The minimum height required for a fast bowler in cricket is not set in stone. Nonetheless, it is uncommon to find a top-tier professional fast bowler under 5 feet 10 inches tall in today’s competition. Shorter fast bowlers have an easier time succeeding at amateur levels of the game since height is less of a factor. The bounce that a fast bowler can extract from the pitch is one of their primary weapons. Taller bowlers find it simpler to cause the ball to bounce higher, which explains why the majority of elite fast bowlers in cricket are above 6 feet tall. On this note, let us take a look at the list of fast bowlers under 6 feet in height.
List Of Fast Bowlers Under 6 feet In Height
I have five favorite fast bowlers from the past several decades: Glenn McGrath, Josh Hazlewood, Jimmy Anderson, Curtly Ambrose, and Morne Morkel. These bowlers are among the best that their respective nations have ever produced, and since they are all taller than six feet, they were able to extract a lot of bounce from the playing surfaces in addition to their other skills like swing and pace.
As I indicated previously, it shouldn’t be too difficult for a short fast bowler to compete at the amateur level of the game. Even with modest speed, accuracy, and endurance, you may still be a key player for most club teams. Simply put, as one advances through the ranks toward professional cricket, height becomes increasingly important. For instance, you will find more fast bowlers who are marginally taller when you go from the amateur level to the county or state level. There is typically a greater proportion of tall fast bowlers at the test level since the physical requirements for fast bowlers to compete at that level are significantly stricter.
Taller bowlers are common at the test level because, in general, the higher the level of cricket you play, the more crucial it is for fast bowlers to have unique skills and characteristics that set them apart from the opposition and make things difficult for batters.
Even with everything I’ve written above, shorter, faster bowlers can still succeed at the top levels of the game, like the test level. To make up for their lack of height, they typically need another exceptional skill to accomplish this. They frequently rely on raw speed as their defining characteristic when height is lacking.
This is especially clear when considering players like Kemar Roach at the beginning of his career and Fidel Edwards. Alternatively, marginally shorter bowlers, like Vernon Philander and Chaminda Vaas, would rely on their superior ability to manage length and line.
What Are the Positives of Being a Tall, Fast Bowler?
I’ve already touched on the possibility that having a taller fast bowling stature will help you succeed at the highest levels of the game on a few occasions in this piece. This section will examine the reasons behind…
Here are some of the positives of being a tall fast bowler:
- You can achieve more bounce – The ball is released from your hand at a higher point if you are a tall fast bowler. This implies that the ball will bounce higher off the pitch since it will strike the pitch at a steeper angle. Batters find steep bounce extremely challenging to handle, and it can result in a variety of errors and miscalculations.
- Allows you to extract more seam movement from the pitch – More surface disturbance is possible when the ball is bowled into the pitch at a steeper angle than when it is delivered from a flatter trajectory. Pitch surface disturbance can cause movement in the seams as well as facilitate the extraction of additional movement from surface flaws and fissures.
- More physically intimidating: For a batter, a taller bowler is just a more terrifying prospect than a shorter one. A batsman facing a tall bowler will instantly start to think about how they are going to counter the bounce and pace the bowler can produce. This may cause them to play less positively than they typically would, which could result in errors.
What Are the Positives of Being a Short-Fast Bowler?
Shorter fast bowlers have advantages of their own as well. This section will provide a quick overview of those.
The potential positives of being a shorter fast bowler are as follows:
- You will bowl deliveries on a flatter trajectory – On some pitches and in situations where the swing is highly favorable, bowling a flatter trajectory can be extremely difficult for hitters (both conventional and reverse). Some hitters find it quite tough to cope with flatter trajectories as well, and they will find it extremely difficult to avoid your bouncer since they feel like they can’t get beneath the ball.
- Can be more likely to get batters out LBW – Deliveries that contact the batter on the pad are also far less likely to bounce over the top of the stumps when the bowler uses a flatter trajectory. Taller bowlers like Curtly Ambrose and Kyle Jamieson are so tall that the ball nearly always goes over the top of the stumps with their “normal length” deliveries. To prevent this, they will need to bowl much more fully. Shorter bowlers will have considerably more natural ability to bowl a “stump-hitting” length.
Which fast bowlers were under 6 feet tall?
I’m aware that a lot of you who are reading this page are concerned that you might not be tall enough to succeed in professional cricket as a fast bowler. Even though we’ve talked about how difficult it is to develop into a great fast bowler without standing more than six feet tall, it is most certainly not impossible. This is demonstrated by the list of quick bowlers I’ve included below! This list includes some of the most skilled bowlers in the game as well as some of the most entertaining. See if you can identify any names on the list that you would like to try and imitate:
List Of Fast Bowlers Under 6ft In Height
Dale Steyn – 179cm tall (5 ft 11 inches)
Despite being just under six feet tall, Dale Steyn is among the best fast bowlers the world has ever seen. Being able to swing the ball both ways and possessing an exceptional pace made him a nightmare to play against.
Vernon Philander – 175cm tall (5ft 9 inches)
One of the most effective but underappreciated bowlers I’ve seen in the past ten years is Philander. His primary weapon was his merciless accuracy. He was the ultimate bat-technique examiner.
Jasprit Bumrah – 178cm tall (5ft 10 inches)
Bumrah remains at the pinnacle of his profession, and what a bowler he has shown himself to be so far. With both the old and new balls, he poses a serious threat due to his exceptional speed. He also has a deadly yorker!
Mohammed Shami – 178cm tall (5ft 10 inches)
When he first appeared on the scene and began his worldwide career, this person seemed like a promising possibility, but his success didn’t last. Despite this, he was a short bowler who could bowl quickly and did so successfully at the highest level for several years.
Naseem Shah – 178cm tall (5ft 10 inches)
This young player has emerged as one of Pakistan’s top pacers very rapidly, and what a bowler he already appears to be. He can regularly bowl at speeds far over ninety-nine mph and swing the ball. He will most likely become one of Pakistan’s greatest!
Chaminda Vaas – 178cm tall (5ft 10 inches)
I witnessed the tail end of this player’s career, and because of his left-arm angle, he was an even more dangerous swing bowler among Sri Lanka’s all-time greatest pacers.
Jhye Richardson – 178cm tall (5ft 10 inches)
This player has had a brief IPL stint and is only now starting to establish himself on the international scene. Another fast bowler from Australia’s pace factory with a strong swing speed. If he can make it into the starting lineup before Starc and Hazlewood Cummins, he seems like a star.
Makhaya Ntini – 175cm tall (5ft 9 inches)
Because of the angle his body generated at the crease, he was one of the most intriguing bowlers I have ever seen. Angle the ball toward right-handers and away from left-handers at all times. He was accurate,, and he bowled at a good pace.
Sam Curran – 175cm tall (5ft 9 inches)
One of the most promising young people in England. Despite not having a lot of speed, he can surprise hitters with bouncers and a wide range of variations, which makes him quite useful in limited-overs cricket. He is a threat in test cricket as well because of his ball-swinging skills.
List Of Fast Bowlers Under 6 feet In Height: Shardul Thakur – 175cm tall (5ft 9 inches)
In the world of cricket, this man has gained a bit of a cult following and swiftly rose to the position of regular in the Indian squad. Despite his lack of speed, he can swing the ball and has a talent for breaking partnerships.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar – 175cm tall (5ft 9 inches)
one of the most proficient bowlers in the world right now across all cricket formats. He can swing the ball in either direction at will and has excellent accuracy. Surprisingly, he hasn’t performed better in tests, but with the new ball in hand, he’s a formidable opponent in limited-overs cricket.
List Of Fast Bowlers Under 6 feet In Height: Hasan Ali – 174cm tall (5ft 8 inches)
Another fast bowler from Pakistan, his quickness makes up for his height and gives him a threat on all kinds of wickets. His performance in the county championship for Lancashire was outstanding recently.
Kemar Roach – 173cm tall (5ft 8 inches)
When Roach first came on the scene, he was the top paceman for the West Indies for the previous ten years and could bowl at speeds exceeding ninety miles per hour. Since then, he has changed his approach, picking up the speed but also becoming a more dependable bowler. He is particularly adept at bowling to lefties and knows how to use the new ball.
Tino Best – 173cm tall (5ft 8 inches)
Tino Best had a promising future as a fast bowler since he was a forceful yet unpredictable bowler who could reach speeds beyond ninety miles per hour. Despite never completely taking over the world stage, his lightning-fast pace could always make batters fearful.
Ajit Agarkar – 170cm tall (5ft 7 inches)
played an amazing 191 One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and 26 Tests for India. At his best, he was a tremendously successful bowler. He could hit the ball quite quickly despite his height, frequently hitting over 90 mph on the speed gun.
Fidel Edwards – 165cm tall (5ft 5 inches)
one of the West Indian bowlers I’ve watched the most in recent years. Even though Fidel Edwards was only 5 feet 5 inches tall, his slinky movement made him one of the fastest bowlers in the world for a while. Despite having poor control, he was always a threat with either the new or the old ball because of his speed.
