During last week in one of my blog I had written about great bowling performances based on wickets taken in One Day International (ODI) matches. Continuing with the bowling performances in ODI matches today I am mentioning another record in ODI bowling.
When test matches were being played Economy rate of bowlers was never counted, but with limited over cricket, this rate has become significant for the bowlers. Containing run flow has become equally important as taking wickets.
Below is the list of the top 10 bowlers based on Economy Rate (Criteria- minimum 100 ODIs)
# 10 Glen McGrath (Australia) – 3.88
His one-day record is brilliant, in 250 ODIs he has taken 381 wickets at an average of 22.02. His career-best figure of 7/15 is the third best bowling performance in ODI history.
# 9 Courtney Walsh (West Indies) – 3.83
He was an integral part of the fearsome and great West Indian Pace Quartet. He took 227 wickets in 205 ODIs. He had only one 5 wicket haul and for that, his analysis was 4 – 3 – 1 – 5.
# 8 Gavin Larsen (New Zealand) -3.77
He was a proper limited-over specialist for NZ. He had only played 8 test matches in his career. He totally played 121 ODIs and picked up 113 wickets at an economy of 3.77.
#7 Kapil Dev (India) – 3.72
Kapil Dev is regarded as one of the greatest all-rounders the game has ever seen. Totally he had played 225 ODIs and took 253 wickets at an economy of 3.72. he once bowled the most economical spell and gave away just 4 runs in 7 overs.
# 6 Shaun Pollock (South Africa)- 3.67
He is one of the best fast bowlers & all-rounders to have played for SA. He started with a bang as he took 4/34 on his debut against England. He has overall played 303 ODIS and had taken 393 wickets, with an economy of 3.67.
# 5 Ewen Chatfield (New Zealand) – 3.58
He was one of the most accurate bowlers of his time, he formed a wonderful new-ball partnership with Richard Hadlee. Pakistan batting legend Javed Miandad once remarked that Chatfield came as close to a bowling machine as any human I know. He could pick a spot and keep pitching on it delivery after delivery. He overall played 114 ODIs and took 140 wickets at a good economy of 3.58.
#4 Malcolm Marshall (West indies) – 3.53
He was one of the fastest bowlers of the 1980s. His ability to surprise the batsmen with magical and devastating deliveries was exceptional, Kapil Dev once said about him that you never knew whether the ball would rise to your throat or hit your ankle. In 126 ODIs he took 157 wickets at 3.53 economy.
# 3 Curtly Ambrose (West Indies) – 3.48
At a height of 6 feet and 7 inches, he is regarded as one of the best bowlers to have played the game. He had the excellent ability to generate discomforting bounce on any pitch. In 176 ODIs, he has taken 225 wickets with an economy of 3.48.
# 2 Micheal Holding (West Indies) – 3.33
He was nicknamed Whispering Death and was one of the most ruthless bowlers. He used his height to great effect as he always generated extra bounce from the pitch. He played 102 ODIs and took 142 wickets with an economy of 3.33,
# 1 Richard Hadlee (New Zealand) – 3.30
He was New Zealand’s best all-rounder in Test and limited over games. He was part of 4 great all-rounders, with Imran Khan, Kapil Dev, and Ian Botham, who all were contemporary. In all, he played 115 ODIs and took 158 wickets at an economy of 3.30.
Other Records
First Bowler to take Hat Trick
Jalaluddin (Pak) against Australia at Hyderabad (Pak) on 20th Sept 1982 at Hyderabad (Pak). RW Marsh bowled, B Yardley c Wasim Bari, GF Lawson bowled.
Maximum Numbers of Hat Tricks in career
Lasith Malinga (SL)- Three
v South Africa-SM Pollock Bowled, AJ Hall c Tharanga, J Kallis caught Sangakara, Ntini Bowled—- 4 wickets in 4 balls, on 28th Mar 2007 at Guyana
v Kenya- T Mishra LBW, PJ Ongondo bowled and SO Nooche bowled, on 1st Mar 2001 at Colombo (RPS)
v Australia- MG Johnson bowled, JW Hastings LBW and XJ Doherty bowled, on 22nd Aug 2011 at Colombo (RPS)
Fastest to 50 Wickets (no of days)
Ajit Agarkar (Ind)- 1st Apr1998 to 30 Sep 1988- 182 days (23 matches)
Fastest to 50 Wickets (no. of matches)
BAW Mendis (SL)– 10th Apr 2008 to 12th Jan 2009- 19 matches (277 days)
Top 10 Wicket Takers in ODI
1 Muralitharan 536
2 Wasim Akram 502
3 Waqar Younis 416
4Chaminda Vaas 400
5 Shahid Afridi 395
6 Shaun Pollock 393
7 Glen McGrath 381
8 Brett Lee 380
9 Anil Kumble 337
10 Sanath Jaysurya 323
So above are some interesting facts about ODI bowling performances in ODI matches over the years.
Anil Malik
Mumbai, India
2nd July 2021