Muttiah Muralitharan
Muttiah Muralitharan has taken the highest number of wickets in Test cricket.[1]

Taking 300 or more wickets across a playing career is considered a significant achievement in Test cricket.[2][3][4] First accomplished in 1964 by Englishman Fred Trueman,[5] as of July 2023 the feat has been achieved by only 37 cricketers in the history of the game. Seven players from Australia and six players from India, five each from England and South Africa, four from New Zealand and the West Indies and three each from Pakistan and Sri Lanka have crossed the 300-wicket mark in Tests. Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Ireland and Zimbabwe are yet to see a player reach the 300 mark.[6]

As of June 2022, former Sri Lankan cricketer Muttiah Muralitharan has the highest aggregate with 800 wickets.[6] He also holds the record for the most five-wicket hauls (67) and ten-wicket hauls in a match (22); his 16 wickets for 220 runs against England in 1998 is the fifth-best bowling performance by a player in a match.[7][8][9] Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is the fastest to cross the 300-wicket mark (in 54 Tests),[10] while the late West Indian player Malcolm Marshall has the best bowling average (20.94) among those who have achieved the milestone.[11] Fellow West Indian Lance Gibbs is the most economical player with 1.98 runs per over, while South African fast bowler Dale Steyn has the best strike rate of 42.3 balls per wicket.[6] India's Anil Kumble has the second-best bowling figures in an innings (10 wickets for 74 runs against Pakistan in 1999); they are the second-best in the history of Test cricket after English off-spin bowler Jim Laker's 10 for 53 (against Australia in 1956).[12]

Key

Bowlers with 300 or more Test wickets

Denotes players who have been Inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame
† Denotes players who are still active
Bowlers who have taken 300 or more wickets in Test cricket[6]
No. Bowler Type Team Mat. Inn. Balls Runs Wkts Ave. Econ. SR BBI BBM 5WI 10WM Period Ref(s)
1 Muttiah Muralitharan Right-arm off break  Sri Lanka 133 230 44,039 18,180 800 22.72 2.47 55.0 9/51 16/220 67 22 1992–2010 [1][13]
2 Shane Warne Right-arm leg break  Australia 145 273 40,705 17,995 708 25.41 2.65 57.4 8/71 12/128 37 10 1992–2007 [14][15]
3 James Anderson † Right-arm fast-medium  England 187 348 39,781 18,509 699 26.51 2.79 56.9 7/42 11/71 32 3 2003– [16]
4 Anil Kumble Right-arm leg break  India 132 236 40,850 18,355 619 29.65 2.69 65.9 10/74 14/149 35 8 1990–2008 [17][18]
5 Stuart Broad Right-arm fast-medium  England 167 309 33,698 16,719 604 27.68 2.97 55.7 8/15 11/121 20 3 2007–2023 [19][20]
6 Glenn McGrath Right arm fast-medium  Australia 124 243 29,248 12,186 563 21.64 2.49 51.9 8/24 10/27 29 3 1993–2007 [21][22]
7 Nathan Lyon † Right-arm off break  Australia 128 240 32,651 15,997 527 30.35 2.97 61.9 8/50 13/154 24 5 2011– [23]
8 Courtney Walsh Right-arm fast  West Indies 132 242 30,019 12,688 519 24.44 2.53 57.8 7/37 13/55 22 3 1984–2001 [24][25]
9 Ravichandran Ashwin † Right-arm off break  India 99 187 26,012 12,107 507 23.91 2.79 51.3 7/59 13/140 35 8 2011– [26]
10 Dale Steyn Right-arm fast  South Africa 93 171 18,608 10,077 439 22.95 3.24 42.3 7/51 11/60 26 5 2004–2019 [27][28]
11 Kapil Dev Right arm fast-medium  India 131 227 27,740 12,867 434 29.64 2.78 63.9 9/83 11/146 23 2 1978–1994 [29]
12 Rangana Herath Left-arm off break  Sri Lanka 93 170 25,993 12,157 433 28.07 2.80 60.0 9/127 14/184 34 9 1999–2018 [30][31]
13 Richard Hadlee Right-arm fast  New Zealand 86 150 21,918 9,611 431 22.29 2.63 50.8 9/52 15/123 36 9 1973–1990 [32]
14 Shaun Pollock Right arm fast-medium  South Africa 108 202 24,353 9,733 421 23.11 2.39 57.8 7/87 10/147 16 1 1995–2008 [33]
15 Harbhajan Singh Right-arm off break  India 103 190 28,580 13,537 417 32.46 2.84 68.5 8/84 15/217 25 5 1998–2015 [34]
16 Wasim Akram Left-arm fast  Pakistan 104 181 22,627 9,779 414 23.62 2.59 54.6 7/119 11/110 25 5 1985–2002 [35][36]
17 Curtly Ambrose Right-arm fast  West Indies 98 179 22,103 8,501 405 20.99 2.30 54.5 8/45 11/84 22 3 1988–2000 [37]
18 Makhaya Ntini Right-arm fast  South Africa 101 190 20,834 11,242 390 28.82 3.23 53.4 7/37 13/132 18 4 1998–2009 [38]
19 Ian Botham Right-arm fast-medium  England 102 168 21,815 10,878 383 28.40 2.99 56.9 8/34 13/106 27 4 1977–1992 [39]
20 Tim Southee † Right-arm fast-medium  New Zealand 99 188 22,422 11,148 378 29.49 2.98 59.3 7/64 10/108 15 1 2008– [40]
21 Malcolm Marshall Right-arm fast  West Indies 81 151 17,584 7,876 376 20.94 2.68 46.7 7/22 11/89 22 4 1978–1991 [41]
22 Waqar Younis Right-arm fast  Pakistan 87 154 16,224 8,788 373 23.56 3.25 43.4 7/76 13/135 22 5 1989–2003 [42][43]
23 Imran Khan Right-arm fast  Pakistan 88 142 19,458 8,258 362 22.81 2.54 53.7 8/58 14/116 23 6 1971–1992 [44]
Daniel Vettori Left-arm off break  New Zealand 113 187 28,814 12,441 362 34.36 2.59 79.5 7/87 12/149 20 3 1997–2015 [2][45][46]
25 Dennis Lillee Right-arm fast  Australia 70 132 18,467 8,493 355 23.92 2.75 52.0 7/83 11/123 23 7 1971–1984 [47]
Chaminda Vaas Left-arm fast medium  Sri Lanka 111 194 23,438 10,501 355 29.58 2.68 66.0 7/71 14/191 12 2 1994–2009 [48]
27 Mitchell Starc † Left-arm fast  Australia 88 168 17,213 9,779 354 27.62 3.40 48.6 6/50 11/94 14 2 2010– [49]
28 Allan Donald Right-arm fast  South Africa 72 129 15,519 7,344 330 22.25 2.83 47.0 8/71 12/139 20 3 1992–2002 [50]
29 Bob Willis Right-arm fast  England 90 165 17,357 8,190 325 25.20 2.83 53.4 8/43 9/92 16 0 1971–1984 [51]
30 Trent Boult † Left-arm fast-medium  New Zealand 78 149 17,417 8,717 317 27.49 3.00 54.9 6/30 10/80 10 1 2011–
31 Mitchell Johnson Left-arm fast  Australia 73 140 16,001 8,891 313 28.40 3.33 51.1 8/61 12/127 12 3 2007–2015 [52]
32 Zaheer Khan Left-arm fast-medium  India 92 165 18,785 10,247 311 32.94 3.27 60.4 7/87 10/149 11 1 2000–2014 [53]
Ishant Sharma † Right-arm fast-medium  India 105 188 19,160 10,078 311 32.40 3.15 61.6 7/74 10/108 11 1 2007– [54]
34 Brett Lee Right-arm fast  Australia 76 150 16,531 9,554 310 30.81 3.46 53.3 5/30 9/171 10 0 1999–2008 [55]
35 Lance Gibbs Right arm off break  West Indies 79 148 27,115 8,989 309 29.09 1.98 87.7 8/38 11/157 18 2 1958–1976 [56]
Morné Morkel Right-arm fast  South Africa 86 160 16,498 8,550 309 27.66 3.10 53.3 6/23 9/110 8 0 2006–2018 [57]
37 Fred Trueman Right-arm fast  England 67 127 15,178 6,625 307 21.57 2.61 49.4 8/31 12/119 17 3 1952–1965 [5]
Last Updated: 4 March 2024

By team

Team Players with 300+ wickets
 Australia 7
 India 6
 England 5
 South Africa
 West Indies 4
 New Zealand 4
 Sri Lanka 3
 Pakistan 3
Total 37

See also

References

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  3. ^ "Steyn captures 300th Test wicket". Geo TV. Agence France-Presse (AFP). 2 January 2013. Archived from the original on 14 November 2016. Retrieved 8 October 2018. 'It's an unbelievable achievement,' said South African captain Graeme Smith ...
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