Eleven standout bowling performances in ODIs
Andrew McGlashan
July 10, 2008
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In the swing: Gary Gilmour tore England apart in 1975 but his ODI career was short-lived © Getty Images
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Gary Gilmour, 6 for 14 v England, Headingley, 1975
This was Gilmour's game. He led Australia home with the bat in a low-scoring encounter, and in the first part of the match he caused most of England's problems as Headingley lived up to its reputation. Gilmour's swing was too much for England's top order: he removed the first six wickets to leave the home side on 34 for 6. "Bowling a full length, over the wicket, he not only swung the ball in the heavy atmosphere, but he moved it both ways after pitching," said Wisden. "Bringing the ball back after pitching on the off stump, he had Amiss, Fletcher, Hayes and Knott lbw - Fletcher without playing a shot - and all played back." After such a performance you would have expected Gilmour to be a one-day fixture, but he played only two more matches before a combination of form loss, a foot problem and attitude lost him his place.
Colin Croft, 6 for 15 v England, St Vincent, 1981
England didn't have much joy against West Indies during the 1980s, and even when they were in control, it was only for fleeting moments. On a tricky Sabina Park surface England bowled the home side out for 127, but anything their attack could do West Indies could do better. Particularly Croft. England were soon 15 for 4 after he grabbed three, then after a stand of 65 between David Gower and Ian Botham he returned to take out the middle order. Ten of the runs he conceded came from one over of aggression from Botham and David Bairstow.
Winston Davis, 7 for 51 v Australia, Headingley, 1983
If he hadn't played at a time when West Indies had a production line of high quality quicks, Davis would have had a much longer international career. As it was, he had to settle for more a fill-in role. One of his early assignments was the 1983 World Cup, during which he hit the headlines with a standout performance against Australia, tearing through them with steepling bounce and searing pace. The Australians were handily placed on 114 for 2 before Davis started his work, but from there they folded to 151 all out. Davis only played 35 ODIs in total (and 15 Tests) and ten years after his retirement he was paralysed after falling out of a tree.
Viv Richards, 6 for 41 v India, Delhi, 1989
More often than not Richards would be picked out for his batting, but this was an occasion where his occasional offspin proved the match-winner. He had hit 44 off 42 balls to help a West Indies recovery, but India were well placed on 91 for 2 chasing 197. Richards then removed Mohinder Amarnath before working his way through the middle order. Mohammad Azharuddin, Ravi Shastri and Kapil Dev were an impressive trio of victims and Richards fittingly wrapped up the victory with his sixth wicket.
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Aaqib Javed had his moments with rapid, late swing, a Pakistan trademark in the 1990s © Getty Images
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Aaqib Javed, 7 for 37 v India, Sharjah, 1991
For large parts of his career Javed performed alongside Wasim and Waqar, so it's easy to see why he is sometimes the forgotten man. However, he too was capable of devastating swing bowling. Just ask the Indians who faced him in 1991. Coming into the attack after Wasim and Imran Khan shared the new ball, Javed claimed a hat-trick in his third over which included Shastri, Azharuddin and Sachin Tendulkar - all lbw. He wasn't finished either. Four more wickets followed in his ten overs as he set a new benchmark for ODI figures.
Phil Simmons, 4 for 3 v Pakistan, Sydney, 1992
Not known for his bowling, Simmons was more than handy with his swinging medium pace, but this return against Pakistan was remarkable. Opening the attack alongside Curtly Ambrose, he zipped through the top order to leave Pakistan floundering on 14 for 5. The rest of the Pakistan innings was a tortuous affair as Simmons bowled eight maidens (alongside 11 others), and their overall scoring-rate was just 1.68 through 48 overs. Simmons' figures remain the most economical in ODIs.
Mark Ealham, 5 for 15 v Zimbabwe, Kimberley, 2000
The figures themselves from Ealham are outstanding - and for five years were England's best in ODIs - but the most noteworthy aspect was that all five were lbw. Bowling on a slow surface, Ealham stuck to a strict wicket-to-wicket line and the Zimbabweans kept missing the ball. This wasn't a hotchpotch Zimbabwe side either: it had the likes of Murray Goodwin, the Flower brothers and Neil Johnson, signalling the peak of Zimbabwe's cricketing powers. But five batsmen got hit on the pad, and each was given out by David Orchard. It goes to show that the coaches are right when they advise bowling straight.
Farveez Maharoof, 6 for 14 v West Indies, Mumbai, 2006
There are so many one-dayers with dubious value that performances can easily be lost, so the key for a player is to perform in the global events. Maharoof picked the Champions Trophy as the stage on which to make his mark, destroying West Indies. Brian Lara and Wavell Hinds were just beginning to turn around a poor start when Maharoof struck in his second over to trap Lara lbw. He then grabbed five more in his next six overs as West Indies crumbled to 80 all out. "Even he was at a slight loss to explain it, saying only: 'I kept it simple,'" reported Wisden. "But simple, with a touch of seam movement, was enough on a pitch so slow that the wicketkeepers took many balls on the second bounce."
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The name's Bond: Shane Bond often saved his best for the Australians © Getty Images
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Shane Bond, 6 for 23 v Australia, Port Elizabeth, 2003
His international career appears to have been brought to an abrupt end and it is performances like this against Australia that show what New Zealand are missing. Even though it was ultimately in a losing cause, Bond made the all-powerful Australians look human. Operating at 90mph with late swing, he dispatched the top three, then came back with three more in the middle. But from 84 for 7, Australia somehow managed to get 208 (or rather Andy Bichel and Michael Bevan did), which New Zealand got nowhere near. "Bond's analysis thus became the most individually fruitful, yet collectively fruitless, in World Cup annals," said Wisden.
Chaminda Vaas, 8 for 19 v Zimbabwe, Colombo, 2003
Even with the caveat that these figures came against Zimbabwe, it was a great feat by Vaas to claim eight wickets. They were the first eight to fall in the innings before Muttiah Muralitharan claimed the last two. It puts Vaas on top of the one-day bowling figures table and will take some beating. In fact, Zimbabwe were still a decent side at this time, including the likes of the Flowers, Heath Streak and Stuart Carlisle. But they were all easy meat for Vaas, who began with a wicket first ball of the match and swifty made his way through the line-up. He was on track for an incredible all ten, but when Vaas was eight overs into his quota, Muralitharan struck twice with his first four balls to end the innings.
Andy Bichel, 7 for 20 v England, Port Elizabeth, 2003
Occasionally a cricketer has a day where the force is with him and he becomes unstoppable. Often for Australians those days come against England. Bichel never won the same acclaim as the likes of Glenn McGrath or Brett Lee, but his role in the 2003 World Cup triumph was as important as anyone else's. And never more so than in the group match against England in Port Elizabeth. Australia were comfortably qualifying, but no game against the old enemy is taken lightly. Bichel halted a lightning England start and proceeded to demolish the order with seven wickets. Just to cap it off, he then combined with Michael Bevan in a match-winning stand of 73 after Australia had been 135 for 8. It was one of those days.
Andrew McGlashan is a staff writer at Cricinfo
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