Best five bowlers to watch out in ICC World Cup 2015
01) Lasith Malinga - Sri Lanka
Lasith Malinga played a key role in Sri Lanka's campaigns
at the 2007 and 2011 World Cups. Unlike his counterparts, Malinga's bowling
action is unconventional. Though he continues to battle fitness issues, Angelo
Mathews will pin his hopes on the pacer to lead the Sri Lankan bowling attack.
Malinga delivers a deadly Yorker with unerring accuracy, which has made him the
best death overs bowler in world cricket. The 31-year-old can stem the flow of
runs in the middle overs and put pressure on the batsmen. In a pressure
situation during death overs, Malinga will definitely hold the upper hand over
any batsman.
02) Mitchell Starc - Australia
Mitchell Starc is Australia's best bet to take over the
responsibility of spearheading their bowling attack after Mitchell Johnson
retires. The 25-year-old is tall and bowls at express pace, mostly in the
region of 150 km/hr. As he showed in the recently concluded ODI tri-series,
Starc has the ability to induce late swing on his deliveries. The left-arm
pacer is every captain's dream, as he can bowl at the death as well as with the
new bowl with equal consistency. Starc also has plenty of variety on offer,
including an off-cutter that has deceived several batsmen in the past.
03) Dale Steyn - South Africa
Dale Steyn is arguably the best bowler in the world at
the moment. His outswingers with the new ball at express pace have troubled
almost every opening batsman. Another key strength of the South African is his
ability to break partnerships in the middle overs to stem the flow of runs. The
31-year-old is a more a skidder than than a bowler who relies on bounce. The
right-arm pacer's accurate short ball can take batsmen with surprise. His
control with the new ball is remarkable and opposition teams will be cautious
in facing Steyn during the initial overs.
04) Trent Boult - New Zealand
Despite not boasting of nvast experience like some of his
counterparts, Trent Boult will be one of the most feared bowlers at the World
Cup. Boult's greatest strength is his ability to swing a cricket ball. With New
Zealand playing all their group games at home, where pitches will be slow with
the ball swinging and seaming. Hence, Boult will have an added advantage of
familiar conditions. The 25-year-old can swing the ball both ways to right and
left handers, which makes him a deadly proposition on home pitches. Boult's
accuracy with the new ball is bound to cause a lot of problems to opening
batsmen.
05) James Anderson - England
James Anderson ranks among the best new ball bowlers in
world cricket. His unique ability to swing the ball both ways to right and left
handers has foxed even the most accomplished batsmen. England's all-time
leading wicket-taker will be their main weapon at the World Cup. The
32-year-old can bowl at any stage in the game, including the powerplays.
Skipper Eoin Morgan will rely heavily on the right-arm pacer to give him early
breakthroughs. With a bowling average of 28.72, Anderson will be key to
England's hopes of ending their World Cup drought.