Australian champion fast bowler Glenn McGrath has named the best five bowlers in the world at the moment, judged over the last 12 months and across all three formats of the game.

Speaking on Fox Sports’ Inside Cricket, the 124-Test veteran made a conscience decision not to show any bias to his country of birth, opting for only one Australian in the top five. Otherwise, they would have been all Aussies!

5. Lasith Malinga – Sri Lanka

The Sri Lankan slinger makes the list on his limited-overs performances over the past year. Now strictly a white-ball specialist after retiring from Test cricket in April 2011, Malinga’s deadly yorkers and mesmerising slower balls continue to fool batsmen the world over. A cornerstone of Sri Lanka’s one-day pace attack for more than a decade, Malinga will again be the ace in the hole for the Lankans in the 2015 Cricket World Cup.

4. Rangana Herath – Sri Lanka

The second Sri Lankan on the list, Herath earns fourth spot through his exploits in Test cricket. In his last 10 Tests Herath has confiscated 60 wickets; 14 coming in his last Test against Pakistan in Colombo. Diminutive but deceptive, Herath has filled the void perfectly since Test cricket’s leading wicket-taker Muthiah Muralidaran retired in 2010.

3. James Anderson – England

England’s swing king, Anderson has decimated batting lineups both home and abroad in recent times. His ability to bend the ball both ways, via traditional methods or reverse swing makes him a handful in all conditions. At 32, Anderson will play his 100th Test next time he pulls on the whites for England, needing only four wickets to surpass Ian Botham as his country’s highest Test wicket-taker.

2. Dale Steyn – South Africa

On track to become the fastest pace bowler to 400 Test wickets, Steyn has consistently been the No.1 ranked bowler in Test cricket over the past two years. With his whippy, skidding action, Steyn can produce blinding pace and late swing with new ball and old. His destruction of Australia on the fourth evening of the second Test in Port Elizabeth earlier this year showcased his ability to extract reverse swing and use it to great effect.

1. Mitchell Johnson – Australia

It’s hard to imagine when Johnson was considered wayward and a liability with the ball. His slingy action leaves batsman even less time to react to the 150kph bullets he fires at them from 22 yards. Johnson kept teammate Ryan Harris out of the top five, who would have come in at No.2 had McGrath shown favouritism to the Baggy Green. The video below sums up just how terrifying facing Mitchell Johnson is.