Who is the Best Yorker Bowler?

What is a Yorker?

A Yorker is a delivery bowled usually by a fast bowler that pitches just a few inches before the stumps. It is one the best deliveries bowled to a batsman especially in the death overs/slog overs. The batters find it difficult to a play Yorker-length delivery because they aren’t able to get under the ball (not enough elevation) to hit a six or a four.

The margin of error in delivering a Yorker is very high as bowlers often tend to miss their length by bowling a juicy full toss or half folly which in turn increases the scoring opportunity for the batsman.

A Yorker can be bowled on the two lines –
1. Stumpline Yorker- On to the stumps, directly at the batman’s feet in order to cramp the batsman for room.
2. Wideline Yorker- Just inside the tramline to keep the batter away from the swinging arc.

Why do they call it a Yorker in cricket?

Earlier in the 20th century, a term called ‘york’ was used for a sharp inswinging delivery bowled by the pace bowlers. The cricketers in those days often used to call yorker ‘a cheat delivery’ as it wasn’t considered a standard way of getting a wicket. Some sources suggest that the name ‘Yorker’ was named after the place called York [now Yorkshire] The bowlers from Yorkshire often used to bowl this kind of delivery to trouble the batsmen back in the 19’s.

With the introduction of T20 cricket in the 21st century, the Yorker length delivered became very popular and is termed as the king of all deliveries.

Who invented the Yorker ball?

England’s left-arm fast bowler, Tom Emmett was the one who started bowling at Yorker lengths quite frequently. He had a roundarm action with good speed and bounce onto the wickets. Having a 25-year old long cricket career, Tom was one of the top-3 bowlers of England as he was a valuable asset for his variations in line and length.

In the initial stages of his career, he was quick in pace but his pace dropped drastically in his later years. He also invented a slower ball, which was bowled at a slower pace drifting sharp away from the right-handed batsman.

Who is the Yorker King?

Sri Lanka’s pace bowler Lasith Malinga is the Yorker king in world cricket. He has taken 546 international wickets across all formats. He bowls with a side-on action as he delivers the ball at a cross angle thus giving enough width to bowl a Yorker ball.
During the prime days of his career, Malinga looked so lethal that every delivery he bowled, the batsmen had often anticipated an inswinging Yorker from him. A lot of good batters struggle against Malinga as very few batters like Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, AB De Villiers had played Malinga well throughout their career.

Top-10 Best Yorker Bowlers –

1. Lasith Malinga [Sri Lanka]
2. Waqar Younis [Pakistan]
3. Jasprit Bumrah [India]
4. Kagiso Rabada [South Africa]
5. Wasim Akram [Pakistan]
6. Mitchell Starc [Australia]
7. Trent Boult [New Zealand]
8. T Natarajan [India]
9. Darren Gough [England]
10. Shoaib Akthar [Pakistan]

Who bowls the best Yorker in the current generation?

There are many bowlers who nail the Yorker perfectly, be it Mitchell Starc, Trent Boult, Kagiso Rabada, Jasprit Bumrah. In the 2019 world cup, Mitchell Starc bowled a brilliant Yorker to dismiss, Ben Stokes leaving him in despair. This delivery was rated very highly by cricket legends around the world as some legend called it the ball of the decade.

Of lately, there is a huge hype on T Najataran who bowled 96 yorkers in a single season of IPL 2020  Natarajan,who

comes from a very humble background, had grabbed his opportunity by having a breakthrough performance (16 wickets in IPL 2020) for Sunrisers Hyderabad( IPL franchisee). He eventually earned his place for the national side by making a debut in all three formats in a single series.

If we look at pace, Kagiso Rabada and Trent Boult are the quickest Yorker bowlers. The wickets in New Zealand and South Africa suit them, therefore these bowlers bowl with a quick pace leaving the batsman not enough time to react to their Yorkers.

Among all these bowlers Jasprit Bumrah is the best yorker bowler in the current lot. He has a peculiar, similar to Lasith Maliga, and bowls at a good speed of 140-145 clicks. His accuracy to bowl Yorkers and mix it up with the change of pace in pressure situations makes him a standout bowler.