Colin Croft is one of the fastest bowlers to have ever played the sport of cricket. He was a part of the greatest era of West Indies fast bowling with the likes of Michael Holding, Malcolm Marshall, Courtney Walsh, Joel Garner and others. Colin Croft played 27 Test Matches for West Indies. He took 125 wickets in these Matches at an average of 23.30. He took 3 Five Wicket Hauls in Test Cricket. He also played 19 ODIs for West Indies and he took 30 wickets at an average of 20.67. He has taken 1 Five Wicket Haul and 1 Four Wicket Haul in ODI Cricket. Therefore he has taken 155 international wickets for the West Indies.
Let’s look at the Top 5 Best Bowling Performances of Colin Croft
1) 8/29 vs Pakistan (1977)
This is the best bowling performance in the career of Colin Croft. There are bowlers who have taken more wickets than him but they do not have a 8 Wicket Haul in an innings in Test Cricket. This was against Pakistan. He absolutely destroyed the Pakistan batting line-up. He bowled 18.5 overs in this innings. He gave away only 29 runs at just 1.54 runs per over. He got the wickets of Majid Khan, Mushtaq Mohammad and others. He also took 1 wicket in the second batting innings of Pakistan. West Indies won this match by 6 wickets.
2) 6/74 vs England (1981)
Colin Croft had the best fast bowlers with him in this team. He had Andy Roberts, Michael Holding and Joel Garner. This was his second best bowling performance in Test Cricket. This was against England. He bowled 25 overs in this innings and he gave away 74 runs at 2.96 runs per over. He got the Wickets of Geoffrey Boycott, Ian Botham and others. Colin Croft was a machine. This was a match where the world started fearing him. This match was a draw.
3) 5/40 vs England (1981)
This was the 3rd Five Wicket Haul for Colin Croft in Test Cricket. This was also in the same series where he took 6/74. This was in the first batting innings for England. West Indies had made 426 runs in the first innings. Colin Croft was so deadly that England were bowled out for 178. He bowled 22 overs in this innings and at 1.82 runs per over he gave away 40 runs and took 5 wickets. He got the wickets of Geoffrey Boycott, David Gower, Geoff Miller, Ian Botham and others. He took 1 wicket in the second batting innings for England and West Indies won the match by an innings and 79 runs.
4) 3/85 and 4/47 vs Pakistan (1977)
This was the first Test Match in the career of Colin Croft and he made a big statement against Pakistan. This was an incredible performance. He took 3 wickets in the first innings. He bowled 31.4 overs in this innings and he gave away 85 runs and he took 3 wickets in this innings. This was something that was a warning to the world. In the second batting innings of Pakistan, he bettered his first innings performance. He bowled 15 overs and took 4 wickets. He gave away 47 runs at 3.13 runs per over. He took 7 wickets in the match for 132 runs. This match was a draw.
5) 6/15 against England (1981)
The year 1981 was a very good year for Colin Croft and especially against England. He had a habit of taking 5 Wickets Hauls no matter the format. This was his best ODI bowling performance. West Indies had made only 127 in the first innings. However it was Colin Croft who ensured that this total was enough. He bowled 9 overs in this match for just 15 runs at 1.67 runs per over. He got 6 wickets and West Indies won a thriller by 2 runs. He got the wickets of Geoffrey Boycott, Peter Willey, Ian Botham, Mike Gatting and others.
