A Tribute to Sir Malcolm Marshall on his 50th birthday.(born  May,1958)Sadly he died in 1999.His birthday was last May so I am late by about a month .

When bowling he was like a military Marshall on the field -such was his intimidating effect on the opposition,in any situation or in any circumstances.Bar Dennis Lillee no bowler was more intimidating or agressive and what he lacked in classical style he made up with exemplarary innovation.Standing at only 5 ft 10  he was short unlike the other great bowers of the famous quartet-Holding ,Roberts and Garner.However he demonstrated the power and hostility of  a boxer and when delivering a ball resembled a God gushing fire.No WEst Indian bowler was as intimidating.He possessed a characteristic whippy action running in very fast,coming off the wicket faster than the batsman expected, and skidding the ball. He may not have had the poetic action of Michael Holding,the speed of Jeff Thomson,the versatility of Dennis Lillee and Andy Roberts,or the control of Sir Richard Hadlee  but he is arguably the best fast bowler ever with Dennis Lillee .He had  a remarkable banana swing, an unplayable skidding bouncer and a shooter that doubled it’s speed after impact on the ground.He alos produced dis concerting bounce whoch was ultra -acurate.Sir Dennis Lillee taught him to bowl the inswinger.Marshall alos developed alethal leg-cutter in addition to adaedly outswinger.He used the width of the bolwling  crease with the prowess of a sculptor.

            
He made his debut in 1978-79 in India but was overshadowed by Sylvester Clarke. His first true impact was made in 1982-83 at home against India in West Indies when he captured 22wickets troubling the likes of Sunil Gavaskar and Dilip Vengsarkar.He would rattle the best Indian batsman and in the Prudential World cup that followed was the fastest of all bowlers. He was the best WEst Indian bowler with 14 wickets and dispalyed his mastery of pace .In India in 1983-84 he displayed his great ability on docile tracks -playing an instrumental role in WEst Indies triumphing 3-0.He bamboozled a strong Indian batting line up wiht Gavaskar,Sandeep Patil Mohinder Amarnath ,Kapil Dev Etc.His short lifting ball was unplayable and I can’t forget his opening match-winning spells in each inings of the 1st test in Kanpur when he looked like a bomber destroying an airbase.The batsman were helplessly left groping outside the offstump.He bolwed brilliantly in the 2nd Innings in the 5th test at Calcutta and alos bolwed a great spell in the final test at Madras. His best bowling was dismissing the great Sunil Gavaskar,forcing him to edge a catch outside the offstump.He captured a record haul of 33 wickets at 18.53 apiece and shared the man of the series award with fine batting performnces.He went on to bowl succesfuly in ahome series against Australai in 1984, on atour of England and then on the tour of Australai in 1884-85.Now he changed his style from sheer pace tp developing ability to swing the ball and develop a slower delivery.In England he battled with a broken hand and took his then best of 7-53 proving his supreme skill.On the tour of Australia he captured 28 wickets  including a brilliant 10 wicket haul at Adeliade on a dead pitch where he extracted bounce.He continued his good form in series against New Zealand in 1985 and England in 1986capturing virtualy 5 wickets per test
 In 1986 Marshall truly established himself in the forefront by capturing 16 wickets i 3 test aginst Pakistan on fdocile tracks.He mastered swing and cut.He missed the World Cup and  series of India but in a home series versus Pakistan in 1988 bowled brilliantly in 2 tesst,with a haul of 16 wickets..Combining pace control and swing he was the thorn in the flesh of a strong Pakistan batting line up.A thrilling series was drawn 1-1.His bowling in Trinidad in the 2nd test displayed great firepower after West Indies were dismissed cheaply in the first innings.
In England in 1988 Marshall showed why he was now in the Dennis Lillee class capturing a record haul for a wEst Indian bolwer on an England test tour with 35 wickets at 12.88.It was perhaps a performance that eclipsed the Wes Halls’ Andy Roberts and the Michael Holdings.He looked like a bowling machine  and the oppostion looked like a demoralised enemy batallion, after facing a crushing defeat.He mastered the seam and hhis ferocious pace was phenomenally consistent.At Old Trafford he captured 7-22.English fans saw his mastery of bowing bio-mechnics and hsi mastery of seam.His stamina was relentless.
In 1988-89 he was not so succesful in Australia but gave one of pace bowling great displays on a spinners track.at Sydney in the 4th test.Showing subtle skill he captured 10 wickets on a pitch where Lillee may have struggled.
          He again bolwed well on an Indian tour of West Indies but after 1989 went into decline .He was hardly at his best in the 1991 home Frank Worell trophy series against Australia and was sadly dropped on the 1991 England tour.It was virtually like seeing agreat Emperor like Julius Caesar undeservingly de-throned.
Marshall retired after capturing 376 wickets at 20.94 in 81 test at a phenomenal strike rate og 46.7.His average and strike rate are better than Dennis Lillee or Richard Hadlee orCurtly Ambrose , Glen Mcgrath or Wasim Akram.He captured 5 wickets 22 times.
Could Marshall rank as the best fast bolwer ever?To me his only drawbacks in this regard was he was not as classical as Dennis Lillee,(who also captured 5 wickets per test plus bolwed brilliantly at the same rate in Packer CRicket) or Richard Hadlee(5 wickets lper test and 36 -5 wicket hauls.Plus bore the brunt of obne of the weakest sides) and did not have the rate of taking 5 wickets per test or as many 5 wicket hauls in an innings as them.However he had an armoury of deliveries which even Lillee did not posess and on a dead pitch,in the final analysis or on a good cricket wicket would be right there with the best.He mastered reverse swing.He was an amazingly intelligent bowler. Graham Gooch and Allan Border rate him the best bowler they faced. Sir Don Bradman rated him amongst he 3 fastest bowlesr he had ever seen .Marshall found a place  in the E.SPN all-time 11 and also was given 7^th ranking amongst the greatest cricketers of all time.(placed above Lillee,Viv Richarsd and even Sachin Tendulkar) in Geoff Armstrong’s rankings in '100 graetset Cricketers.'He had an amazing strike rate of 46.7 ,ahead of Lillee or Hadlee.We must take note that Lillee and Hadlee hardly excelled in the sub-continent on placid tracks .Marshall was  abetter bowler at tail-enders than Dennis Lillee.In full flow he resembled a sword fighter totally outmanoeuvering his opponent. The batsmen were  intimidated to such an extent that  they would be driven outside the line of the stumps and forfeit their wicket.
He was also a more than competent batsman who one time looked in the Botham class. He made useful 50’s. and was once famous for batting left -handed when injured.Had he concentrated more on batting he may well have been a great al-rounder.Had he played in today’s era that probability would have been far grater considering the weakness I the current West Indian teams of the recent era.

Marshall rated Dennis Llilee the best fast bowler he saw, Viv Richards the greatest batsman,Gary Sobers the greatest cricketer and Allan Border,the best batsmen to at for your life.He admire Geoff Boycott and Sunil Gavaskar’s technical prowess.
Sadly he died of cologne cancer in 1999.It was an irreparable loss to the Cricket World who hardly got an opportunity to get back something from the great Legend. He had the honour of playing for arguably the best test side ever in the mid-1980’s under Lloyd .Marshall rated Viv Richards the greatest batsmen ,Gary Sobers the greatest Cricketer, Dennis Lillee the best bowler and Allan Border the best batsman to bat for your life.He also revered his captain, Clive Lloyd.

Wes Hall beautifully describes Marshal,"THere is more to being a great fast bolwer than the ability to bowl fast.It takes fitness,stamina,common sense,commitment and agression and Marshall had it all"He is a legend and we may never see a more menacing sight in Cricket than watch this dimunitive figure run in and cause a tremor in the hearts of the  the best of batsman.

v Australia	1984-1991	19	36	722.3	135	1959	87	5/29	10/107	22.51	2.71	49.8	7	1
v England	1980-1991	26	50	965.0	232	2436	127	7/22	10/92	19.18	2.52	45.5	6	1
v India	1978-1989	17	30	584.3	128	1671	76	6/37	11/89	21.98	2.85	46.1	6	1
v New Zealand	1985-1987	7	12	289.1	51	775	36	7/80	11/120	21.52	2.68	48.1	1	1
v Pakistan	1980-1990	12	23	369.3	67	1035	50	5/33	9/144	20.70	2.80	44.3	2	0
in Australia	1984-1989	10	19	407.2	87	1042	45	5/29	10/107	23.15	2.55	54.3	5	1
in England	1980-1991	18	35	715.3	177	1758	94	7/22	10/92	18.70	2.45	45.6	6	1
in India	1978-1983	9	15	299.0	70	886	36	6/37	9/102	24.61	2.96	49.8	2	0
in New Zealand	1987-1987	3	5	119.0	21	289	9	4/43	6/114	32.11	2.42	79.3	0	0
in Pakistan	1980-1990	10	19	277.5	53	751	35	5/33	6/47	21.45	2.70	47.6	1	0
in West Indies	1981-1991	31	58	1112.0	205	3150	157	7/80	11/89	20.06	2.83	42.4	8	2
in Americas	1981-1991	31	58	1112.0	205	3150	157	7/80	11/89	20.06	2.83	42.4	8	2
in Asia	1978-1990	19	34	576.5	123	1637	71	6/37	9/102	23.05	2.83	48.7	3	0
in Europe	1980-1991	18	35	715.3	177	1758	94	7/22	10/92	18.70	2.45	45.6	6	1
in Oceania	1984-1989	13	24	526.2	108	1331	54	5/29	10/107	24.64	2.52	58.4	5	1
home	1981-1991	31	58	1112.0	205	3150	157	7/80	11/89	20.06	2.83	42.4	8	2
away	1978-1991	50	93	1818.4	408	4726	219	7/22	10/92	21.57	2.59	49.8	14	2

Malcolm Marshall slithered to the crease on the angle, pitterpat feet twinkling as if in dancing shoes. It was reminiscent of a sidewinder on the attack. Purists occasionally criticised his action as too open, but it had method: he maintained mastery of orthodox outswing and inswing from a neutral position without telegraphing his intent. He was lithe, with a wickedly fast arm that elevated him to express status. Only in inches was he lacking - but he even turned that to his advantage with a bouncer as malicious as they come, skidding on to the batsman. Later in his career he developed a devastating legcutter which he used on dusty pitches. Allied to a massive cricket intelligence, stamina and courage, Marshall had all the toys and he knew how and when to play with them. His strike rate of 46.22 was phenomenal, his average of 20.95 equally so. He may well have been the finest fast bowler of them all.

He reserved his best figures for England. In 1984, he broke his left thumb while fielding early in the match, but first of all batted one-handed, hitting a boundary and allowing Larry Gomes to complete a century, and then, with his left hand encased in plaster, he shrugged off the pain to take 7 for 53. Four years later, on an Old Trafford wicket prepared specifically for spinners, he adjusted his sights, pitched the ball up, and swung and cut it to such devastating effect that he took 7 for 22. Let that be a lesson, he seemed to be saying, and indeed it was. The whole cricket world mourned his tragically early death, from cancer, at 41. Mike Selvey

Wisden obituary
MARSHALL, MALCOLM DENZIL, who died of cancer on November 4, 1999, aged 41, was one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time. Even in the formidable line-up of West Indians whose speed and ferocity dominated world cricket for the last quarter of the 20th century, Marshall stood out: he allied sheer pace to consistent excellence for longer than anyone else; he was relentlessly professional and determined; and he was also the best batsman of the group, coming nearer than any recent West Indian to being an all-rounder of the quality of Garry Sobers. Though batsmen feared him, he was exceptionally popular among his peers: his death was mourned throughout the cricket world, but his fellow-professionals, who knew him best, were most deeply affected.