As Josh Hazlewood dominated Day 2 of the second Ashes Test at the home of cricket, let’s look at other international bowlers who have lit up the hallowed Lord’s slope.
Richard Hadlee
Richard Hadlee is one of the finest cricketers the Black Caps have ever produced as well as one of the most fearsome fast bowlers to grace the game with his belligerence and hostility.
Hadlee was the first bowler to bag 400 Test wickets and helped elevate New Zealand towards unprecedented achievements in the format.
Hadlee was also a hard-hitting lower-order batsman and was considered amongst the Fab Four of the ’80s along with Sir Ian Botham, Kapil Dev and Imran Khan.
Bowling with a tearaway, whippy approach with the swagger of his long hair, Hadlee was nothing less than a cricketing celebrity on the field.
He particularly fancied playing against the English and has a staggering record at the home of cricket. His 26 wickets from four matches came at an impressive average of just over 21.
More often than not, Hadlee used to be the chief destroyer behind the demolition job.
(Credit: Simon Bruty /Allsport)
Glenn McGrath
Glenn McGrath will forever be remembered for the maestro he was with the new cherry in hand and for the magic he used to cast with both the Kookaburra and the Dukes.
He was probably the greatest exploiter of the Lord’s slope from a foreign land in the history of the game. Who can forget the trail of destruction that he lay in 1997 when he devastated England with unforgettable figures of 8 for 38?
Gifted with an ability to bowl at immaculate lines and lengths, McGrath kept nagging it around the corridor of uncertainty and, more often than not, he would pull rabbits from the hat.
He was an absolute wizard when it came to utilising the Lord’s slope to his advantage. His devastating spell on the opening day of the 2005 Ashes is forever jotted down into cricketing folklore.
McGrath has the best record for any non-Englishman at the ground, as far as bowling averages and the number of wickets is concerned. He has taken an extraordinary 26 scalps in the three games he has featured in at an average of 11.50.
The numbers are a one-off and speak volumes of the maestro’s mastery.
Malcolm Marshall
Malcolm Marshall was the greatest West Indies bowler in the 1980s amongst several other formidable pacemen that the Caribbean produced in that era.
Gifted with vicious pace, zipping swing, a cut-throat approach and an incredible cricketing mind, Marshall used to be the x-factor in the Windies pace battery.
Unlike his tall and heavily built team-mates in the national team, Marshall was of an ordinary height but he even used that to his advantage, bowling malicious bumpers that skidded off from the surface and caught the batsmen napping in the crease.
He mastered orthodoxy and his brilliant intelligence of the game led him to develop a fearsome leg cutter that he used to unleash on dusty pitches.
Marshall’s record was exceptional on English shores. His spells of 7 for 53 and 7 for 22 in 1984 and 1988 are especially remembered as some of the most surreal spells bowled by a visitor in England.
Marshall did justice to his wondrous talent by coming to the home of cricket and having his name emblazoned on the honours board. His 20 wickets at Lord’s in three matches came at a miserly average of 17.0 and included two five-fors and a ten-wicket haul.
Lara
Guest
Hadlee , then Marshall followed by McGrath. Hadlee had to carry the attack n did a lot of the donkey work as will.....in my book he was the best. On top of that , he could bat n field brilliantly .
DaveJ
Roar Rookie
Nice article. On pure stats, plus great performances, it would be a close run thing between Hadlee and Marshall for greatest fast bowler of all time IMHO. If you look at their averages over their best ten years, on all surfaces, and weighting performances away from home and against the best teams, they squeak just ahead of the likes of McGrath, Donald, Imran and Ambrose. Actually, Hadlee averaging 21 at Lords wasn’t staggering, just a normal day at the office. His career average was 22 and between 1980 and 1990 he averaged just under 20.
Momin
Roar Pro
Yeah, they sure do. I didn't exactly focus on the recent eras. I tried to focus more on the statistical aspect of the bowlers rather than the contextual aspects. So as far as stats go (number of wickets and lowest bowling averages), these three non-Englishmen top the list at the Home of Cricket.
Momin
Roar Pro
Arguably, yes.
El Loco
Roar Rookie
Wow, those three pretty emphatically demand selection for this list. Out of interest Momin, did you go through all of test history or focus on recent decades? (No gripes with the selections, just curious about other contenders)
El Loco
Roar Rookie
Re mimicking Marshall, haha me too (and I was no fast bowler, it just felt cool to do). I can't think of anyone else who has ever used that angled run-up either, it's so uniquely his.
Ironmonger
Roar Rookie
I agree Paul - Hadlee was not so much belligerent as classically clinical. His leg-cutter was one for the ages.
ojp
Guest
@ Paul, I agree re your comments in regards to belligerence / hostility to describe Sir Richard; probably not how I would have described his demeanor but its a minor quibble. Malcolm Marshall was my favorite bowler; I tried to mimic his action and adopted his angled approach to the wicket... what a legend!
IAP
Guest
I was expecting one of them to be Ben Stokes.
Kannga2
Roar Rookie
Maybe the 3 best ever
Ouch
Roar Rookie
3 of my all-time favourite bowlers.
Momin
Roar Pro
Thank you for taking the time to go through the piece. Woof, I always thought Richard Hadlee to be that aggressive pacer that runs in and straightaway aims to extract the demons out of the trough. I thought Malcolm Marshall had the more tricky mind: like the ones who barely make their presence felt on the field through their physique or gallantry. But, in reality, they always manage to outthink the opposition under crunch situations. But yeah, thanks for the insight. Also, Bob Massie would have indeed taken over the 26-mark had he been able to feature in more games at the Home of Cricket.
Paul
Roar Guru
hi Momin, thanks for this enjoyable read. I hadn't thought about what great bowlers have shown their true worth at Lords, so interesting to see your take on some great bowlers. You used some interesting words to describe Sir Richard; belligerence, hostility and a tearaway action. I don't recall him being a real tearaway, except maybe in his very early days and he certainly could be hostile when conditions suited. I'd go for an "intelligent bowler with a wonderful bowling action". The descriptions of McGrath and Marshall are on the money IMO. It's hard to go past Bob Massie and his match figures of 16 for 137. He might have ended up on your list as well, if he'd played more than once there.