West Indies has a rich history of fast bowling. As
far back as the 1920s and 1930s, there have
always been great West Indies fast bowlers.
The fast bowlers who were considered the front runners
included: Learie Constantine, George Francis, Herman
Griffith, Manny Martindale, Leslie Hylton, Hines Johnson
and Roy Gilchrist. Learie Constantine, it is claimed,
was as fast as any bowler of his time. Herman Griffith,
became a household name in the Caribbean when he
bowled Don Bradman for a duck in the fifth Test in the
series against Australia in 1930-31. He was also one of
the fastest of his time.
The pair of Wes Hall and Charlie Griffith was a fearsome
duo for West Indies in the 1960s. Wes Hall was a big man,
with an intimidating approach and follow-through, He
was the first of the modern West Indies fast bowlers. In
48 Test matches, Hall took 192 wickets at an average of
26.38. Charlie Griffith was probably the same height as
Wes Hall, but much thicker in built, Griffith was accurate
and deadly, especially with his Yorkers and his bouncers.
In 28 Test matches, Griffith took 94 wickets at an average
of 28.54. Wes hall and Charlie Griffith are numbered
among the world’s greatest fast-bowling pairs.
In the mid-1970s and 1980s West Indies benefitted
greatly from the skill and class of a quartet of bowlers
in Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, Joel Garner and
Colin Croft. They were often referred to as ‘lean, mean, pace
machines’ who shot fear into batsmen who faced them in that
period. The leader of this highly effective four-prong bowling
attack was Andy Roberts, the first Antiguan to represent the West
Indies in Test. He was a clever bowler, who it was said, used two
different bouncers. One was delivered at a slower pace and was
often dealt with quite easily by the batsman. However, this was
probably a ploy by Roberts to lull the batsman into a false sense
of security. Roberts would then unleash the second bouncer,
pitching in a similar spot to the first, but delivered at far greater
pace. The batsman would attempt to play this delivery in the same
fashion as the first slower bouncer only to be surprised by the extra
pace and bounce of the ball. Despite an excellent record in Tests
though, Robert’s international career was relatively short. Injuries
and the emergence of young fast bowlers put an early end to his
career in 1983. Andy Roberts took 202 wickets in 47 Test matches
at an average of 25.61.
Michael Holding, referred to as the ‘Rolls Royce’ of fast bowlers, looked smooth and athletic from run-up
to delivery. He was lightning fast, as fast as, or even faster than his
colleagues. One of the greatest display of his bowling was at ‘the
Oval’, in England in 1976. Holding destroyed England, taking 14
wickets for 149 runs in the Test match. It was probably that series
in England which first showed the cricketing world how strong the
West Indies bowling attack was, and how lethal Michael Holding
was as a fast bowler. In 60 Test matches, Holding took 249 wickets
at an average of 23.68.
The third member of this awesome attack was Joel Garner.
Standing at 6ft 8in, Garner was a batsman’s nightmare. “At the point of delivery”, as the former
English batsman Geoffrey Boycott declared, “the
ball seemed to be coming out of the sky, and it was
almost impossible to pick its length”. As a result, the
batsmen who faced him often spent more their time
trying to survive rather than to score runs. In 58 Test
matches, Garner took 259 wickets at the amazing
average of 20.97.
Colin Croft was a perfect match
for the other three members of the quartet that
propelled West Indies to the top of world cricket.
Croft, had an awkward action. This was probably to
his advantage, as he often got the ball to leave righthand
batsmen when it should have been coming in
to them. He had an amazing ability to move the ball
off the seam. In 27 Test matches, he took 125 wickets
at an average of 23.30.
Just as the careers of Roberts, Holding, Garner and
Croft were coming to an end three other younger
fast bowlers emerged and became great fast
bowlers by the time their own careers were over.
These three were: Malcolm Marshall, Curtley Ambrose
and Courtney Walsh. Marshall, arguably the best
fast bowler of all time, made his Test debut for West
Indies against India in India in 1978. He did not make
an immediate impact, but later established himself as
the premier fast bowler in the world. Batsmen feared
facing Marshall, due to his ability to produce vicious
bouncers, despite his ordinary height. He was known
for his skiddy bowling style and his ability to deliver
intimidating short-pitched deliveries. He was fast, and
moved the ball both ways, in and out. Throughout
his career, Marshall produced numerous standout
performances. In 81 Test matches, Marshall took 376
wickets at an average of 20.94.
Standing at 6ft 7in, Curtley Ambrose was one of the
tallest of the great West Indies fast bowlers, and it was
only natural that he got the ball to bounce awkwardly from an
almost perfect length. He dropped it on the same spot, delivery
after delivery, and batsmen found it nearly impossible to play
him, much less score off of him. He has produced many superb
performances over his career. One of the best examples is at
in the 1992-93 series between West Indies and Australia, when
he demolished Australia, claiming seven wickets for one run in
32 deliveries. In 98 Test matches, Ambrose took 405 wickets at
an average of 20.99. His bowling partner was Courtney Walsh
of Jamaica. Courtney Walsh has always been referred to as ‘Mr
Consistency’.He generally bowled just short of a good length,
Walsh was dependable, as the “work horse” of the great West
Indies team of his time, and astonishingly, in terms of wickets
taken he seemed to have gotten better the older he got. In 132
Test matches, he took 519 wickets at an average of 24.44.
Ian Bishop, was another talented fast bowler from Trinidad. He
was a joy to watch. Coming in off a lovely run-up, he had a
beautiful side-on action, good pace, and got the ball to mostly
leave the right-hander. However, after a promising start, injury cut
him down on two occasions, and he was forced to change his
action. Although he remained good enough to compete and
deliver, he never achieved what he seemed destined to do. In
43 Test matches, Bishop took 161 wickets at an average of 24.27.
There were other good West Indies fast bowlers, some of whom,
found it difficult to get into the team, ahead of the leading fast
bowlers of that time. Several had to wait their turn to represent
the West Indies in Tests or hope to get into the Test X1 when a
bowler picked up an injury. These included bowlers like Wayne
Daniel, Sylvester Clark and Winston Davis, just to name a few.
But, how does the future look for West Indies in terms
of fast bowling? The leading West Indies fast bowlers
at present are: Jason Holder, Kemar Roach, Alzarri
Joseph, Shamar Joseph and Jayden Seales. Holder
and Roach are entering to the twilight of their careers
and soon vacancies will exist for younger fast bowlers
to enter the fray. Alzarri Joseph is expected to become
the next leader of the fast bowling attack. He has not
been that effective of late, and some cricket observers
in the region are suggesting that he has plateaued.
I do not share that view. Alzarri is still only 27. With his
pace, he just needs to work harder to maintain good
‘line and length’ and avoid bowling too much shortpitched
deliveries. The performances of Shamar Joseph
in the recent Test series against Australia was a much
needed boost for West Indies. Let us hope that others
will emulate this superb effort on his part and follow in
the footsteps of the many great fast bowling legends
of the past.
Young promising fast bowlers are coming
through. The talented Guyanese 19-year-old pacer, Isai
Thorne is one. I can see the likelihood of West Indies
having another fearsome fast-bowling quartet in the
not too distant future; comprising of Alzarri Joseph,
Shamar Joseph, Jayden Seales and possibly Isai Thorne,
if he continues to impress. If that is to happen, it will
certainly will lift the spirits of West Indies fans and give
them the belief and confidence that West Indies could
rise again and become one of the leading cricketing
nations of the world.
