During the recently concluded 2014 ICC World T20 cricket tournament, Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin bowled South Africa's Hashim Amla with a delivery that was touted as the "T20 ball of the century" by former Australian player Adam Gilchrist. This was the delivery.
The delivery drew comparison with former Australian leg-spinner Shane Warne's delivery to Mike Gatting during the 1993 Ashes. This delivery, which was 24-year-old Warne's first ball on English soil, went on to be known as the "ball of the century".
While comparisons between Ashwin and Warne's deliveries are unfair due to varying conditions, here are other gems over the last 100 years that also deserve to be considered for the label.
1. Sachin Tendulkar to Moin Khan
Sachin Tendulkar is arguably one of the greatest batsmen of all time, but he wasn't such a bad bowler either. Here, we have Pakistan's Moin Khan having no clue about what hit him, on the last ball of day three of the Multan Test during India's tour of Pakistan in 2004.
2. Ashley Giles to Damien Martyn
Ashley Giles may not be the greatest of bowlers produced by England, but he sure had Australian batsman Damien Martyn's number with this delivery during the third Test of the 2005 Ashes, played in Manchester.
3. Shane Warne to Andrew Strauss
It's no wonder they call Shane Warne one of the greatest spinners of all time. Not only does he have the original ball of the century to his name, he also has a back-up that is equally good. England's Andrew Strauss is the victim this time, 12 years later, during the Edgbaston Test of the 2005 Ashes.
4. Nathan Lyon to Graeme Swann
This happened during the Perth Test of the 2013-'14 Ashes. It is unlikely that Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon was attempting this, but you never know.
5. Muttiah Muralitharan to Mark Butcher
When talking of great deliveries by spinners, it's impossible to leave out Muttiah Muralitharan. The Sri Lankan, who holds the record for the most number of wickets taken in Test matches (800), bowled this delivery to England's Mark Butcher during Sri Lanka's tour of England in 2002.
6. Wasim Akram to Robert Croft
Why should spin bowlers have all the fun? Pakistan's Wasim Akram was a deadly swing bowler in his time and here's ample proof of that (rather unfortunate that the umpire begged to differ). This happened at the Kennington Oval during the third Test of Pakistan's tour of England in 1996.
7. Lillee and Thomson
This is a clip from the documentary Fire in Babylon, which shows what the Australian fast bowling pair of Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson were capable of. None of these deliveries were classified as the balls of the century, but then no one quite asked the batsmen facing them.
The delivery drew comparison with former Australian leg-spinner Shane Warne's delivery to Mike Gatting during the 1993 Ashes. This delivery, which was 24-year-old Warne's first ball on English soil, went on to be known as the "ball of the century".
While comparisons between Ashwin and Warne's deliveries are unfair due to varying conditions, here are other gems over the last 100 years that also deserve to be considered for the label.
1. Sachin Tendulkar to Moin Khan
Sachin Tendulkar is arguably one of the greatest batsmen of all time, but he wasn't such a bad bowler either. Here, we have Pakistan's Moin Khan having no clue about what hit him, on the last ball of day three of the Multan Test during India's tour of Pakistan in 2004.
2. Ashley Giles to Damien Martyn
Ashley Giles may not be the greatest of bowlers produced by England, but he sure had Australian batsman Damien Martyn's number with this delivery during the third Test of the 2005 Ashes, played in Manchester.
3. Shane Warne to Andrew Strauss
It's no wonder they call Shane Warne one of the greatest spinners of all time. Not only does he have the original ball of the century to his name, he also has a back-up that is equally good. England's Andrew Strauss is the victim this time, 12 years later, during the Edgbaston Test of the 2005 Ashes.
4. Nathan Lyon to Graeme Swann
This happened during the Perth Test of the 2013-'14 Ashes. It is unlikely that Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon was attempting this, but you never know.
5. Muttiah Muralitharan to Mark Butcher
When talking of great deliveries by spinners, it's impossible to leave out Muttiah Muralitharan. The Sri Lankan, who holds the record for the most number of wickets taken in Test matches (800), bowled this delivery to England's Mark Butcher during Sri Lanka's tour of England in 2002.
6. Wasim Akram to Robert Croft
Why should spin bowlers have all the fun? Pakistan's Wasim Akram was a deadly swing bowler in his time and here's ample proof of that (rather unfortunate that the umpire begged to differ). This happened at the Kennington Oval during the third Test of Pakistan's tour of England in 1996.
7. Lillee and Thomson
This is a clip from the documentary Fire in Babylon, which shows what the Australian fast bowling pair of Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson were capable of. None of these deliveries were classified as the balls of the century, but then no one quite asked the batsmen facing them.
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