5 fast bowlers who might rule the roost in Test cricket in coming years

These five fast bowlers are the future of Test cricket and might keep

Fast bowlers are fun to watch and it has been established that these fearsome quicks win you the match in Test cricket.

You can see the dynasties in Test cricket and the biggest of them all, the West Indies team of the 1970s and 1980s was built upon the might of fast bowlers like Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, Joel Garner, Malcolm Marshall, and Colin Croft. Even Australia in the 70s and 80s had two of the most fearsome fast bowlers in Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thompson, brilliantly aided by Rodney Hogg and others. 

The dominant Australia team of the 2000s was built on the success of Glenn McGrath, Brett Lee, Nathan Bracken, Jason Gillespie, and others, along with Shane Warne.

Every country strives for fast bowlers, who bowl like the speed of sound and can swing the ball in the air and put the fear of lord in the batsman. In recent times, we have seen some very good fast bowlers coming onto the scene and have impressed everyone with their skills and talents.

Today, Team COC takes a look at five such fast bowlers who are young and might rule the cricketing world for a long time.

Check the 5 fast bowlers who might rule the roost in Test cricket in coming years

LUNGI NGIDI (SA)
15 wickets in 4 Tests with a best of 6/39

Lungi Ngidi was schooled at Kwa-Zulu Natal's Hilton College and is considered a budding fast bowling prospect for South Africa. He is capable of hitting the speeds of over 140kmph with ease and can bowl with finesse at the top and in the death overs.

In 2015, he was named Africa T20 Cup player of the year and made his T20I debut in January of 2017 against Sri Lanka and was named Man of the Match on debut. South Africa then unleashed Ngidi in Tests against India in Centurion Test and he picked a second innings 6-fer to demolish the Indian batting and was named the Man of the Match on Test debut.

He has also impressed in IPL, playing for eventual champions Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2018 and is looked at one of the most promising fast bowlers for South Africa in the coming years. He is fast and can reverse the ball with ease and will have the eyes of cricket experts all over him in the coming years.

PAT CUMMINS (AUS)
66 wickets in 14 Tests with a best of 6/79
Aussie quick Pat Cummins had made an amazing Test debut against South Africa in 2011 as an 18-year-old. He picked seven wickets in the match and set up an amazing win for his team. Since then Cummins has been plagued with stress fractures of the back and was out of Test cricket for 1946 days (5 years, 3 months, and 27 days, or exactly 278 weeks).

He made an impressive return against India in India in the four-Test series as a replacement for an injured Mitchell Starc in 2017. Since then, he has been a part of the Australian team and has been wisely managed by the Australian team management. He has played selectively and has given desired results, despite injury hitting him once again while playing in the Indian Premier League 2018.

If he stays fit and plays the same way he is doing, Pat Cummins, who is still 25 years old, is going to wreak havoc in years to come.

KAGISO RABADA (SA)
151 wickets in 32 Tests with a best of 7/112
Kagiso Rabada had a blast on his international debut for South Africa, as he picked 6/16 against Bangladesh in his first ODI including a hat-trick on debut. The 23-year-old fast bowler has since then become the premier bowler of South Africa picking 86 ODI wickets and 151 Test wickets.

Rabada has been particularly devastating in Test cricket picking 9 fifers and four 10-fers in his short career thus far. Rabada is a brilliant combination of stamina, speed, and aggression. South Africa knows Rabada’s importance and has already started managing him injury and match wise. Rabada has already gained no.1 ranking in both ICC Test and ODI bowlers rankings in his young career.

Given that he has become the youngest bowler ever to get to the 150 Test wickets mark, Rabada has a bright future ahead of him and with veteran Dale Steyn returning to cricket after a long layoff, the pressure and load of bowling will lessen on Rabada and he can stay injury free, to terrorize batsmen in coming time.

MOHAMMAD ABBAS (PAK)
59 wickets in 10 Tests with a best of 5/33
28-year-old Mohammad Abbas made his Test debut in 2017 against West Indies but has gone onto pick 59 wickets in his first 10 Tests including four 5-wicket hauls and one 10-wicket haul.

Against Australia in the recently concluded Test series in UAE, Abbas picked 17 wickets in two Test matches at an average of 10.58, including his first 10-wicket haul, which helped Pakistan win the second Test in Abu Dhabi and the series as well.

A lot can be expected from Abbas given the start that he has got and the promise that he has shown on the listless pitches of UAE. If he was so potent on those dead pitches, imagine his impact on bowling friendly pitches and conditions in England, South Africa, and Australia.

JASPRIT BUMRAH (IND)
28 wickets in 6 Tests with a best of 5/54
India finally has a fast bowling attack that rivals the best in the world. Since the days of Kapil Dev carrying the Indian fast bowling hopes to Javagal Srinath being over bowled and losing his speed 5 years into his career, only Zaheer Khan has been a quality fast bowler who has risen and served the country for a long time.

However now, India has the likes of Mohammad Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav and most importantly, Jasprit Bumrah who can pick wickets anywhere and in any conditions.

Bumrah broke onto the Indian cricket scene in the IPL, playing for Mumbai Indians. His unique action and ability to bowl yorkers at high speed got him a speedy move up the rungs and he made his India debut in 2016 in T20Is and ODIs and since then, has gone from strength to strength.

Many had questioned Bumrah’s sustainability in Test format given his unique action and whether he could bowl long spells in the format. He dispelled all those doubts with a brilliant outing in the South Africa Test series in 2018. Since then he has played 6 Tests and picked 28 wickets including two five-wicket hauls. He has 72 wickets in 41 ODIs and 43 wickets in 35 T20Is for India.

Given that he has also fallen to some injuries, Bumrah has been managed quite brilliantly by the team management keeping the 2019 World Cup in mind. Whatever happens, Bumrah is here to stay and keep picking wickets for India for a long time to come.