For the captain of the fielding team, reverse swing bowlers are the weapon to take out on the opposing batsmen. Not every bowler excels in this art of reverse swing. The new ball can swing both inwards and outwards, but as the ball loses its shine and becomes rough, the old ball swings only on the shinier side, known as reverse swing. Let’s talk about the famous reverse swing bowlers the cricket history has ever witnessed:
#1 Dale Steyn
Dale Steyn, a former South African team bowler, was this generation’s greatest reverse swing bowlers and was one of the main reasons South Africa won many international cricket matches.
Our right-arm fast bowler took part in 93 test matches, in which he bagged 439 wickets, with a bowling average of 22.95. He has taken 26 fifers, and five ten-wicket hauls. His best bowling was when he took seven wickets for 51 runs. He has caught 26 catches in his test career.
Steyn has played 125 ODI matches, in which he took 196 wickets with a bowling average of 25.95. In ODI matches, he has taken three five-wicket hauls. His best bowling was when he took six wickets for 39 runs and caught 28 catches.
In the total of 47 T20I matches played, Dale took 64 wickets with a bowling average of 18.35. His best bowling was when he took four wickets for nine runs. He has made 12 catches in T20I matches.
His early career was not his best moments, but his career peaked from 2008 to 2014, when he won the test cricketer of the year award. He retired from all forms of cricket in the year 2021, but his name will never be forgotten in the upcoming generations.
#2 Mitchell Starc
Mitchell Aaron Starc is an Australian team reverse swing bowlers who is the fastest to reach 100 wickets in his career. I don’t know whether he thinks the ball is new or old because the ball listens to him.
Mitchell played 71 test cricket matches, in which he took 287 wickets with a bowling average of 27.62. He has taken 13 five-wicket hauls and two ten-wicket hauls. His best bowling was when he took six wickets for 50 runs and got 33 catches.
Mitchell Starc, a left-arm fast bowler, has participated in 99 ODI matches, in which he bagged 195 wickets, with a bowling average of 22.45. He has taken eight fifers in ODI matches played so far. His best bowling was when he took six wickets for 28 runs and caught 33 catches.
Aaron Starc played 51 T20I matches, in which he took 63 wickets with a bowling average of 23.14. His best bowling was when he took three wickets for 11 runs, and at the start has caught 14 catches.
Mitchell Starc is also known as an ‘Unplayable’ bowler because of his ability to bowl a Yorker ball at a very fast speed. Starc did not have any favourite moments in the early days of his career, but the World Cup, which happened in the year 2015, helped the world to see the real Starc.
#3 Shane Bond
Shane Edward Bond was the legendary bowler of the New Zealand cricket team. The opposition batter would fear his bowling and would wear toe guards over their spikes.
In 18 test matches played, Shane Bond bagged 87 wickets, with a bowling average of 22.09. His best bowling was when he took six wickets for 51 runs. He took five fifers and one ten-wicket haul and has managed to take eight catches.
Shane took part in 82 ODI matches, in which he took 147 wickets. His bowling average was 20.88. He has taken four five-wicket hauls, and his best bowling was when he took six wickets for 19 runs. He has caught 15 catches.
In 20 T20I matches played, Shane Bond attained 25 wickets with a bowling average of 21.72. His best bowling was when he took three wickets for 18 runs.
Like other best bowlers, the early stage of their career was not his best, but he later earned a pretty good name. He was one of the best reverse swing bowlers, with pure breed instincts.
#4 Mitchell Johnson
Australian bowlers are born pace bowlers, but Mitchell Johnson was born as a reverse swing bowlers, meaning he was an expert in that. No batsman can face the angry Mitchell Johnson. The batter would pray to God that they should get back home without any injuries when he was bowling. His pair-up with Mitchell Starc was always remarkable.
Mitchell took part in 73 test matches, in which he took 313 wickets, with a bowling average of 28.40. His best bowling was when he took eight wickets for 61 runs and got 27 catches. He took 12 fifers and three ten-wicket hauls.
Johnson played in 153 ODI matches, in which he managed to bag 239 wickets, with a bowling average of 25.26. He has taken three five-wicket hauls, and his best bowling was when he took six wickets for 31 runs and got 35 catches.
#5 Brett Lee
Brett Lee, who played for the Australian cricket team, can consistently bowl at 150km/hr speed. He was one of the most stylish reverse swing bowlers. The rival team’s batsmen feared him for his in-swing, bouncers and Yorkers.
Lee has played 76 test matches, in which he bagged 310 wickets, with a bowling average of 30.81. He has taken ten five-wicket hauls, and his best bowling was when he took five wickets for 30 runs. He managed to get 23 catches.
In the total of 221 matches, Brett Lee managed to take 380 wickets, with a bowling average of 23.36. He has taken nine fifers, and his best bowling was when he took five wickets for 22 runs and 54 catches.
The players mentioned above are the best reverse swing bowlers of all time.
Indian Reverse Swing Bowlers
Zaheer Khan, the former Indian cricket team, was the backbone of the Indian team. Zaheer Khan had the capability of swinging the ball either way and could even bowl reverse swing. He was the first batsman to introduce knuckleball in the World Cup, which happened in the year 2011.
In 92 Test matches played, Zaheer Khan took 311 wickets with a bowling average of 32.95. He took 11 fifers and one ten-wicket haul. His best bowling was when Zaheer Khan took seven wickets for 87 runs. He has caught 19 catches.
Zaheer Khan took part in 200 ODI matches, in which he bagged 282 wickets, with a bowling average of 29.44. He took one fifer. His best bowling was when Zaheer Khan took five wickets for 42 runs. He has made 43 catches.
He announced his retirement in the year 2015. He was one of the best reverse swing bowlers of all time.
Reverse Swing Bowlers Rules
It is really good for the audience to watch every ball swing its way to the batsman and dock away from him after he hits. Swing bowling is an art that not everyone can excel at, and it isn’t easy to do on a cricket ground.
Swing bowling normally means swinging the ball inside (inswing) or outside (outswing) with the fingers during the delivery. It comes in handy when the ball is new. The second type of swing is reverse swing, which comes in handy when the ball becomes old, say after 40 overs.
Who Bowled The First Reverse Swing?
In a test match between India and Pakistan, Imran Khan took 11 wickets. We could say that it was not a normal test match because that’s when the birth of reverse swing happened. Sarfraz Nawaz, the legendary bowler, bowled reverse swing first. But Imran Khan learnt from him and gave a new life to it in that particular game. They were the best reverse swing bowlers of their period.
Conclusion
The batsman of the opponent team fears reverse swing bowlers for their pace and remarkable bowling tactics. The future generations of players should learn from their predecessors to become well-versed like them.
