Cricket World Cup 2007

Ever since the inception of cricket, bowlers have tended to live in the shadows of batsmen. Cricketing world has produced more batsmen than bowlers, with seven out of ten kids opting for the former skill of the game. Nonetheless, this has not stopped players from setting up unforgettable bowling records in Cricket World Cup, the pinnacle of glory in the sport.

Ever since the first Cricket World Cup in 1979, this quadrennial event has witnessed some exemplary bowling performances. Most of these have come from bowling legends; whereas a few have come from others in international cricket.

Australia and Pakistan have dominated most of the bowling records in Cricket World Cups. Both the countries have rich legacies of bowlers who have stamped their class on the world championships.

In the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 in West Indies, bowling attacks of Australia, Sri Lanka, South Africa, and New Zealand reigned supreme.

The following are some important bowling records in Cricket World Cup:

Glenn McGrath of Australia is the highest wicket-taker in World Cups. He has claimed 71 wickets in 39 matches. The record for a single tournament is also in his name who claimed 26 wickets in the Cricket World Cup 2007.

Next in the line is Pakistan's Wasim Akram who has 55 wickets to his credit. His best figure is 5/28. Sri Lanka's M Muralitharan is at third place with 53 wickets, and best figure of 4/9.

McGrath has the lowest average (18.19) among all bowlers in the World Cups. He is followed by Sri Lanka's Muralitharan (19.69).

Andy Roberts of West Indies has a record economy rate of 3.24 in all Cricket World Cups.

The best bowling figures in any World Cup match also belong to Glenn McGrath who claimed 7/15 in a match against Namibia.

The five hat-tricks in Cricket World Cups have been in the names of Chetan Sharma (India), Saqlain Mushtaq (Pakistan), Chaminda Vaas (Sri Lanka) and Brett Lee (Australia). And Sri Lanka's Lasith Malinga took four consecutive wickets in 2007 World Cup against South Africa.