Wisden’s Test spells of the 2000s, Nos.5-1
The Wisden Test spells of the 2000s have been announced. Below is the full list from No.5 to No.1 of the bowling performances to make the cut.
No.5: Shoaib Akhtar 6-11
Pakistan v New Zealand, 1st Test
Gadaffi Stadium, Lahore
May 1-3, 2002
Five stump-honing yorkers, all at or above 95mph, and then a length ball that was still far too good for Chris Martin. You might want more words than that, but really that’s enough to capture the unpreventable devastation Shoaib Akhtar caused against New Zealand, razing the Blackcaps for 73 on a Lahore pitch flat enough for Inzamam to make a triple – and Imran Nazir a Test hundred.
No.4: Dale Steyn 5-23
India v South Africa, 2nd Test
Sardar Patel Stadium, Ahmedabad
April 3-5, 2008
When you think of Dale Steyn in India, the immediate association is with South Africa’s 2010 tour, and that spell in Nagpur. But India were well warned of that when South Africa turned up in 2008 with a short-haired, exuberant upstart in tow, months short of turning 25.
No.3: Glenn McGrath 5-53
England v Australia, 1st Test
Lord’s, London
July 21-24, 2005
Glenn McGrath, 35 but still happy to walk the tightrope of the Lord’s slope, his home away from home. He’d lost a few miles on the speed gun by this stage, but the punters had already seen a young man run wild that day. Now they could see an all-timer at his wisest.
No.2: Harbhajan Singh 8-84
India v Australia, 3rd Test
Chennai
March 18-22, 2001
Not one batsman was spared. In a series where both teams had constantly traded jabs, Harbhajan Singh had the ultimate say, with 15 wickets in the final Test – the second-highest match haul for an Indian bowler ever – to deliver a hard-fought series win over the world’s No.1 Test side.
No.1: Muttiah Muralitharan 8-70
England v Sri Lanka, 3rd Test
Trent Bridge, Nottingham
June 2-5, 2006
“I really don’t know how you score off Murali at the moment, surviving is pretty difficult” – Geoffrey Boycott perfectly summing up the challenge facing England’s batsmen that day at Trent Bridge.
