Bowlers are established as the balancing act in cricket for the batters. Though much less admired than the players with the willow, bowlers have always been the stars for their teams, who win matches by bowling out their opponents.
Test cricket is the epitome of a bowler’s test, where they can bowl unlimited overs, which puts their abilities, stamina, and skill to the test in dealing with pressure. There have been several instances in cricket when a bowling attack won alone. There have also been some excellent bowlers since the beginning of cricket. Let’s dive into the list top 10 leading wicket takers in test cricket.
1. Muttiah Muralitharan (Sri Lankan) – 800 Wickets
Muttiah Muralitharan of Sri Lanka is probably the only bowler with the most wickets in test cricket because no currently active bowler is even close to his record of 800 wicket haul. He made his test debut for Sri Lanka against Australia in 1992.
Possessing one of the most exciting and controversial bowling actions, Murali played tests for 18 years and picked 800 scalps in 133 tests with a record 67 five-wicket hauls and remains the only bowler in test history with two 9-wicket hauls in Test history.
2. Shane Warne (Australia) – 708 Wickets
The late great Shane Warne was the first bowler to take most test wickets which is 700, and he completed his career with 708 wickets in his name. Having made his test debut against India in 1992, Warne went on to become the greatest leg-spinner that the world has ever seen.
He played 145 tests and took 37 five-wicket hauls, which included a hat-trick against England in 1994. Unfortunately, we lost this genius at the age of 52 in 2022.
3. James Anderson (England) – 701 Wickets
The list of leading wicket takers will be incomplete without the name of James Anderson. He is perhaps the best fast bowler England have ever produced, James Anderson retired from Test cricket in July 2024. Having played his first Test in 2003, Anderson went on to play 188 Tests for England. Among the players with the most Test appearances, Anderson’s 188 Tests are just a few behind the number recorded by Sachin Tendulkar (200).
In his 21-year test career, Anderson took 704 wickets, the most by any fast bowler and third highest among all the bowlers in the history of test cricket. He also picked 32 fifers in tests.
4. Anil Kumble (India) – 619 Wickets
Anil Kumble is 4th in the list of most test wicket-takers in test. India’s Kumble has scalped 619 wickets in his 132 test matches. He made his test debut for India in 1990 against England and played his final game against Australia in 2008.
He has recorded 35 five-wicket hauls in the game’s longest format. He is known for his record-breaking haul of 10/74, which made him the second man in history to take all ten wickets in a test innings after Jim Laker. The feat was achieved when he bowled against Pakistan during the 1999 Delhi test.
5. Stuart Broad (England) – 604 Wickets
The Ashes 2023 saw England’s Stuart Broad emerge as only the second-fast bowler in the sport’s history to claim 600 test wickets. He now has the same status as countryman and opening partner James Anderson.
He started playing for England in test matches in 2007 and has grown to become one of the best pacers England has ever produced. This Nottingham-born player played for England in 166 matches and took 604 wickets, including 20 fifers.
His best bowling performance of 8 for 15 came in the 2015 Ashes against Australia. A handy batsman, Stuart Broad also has a test century to his name when he scored 169 against Pakistan. He is among the few bowlers to take more than one hat-trick in tests.
6. Glen McGrath (Australia) – 563 Wickets
Glenn McGrath is considered to be one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time. He played test cricket for 14 years from 1993–2007 and took 563 wickets in his 124 test career.
Known for his flawless line and length, McGrath was one of the very few bowlers who achieved test hat-trick and it also came against West Indies back in 2001. His best bowling was that of 8/24 against Pakistan, and even till now he remains to be the highest wicket-taker of a pacier bowler in the Tests for Australia.
7. Ravichandran Ashwin (India) – 536* Wickets
India’s Ravichandran Ashwin might be technically a spinner, but is an all-rounder par excellence with well over 3,000 runs to his credit and six centuries as well in Test cricket.
However, his biggest service to India has been as an off-spinner; he made his test debut in 2011 against West Indies and has gone on to become one of the leading wicket-takers in world cricket. His performances helped India transition from Harbhajan Singh, whose form waned towards the end of his career.
He stands at the eighth position in terms of taking the most test wickets, with 536* wickets in 105* games. The spin wizard recently became the second Indian bowler to take more than 500 test wickets. With a decent average of 23.95, Ashwin has taken 37 fifers so far.
8. Nathan Lyon (Australia) – 532* Wickets
Nathan Lyon made his test debut in 2011 against Sri Lanka, took a wicket with his first delivery of his career for Australia, and ended with a fifer to his name as well. Now he is known as the greatest off-spinner to ever play for Australia.
He has so far taken 532 wickets in 130 tests for Australia, with 24 five-wicket hauls so far and registering four ten-wicket hauls as well.
9. Courtney Walsh (West Indies) – 519 Wickets
Courtney Walsh was the first bowler to reach the benchmark of 500 wickets from the West Indies and is considered one of the fastest bowlers of all time. He played his first test match in 1984 against Australia. Walsh ended his career as the highest wicket-taker in test cricket for West Indies with 519 wickets.
He formed one of the fiercest opening bowling partnerships with Curtly Ambrose and even successfully captained the West Indies team.
10. Dale Steyn (South Africa) – 439 Wickets
He made his first appearance in test cricket by announcing himself against England in 2004, and he has since emerged as one of the most celebrated bowlers of all time. The African legend is the best fast bowler of the last decade.
He has taken 439 wickets in 93 matches in his 15-year test cricket career (2004–2019). His cricketing journey has been full of injuries. But until the end of his test career, he bowled with everything he had. He is the only bowler to take five wickets against each test-playing nation to date.
He is the record wicket-taker of South Africa in test cricket and was ranked world No. 1 test bowler six times consecutively in the years 2008–2014.
