Top 10 Best Yorker Bowler in the World

Cricket has evolved into a game over the years. It has seen some massive changes in recent times. Nowadays, the batters seem to dominate the scene with amazing stroke play and hitting skills. Despite the game being shifted towards the batters, bowlers also seem to find their best ways to pick wickets. The best weapon in the pacers' armoury is the yorker delivery; it has been the most efficient delivery method, even in the contemporary game. This stock delivery has defined the careers of the pacers and created some amazing moments across generations of cricket. In this article, we find out the best yorker bowler in the world.

Best Yorker Bowler in the World List

The yorker has been the most difficult delivery for the pacers to bowl. But considered the ultimate weapon for a fast bowler. There have been numerous bowlers in world cricket who have mastered in bowling yorker deliveries, and with consistency, they have delivered as well. Below we have listed the best yorker bowler in the world all time.

Who is the Best Yorker Bowler in the World All Time?

The yorker is one of the most difficult deliveries to master in cricket, and many bowlers devote their entire careers to perfecting it. However, at the international level, some of the best fast bowlers have consistently produced amazing yorkers. From the great Waqar Younis to Jasprit Bumrah, they have mastered the yorkers in their era. Now let's find out the top 10 best yorker bowler in cricket.

10. Shaun Tait | Australia

Shaun Tait is a bowler with a sling action and a fearsome pace. The Aussie pacer’s career had the most success in one-day internationals. Tait had a shortened season due to injuries. His raw pace and ability to swing the ball were exceptional. However, during his prime days, he had trouble with some of the best batsman in the world. He was nicknamed the "Wild Thing" and is remembered as one of the best yorker bowlers in cricket history. He has picked a total of 95 international wickets. Tait remains an iconic cricketer for the Aussies for his lethal yorkers and aggressive approach.

9. Andrew Flintoff | England

Andrew Flintoff, a charismatic all-rounder, has been exceptional, especially on the biggest occasions. With a mixture of aggression, precision, and control that made him one of the best yorker bowler in the world. He had a towering height and, with a bustling run‑up, Flintoff generated sharp pace and spongy bounce. He has been a match-winner for the English Lions in the traditional format of the game.

8. Dale Steyn | South Africa

Dale Steyn is one of the best South African bowler of all time. His ability to swing the ball both ways with a speed of over 140km/h has been exceptional. He had a mix of aggression and control with his line and length. Steyn had troubled some of the greatest batters across formats with his lethal spells. His lethal swinging yorkers have been among the best in the world. This is the reason he ranks among the best yorker bowler in the world.

7. Brett Lee | Australia

Brett Lee is one of the best Australian bowler across formats. He had a long career of 13 years as a fast bowler, which was sensational. The pacer was known for his pace and the ability to swing the ball over 145km/h, which made him more lethal than others. His swinging yorkers with a lethal pace made him crucial during the death overs, and this is the reason he ranks among the top 10 best yorker bowler in the world.

6. Shoaib Akhtar | Pakistan

Shoaib Akhtar has been the fastest bowler in cricketing history. He was known to be one of the fiercest bowlers in world cricket. The ‘Rawalpindi Express’ has the record for bowling the fastest ball in cricket. He could swing the ball over 150km/h, and this made him lethal. Shoaib Akhtar has troubled some of the legendary batters in world cricket. He also had a lethal yorker in his bag, with sheer pace; his yorkers were nearly impossible to play, and even broke the stumps as well.

5. Shane Bond | New Zealand

Shane Bond is among the finest bowlers in New Zealand history. As fast bowling was on the verge of its golden era, he became one of the deadliest pace merchants due to his clever blend of speed, swing, and deadly yorkers. This is why he ranks among the best yorker bowler in the world. Bond, bowling above 150 km/h, coupled with speed precision, developed as a lethal weapon in the death overs when batsmen attempted to quicken the scoring rate. Bond has been a true legend of New Zealand cricket because of the unique mix of raw pace, precision, and ruthless aggression.

4. Mitchell Starc | Australia

Mitchell Starc has been Australia's best test bowler, known for his exceptional pace, lethal swing, and amazing inswing yorkers. He creates an angle that makes problems for some of the greatest batters to deal with, and he remains a threat with both the new ball and the old ball. Mitchell Starc's ability to swing the ball both ways, especially the inswinging deliveries for the right-handers, has been exceptional. His inswing yorkers are lethal, and the delivery for which he has been famous in the death overs.

3. Waqar Younis | Pakistan

Waqar Younis has been one of the best Pakistani bowler. He was the one who introduced the concept of reverse swing. He was exceptional in the death overs for the Men in Green. Younis' main skill was his ability to reverse-swing a cricket ball at high speed. Throughout his career, he picked 373 test wickets and 416 wickets in ODI. Waqar Younis's reverse swinging yorkers during the death overs were clinical, which is why he ranks in the top three of the best yorker bowler in the world.

2. Lasith Malinga | Sri Lanka

Lasith Malinga was a specialist death bowler who captained Sri Lanka's national cricket team to victory in the 2014 T20 World Cup. He was nicknamed "Slinga Malinga" because of his unique round-arm movement, also known as a sling action. Malinga's unorthodox action and dipping slower ball yorkers are known as his stock deliveries, from which he has gained immense success as the king of yorker. Malinga is recognised for his ability to take wickets on successive balls, frequently by throwing in-swinging yorkers.

1. Jasprit Bumrah | India

Jasprit Bumrah has been the best bowler in the world across the three formats of the game. He has risen as one of the best Test bowlers and has been exceptional. He continues to impress with his polished swing bowling to a level that makes him one of the finest bowlers of this era. Jasprit Bumrah came into cricket with formerly known for his lethal pace and precision. But slowly, he became more accurate during his time in the Mumbai Indians, where he worked with one of the finest bowlers, Lasith Malinga, and now, Bumrah has been better than him in delivering the yorkers across formats of the game and is known as the king of yorker.

Ranking Factors

To rank the best yorker bowlers in cricket history is not just about statistics. We have considered three factors: Economy in death overs, Yorker accuracy, and Average speed of the bowler. These three factors are the key essentials to determine the best yorker bowler in the world.

• Economy in death overs: The economy rate in death overs is a key factor for the bowlers, especially the pacers, as the batters unleash their stroke play with long-range hitting and variety of shots. Maintaining an economy rate around 7 or below in these overs is exceptional for the bowlers.
• Yorker accuracy: The yorker is a delivery that separates the elite bowlers from the rest of the pacers. Some of the bowlers have delivered some accurate and toe-crushing yorkers. The bowlers need to be careful, as if the yorkers do not fall in the right place, then the batters will smack them for a boundary.
• Average speed: For a pacer, speed has always been a weapon that has given them both positive and negative results. But yorkers at a speed of 140km/h have been an excellent weapon for the pacers. This creates problems with the ball coming at a speed with toe-crushing yorkers.