Malcolm Denzil Marshall (18 April 1958 – 4 November 1999) was a
West Indian cricketer. Primarily a
fast bowler, Marshall is regarded as one of the finest and fastest pacemen ever to have played
Test cricket. His Test
bowling average of 20.94 is the best of anyone who has taken 200 or more wickets. He achieved his bowling success despite being, by the standards of other fast bowlers, a short man – he stood at , while most of the great quicks have been well above and many great West Indian fast bowlers, such as
Joel Garner,
Curtly Ambrose and
Courtney Walsh, were or above. He generated fearsome pace from his bowling action, with a dangerous bouncer. Marshall was also a very dangerous lower middle-order batsman with ten Test fifties and seven first-class centuries.