There is perhaps no more graceful sight in cricket than to see a great fast bowler in action. The long flowing run up, the planting of the feet and the swiveling of the body before the arms wheel and delivers the ball at high speed, is really something to see.
Perhaps the greatest of such bowlers in modern times was Malcolm Marshall of the West Indies, who stood out even during the 1970 and 1980s when that country was churning out great fast bowlers that were demolishing their opponents. He was not a big man by fast bowler standards but his sheer skill and athletic ability made him successful. His untimely death in 1999 at the age of 41 a few years after he retired from international cricket was a great loss to the sporting world.
Here he is in action in one international match against England.
Thanks for posting this. I grew up in the U.K., and test match cricket is one of the few things I genuinely miss. Good old Richie Benaud… cooler than Steve McQueen. I understand that these days you have to pay Rupert Murdoch for the privilege of watching a test match. Shocking.
Love for this game may just be the most meaningful “spiritual” connection between the former colonies. With the likely exception of Pakistan and India, cricket somehow transcends patriotism. A knowledgeable crowd at the MCC would always applaud good play, even if the game’s home country was being embarrassed (which was often the case).
Richard,
Yes, Richie Benaud was a wonderful leg spinner and one of the shrewdest captains in the game. But he excelled even that as a commentator, knowledgeable and scrupulously fair, telling it like it is. I remember the time he excoriated his home country Australia when on the last ball of a match they bowled it along the ground to prevent the opponents from having any chance of scoring the six they needed to just tie the game. He said it was a disgrace and one of the worst things he had seen in the game. You can see the full incident here and just Benaud’s reaction here.