10 Bowlers with strangest bowling actions

Cricket has always been a batsmen’s game where every bit of the rule in the game has been designed to favor the batsman and not the bowler. From the very beginning the game had been biased towards the batting side. It is actually because at the core of the cricket it works on the ‘reactive science’ and the thrill of the game comes from the reply that a batsman can give to the ball hurled at him. Moreover, just look at the cricket viewership, have you ever seen anyone, not hungry for runs from their favourite  team . Scoring the biggest amount of runs is what anyone ever wants to see from their team. It’s simple, taking more wickets didn’t make anyone win any match if their batting side didn’t do their job properly. Moreover in the current scenario when online games like fantasy cricket are growing in popularity, much of the game depends on the skill of the batsman. As it happens, in order to play fantasy cricket a player must create his own 11 and points would be earned based on the performance of the real players on field. So the more the runs of a batsman the more would be the points given to the user. However, this doesn’t mean bowlers are not all unimportant and performance of the bowlers can also make or break a match. Nevertheless, not all bowlers are famed for their flawless moves rather there came some phenomenal bowlers whose unique bowling tactics earned them recognition as the most unusual bowlers. Their styles are appreciated and enjoyed by all . Here is a list of 10 incredible bowlers whose bizarre bowling left the audience in awe.  

1. Paul Adams 

Adams came in the limelight during the 1996 World Cup in the Indian subcontinent. He revived the dying art of Chinaman bowling. Described as the “frog in a blender” by Mike Gatting, Adams’ action bordered on being ugly. His bowling process involved taking a small run up and then a high jump, before giving his neck a jerk. In the process, he had no view of the batsman when he released the ball, thus making people wonder how he actually did that. Sadly, he could not play for his country for long. In recent times Shivil Kaushik and Kuldeep Yadav of the Indian Cricket team are carrying on with this bowling style.  

2. Shivil Kaushik 

Shivil Kaushik became a household name after playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL) where he represented Gujarat Lions (GL). A Chinaman bowler in Paul Adams’ mould, Kaushik has no view of the batsman at the point of releasing the delivery. 

3. Lasith Malinga 

Malinga’s is probably one of the most extreme form of unorthodox bowling. The bowler has a slinging round-arm action which is almost impossible to imitate. His action has earned him the nickname ‘slinga’.  

4. Jasprit Bumrah 

This latest Team India find also finds a mention on this list for his weird bowling action. Bumrah has a wide-arm action, which many find strange and unorthodox. When he takes the jump after running in hard to bowl, his hands create an awkward pose of a clock. 

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6. Mike Proctor 

He is known to be a man who had a wrong-footed action, as he jumped off his wrong foot while delivering a ball. Such an action is defined as one where the bowler delivers the ball while landing on his right foot (for right-handed), and on the left foot (for a southpaw). He was once described as man who bowled “at 100mph from mid-off off the wrong foot”. 

6. Sohail Tanvir 

Tanvir is another wrong-footed bowler on this list, just like Proctor. He would also land on his left foot while delivering the ball, thus making his action look bizarre.  

7. Muttiah Muralitharan 

Arguably the greatest off-spinner and the leading wicket-taker in Tests and ODIs, Muralitharan had a debatable bowling action. While many swear by the square turn he would get on pitches across the globe, some others argued he had an illegal action. And even as his action was cleared by the ICC time and again, it was his facial expression while releasing the ball that made many laugh.

8. Colin Croft 

One of the most fearsome bowlers ever to come out of the Caribbean, Croft had a freakish bowling action, which would keep the batsmen guessing. On most of the occasions, he ran in so close to the stumps that he almost came in the way of the umpire’s vision of the batsman, thus making it virtually impossible for him to read the bowler. On top of it, when the batsman finally got to see him, he would drift away towards his left at an awkward angle. He also gave an impression of being a left-arm pacer when he charged in, while in reality, he was a right-arm bowler.  

9. Jeff Thomson 

Former Australian fast bowler and an all-time great Jeff Thomson is arguably the fastest bowler ever to play the game. Viv Richards himself has given a testimony to this fact, saying Thomson was the fastest he ever faced. However, the legendary bowler had a bit of an unusual bowling action. The first and the original ‘slinga’ of world cricket, Thomson bowled with a slinging action, from which he derived his pace. 

10. Inzamam-ul-haq 

Very few people know that Inzamam also bowled for a brief period in his career and even has three international wickets to his name. His bowling action though was nothing short of weird, as the slow left-arm orthodox bowler would take a small run up and keep his bowling arm hidden behind the back almost up to the point of release. It made for a funny view.