Top 10 : Most Wickets In Test Cricket , Full Time

Last updated on March 10th, 2024 at 01:42 pm

For the Most Wickets In Test Cricket all times, the former Sri Lankan bowler Muthiah Muralidharan remains on the top, to be followed by Shane Warne at second & James Anderson at third, all having test wickets in excess of 700. Anil Kumble makes it fourth while Stuart Broad comes fifth in terms of the most wickets in test cricket.

The sixth & seventh positions in this list have the names of Glenn McGrath & Nathan Lyon respectively. Courtney Walsh appears eighth to be followed by, Ravichandran Ashwin at ninth & Dale Steyn at tenth. This list of the top 10 : most wickets in test cricket has three players who are currently playing the test cricket.

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Most Wickets In Test Cricket History – Test Cricket Most Wickets Top 10 List

No.	Player,	Career,	Wickets,	Matches,	Innings,	4s,	5s,	10s,	BBI,	BBM,	Econ.	Average,	Overs,	Team
1	Muthiah Muralidharan	1992- 2010	800	133	230	45	67	22	9/51	16/220	2.47	22.72	7339	SL/ICC
2	Shane Warne	1992-2007	708	145	273	48	37	10	8/71	12/128	2.65	25.41	6784	AUS
3	James Anderson	2003-2024*	700	187	348	32	32	3	7/42	11/71	2.79	26.52	6646	ENG
4	Anil Kumble	1990-2008	619	132	236	31	35	8	10/74	14/149	2.69	29.65	6808	IND
5	Stuart Broad	2007-2023	604	167	309	28	20	3	8/15	11/121	2.97	27.68	5616	ENG
6	Glenn McGrath	1993- 2007	563	124	243	28	29	3	8/24	10/27	2.49	21.64	4874	AUS
7	Nathan Lyon	2011-2024*	530	129	242	24	24	4	8/50	13/154	2.93	30.28	5460	AUS
8	Courtney Walsh	1984-2001	519	132	242	32	22	3	7/37	13/55	2.53	24.44	5003	WI
9	Ravichandran Ashwin	2011-2024*	516	100	189	25	36	8	7/59	13/140	2.81	23.75	4361	IND
10	Dale Steyn	2004-2019	439	93	171	27	26	5	7/51	11/60	3.24	22.95	3101	SA

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Bowler With Most Wickets In Test Cricket – Who Has The Most Wickets In Test Cricket

1. Muthiah Muralidharan, 800

The only bowler in the list of the most wickets in test cricket, with 800 wickets(795 for SL & 5 for ICC), Muthiah Muralidharan the former Sri Lankan legendary off-spinner did that by bowling in 230 innings of the 133 matches he went on to play. Making his test debut against Australia in 1992, Murali took 3 wickets in his first match while played his last match against India in 2010, taking 8 wickets to complete the milestone of 800 wickets.

Murali also tops for the – most 5-wicket hauls in an innings, with 67 & most 10-wicket hauls in a match, with 22. Below him, it comes with the numbers of 37 & 10 for the 5-wicket hauls & 10-wicket hauls respectively. The best bowling figures for Muralidharan in an innings is 9/51(vs Zim, 2002) & it is 16/220( vs Eng, 1998) in a match.

He is the only bowler with more than seven thousand overs in test history. He has bowled 7339 overs in 230 test innings and still has a bowling average of 22.72 which shows how fast he is taking wickets in terms of innings. He has an average – close to 3.5 wickets per innings & over 6 wickets per match. Muralidharan comes first in terms of ODI wickets as well.

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2. Shane Warne , 708

Shane Warne the legendary Australian wrist-spinner, arguably amongst the greatest bowlers ever to play the game, took 708 wickets in 273 innings of the 145 tests he played. He debuted against India in 1992, taking one wicket & played his last match against England in 2007, taking two wickets. He became the first bowler in test history to cross 600 & 700 landmarks.

Warne had 37 five-wicket hauls & 10 ten-wicket hauls in test cricket. The bowling average, best bowling in an innings & best bowling in a match for Warne read as – 25.45, 8/71 & 12/128 respectively. 325 of his 708 wickets came against England & South Africa.

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3. James Anderson , 700

With the age of 41, the England swing bowler James Anderson touches the 700 wickets mark in the 5th Test( Dharamshala) of India Vs England Test Series 2024. He has done that in 348 innings of 187 matches played so far and is likely to finish second in this list of the most wickets in Test cricket. 32 five-wicket hauls & 3 ten-wicket hauls are there against his name which include 7/42 as his best bowling in an innings & 11/71 as his best bowling in a match.

Anderson made his test debut against Zimbabwe in 2003 and took a fifer in the very first innings. In 2017, he became the first England bowler & sixth overall to take 500 test wickets. In addition to tests, he is England’s ODI leading wicket taker as well.

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4. Anil Kumble , 619

Perhaps India’s greatest ever test match winner, Anil Kumble took 619 wickets by bowling in 236 innings(132 tests), to stand 4th for the most wickets in test cricket. He took 3 wickets in his debut match against England(1990). In 1999 against Pakistan, Kumble became only the second bowler after Jim Laker to take all ten wickets in an innings( 10/74 vs Pakistan). He finished with 14/149 in the match, that proved to be his best match bowling in his career.

Kumble went on having a 5-wicket haul for 35 times & a 10-wicket haul for 8 times in his career. He played his last test match versus Australia in 2008, taking 3 wickets.

He has 6808 as the 2nd most number of overs in test cricket. He is the leading wicket taker for India in both the formats( 337 ODI wickets ).

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5. Stuart Broad , 604

Stuart Broad crossed the 600 wickets landmark in the 2023 Ashes series, in his 166th match(307 innings). Currently, he has the fifth- most wickets in test cricket. In a test career starting against Sri Lanka in 2007, Broad has twenty 5-wicket hauls & three 10-wicket hauls. His best bowling in an innings of 8/15 comes against Australia in 2015 while that in a match of 11/165 comes against West Indies in 2012.

He is only the second England bowler with test wickets in excess of 400, after Anderson. Broad’s new ball partnership with Anderson has sustained England’s test attack for years.

6. Glenn McGrath , 563

The bowler with the best bowling average above( 21.64), became the leading wicket-taker among the fast bowlers in test cricket when he went on passing Courtney Walsh’s 519 wickets. He finished his test career with 563 wickets in 124 matches( 243 innings ), with 29 five-wicket hauls & 3 ten-wicket hauls.

McGrath had his test debut in 1993 against New Zealand, taking 3 wickets & hanged his boots in 2007 against England, taking 6 wickets in his last match. He had the best bowling in an innings of 8/24, versus Pakistan( 2004), the 2nd best for Australia after Arthur Mailey( 9/121).

Alongwith Brett Lee, McGrath stands first for the most ODI wickets for Australia( 380 wickets ).

7. Nathan Lyon , 530

Nathan Lyon comes 7th in terms of the most wickets in test cricket, all times. In the 1st test match of the 2023 Australia-Pakistan Test Series, Nyon becomes the 3rd Australian bowler touching the 500 wickets landmark. He has 24 five-wicket hauls & 4 ten-wicket hauls, with the career best of, 8/50(innings) vs India(2017) & 13/154(match) vs Bangladesh(2017).

Making his test debut in 2011, against Sri Lanka, the Australian off-spinner finished with 5/34 in the first innings, becoming the 131st bowler to have a fifer on debut. By dismissing Kumar Sangakkara on the first ball, he also became the 2nd Australian & 14th overall bowler to take a wicket with the very first ball in International cricket.

In India Vs Australia Test Series, Lyon is the leading wicket taker (121 wkts) so far. He also stands first for the best bowling figures in an innings & second for the most fifers, under this rivalry.

8. Courtney Walsh , 519

Making his test debut in 1984 against Australia, Courtney Walsh took 2-wickets in the only innings he bowled. He formed one of the most dreaded bowling pairs alongwith another fast bowler Curtly Ambrose, in the 90s. In the 242 innings he bowled, Walsh took 519 wickets with 22 five-wicket hauls( more than 100 in first class cricket) & 3 ten-wicket hauls. The former West Indies fast bowler had the best bowling – in an innings(7/37) & in a match(13/55), versus New Zealand in 1995.

In 2000, Walsh went past Kapil Dev’s record of 434 wickets to become the highest wicket-taker in test cricket. He played his last test match against South Africa in 2001, taking 6-wickets and finished his career as the highest wicket taker(519 wickets ).

9. Ravichandran Ashwin , 516

To the list of most wickets in test cricket, the Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has got the 9th position. In the 3rd Test of Ind-Eng series 2024, Ashwin becomes the bowler having the 2nd fastest 500 Test wickets after Muthiah Muralidharan.

By bowling in 189 innings of 100 tests, Ashwin has claimed 516 wickets(avg.- 23.73) so far, with 36 fifers & 8 ten-wicket hauls against his name. Ashwin’s best bowling(7/59 in innings & 13/140 in match) has come against New Zealand in 2016.

Ashwin plays his first test against West Indies in 2011, taking 9 wickets which includes a fifer in the second innings. He creates the record for the fastest 300 test wickets(54 tests), leaving behind Dennis Lillee(56 tests).

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10. Dale Steyn , 439

Dale Steyn, one of the most complete fast bowlers of his generation, made his test debut in 2004 against England, bagging 3 wickets. With Morne Morkel, Steyn formed arguably the most fearsome bowling pair of the generation. He took 86 wickets in 14 matches, in 2008. He called it a day versus Sri Lanka in 2019, finishing as the bowler with the most wickets in test cricket, for South Africa with 439 wickets(171 innings ).

There are 26 fifers & 5 ten-wicket hauls for Dale Steyn that include his best bowling figures of – 7/51( vs India, 2010) in an innings & 11/60(vs Pakistan, 2013) in a match.

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