If we make a list of the Top Ten fastest bowlers of all time around the world, three names in the list would consist of Englishmen, especially since England is the oldest cricketing nation. A bowler can turn the tables around and make a losing game into a winning one with their skills. Hence, this list provides you with names of ten of the fastest bowlers of England:
1. Jofra Archer
This new fast-bowling sensation of England is at number 1 since he worked over Steve Smith at Lord’s in 2019. What Don Bradman was in the 1930s to England, is what Smith is to present-day England. But Archer’s performance and bowling skills put Smith out of the Test. Jofra Archer is changing the Ashes series in a way no English fast bowler has done since Frank Tyson.
2. Frank Tyson
Tyson came to the fore when he put Bill Edrich in a hospital while playing for Northants against Middlesex in 1954-55. Taken to Australia that winter, he began unsatisfactorily with one for 160 at Brisbane before being knocked out by a blow to the head from Ray Lindwall at Sydney. The next day, Frank claimed six for 85 to square the series.
3. Harold Larwood
Larwood of Nuncargate, Nottinghamshire, took 33 wickets at 19 in a 4-1 series win, only to be made a scapegoat by MCC for the Body-line tactic. This led to him never playing for his country again.
4. Devon Malcom
Malcom took nine for 57 in one of the most famous spells in English history; he was born in Kingston, Jamaica. Devon played 40 Test matches for his adopted country and took part in 30 ODIs. Though he was one of the fastest bowlers of time, his style of playing was notable for his poor catching.
5. Steve Harmison
Stephen James Harmison is a first-class cricketer who has played all formats of a game. He has played 63 Tests, 58 ODIs, and T20s. Steve’s menace resided partly in his unpredictability, but in 2004 he took seven for 12 to skittle West Indies for 47 at Sabina Park in March.
6. Fred Trueman
Trueman was once called ‘The finest bloody fast bowler’, but he was not convinced or cared about the title much. He helped India reduce to nought for four on his Test debut as Headingley in 1952 and finished a remarkable career with 307 wickets at 21.
7. Mark Wood
If we ignore Archer, then no England fast bowler could hop around quite like Wood. In February 2019, he touched 95 mph while taking five wickets in eight overs, and West Indies couldn’t play shots as twitch and flinch during the match. Mark’s pace during the recent World Cup has not spoken much about as an aspect of England’s success.
8. Andrew Flintoff
Flintoff is considered to be the best-faced bowler ever to be confronted by Ricky Pointing’s Australia Test team during the 2005 Ashes. If his career wasn’t cut short due to knee trouble in 2009, he might have claimed more Test wickets than 226.
9. Charles Kortright
Though Charles never played for England, he appeared in 170 first-class matches for his native Essex. Cricketer WG Grace once lost two stumps to a ball from Kortright; the player died in 1952.
10. Simon Jones
In the 2005 Ashes, Jones was probably the fastest fourth seamer in cricket history, taking six for 53 at Old Trafford, then five for 44 at Trent Bridge. The cricketers couldn’t play another test due to the stress of the demanding action.
