Joel Garner is one of the 4 great fast bowlers of the West Indies team in the 1970s and for the next decade and more. He along with Michael Holding, Malcolm Marshall and Curtly Ambrose were the greatest fast bowlers. Joel Garner was so tall that he would look to hurt his opponents in front of their eyes. He played 58 Test Matches for West Indies and in those Matches he took 259 wickets. He took 7 Five Wicket Hauls in test cricket. He also played 98 ODIs for West Indies and he picked 146 ODI Wickets. He got 3 Five Wicket Hauls in his ODI career. He took a total of 400+ international wickets in his glorious career.
Let’s look at the Top 5 Best Bowling of Joel Garner
1) 6/56 vs New Zealand (1980)
This was his best performance in test cricket and it came against New Zealand. In this test match New Zealand were batting second and Joel Garner did not allow the batters to get into any kind of batting rhythm. He took 6 wickets for 56 runs after bowling a long spell of 36.2 overs which is a lot for a fast bowler in test cricket. This was the first 5 Wicket Haul for Joel Garner in Test Cricket. The match was a draw and the cricket world got a new superstar.
Also Read | Best bowling Performances of Michael Holding
2) 5/56 vs Australia (1982)
This was a match winning performance by Joel Garner In the second innings of this match. The match was nicely in the balance and then Joel Garner produced a spell for the ages. He bowled 35 overs and he took 5 Wickets for just 56 runs which means he gave less than 2 runs per over in this innings. The rest of the bowling attack gave more than 2 per over and due to this extraordinary spell by Joel Garner, West Indies won this match by 5 wickets beating one of the best test teams.
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3) 4/53 and 5/55 vs England (1984)
This match was a showcase for Joel Garner as he wanted to show the world that he was the most lethal fast bowler. In the first batting innings for England he took 4 Wickets for 53 runs in 14.2 overs. He gave away less than 4 runs per over and this spell of his made sure England were all out for 191 in the first innings. However he had saved his best for the second batting innings as he took a 5 wicket haul in 24 overs while giving away 55 runs which is a little more than 2 runs per over. He had taken 9 wickets in the match and West Indies won this match easily by an innings and 180 Runs.
Also Read | Greatest West Indies Cricketers
4) 5/38 vs England (1979)
This was the Final of the second ever ODI World Cup and Joel Garner had saved the best for this big occasion. West Indies had made 286 in 60 overs at that time and England needed an extraordinary Batting Performance to win. Joel Garner came between them as he took 5 Wickets for just 38 runs in 11 overs he bowled. This means he gave away less than 4 runs per over. This was a dominant performance by West Indies who won the match and the World Cup by 92 Runs.
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5) 5/31 vs Australia (1984)
This was the final of the 1984 World Series and Joel Garner again stepped up for West Indies. It looked like whenever there was a big final it would be Joel Garner to take a 5 wicket haul. In this match Australia were batting first and Joel Garner gave away only 31 runs in 10 overs at just 3.1 runs per over and took 5 Wickets. This allowed West Indies to get Australia to a low score of 212. West Indies chased down this score and won the World Series by 6 wickets. Joel Garner was a big match player and he was one of the all time legends of West Indies cricket.
