Leather prevails
The contenders for the bowling performance of the year
Wisden Cricinfo staff
29-Oct-2003
These are the results of the Bowling Performance of the Year award:
The winner
Shane Warne
7 for 94 v Pakistan at Colombo (first innings)
Australia won by 41 runs
This was one of Warne's best performances in years, against the one team from the subcontinent that he has always dominated. With 7 for 94 in the first innings and 11 wickets in the match, he almost single-handedly bowled Australia to a 41-run victory, and showed again the entire range of variations that makes him perhaps the world's most versatile bowler.
Shane Warne
7 for 94 v Pakistan at Colombo (first innings)
Australia won by 41 runs
This was one of Warne's best performances in years, against the one team from the subcontinent that he has always dominated. With 7 for 94 in the first innings and 11 wickets in the match, he almost single-handedly bowled Australia to a 41-run victory, and showed again the entire range of variations that makes him perhaps the world's most versatile bowler.
The other nominees
Shoaib Akhtar
5 for 21 v Australia at Colombo (second innings)
Pakistan lost by 41 runs
If Pakistan came so close to winning this Test, it was because of Shoaib Akhtar. Australia led Pakistan by a massive 188 runs in the first innings, and were then 74 for 2, when Shoaib produced a breathtaking spell of bowling, ripping out the heart of the Australian middle order in 14 balls. Three of his victims were bowled, and two leg before, as Australia collapsed for 127. There are other fast bowlers in contemporary cricket who have been more consistent, but few have been as unstoppable as Shoaib in the short spells where everything comes together for him.
Shoaib Akhtar
5 for 21 v Australia at Colombo (second innings)
Pakistan lost by 41 runs
If Pakistan came so close to winning this Test, it was because of Shoaib Akhtar. Australia led Pakistan by a massive 188 runs in the first innings, and were then 74 for 2, when Shoaib produced a breathtaking spell of bowling, ripping out the heart of the Australian middle order in 14 balls. Three of his victims were bowled, and two leg before, as Australia collapsed for 127. There are other fast bowlers in contemporary cricket who have been more consistent, but few have been as unstoppable as Shoaib in the short spells where everything comes together for him.
Andrew Caddick
7 for 94 v Australia at Sydney (second innings)
England won by 225 runs
Unusually for a fast bowler, most of Andrew Caddick's best performances in Test cricket have come in the second innings. This was one of the most memorable: England had lost the first four Tests of the series, but the batting finally clicked at Sydney, and Australia were set a last-innings target of 454. On a wearing pitch with uneven bounce, with novices partnering him, Caddick knifed through Australia to win the game for England.
7 for 94 v Australia at Sydney (second innings)
England won by 225 runs
Unusually for a fast bowler, most of Andrew Caddick's best performances in Test cricket have come in the second innings. This was one of the most memorable: England had lost the first four Tests of the series, but the batting finally clicked at Sydney, and Australia were set a last-innings target of 454. On a wearing pitch with uneven bounce, with novices partnering him, Caddick knifed through Australia to win the game for England.
Jermaine Lawson
7 for 78 v Australia at Antigua (first innings)
West Indies won by three wickets
West Indies had toyed with a number of fast-bowling prospects in this series in the hope of finding someone to unsettle the Australian batsmen, but it was Lawson who finally met the challenge with a hostile spell. A number of his victims fell to well-directed bouncers, and he took his last four wickets in successive overs. Australia were restricted to 240, and West Indies were able to keep up with them for most of the game, till their batsmen saw them through in the end to a famous victory.
7 for 78 v Australia at Antigua (first innings)
West Indies won by three wickets
West Indies had toyed with a number of fast-bowling prospects in this series in the hope of finding someone to unsettle the Australian batsmen, but it was Lawson who finally met the challenge with a hostile spell. A number of his victims fell to well-directed bouncers, and he took his last four wickets in successive overs. Australia were restricted to 240, and West Indies were able to keep up with them for most of the game, till their batsmen saw them through in the end to a famous victory.
Shaun Pollock
6 for 39 v England at Nottingham (second innings)
England won by 70 runs
On a wicket that was deteriorating rapidly, South Africa would have sensed they were in trouble when they conceded a lead of 83 to England in their first innings. But Pollock kept them in contention with a masterly spell of medium-fast bowling, putting the ball in exactly the right areas, hitting the seam with characteristic regularity, and letting the pitch do the rest, as England were shot out for 118.
6 for 39 v England at Nottingham (second innings)
England won by 70 runs
On a wicket that was deteriorating rapidly, South Africa would have sensed they were in trouble when they conceded a lead of 83 to England in their first innings. But Pollock kept them in contention with a masterly spell of medium-fast bowling, putting the ball in exactly the right areas, hitting the seam with characteristic regularity, and letting the pitch do the rest, as England were shot out for 118.