Top 5 Bowling Performances of Cricket World Cup 2015

Here are my Top 5 Memorable Bowling performances from the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015!

Wahab Riaz, 9-0-54-2 against Australia - 3rd Quarter Final

With Australia chasing just 214 to win in their Quarter Final match against Pakistan it seemed that they would romp home with the batting fire power that they possess. But Wahab Riaz had other ideas as he first got David Warner with a short ball that he top edged to third man. Then Wahab had the Aussie skipper Michael Clarke caught at short leg as he tried to evade a nasty bouncer. What followed though was mayhem as Shane Watson was tortured and traumatized by the spell of the World Cup. He was given bouncer after bouncer, each more nasty and pacy than the previous one as Watson's body convulsed in reaction. Had Watson been caught at fine leg while he was still in single figures the match would have panned out differently. Ultimately though, Australia weathered the Wahab storm and won by 6 wickets!

Wahab Riaz breathed fire as he was all over Shane Watson in a 

memorable spell of fast bowling at the Cricket World Cup 2015

Tim Southee, 9-0-33-7 against England - Pool A Match

England had started reasonably well against New Zealand and looked set to make a fist of the game but suddenly Tim Southee jolted them but a wonderful display of swing bowling. He first worked over Moeen Ali giving him a short ball and then pegging his off stump back with a hell of a yorker. Then Bell was taken as the ball first came in and then left him slightly to take the top of off pole. He went on to take 7-33 as he routed the English top order, the ball swing to his whims and fancies!

Trent Boult, 10-3-27-5 against Australia - Pool A Match

New Zealand and Australia met at Auckland in the Pool stage and with short boundaries bowlers were given no chance and a high score was predicted. Australia started reasonably well and were 70 odd for 3 when Trent Boult returned for a second spell. He broke the back of the Aussie middle and lower order in a spell that left the Aussies gasping for breath. That spell read 5-3-3-5 as he snaffled Clarke, Maxwell and Mitch Marsh among others! Australia were eventually bowled out for just 151.

Mitchell Starc, 9-0-28-6 against New Zealand - Pool A Match

In the same match where Boult bowled that magnificent spell, Starc made that match more memorable by almost snatching victory from the jaws of a defeat for the Australian team. He bowled Ross Taylor and Grant Elliott either side of the lunch break and with his yorkers finding the target, the batsmen had to be extremely wary. He bowled Adam Milne and Tim Southee off successive deliveries and had two cracks at Boult but Boult somehow survived and Williamson hit the first ball of the next over for a six to seal the match. Starc took 6-28 but still ended on the losing side!!

James Faulkner, 9-0-36-3 against New Zealand - Final

New Zealand were in trouble early on but they had recovered sufficiently, reaching 150-3 at the start of the batting powerplay, ready to launch an assault. That is when James Faulkner bowled a spell that changed the course of the match and tilted it in Australia's favor with certainty. He first got Ross Taylor caught at first slip and then bowled a peach of a yorker that cleaned up Corey Anderson the very next ball. He later picked up Grant Elliott, who was starting to just open his shoulders, thus punching the final nail in the Kiwi coffin!

Which was your favorite spell from this World Cup? Which bowler do you think bowled that magical spell tilted the match that should have been listed here?

The Top 5 Bowlers of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015

PS - The image used is courtesy www.espncricinfo.com

Top 5 Wicket Takers in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015

Let us see who the Top 5 Bowlers are from ICC Cricket World Cup 2015!!

Mitchell Starc, Australia

Starc bowled with pace and fire and with a difficult left arm angle proved to be nemesis for many a batsmen. He almost made a match defending 150 against the Kiwis by picking 6 wickets in the nail biter at Auckland. He consistently troubled the batsmen with his deadly accurate yorkers and the inswing that he generated at the beginning of the innings. He grabbed 22 wickets in 8 matches at an average of 10.1 at an astonishing economy rate of 3.5!!

Trent Boult, New Zealand

He bowled almost as well as Starc and troubled all the teams in all the matches. He took wickets upfront as he swung the ball prodigiously with an eerie accuracy. The ball danced and hooped as per his wishes and he the ball talk as he wanted to. His most memorable spell was remarkable figures of 5-3-3-5 against the Australians at Auckland. He finished with 22 wickets in 9 matches with an average of 17 and with an economy rate of 4.3!

Umesh Yadav, India

Umesh Yadav was always known to possess pace but he would generally serve a lot of loose balls which meant that he could never maintain the pressure on the batsmen. But in this World Cup he was remarkably consistent and troubled almost every batsman that came up against him. He also bowled accurate yorkers at the death which got him a lot of wickets and meant that India always did well. He took 4 wickets in the Semi Final against the Australians at SCG. He took 18 wickets in 8 matches at an average of almost 18 and an economy rate of almost 5.

Mohammad Shami, India

Mohammad Shami was a revelation in the World Cup as he generated pace and was very accurate. He also managed to swing the ball in the early overs and hit his yorkers at the death. He was instrumental in dismissing Gayle in the match against the West Indies at Perth and how he bamboozled the big Jamaican was a treat to every Indian fans eye! He took 17 wickets in 7 matches at an average of 17.3 and an economy rate of almost 5.

Morne Morkel, South Africa

With Dale Steyn having an unusually quiet World Cup and Vernon Philander injured it was Morne Morkel along with Kyle Abbot who provided South Africa with the wickets. Morkel got the batsmen hopping with his extra bounce and pace. He bowled his heart out throughout but unfortunately his image of crying inconsolably after losing the Semi Final to New Zealand will be the one that will remain imprinted in our hearts. He took 17 wickets in 8 matches at an average of almost 17 with a splendid economy rate of just 4.3!

Jerome Taylor, West Indies

Jerome Taylor was the backbone of West Indian bowling and he provided them with early wickets in almost all the matches. He bowled the teasing line just outside off and swung the ball enough to get the batsmen groping outside his stumps. He also took 17 wickets in 7 matches at an average of almost 19 and an economy rate of almost touching 6.

These were the 5 Top Wicket Takers of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015. Which of these bowler surprised you the most, I was definitely surprised to see two Indian fast bowlers in the top 5!

Here is the list of the Top 5 Run Scorers of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015

Here is how the list of the Top 5 Wicket Takers looked after the first 26 matches

Here is the list of Top 5 Bowlers Till the Quarter Final Matches

Top 5 Run Scorers and Wicket Takers Till The Quarter Finals - ICC Cricket World Cup 2015

Let us see who are the Top 5 Batsmen who have plundered the most Runs and the Top 5 Bowlers who have snared the most Wickets up until the Quarter Final Matches:

Batsman	Team	Matches Played	Runs Scored	Average	Strike Rate	100’s/ 50’s
Kumar Sangakkara	Sri Lanka	7	541	108.2	105.9	4/ 0
Martin Guptill	New Zealand	7	498	83.0	110.4	2/ 1
Brendan Taylor	Zimbabwe	6	433	72.1	106.9	2/ 1
AB De Villiers	South Africa	7	417	83.4	144.2	1/ 2
Tillakaratne Dilshan	Sri Lanka	7	395	65.8	96.5	2/ 1

Bowler	Team	Matches Played	Wickets Taken	Average	Economy Rate	5 Fers
Trent Boult	New Zealand	7	19	14.6	4.2	1
Mitchell Starc	Australia	6	18	09.7	3.7	1
Mohammad Shami	India	6	17	13.3	4.4	0
Jerome Taylor	West Indies	7	17	19.3	5.7	0
Wahab Riaz	Pakistan	7	16	23.0	5.5	0

Top 5 Wicket Takers after 26 matches - ICC Cricket World Cup 2015

Let us see who the Top 5 Wicket Takers are after the first 26 matches of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015!!

Tim Southee, The Kiwi fast bowler who has so far put on a wonderful display of swing bowling takes the first position with 13 wickets in 4 matches. He demolished England with a career best of 7-33 at Wellington where he had the ball on a rope! He is averaging under 14 per wicket and conceding under 5 runs per over which are some serious numbers considering the ease with which teams are scoring in the World Cup.

Mitchell Starc has taken 10 wickets at an average of under 10 and an economy rate of under 4!! Those are splendid figures and it was his 6-fer that nearly won Australia that nail biter against New Zealand and his pace and pin point yorkers are something that batsmen from all around the world will be wary of in the upcoming games.

The Black Caps left armer, Trent Boult and the bowling partner of Tim Southee takes the 3rd position with 10 wickets in 4 matches. He too has bowled superbly and it has been a joy the New Zealand new bowling pair tear in to the opposition batsmen. He destroyed Australia with that memorable spell of 5-3-3-5 in Auckland! He is going at an excellent economy rate of just 4 runs per over and is averaging under 15 per wicket.

Trent Boult has been a force to reckon with at the Cricket World Cup 2015

We saw that Shaiman Anwar from UAE is at the number one position in the the Top 5 Run Getters after the first 26 matches of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015!! Josh Davey, from Scotland takes the 4th position of the highest wicket takers with 9 wickets and is another proud moment for all those Associate Nations. He has bowled accurately and has swung the ball enough to keep the batsmen guessing. He is averaging under 16 per wicket and is going at 5.25 runs per over.

Morne Morkel from South Africa takes the 5th position with 9 wickets. With Dale Steyn a little off the boil in these initial stages of the World Cup 2015 Morne has been pretty consistent and accurate. He has not bagged a big haul in any of the games but has been in the wickets in all the games. He is going at around 5 runs per over and is averaging just over 18 per wicket.

Here are the Predictions that I had made for the top 5 Bowlers to Watch Out For in the ICC World Cup 2015 before the World Cup had began - http://cricketwise.blogspot.in/2015/02/top-5-bowlers-to-watch-out-for-in-icc.html

Also Read - Top 5 Run Getters are after the first 26 matches of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015

PS - The image used is courtesy www.espncricinfo.com