West Indies all time10 Greatest Fast/pace bowler - Crickety.com Cricket Forum West Indies all time10 Greatest Fast/pace bowler West Indies have/had so many outstanding fast/pace bowler. The top five was extremely difficult to place in chronological order, specifically what one is looking for, if its durability-The likes of Coutney Walsh, speed-Michael Holding, Economical-Joel Garner and/or Curtly Ambrose Combination of all of the above: The incomparable Malcolm Marshall Meril's top 10 (fast/pace/medium) bowler (1) Malcolm Marshall: Arguably West Indies greatest fast bowler, a combination of speed and unplayable line and length delivery. (2) Curtly Ambrose: Similiar to 'Big Bird' Joel Garner in terms of delivery, one of the most lethal 'yorker' An economical bowler. (3) Joel 'Big Bird' Garner: One of the most difficult bowler to score runs against, very economical bowler. (4) 'Whispering Death' Michael Holding: The quickest of 'em all, defeat batsman with sheer speed, and incredible accuracy.

(5) Courtney Walsh: Not as quick as 'Holding, Gilchrist, Patterson and/or Marshall, but the most durable, took most test wickess amongst West Indies fast bowlers. (6) Anderson (Andy) Roberts: One of West Indies premier fast bowler during the 70's (7) Colin Croft: One of the greatest, outswinger, inswinger delivery, can take wickets on any pitch, if not for playing in South Africa, how many wickets could this great West Indian taken? (8) Wesley Hall: The originator of West Indies fast bowlers. in his era, considered to be one of the greatest (9) Charlie Griffith: Partner of Wesley Hall, signature play-The 'lethal yorker' (10) Ian Bishop: Decimated by injuries. A great fast bowler. Notable omissions: (a) Patrick Patterson-one of the quickest, but line and length is not on par with Holding. (b) Roy Gilchrist-Such a great fast bowler, speed and accuracy, but allowed his temper to take precedence over his emotions.

(c) Jermaine Taylor-A Talent waiting to happen Players that did not live up to expectation are: Wayne Daniel, Slyvester Clarke, Reon King, and Collymore. Franklin Stevenson played a meagre amount of test so I did not rate him. Note: I did not rate Sir Garfield Sobers because he bowled everything, including spin, medium and pace bowler Anonymous 10 Best West Indian Pace Bowlers Anonymous Here is my list for the 19 best Windies pace bowlers of all time. It's a bit different from Meril's list: 1. Malcolm Marshall. Arguably the greatest pace bowler of all time. Had it all! 2. Curtly Ambrose - speed, hostility and accuracy coming from an awesome height; had the ability to raise his game a couple notches seemingly on demand. A devastating strike bowler. 3. Wes Hall - the pioneer of modern WI pace bowlers; pace, a lion's heart and amazing stamina; the best International pace bowler of his time. 4. Michael Holding - The Rolls Royce of pace bowlers- lightning quick. 5. Andy Roberts - The thinker behind the original Famous Four. 6.

Joel Garner - Many of Ambrose's attributes without perhaps his hostility and pace. Big Bird was a giant in so many ways. 7. Courtney Walsh - Mr. Longevity; the first bowler to reach 500 Test wickets - a phenomenal feat for a pace bowler. 8. Manny Martindale - The best of the pioneers of pace bowlers- had pace, hostility and much more. 9. Learie Constantine - Quick, accurate and very hostile. Another of the pioneers. 10. Gary Sobers - the fact that he is the greatest cricketer of all timrs and could bowl in any of three styles should not be held against him. An outstanding exponent of the art of pace bowling; his being left-handed, of course, was a bonus. Respond to response! Anonymous Hello Francis, I'm impressed with your top 10 West Indies pace/fast bowler in response to my opinion.

I agree that Sir Garfield Sobers should not be penalized, because of his rare talent of bowling pace and spin, accompanied by being the greatest all-rounder to ever play the game; however, I cannot omit Colin Croft, when Croft left for the rebel tour, he was one of the greatest fast bowler, his economical rating was high and in a pace quartet, he took the incredible figures in test of 8 for 29 runs on one innings and ODI 6 for 15runs Ian Bishop was great, but was decimated by injuries. Charlie Griffith, unquestionably had some of the greatest yorker in his repertoire Regarding Sir Leary Constantine and Manny Martindale. I cannot comment, because unfortunately I read of their talent, contribution and greatness, but didn't get the opportunity to see them perform.

I will browse some tapes in the near future Thank you, greatest west indian fast bowlers Anonymous Wes Hall - the best between 1950 and 1975 for them, very committed, fast and always competitive Andy Roberts - wily old bowler who knew pace wasn't all there was to bowling - his length and deviation off the pitch were very good Michael Holding - the fastest bowler in the world off his time. very efficient, economical and a superb athlete Malcolm Marshall - as nasty as they get. richards used to consider him the best he faced. superb control and very good pace too. Curtley Ambrose - that rheight of his added an extra dimension to his craft. and he had craft in plenty. perth, 1993 Colin Croft - another 'nasty'. one of the best of the 70's with holding and roberts Courtney Walsh - probably the quietest of the lot, but very effective. no frills, no fuss, but he did the the trick Gary Sobers - some said his bouncer was faster than Hall's! clever bowler. Joel Garner - probably the most difficult to score off out of all these.

not as great a wicket taker as the rest, but quite good. Manny Martindale - pre-War bowler, along with Constantine, formed one of the great pace duos of the time The Master 9 Croft 10 Griffith The top 8 all had a considerable impact at test level for a sustained period, the last two had shorter test careers but were feared in their time for their pace and hostility. You are harsh on Daniel and Clarke who were extremely unlucky to be around at the same time as Marshall, Holding, Garner, Roberts and Croft. Both would have walked into the side of any other test nation. What about the greatest new ball parnership for another debate? Hall and Griffith? Roberts and Holding? Garner and Marshall? Ambrose and Walsh? Anonymous Remember Tony Gray? He would've been something had he got the opportunity and not been injured.

Anonymous Greatest West Indian fast bolwers of all Anonymous I feel all these lists have hardly done justice to Andy Roberts,the most complete fast bowler of his era with Dennis Lillee.No West Indian pace bowler has been more versatile than Andy Roberts,who posessed 2 types of bouncers,a deadly offcuter and outswinger and aslower ball.Roberts was capable of making a 120 over old ball cut back.Dennis Lille ratse Andy Roberts as the best pace bolwer of his era while Gavaskar and the Chappell brothers rate him the most lethal paceman they ever faced.Remember Roberts bore the brunt of the attack in India in 1974-75 and in Australia in 1975-76,capturing 58 wickets combined .Stas simply do not do this great maestro justice.

Malcolm Marshall has a great statistical record and posessed an armoury of deliveries that no other paceman could bowl like the skidding bouncer and the ball that doubled it's speed on impact .Michael Holding consistently is the fastest paceman in the history of the game with the most rhythmic and perfect action of all.He has to his credit the best ever over and best ever spell ever bolwed in test Cricket.Joel Garner was the most accurate and relentless of all,whose yorker and good lenth ball coming from such aheight was lethal.Curty Ambrose was the most accurate paceman of his era who extracted more bounce than anyone and the best match-winner amongst paceman of his time. This is my lsit in order of merit 1.Malcolm Marshall Greatest Ever: Cricket: The Top 10 Bowlers of All Time | Bleacher Report Greatest Ever: Cricket: The Top 10 Bowlers of All Time By Barney Corkhill , Senior Writer Jun 2, 2008 Use your ← → (arrow) keys to browse more stories 62.3K 33 Comments The second installment of my Greatest Ever series is here!

In this series I will look at the greatest talents to grace various sports. This time, carrying on from The Top Ten Batsmen of All Time, I look at the Top Ten Bowlers of all time. Enjoy! A good bowler can win a game of cricket for you almost on his own. If a great bowler is having a great day, he can rip through the oppositions batting line and set up an easy victory for his team. There have been many great bowlers over the years, here I try and condense it down into the top ten. 10. Wasim Akram (PAK) - A fast left-handed bowler, the "Sultan of Swing" took over 400 Test wickets, and holds the record for amount of wickets in ODIs (502) and List A cricket (881). An average of 23.62 in Test matches from 104 appearances is an impressive one. He is only one of three bowlers to record two hat-tricks in Test cricket, and only one of three to have achieved the same feat in ODI cricket. 9.

Courtney Walsh (WIN) - Bowling over 5,000 Test match overs and taking over 500 Test match wickets, Walsh was a fast right-handed bowler. His partnership with Curtly Ambrose was one of the most feared in cricket throughout the 90s, carrying on the reputation left behind by previous West Indies fast bowlers. 8. Glenn McGrath (AUS) - McGrath was a key reason for Australia's domination of cricket since the mid 90s. His 563 Test wickets is the most any fast bowler has ever got, and fourth in the all time list. He has also taken more World Cup wickets than any other player. His average of 21.64 from 124 Tests is one of the best you will find on this star-studded list. 7. Curtly Ambrose (WIN) - This 6'7" colossus bowled over 1,000 maiden overs in just 98 Tests, and took 405 wickets. As already mentioned, his partnership with Courtney Walsh was a feared one, and his average of just 20.99 shows why that was so.

His 2 metre plus frame was an intimidating sight for any batsman, and allowed him to get bounce on whatever pitch he played on. 6. Dennis Lillee (AUS) - Very unlucky to miss out on the top five, Lillee was a fearsome fast bowler with a fiery temper. His 355 Test wickets was a record when he retired in 1984, and his average of 23.92 isn't too shabby either. Few, if any batsmen ever looked forward to facing Lillee, as they knew they would be in for a tough time. 5. Sir Richard Hadlee (NZ) - Hadlee was the first bowler to ever pass the 400 Test wickets mark. It was often said that Hadlee always thought 'what would Lillee do?' when trying to get his man out. The Kiwi went on to eclipse his idol with 431 Test wickets and an average of just 22.29. 4. Malcolm Marshall (WIN) - Marshall's Test bowling average of 20.94 is the best of any bowler to have taken more then 200 wickets.

His aggressive fast bowling became feared among batsmen, especially his bouncer, which people attempted to get banned on more than one occasion. He recorded 376 Test match wickets. 3. Shane Warne (AUS) - The third and final Aussie to be featured on this list, Shane Warne is the greatest leg-spin bowler in cricket history. One of only two men to have achieved over 700 Test match wickets, he was the only bowler to be voted as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Century. He is popular to a huge amount of fans around the world, but because of his outspoken personality is unpopular among many more. 2. Sydney Barnes (ENG) - The first Englishman on this list, and perhaps a surprise choice. Despite not taking too many wickets, Barnes' Test match average remains the best I've seen. He only played in 27 Test matches and took 189 wickets. That's an average of a phenomenal 16.43. His first-class career was more of the same, with an average of just over 17, recording 719 wickets in 133 matches. 1.

Muttiah Muralitharan (SRI) - Murali is without doubt the greatest off-spinner of all time, and, according to me, the greatest bowler of all time. In an unspectacular Sri Lankan side he has taken 735 wickets in Test matches, which is more than anyone else. His highest average in all forms of the game is 23.00, in ODI, and he has a 19.06 average in first-class, having recorded well over 1,000 wickets. He is second in the list of all time ODI wicket takers. His most potent weapon is perhaps his infamous doosra, which no-one has been able to master like he has done.

Courtney Walsh: The man who stood on top of Test cricket’s bowling summit for four years - Cricket Country By Abhishek Mukherjee | Updated : October 30, 2016 11:16 AM IST Partners-in crime … Curtly Ambrose (left) and Courtney Walsh took 412 wickets between them while opening bowling, at 22.10 from 52 Tests © Getty Images Courtney Walsh, one of the greatest in a pantheon of formidable West Indian fast bowlers, was born on October 30, 1962. Abhishek Mukherjee looks back at the career of the first bowler to take 500 Test wickets. It is a wonder why Courtney Walsh is not considered as great a fast bowler as his predecessors or contemporaries. In 2000, he went past Kapil Dev ’s tally of 434 Test wickets, and stood at the summit for four years.

True, he had legendary contemporaries: if you made your debut alongside Malcolm Marshall , Michael Holding and Joel Garner , and once they quit, they were replaced by the likes of Curtly Ambrose and Ian Bishop , it’s not really your fault that you have to pursue an entire career as a stock bowler, bowling into the wind. He was not as intimidating as his colleagues, but he outlasted them all, turning out to be the most durable of the crop: 519 Test wickets at 24.44 along with 227 ODI wickets at 30.47 (and an economy rate of 3.83) meant that he was up there with the very best. Walsh survived like no one else did. He bowled 30,019 balls – a tally of 5,003.1 overs – the highest ever by any fast bowler in the history of the game. He was the workhorse around whom the West Indian pace attack was formed. His 132 Tests seems an almost impossible feat for a fast bowler.

Despite the fact that he came to the forefront mainly in the 1990s when West Indies were on their decline, Walsh — along with Ambrose (and Bishop) – bowled defiantly, delaying the inevitable decay by a few years. Indeed, in Tests they opened bowling together, Ambrose and Walsh took 412 wickets between them at 22.10 from 52 Tests. Only Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis have managed more. Unlike Ambrose, Walsh began serious cricket quite early. A string of wickets in the early 1980s for Jamaica meant that he was in the contention for Test cricket at a very young age. However, stiff competition at the top level for the best team in the world meant that Walsh had to sit out for some time. Andy Roberts ’ retirement, however, opened up a fast bowler’s slot in the line-up that looked so formidable otherwise.

With none of Winston Davis , Wayne Daniel and Eldine Baptiste quite living up to the expectations and several upcoming fast bowlers receiving a ban due to a rebel tour of South Africa, Walsh managed to break into the Test side at Perth in 1984 when he was barely 22 in Clive Lloyd ’s farewell series. So strong was the West Indian attack, though, that Walsh did not get a chance to bowl in the first innings as Holding, Marshall and Garner bowled out Australia for 76; in the second innings, Walsh picked up 2 for 43 as West Indies romped to an innings victory. Playing alongside the legendary trio often made that Walsh was often the fourth fast bowler of the attack and got to bowl very few overs. This meant that five-fors were hard to come by. Indeed, his 63 Tests (till March 1994) yielded just 5 five-fors; the last 69 got him 19 more. He first made his mark at Lahore in 1986-87. The absence of Garner and Holding meant that Walsh had the lion’s share of the bowling with Marshall.

Walsh took 3 for 56 and 4 for 21 to lead West Indies to an innings victory over Pakistan. The very next month, coming to bowl as the fifth bowler, Walsh returned the unbelievable figures of 4.3-3-1-5 — still the cheapest five-for in the history of the shorter version. Meanwhile, thanks to Walsh’s contribution, Gloucestershire went through a phenomenal rise in the county circuit: they were last-ranked in 1984 — which was when they took Walsh aboard. Walsh took 85 wickets in 1985 as Gloucestershire rose to the third position. And then, in 1986, Walsh topped the national charts with 118 wickets as Gloucestershire became runners-up for the first time since 1969. His performance made him a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1987. He topped the national wickets list four more times — 1992 (92 wickets), 1994 (89 wickets), 1996 (85 wickets) and 1998 (106 wickets).

His love affair with Asian conditions continued in the Reliance World Cup. Despite West Indies’ early elimination, Walsh created an impact with nine wickets at 25.44 at an economy rate of 4.12; he also won millions of hearts as he refused to ‘Mankad’ Saleem Jaffar – a gesture that ultimately cost West Indies a World Cup semi-final berth for the first time. Then, with Marshall declaring himself unavailable, Walsh, along with Patrick Patterson , wrecked the Indians on Indian soil. Walsh ended the tour with 26 wickets from four Tests at 16.80. A year and a half later, he helped demolish the Indians at home with 18 wickets in 4 Tests at 14.88. He took 10 for 101 at Jamaica and West Indies won the series 3-0. And with Marshall’s return and Ambrose and Bishop’s arrivals, the West Indian attack looked formidable as before.

Between the two India series, Walsh became the first bowler to take a Test hat-trick in 12 years, and the first bowler ever to take a Test hat-trick spanning over two innings in the first Test of the Frank Worrell Trophy at Brisbane. His victims included Tony Dodemaide in the first innings and Mike Veletta and Graeme Wood in the second; uncannily enough, after the drought ended, Merv Hughes took another hat-trick in the very next Test at Perth – once again spanned over two innings! Walsh famously ended the 40-run last wicket partnership between Tim May and Craig McDermott at Adelaide in 1992-93 with an unplayable delivery as West Indies won the Test by a single run – the narrowest in history. A year later, in his hometown Kingston, Walsh bowled what has been described by many as one of the fiercest spells of hostile fast bowling against England. Though the figures read 3 for 67, his unbroken relentless two-hour spell battered Michael Atherton on his captaincy debut.

He extracted steep bounce off a length at an alarming speed, and was simply too unfortunate not to end up with six or seven wickets in that spell; and then, when Andy Caddick and Devon Malcolm got away with some slogging, Walsh came back and attacked Malcolm physically – somewhat uncharacteristically – bowling round the wicket and hitting him on the body, eventually bowling him. With Richie Richardson being rested, Walsh got his chance to lead West Indies in India. This was a daunting task, especially in the absence of Ambrose. However, Walsh defied India a series victory as he, along with Jimmy Adams with the bat, virtually secured a 1-1 draw on his own: he took 21 wickets from 3 Tests at 21.23, and broke Manoj Prabhakar ’s nose with a bouncer for good measure. On the subsequent tour — still as captain — Walsh had amazing returns as he took 7 for 36 and 6 for 18 to bowl out New Zealand at Wellington. As the 1990s progressed, Ambrose and Walsh became one of the most feared fast bowling pairs in the world.

Though Walsh generally played a supporting role to his more illustrious partner, he played a significant role in the fading days of West Indies cricket. He took 62 wickets in 1994 at 21.75, and bettered that with 66 in 2000 at 18.69. He took 11 wickets at an unbelievable 9.81 in the 1999 World Cup (despite West Indies’ early exit), and performed consistently – both home and overseas – against all major opponents. In 2000, he went past Kapil Dev’s world record of 434 Test wickets, and became the first bowler to claim 500 Test wickets in his last Test series in 2001. His zenith, however, came in England in 2000. Till then he was considered one of the best, but did not have a single series performance that would immortalize his name forever.

In a series that West Indies lost 1-3, Walsh took 8 for 58 at Edgbaston; 10 for 117 at Lord’s; 5 for 69 at Old Trafford; 4 for 51 at Headingley; and 7 for 141 at The Oval: 34 wickets from five Tests at 12.82. Though he was well-supported by Ambrose (17 wickets), the batsmen failed miserably, scoring only one hundred between them, and England eased to a series victory. Only Marshall (35) had taken more wickets in a series. This also included his famous slow yorker with which he completely foxed Graham Thorpe at Old Trafford. Even in his last Test series, Walsh finished with 25 wickets from 5 Tests at 19.68 (including 6 for 93 in his last Test in his hometown, resulting in a victory) against South Africa at home, though West Indies lost the series 1-2. By the time he retired, West Indies were well past their days of glory.

In 2004, along with George Headley, Holding, Jeff Dujon and Lawrence Rowe , Walsh was named among Jamaica’s five greatest cricketers of all time. Batting In the Melbourne Test of 1988-89, Walsh defied his natural batting style as he faced for an uncharacteristic 72 balls for an unbeaten 30 that would eventually turn out to be his career-best. It did not include a boundary, and involved a 56-run ninth-wicket partnership with Ambrose and a 24-run 10th-wicket partnership with Patterson. The innings had possibly made a few fans optimistic about his batting skills. If only they knew. Walsh’s next batting feat came about ten years after, when he played out five deliveries as Brian Lara scripted a famous one-wicket win at Bridgetown. In between these two incidents, Walsh had earned a reputation as one of the worst sloggers of the 1990s. None of his slogs, though, are as ill-remembered as the one that defied all logic when he missed one from Damien Fleming in the 1996 World Cup semifinal with Richie Richardson at the other end.

His Test record of 43 ducks still stands, though Chris Martin, with 35 ducks, stands with a fair chance to go past him. His Test batting average of 7.54 was bolstered by a world record tally of 61 Test not outs, and every time he faced a ball, the crowd broke into raucous cheer. (A hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobiac by his own admission, Abhishek Mukherjee is a statistical analyst based in Kolkata, India. He typically looks upon life as a journey involving two components – cricket and literature – not necessarily as disjoint elements. A passionate follower of the history of the game with an insatiable appetite for trivia and anecdotes, he has also a rather steady love affair with the incredible assortment of numbers the sport has to offer.

He also thinks he can bowl decent leg-breaks and googlies in street cricket, and blogs at ) First Published on October 30, 2012 9:18 AM IST Last updated on October 30, 2016 11:16 AM IST TOPICS: 19 Jan, 2017 20:30 IST Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai 20 Jan, 2017 03:30 IST | 22:00 GMT Hagley Oval, Christchurch 20 Jan, 2017 11:30 IST | 06:00 GMT Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai 20 Jan, 2017 16:00 IST | 10:30 GMT Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai 20 Jan, 2017 21:00 IST | 15:30 GMT Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai 20 Jan, 2017 21:30 IST | 16:00 GMT SuperSport Park, Centurion West Indies all-time XI: Fast-bowling shortlist

 | Cricket | ESPN Cricinfo West Indies' fast-bowling reservoir was so deep, they could have had an XI full of quick men and still have to leave some out 188 Roberts, Holding, Croft and Garner: striking fear in the hearts of batsmen through the 70s and 80s Adrian Murrell / © Getty Images West Indies cricket and fast bowling go together like a horse and a carriage.

Like their exciting middle-order batsmen, West Indies fast bowlers - and definitely so up to 20 or so years ago - seemed to pop up day after day. Most were fast enough to make batsmen tremble in their boots, and the majority of them are numbered among the best of their time - a few among the best of all time. From the days of Learie Constantine, George Francis and Herman Griffith, through the likes of Manny Martindale, Leslie Hylton, Hines Johnson, Roy Gilchrist, Wes Hall and Charlie Griffith, to the fearsome quartet of Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, Joel Garner and Colin Croft, and later on to the likes of Malcolm Marshall, Courtney Walsh and Curtly Ambrose, fast bowlers have been the bread and butter of West Indies cricket. Constantine, it is written, was as fast as any bowler of his time; Herman Griffith, the man who became a household name in the Caribbean after bowling Don Bradman for 0 in the fifth Test of 1930-31, was all quality. The Indians of the 1958-59 series will confirm that Gilchrist was undoubtedly one of the fastest of his time.

The pair of Hall and Charlie Griffith was one of the great ones in the history of the game, and no batsman who had the misfortune of facing them in the 1970s going into the 80s, doubted the quality, the skill and the class of Roberts, Holding, Garner and Croft. They were four big men, all standing over six feet, one at 6ft 7in, and another at 6ft 8in. They were all fast but brought different skills to the combination, and batting against them was a nightmare. So rich is the history of fast bowling in West Indies cricket that selecting the three quicks on the all-time West Indies team is no easy task. In fact, even if the job was to select an all-time West Indies team of fast bowlers, batting from No. 1 to No. 11, there would still be some great ones left behind. The contenders Wes Hall A big man with an intimidating approach and follow-through, Hall was the first of the modern West Indies fast bowlers. He formed a deadly duo, first with Roy Gilchrist and then with Charlie Griffith; he and Griffith are numbered among the world's greatest fast-bowling pairs.

In 48 Test matches, Hall took 192 wickets at an average of 26.38. Charlie Griffith The same height but much bigger than Hall, Griffith was accurate and deadly, especially so with his yorkers, which usually knocked over stumps, and his bouncers, which normally knocked down batsmen. In 28 Test matches, Griffith took 94 wickets at an average of 28.54. Andy Roberts If Hall was the first of the modern West Indies fast bowlers, Roberts was certainly the big brother of the breed that conquered the world - the set that included Holding, Croft and Garner. Known for his well-disguised bouncer, Roberts took 202 wickets in 47 Test matches at an average of 25.61. Michael Holding The Rolls Royce of fast bowlers, Holding was smooth from run-up to delivery. He was fast - as fast if not faster than any of his colleagues - he was fiery, and yet he had the look of a choir boy, even at The Oval in 1976 while destroying England with 14 wickets for 149 runs.

In 60 Test matches, Holding took 249 wickets at an average of 23.68. Colin Croft One of the most underrated fast bowlers of his time, Croft was a perfect match for the other three members of the quartet that propelled West Indies to the top of world cricket. Roberts was the wise one, Holding the quiet destroyer who delivered some nasty yorkers, Garner the man who got the ball to jump off a fairly good length, and Croft, with his awkward action that so often got the ball to leave right-hand batsmen when it should have been coming in to them, moved the ball off the seam prodigiously. In 27 Test matches, he took 125 wickets at an average of 23.30. Joel Garner Standing at 6ft 8in, Garner was a batsman's nightmare. At the point of delivery, as Geoffrey Boycott once said, the ball seemed to be coming out of the sky, and it was almost impossible to pick its length. Because of that, batsmen the world over spent most of their time trying to survive rather than to score runs.

In 58 Test matches, Garner took 259 wickets at the amazing average of 20.97. Malcolm Marshall Unlike the other great West Indies fast bowlers, Marshall was a little man. In fact, to look at, he seemed more a batsman or a slow bowler. But he was fast, moved the ball both ways, in and out, and possessed a nasty bouncer. In 81 Test matches, Marshall took 376 wickets at an average of 20.94. Courtney Walsh A gentle giant, Walsh was Mr Consistency. He generally bowled just short of a good length. He was dependable, was the "work horse" of the great West Indies team of his time, and astonishingly, in terms of wickets taken he seemed to have gotten better the older he got. In 132 Test matches, he took 519 wickets at an average of 24.44. Curtly Ambrose Standing at 6ft 7in, Ambrose was one of the tallest of the great West Indies fast bowlers, and it was only natural that he got the ball to bounce awkwardly from an almost perfect length.

He dropped it on the same spot delivery after delivery and batsmen found it nearly impossible to play him, forget score against him, as was the case in Perth in the 1992-93 series, when he smashed Australia with seven wickets for one run in 32 deliveries. In 98 Test matches, Ambrose took 405 wickets at an average of 20.99. Ian Bishop If ever a bowler appeared destined for greatness, it was Bishop. Coming in off a lovely run-up, he had a beautiful side-on action, good pace, and got the ball to mostly leave the right-hander. However, after a promising start, injury cut him down on two occasions, and he was forced to change his action. Although he remained good enough to compete and deliver, he never achieved what he seemed destined to do. In 43 Test matches, Bishop took 161 wickets at an average of 24.27. We'll be publishing an all-time West Indies XI based on readers' votes to go with our jury's XI.

To pick your fast bowlers click here Former sports editor of the Jamaica Gleaner and the Daily News, Tony Becca has covered West Indies cricket for 30 years © ESPN Sports Media Ltd. Top ten wicket takers in Test cricket | Latest News & Updates at Daily News & Analysis Sport Top ten wicket takers in Test cricket <p> <em>Muttiah Muralitharan, in his final Test match, took eight wickets against India, making his total test wickets taken to 800 - a feat that has shot him into the record books. DNA takes a look at the top ten wicket takers in the history of Test Cricket.

</em><br /> <br /> <strong>Sri Lanka&#39;s Muttiah Muralitharan: 800 wickets</strong><br /> <br /> Muralitharan was born in Kandy on April 17, 1972.<br /> &nbsp;<br /> Making his test debut at the age of 20 against Australia on August 28, 1992, the 38 year old off spinner played a significant role in 54 of the 61 test matches won by Sri Lanka.<br /> &nbsp;<br /> Muralitharan also holds the record for wickets taken in One Day International matches, having broken Wasim Akram&#39;s record of 502 wickets, having taken 515 wickets in a career spanning 18 years.<br /> &nbsp;</p> <p> <strong>Australia&#39;s Shane Warne: 708 wickets</strong><br /> <br /> Warne, the now captain of the Indian Premier League&#39;s Rajasthan Royals, was the first cricketer to take a stunning 700 wickets in test cricket.<br

 /> <br /> The bowler who was born on September 13, 1969, played his first Test match in 1992, has in Tests and One Day Internationals took over 1000 international wickets.<br /> <br /> The former leg spinner was a media favourite who was plagued by scandals including testing positive for banned diuretics, accepting money from bookies and a string of marital infidelities.</p> <p> <strong>India&#39;s Anil Kumble: 619 wickets</strong><br /> <br /> Kumble is the second leg spinner after Warne and the third highest wicket taker with 619 Test wickets to his name since international cricket debut his April 25, 1990<br /> &nbsp;<br /> Kumble shares cricketing glory with Britain&#39;s Jim Laker for taking down ten wickets in an innings in India&#39;s test match against Pakistan in 1999.<br /> &nbsp;<br /> The bowler, who played for India for 18 years, captaining India&#39;s test cricket team in 2007

, received the Padma Shri in 2005.

On November 2, 2008, he announced his retirement.</p> <p> <strong>Australia&#39;s Glenn McGrath: 563 wickets</strong><br /> <br /> Right -arm fast bowler McGrath was born on February 9, 1970.<br /> <br /> Nicknamed &quot;pigeon,&quot; McGrath is famous for his economy in his fast bowling was the first Australian to play 100 test matches in 2004.

A year later, he broke West Indian&#39;s Courtney Walsh&#39;s test wicket taking record at the first innings of the ICC Super Series, becoming the fast bowler with the most wickets taken in the history of test cricket.<br /> <br /> McGrath announced his retirement from Test cricket on December 23, 2006, ending it at the 5th Ashes Test in Sydney.<br /> <br /> McGrath also played for the IPL&#39;s Delhi Daredevils team after his retirement from one-day cricket following the 2007 World Cup.</p> <p> <strong>West Indies&#39;s Courtney Walsh: 519 wickets </strong><br /> <br /> Fast bowler Walsh was born October 30, 1962 and played international cricket for the West Indies from 1984 to 2001.

He served as captain for 22 Test matches.<br /> &nbsp;<br /> He is best known for a remarkable opening bowling partnership along with compatriot Curtly Ambrose.<br /> <br /> Walsh, in 2000, successfully shattered Kapil Dev&#39;s world record for the most number of wickets taken in test cricket.</p> <p> <strong>India&#39;s Kapil Dev: 434 wickets</strong><br /> <br /> Born on January 6, 1959 in Chandigarh, the versatile right-arm pace bowler captained the Indian team and led it to World Cup glory in 1983.<br /> <br /> Named by Wisden as the Indian Cricketer of the Century in 2002, Dev who made his international debut in 1978 was also renowned for his fierce and effective striking as a batsman.<br /> <br /> He retired in 1994, and held, until 2000, the world record for the maximum wickets taken in test cricket.

He would later return to coach the Indian cricket team for 10 months between October 1999 and August 2000.<br /> <br /> The only player in cricket history to have taken more than 400 wickets and having scoring around 5,000 runs in test cricket, Dev remains one of the sport&#39;s most brilliant all-rounders.</p> <p> <strong>New Zealand&#39;s Sir Richard Hadlee: 431 wickets <br /> </strong><br /> Arguably New Zealand&#39;s finest fast bowler and all rounder, Hadley, born July 3, 1951, was named by Wisden Crickets&#39; Almanack as the second greatest Test bowler of all time in 2002.<br /> <br /> Hadlee was appointed Member of the order of the British Empire in 1980 and received Knighthood, a decade later for his services to cricket.

<br /> <br /> Hadlee&#39;s bust is included among 11 other notable Christchurch residents who displayed excellence in their fields in the &#39;Twelve Local Heroes&#39; exhibit outside the Christchurch Arts Centre.</p> <p> <strong>South Africa&#39;s Shaun Pollock: 421 wickets</strong><br /> <br /> Pollock was born on July 16, 1973. <br /> <br /> He is the nephew of the famous Graeme Pollock who is regarded as one of the best left-handed batsmen and one of South Africa&#39;s greatest players.<br /> <br /> Pollock, 39, a right arm fast bowler regarded as an all-rounder with proficiency in batting and fielding was the captain of the South African team from 2000 to 2003 <br /> <br /> He was also chosen as the Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 2003. <br /> <br /> Pollock took over 400 test wickets and scored over 3,700 test runs in his 108 test matches.

On January 11, 2008 he announced his retirement from all forms of international cricket after his 303rd One Day International on February 3.

</p> <p> <strong>Pakistan&#39;s Wasim Akram: 414 wickets <br /> </strong><br /> Born on June 3, 1966, left arm fast bowler Akram, is regarded as one of the best bowlers in cricket while also being a noted left handed batsman.<br /> <br /> In a formidable partnership with Waqar Younis, Akram went on to take 502 wickets in 356 appearances in One Day Internationals.&nbsp; <br /> <br /> Akram&#39;s impact in cricket was for pioneering and mastering reverse swing bowling, a technique formerly held controversial, earning him the nickname &#39;the Sultan of Swing&#39;.<br /> <br /> Of his 414 Test wickets, 193 were taken caught, 119 were taken leg before wicket and 102 were bowled.<br /> Akram was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame in 2009, following his retirement in 2003 and emergence as a commentator.

</p> <p> <strong>West Indies Curtly Ambrose: 405 wickets</strong><br /> <br /> At 6&#39;7&quot;, the right-armed Ambrose, born on September 21, 1963, inspired fear in batsmen.<br /> <br /> Ambrose&#39;s height lent itself to his fast bowling style, establishing one of the most fruitful partnerships Courtney Walsh with 421 wickets between them in the 49 Test matches they played together.<br /> <br /> Now working as an ambassador in his home country Antigua, Ambrose also plays bass and tours with his band, The Big Bad Dread and The Bald Head.</p> Top ten wicket takers in Test cricket Date published: Sunday, 25 July 2010 - 2:16am |

Question: Who is the only West Indian bowler to take over 500 wickets in Test cricket?
Answer: COURTNEY WALSH