Hyderabad, March 7 -- The most thrilling sight in cricket is that of a great fast bowler in full flow. The long run up, loping strides, the final leap before the delivery and then the deadly strike of the thunderbolt which leaves the stumps in a shattered mess. Nothing can be more awe inspiring than this.

Right from the time of the first demon fast bowler, Fred Spofforth to Harold Larwood, Frank Tyson, Jeff Thomson, Malcolm Marshall, Curtly Ambrose and Shoaib Akhtar, each decadehas produced its own fast bowling legends. Fast bowlers have provided cricket with its challenge and charisma. If fast bowlers were not around, cricket would have been too gentle to be called a demanding sport.

Among women cricketers now, the latest record for bo...