats of the game. With the new restrictions on field placements, there is an inherently uneven contest between bat and ball. This, in turn, has affected the courage of bowlers to be aggressive in pursuit of wickets. Even then, however, there are some bowlers who are able to keep the batsmen in check, irrespective of the conditions.Let us have a look at the top 5 ODI bowlers of 2014:(NOTE: Only bowlers who have played a minimum of 10 ODIs in 2014 were considered. The list is based on the bowling average, economy, strike rate and the number of wickets taken per match by the bowler and the quality of the opponents whom they played against) 

#5 Sachithra Senanayake - Sri Lanka

The Sri Lankan off-spinner was banned for an illegal bowling action after being reported during the ODI series in England in June, but has now been cleared by the ICC and will play an integral part in the country’s World Cup campaign. Interestingly, he made his comeback against the same opposition during the recently-concluded 7-match series and picked up 5 wickets in the 2 matches that he played. 

While Senanayake’s action came under question during the England series in the middle of the year, he, nonetheless, emerged as the highest wicket-taker with 9 wickets and was instrumental in Sri Lanka pulling off a historic series win.

The off-spinner scalped a total of 27 wickets in the 18 matches he played in 2014. His bowling average was 24.92 while his economy was 4.38. He is currently placed at No.7 in the ICC rankings for ODI bowlers.