Last updated on October 6th, 2025 at 08:56 pm
For the Most Wickets In Test Cricket all times, the 2nd most ODI WC wickets bowler, Muthiah Muralidharan remains on the topmost spot.
The Ashes most wickets bowler Shane Warne comes second while James Anderson comes third, in respect of the most wickets in Test cricket all time.
The most 5-fers in Ind-Aus Tests bowler Anil Kumble makes it fourth & Stuart Broad comes fifth, in terms of the most wickets in test cricket.
The sixth & seventh positions in list have names – Glenn McGrath and Nathan Lyon respectively.
One of the top 10 fastest 100 Test wickets bowler Ravichandran Ashwin appears eighth. Ashwin is followed by – Courtney Walsh at ninth & Dale Steyn at tenth.
This list of the top 10 : most wickets in test cricket has only one player currently playing the test cricket.
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Which Bowler Has The Most Wickets In Test Cricket History ? Test Cricket Most Wickets Top 10 List, The Most Wickets In International Cricket & Most ODI Wickets Bowler Muthiah Muralidharan Stats
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 | 704 | 188 | 350 | 32 | 32 | 3 | 7/42 | 11/71 | 2.79 | 26.45 | 6672 | 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 | 2011-2025* | 562 | 139 | 259 | 26 | 24 | 5 | 8/50 | 13/154 | 2.95 | 30.15 | 5750 | AUS |
| 8 | Ravichandran Ashwin | 2011-2024 | 537 | 106 | 200 | 25 | 37 | 8 | 7/59 | 13/140 | 2.83 | 24.00 | 4541 | IND |
| 9 | Courtney Walsh | 1984-2001 | 519 | 132 | 242 | 32 | 22 | 3 | 7/37 | 13/55 | 2.53 | 24.44 | 5003 | WI |
| 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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The Fastest 400 Wickets, Fastest 500 Wickets, Fastest 600 Wickets & Fastest 700 Wickets In Test Cricket History Bowler Muthiah Muralidharan In Test Cricket : The Most Wickets In Test Cricket History, The Most 5 Wicket Hauls In Tests & Most 10 Wicket Hauls In Test Cricket History
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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The Ashes Series History Most Wickets Bowler Shane Warne In Test Cricket : 2nd Most Wickets In Test Cricket, IPL 2008 Winning Team Rajasthan Royals Captain Shane Warne Stats
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.
The most wickets in Test cricket AUS Vs ENG bowler, 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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England Cricket Team Most Wickets Bowler James Anderson Test Cricket Career : The 3rd Most Test Wickets Bowler, The Former England Swing Bowler James Anderson Stats
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 does that in 348th innings of 187th match.
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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The Indian Cricket Team Most International Wickets Bowler Anil Kumble Test Career : 4th Most Wickets In Test Cricket History, The Ten Wickets In A Test Match Innings Bowler Anil Kumble Stats
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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The ICC 2007 T20 World Cup England Team Bowler Stuart Broad Stats : 604 The Fifth Most Wickets In Test Cricket Game
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.
The 1999 ODI WC, 2003 ODI WC & 2007 ODI WC Winning Team Australia Bowler Glenn McGrath Total Test Wickets 563, The ODI World Cup Most Wickets & Australian Team ODI Cricket Most Wickets Bowler Glenn McGrath Stats
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. Currently, he is the 6th most wickets in Test cricket bowler.
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 ).
The India Vs Australia Test Cricket Most Wickets Bowler Nathan Lyon Has The 7th Most Wickets In Test Cricket All Time, ICC World Test Championship 2025 Final Team Australia Player Nathan Lyon Stats
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 & 5 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 so far.
Also, he stands 2nd for the best bowling figures in an innings & second for the most fifers, under this rivalry.
The Fastest 300 Wickets & Fastest 350 Wickets In Test History Bowler Ravichandran Ashwin Total Test Wickets : 537, The Top 10 IPL Most Wickets Bowler Ravichandran Ashwin Stats
The Indian legendary off-spinner & all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin calls it a day on his international career and finishes it 8th in the category of the most wickets in Test cricket history.
In the 3rd Test match of Ind-Eng series 2024, Ashwin becomes the bowler having the – 2nd fastest 500 Test wickets , after Muthiah Muralidharan.
By bowling in 200 innings of 106 tests, Ashwin has claimed 537 wickets(avg.- 24.00), with 37 fifers & 8 ten-wicket hauls against his name.
The most wickets in Test cricket IND Vs NZ player, 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).
The 1987 ODI World Cup West Indies Cricket Team Fast Bowler Courtney Walsh Test Career : 9th Most Wickets In Test Cricket, The First Bowler To Claim 500 Wickets In Test Cricket History Courtney Walsh Stats
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 most wickets in Test cricket bowler.
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 ).
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The ICC Player Of The Year 2008 Dale Steyn Test Wickets 439 The 10th Most Wickets In Test Cricket, The 2015 ODI World Cup South African Team Fast Bowler Dale Steyn Stats
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.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Who is the most wicket taker in Test cricket history?
The former Sri Lankan off-spinner Muthiah Muralidharan is the bowler with the most wickets in test cricket history. He has taken 795 wickets(132 Matches) for Sri Lanka & 5 wickets(one match )for ICC. Also, he has the most wickets in ODIs(534 wickets).
How many bowlers have taken 500 Test wickets?
Currently, there are 9 bowlers with wickets in excess of 500. They are – Muthiah Muralidharan(800), Shane Warne(708), James Anderson( 704), Anil Kumble(619), Stuart Broad(604), Glenn McGrath(563), Nathan Lyon(562), Ravichandran Ashwin(537) & Courtney Walsh(519).
Who has taken 5000 runs and 400 wickets in Test?
Kapil Dev, the former Indian all-rounder & captain, is the only player in test history to complete a double of 5000 runs & 400 wickets. He has 5248 runs(184 inns) & 434 wickets(227 inns), in 131 test matches . He is 3rd in respect of the most wickets in test cricket, for India.
How many cricketers have a 1000 wickets?
In International cricket, there are only two bowlers with wickets in excess of 1000. They are – Muthiah Muralidharan(1347 wickets) & Shane Warne(1001 wickets). Murali has wickets – 800 in Tests, 534 in ODIs & 13 in T20Is while Warne has those – 708 in Tests & 293 in ODIs.