Ten Yorker Ball Specialists in Cricket

A yorker is one of the toughest deliveries to execute in cricket. It requires accuracy, pace, skills, and off-course hours of practice at the nets.

It is also one of the most difficult deliveries for a batter. A yorker is just like a fast, full-length delivery pitched on the legs that goes flat while delivering.

In this piece, we discuss ten bowlers who have had the most brutal yorkers in world cricket and used it as their main tool. These bowlers had their own ways of executing the yorker depending on their skills, bowling action, and adjusting their length as per the wickets and conditions, but they utilised it with accuracy.

We take a look at these bowlers in detail:

Wasim Akram (Pakistan)

Akram’s pace was difficult to handle when he bowled a yorker. He swung the ball both ways and showcased tremendous accuracy and control when it came to bowling yorkers during the death overs. The former Pakistani skipper and all-rounder’s speed was his strength while bowling a yorker with the old ball.

Waqar Younis (Pakistan)

Waqar Younis sharpened the art of reverse swing with the old ball as well as the new ball, combined with his ability to bowl brutal yorkers during the death overs as well as the middle overs. The former Pakistani pacer and captain’s pace and outswing created problems for the batters when he bowled yorker-length deliveries.

Brett Lee (Australia)

Lee dominated the best batting lineups with his pace, bounce, and late swing. The former Australian pacer showcased tremendous accuracy during the death overs. His fast-inswinging yorkers posed a challenge even for some of the most renowned batters.

Shoaib Akhtar (Pakistan)

The “Rawalpindi Express,” as he was fondly called during his playing days, challenged the best batters with his speed and bounce. His yorkers were too hot to handle with his ability to pitch the ball around the middle and leg area while bowling a yorker.

Dale Steyn (South Africa)

Steyn possessed exceptional skills and control when it came to bowling fast-swing yorkers. The former South African pacer could bowl the Yorker with the new ball as well as the old ball and with accuracy. Even on slow wickets, he showcased his penetration to bowl those brutal yorkers.

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Shane Bond (New Zealand)

Bond was the core of the New Zealand bowling lineup during the 2000s, although the former pacer couldn’t advance his career due to injuries. Bond possessed pace, bounce, and swing, but his yorkers with the new ball as well as the old ball created problems even for a well-set batter which were laden with pace and swing.

Malcolm Marshall ( West Indies)

The late legendary pacer played during a generation when bowlers dominated world cricket and Marshall was a part of that generation. Marshall was one of the deadliest pacers of the West Indian pace attack during the 1970s & 80s.

His pace and swing were his strengths but his yorkers created psychological pressure in the minds of the batters. He was penetrative with the old ball as well as the new ball.

Lasith Malinga (Sri Lanka)

Malinga’s fast round arm action was his strength combined with his pace and outswingers. His yorkers, especially at the death overs, terrorised the batters. The former Sri Lankan pacer swung the ball both ways, which made it difficult for the batters to play his brutal yorkers.

Allan Donald (South Africa)

Donald possessed the most unpredictable yorker during the 1990s due to his high-arm action. The former South African pacer swung the ball late, which unsettled any well-set batter when he bowled a yorker-length delivery. Donald showcased consistency while bowling yorkers with the old ball.

Jasprit Bumrah (India)

Arguably one of the finest yorker specialists in modern-day cricket, Bumrah can consistently hit the deck hard with his fast high-arm action and his ability to swing the ball while bowling a yorker-length delivery. Bumrah has showcased accuracy while bowling the yorker in the middle overs as well as in the death overs.

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