Which is the <i>real</i> ball of the century?
Warne to Gatting? Or some other lethal delivery? Fans have their say
08-Sep-2015
Shoaib Akhtar knocked down VVS Laxman's middle stump • International Cricket Council
Readers respond to our Inbox article on Why the Gatting ball is not the best of the century
For the ball of the century, I would suggest Wasim Akram bowling Rahul Dravid in Chennai, in 1999. Akram actually had trapped Dravid lbw earlier, but the umpire did not spot the ball hitting the pad first. Undeterred, Akram then bowled Dravid with one that pitched in the middle and took the batsman's off stump. Dravid had all the while thought he had the ball covered. This ball was not even bowled on a seamer's paradise, but on a sub-continental dust track against a very accomplished batsman.
My choice was the ball Curtly Ambrose bowled to disturb Graham Thorpe's stumps in Trinidad in 1994. Chasing 194, England were 40 for 7 and it was the last over of the day. Thorpe and Chris Lewis were at the crease, with England still hoping that there would be a partnership the following day. Ambrose had already taken five wickets, and he knew that one more would win the Test that evening itself. He steamed in to bowl to Thorpe, arguably one of England's best batsmen during that time. Thorpe, who was concentrating on seeing out the last few balls of the day, was beaten by sheer pace as the ball clattered into his stumps after going through his forward defence. The other five wickets were also filled with hostility, but that one was just the king deciding that he's had enough, that the batsman has had his fun, and it was time to end it.
Even though I am from Australia and it came at our expense, I cannot go past Darren Gough's amazing swinging yorker to claim his hat-trick in Sydney in 1999. He dismissed Ian Healy, Stuart MacGill and Colin Miller. Although they weren't top batsmen, such was his skill that it could plausibly have got anyone out. Gough was incredibly popular in Australia.
Haven't seen a more demonic inswinging yorker than this leaving the batsman completely bamboozled.
When it comes down to the ball of century my mind starts thinking of 'Balls of the Century', which are the two consecutive unplayable yorkers by Akhtar to Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar at Kolkata. Reasons?
1. These two batsmen were among the best and playing in their home conditions.
2. Akhtar got through the defences of two technically efficient batsmen.
3. Akhtar was a youngster, trying to settle into a star-studded bowling line-up.
4. That double-strike ended up turning the match in Pakistan's favour, eventually resulting in Pakistan winning the Asian Test Championship.
1. These two batsmen were among the best and playing in their home conditions.
2. Akhtar got through the defences of two technically efficient batsmen.
3. Akhtar was a youngster, trying to settle into a star-studded bowling line-up.
4. That double-strike ended up turning the match in Pakistan's favour, eventually resulting in Pakistan winning the Asian Test Championship.
Shoaib Akhtar to Sachin Tendulkar, 1999
- Nominated by Ameya N. Joshi
I think there should be one more parameter - the stage. With all due respect, a Test match against a waning West Indies did not provide that. Now Akhtar to Tendulkar, Eden Gardens, 1999. That ball had everything. 'Colossus' at the crease, young future great making an impact, amazing stage set by the previous delivery - Akhtar going through Dravid - a rabid crowd hushed into pin-drop silence. For sheer impact, nothing else compares.
That ball to Tendulkar from Akhtar at Eden Gardens... The atmosphere, the scream of the crowd turning into silence, the match situation, and the swing that took the Tendulkar's off stump. Greatest ball ever!
Shane Warne to Mike Gatting, Manchester, 1993
- Nominated by Dessy Aus
Sure it wasn't the 'best' ball bowled in the century, it was just a good legbreak. Warne himself bowled many better in the century and so many others bowled better balls as well, but, the important aspect is context.
It was a seismic shift in the game, and everyone who saw it knew it. Everyone knew right then and there that the game would never be the same again. No other delivery can make that claim. No other moment can either. The final ball of the first tied Test might come close. The first ball of the first ODI? No one could conceive what ODIs would become. It was just a fill-in game. Don Bradman's last ball? Being his final innings, it just came sooner than expected.
A slower yorker from O'Donnell flummoxed Bracewell. The batsman ducked thinking it was a beamer, but the ball looped in under his backside to hit the leg stump.
Contenders for this century
Muttiah Muralitharan around the wicket to the well-set Sadagoppan Ramesh. The ball curves in to the batsman, dips alarmingly, pitches six inches outside leg, and beats Ramesh's push towards midwicket to take the off bail.
Irfan Pathan's inswinging yorker to Adam Gilchrist in the first innings of the fourth test of the 2003-04 Border-Gavaskar series. There have been better inswinging yorkers from other bowlers like Waqar, Shoaib, Dale Steyn and James Anderson but this one, I must say, was to one of the most destructive batsman the world has ever seen. Also, given the fact that Pathan was relatively young, producing a delivery like that said a lot about his character as a bowler. As Bill Lawry rightly summed it up: "what a ripper".
Dale Steyn bowls Michael Vaughan on his Test debut in 2004 in the first Test in Port Elizabeth with a ball that pitches leg and takes out off stump. It was a worthy ball to start the career of one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time.
Shoaib Aktar to VVS Laxman, Rawalpindi, 2004
- Nominated by Waqaas Rumani
I strongly believe that it (ball of the century) was Shoaib Akhtar's delivery to VVS Laxman, who was batting fluently and well set on 71. The reason I say this is because the ball was a full toss heading towards the leg stump, and looked to be easy pickings for the batsman. However, the ball suddenly moved mid-air and swirled towards the offside, hitting the middle stump at 93 miles per hour. I don't believe any batsman in the world could have played that ball. The speed with which the ball was bowled, and the fact that it seemed to have a mind of its own, made it unplayable.
R Ashwin to Hashim Amla, 2014 World T20
- Nominated by Vishwanath Srinivasan
My vote for ball of the century goes to Ashwin, considering the odds stacked against him. Firstly, it was a T20 match. Unlike in Tests, where the bowlers are afforded some luxury, in a T20 match, it's the batsmen who hold all the aces. Moreover, Ashwin was bowling to Amla, who was one of the best batsmen in the world in all formats of the game. In this game particularly, Amla had scored half of the team's runs, and had done so with a healthy strike-rate. Also, Ashwin was bowling during the Powerplay, which should have made it even easier to score for Amla.