Can we realistically compare Kemar Roach to Malcolm Marshall? The stats say yes
The West Indies have produced some of the best bowlers in the history of Test cricket.
There was an era when their four-man seam bowling attack terrorised batters who crossed their paths.
They have also produced some of the best spinners to ever play. However, who is the cream of their crop?
We have listed the nine best bowlers the West Indies have produced below.
9. Andy Roberts – 202 Test wickets for West Indies
Roberts was one of the best pacers when it came to setting batters up for a wicket. The Antiguan varied his pace well, often lulling batters into a false sense of security before releasing his quickest delivery to send the batter packing. His set-ups worked so well that he was the fastest bowler to 100 Test wickets in the 1970s.
Roberts bagged 11 five-wicket hauls in his 11-year career and bagged seven-wicket hauls in an innings twice, 7/64 against India in Chennai in 1974, and his best bowling in an innings, 7/54 against Australia in Australia in 1975. His best bowling figures in a match were 12/121, a tally he achieved against India in 1974.
8. Garry Sobers – 235 wickets Test wickets for West Indies
Sobers achieved great fame for his skills with the bat, so much so that most people forget that the all-rounder was an outstanding bowler. The Bajan was a genius who could bowl almost everything. As a professional cricketer, he delivered left-arm fast-medium, left-arm orthodox and left-arm wrist spin.
Sobers is the only all-rounder on the list of West Indies greats for a good reason. He took 235 wickets in 159 innings at an average of 34. He registered his best bowling figures in an innings when he took 6/73 against Australia in 1968.
7. Michael Holding – 249 wickets Test wickets for West Indies
According to legend, Holding had a run-up so smooth and quiet he made no sound as he approached the crease, and thus his nickname, The Whispering Death. In 1981, Holding put on a clinic on aggression with one of the fiercest overs in history when he put Geoff Boycott through the wringer.
Holding produced his best bowling figures in an innings on an unhelpful surface at the Oval, in England, in 1976. The surface was slow, but Holding bent it to his will by bowling fast and straight on his way to 8/92. The pacer produced another spectacular show in the second innings, taking 6/57 on his way to 14/149, his best bowling figures in a match.
He ended his career with 249 wickets in 113 innings at a brilliant average of 23.68.
6. Joel Garner – 259 wickets Test wickets for West Indies
An average of 20.9 is a sight to behold for any bowler with 200 or more wickets. It explains just how effective Joel Garner was with the ball in hand. The Barbados native was one of the best exponents of the yorker, and batters lived in mortal fear of him shooting one at the base of their stumps.
Garner collected seven four-wicket hauls before he finally bagged his maiden five-wicket haul. He took 6/56 against New Zealand in 1980. It was the first of seven five-wicket hauls in his 10-year career. His best bowling figures in a match were 9/108, achieved against England in 1984.
Garner’s 259 wickets came in 111 innings.
5. Kemar Roach – 284 wickets Test wickets for West Indies
Roach is the only modern bowler on this list. However, there is a good reason why he is this high. The Bajan matured as a cricketer when the West Indies lacked effective fast bowlers, and Roach was forced to shoulder the burden of getting wickets for the West Indies alone. He did his best.
Roach delivered his best bowling performance in his second Test, bagging 6/48 against Bangladesh in 2009. Sadly, his bowling wasn’t enough to secure victory for the West Indies. It was the first of 10 five-wicket hauls that Roach took in his 14-year Test career.
He registered a single ten-wicket haul, his best bowling figures in a match, against Australia in 2012. He took five wickets in each of the innings to finish the match with 10/146.
4. Lance Gibbs – 309 wickets Test wickets for West Indies
If Sobers was the West Indies’ greatest all-rounder, Gibbs was their greatest spinner. The right-arm offie was unplayable at his best. He was so good that he once took three wickets in four balls in one match, bagged a hat-trick in the next, and another six in the third match. He did all this against Australia.
Gibbs was the first spinner to take 300 Test wickets. His best outing was against India in 1962 when he spun his way to 8/38. He took the wickets in an unbroken 15-over spell that conceded a mere six runs. Gibbs finished his career with 18 five-wicket hauls and two 10-wicket hauls in Tests. His 309 wickets came in 148 innings at an economy of 1.98.
3. Malcolm Marshall – 376 wickets Test wickets for West Indies
The batters who faced him and the spectators who watched him agreed on one thing: Marshall had an extensive toolbox, and he knew how to use all the tools at his disposal. He could swing the ball either way without betraying his intentions with his body. He had a vicious bouncer, a fierce legcutter and got the ball to skid on when he wanted.
In 1984, he produced an outstanding performance to take 7/53 after he had injured his left hand. However, he delivered his best bowling in an innings on a surface he wasn’t supposed to dominate on. The curator at Old Trafford prepared a spinning track, and Marshall responded by employing late swing, bowling cutters and pitching the ball up on his way to 7/22.
He ended his career with 376 wickets in 151 innings at an average of 20.94.
2. Curtly Ambrose – 405 wickets Test wickets for West Indies
Ambrose didn’t have much to say and famously turned away from interviews with a five-word response, “Curtly talk to no man.” The Antiguan preferred to let the ball do the talking for him, and it said a lot. Ambrose famously bundled England out for 46 with an incredible spell that bagged him 6/24. At another time, bowled a ferocious spell that earned him seven wickets for one run, and he finished the innings with 7/25.
His best bowling in an innings was 8/45 against England in 1990. Ambrose was one of two West Indies bowlers to pass the 400 Test-wicket mark. He finished his career with 406 wickets in 179 innings at an average of 20.99.
1. Courtney Walsh – 519 wickets Test wickets for West Indies
Walsh was one part of one of the greatest new-ball bowling partnerships in the history of cricket. Walsh and Courtney Walsh took an incredible 421 scalps in 49 Tests. The Jamaican pacer had an economical but effective bowling action, buttressed by his tirelessness, which caused problems for batters across the globe.
Walsh enjoyed a fruitful 17-year career that saw him leave a mark on the game as the seventh fastest bowler to reach 500 Test wickets. The pacer bagged seven five-wicket hauls before he achieved his best bowling figures in an innings. Walsh ran through the New Zealand batting order, claiming 7/37 in 20.4 overs. He also took 6/18 in the second innings of that encounter to register his career-best bowling figures in a match of 13/55.
Walsh’s 519 wickets came in 242 innings at an average of 24.44.
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