Bowlers with most wickets in Test cricket always have one thing in common. They have wonderful home conditions suitable to them for picking wickets.
Spinners in Asia and Pacers in England, Australia, West Indies & South Africa has been the most successful contenders in Test Cricket with the ball.
So how do you find “Who is the best Test bowler in home conditions?”
Here we have listed down the top 10 wicket-takers in Home Tests:
| BOWLER | MATCHES | INNINGS | WICKETS | 5-FOR | 10-FOR | BEST BOWLING / INNS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M Muralitharan (SL) | 73 | 134 | 493 | 45 | 15 | 9/51 |
| J Anderson (ENG) | 106 | 202 | 438 | 24 | 3 | 7/42 |
| S Broad (ENG) | 98 | 188 | 398 | 14 | 3 | 8/15 |
| R Ashwin (IND) | 60 | 117 | 363 | 28 | 6 | 7/59 |
| A Kumble (IND) | 63 | 115 | 350 | 25 | 7 | 10/74 |
| S Warne (AUS) | 69 | 129 | 319 | 15 | 4 | 8/71 |
| G McGrath (AUS) | 66 | 131 | 289 | 11 | 2 | 8/24 |
| R Herath (SL) | 49 | 92 | 278 | 26 | 7 | 9/127 |
| H Singh (IND) | 55 | 103 | 265 | 18 | 4 | 8/84 |
| D Steyn (SA) | 52 | 99 | 261 | 16 | 3 | 6/8 |
8. Rangana Herath
Rangana Herath has lived under the shadow of Muttiah Muralitharan for most of his career.
After Murali’s retirement from International cricket, Herath performed brilliantly; especially in the Sri Lankan home conditions, which support spinners largely.
Now, Rangana Herath holds the record for Most wickets in Test cricket by a left-handed bowler. Also, he became the 1st left arm bowler to have 400 Test victims.
The left-handed Lankan spinner played 92 Matches in Test in which he has picked 430 wickets to his name.
Out of that, 278 has come in home, which is more than 60% of his total dismissals.
Rangana Herath also holds the record for Most 5 wickets hauls in the 4th Innings of Test cricket.
Read here: Most 5-wicket hauls in Tests
7. Glenn McGrath
The Australian fast bowler was known for his consistency and accuracy in his line and length.
He was one of the dangerous bowlers in both ODI & Test during his career time.
Part of 4 ODI World Cups during his time, McGrath also played 124 Test matches from 1993 to 2007.
Glenn McGrath held the record for dismissing most batsmen for Ducks in Test cricket –> 104, which is then broken by Muttiah Muralitharan.
McGrath also has more than one sweet ending to his career.
He picked up wickets in the last ball of his test career & ODI career; also in the last ball of his last ODI in Australia.
6. Shane Warne
Shane Warne, the Australian legendary spin bowler is the 2nd most wicket-taker in Test cricket with a total of 708, which is 92 less than Muttiah Muralitharan’s aggregated numbers.
His dismissals are distributed as 319 in Home Tests and 389, Away.
Interestingly, Shane Warne has got more Away wickets than at Home, which is very rare among the test bowlers.
Shane Warne with 389 Away Test dismissals, is the leading wicket-taker in Test Matches away from home.
Being a spinner in Pace-friendly Australian conditions, made him a valuable asset whenever Australian team travelled to the sub-continent.
And that doesn’t mean Warne had a silent outings at home. He has 319 wickets at home and comes 5th in this list of leading wicket-takers in home tests.
5. Ravichandran Ashwin
Ravichandran Ashwin is easily the best spinner this current generation has seen. His home records speaks of himself.
The Indian off-spinner is also the first-ever Test bowler to dismiss left-handed batsmen 200 times. In fact, 10 of hist 12 most dismissed batsmen are left-handers.
I would hope, he will break Anil Kumble’s Indian record for the most dismissals in home Tests, before the end of his career. Here’s a calculation on “Will Ashwin break the barrier of 600 Test wickets?“
Ravichandran Ashwin in Home Tests, so far:
- Innings: 101
- Overs: 2480
- Runs Given: 6682
- Wickets: 320
- 5-Wickets: 25
- 10 Wickets: 6
- Best: 7/59
- Average: 20.88
- Strike Rate: 46.5
- Economy: 2.69
4. Anil Kumble
India’s leading wicket-taker in Test – Anil Kumble, is famously known for his 10-Wickets haul in an innings in Test Cricket.
It was one of the greatest moments in Indian Cricket history.
Anil Kumble, with 350 Test dismissals in Indian soil comes at 3rd in this list of Most dismissals in Home tests.
He is also one of the 4 bowlers in Test history to pick more than 600 Test wickets. The others being Shane Warne, Muttiah Muralitharan, and James Anderson.
He also holds the record for the Most 5-Wickets and 10-Wickets haul taken by an Indian. Read one of Anil Kumble’s unique test cricket record here: Anil Kumble – The King Killer
3. Stuart Broad
Recent addition to the 500 Test wickets club to which he is the slowest so far (140 Tests), Stuart Broad has an engrossing journey from a rookie to a veteran in Test cricket.
Stuart Broad in Home Tests, so far:
- Innings: 176
- Overs: 3115
- Runs Given: 9582
- Wickets: 370
- 5-Wickets: 13
- 10 Wickets: 3
- Best: 8/15
- Average: 25.89
- Strike Rate: 50.5
- Economy: 3.07
Read here: How to calculate bowling average, strike rate, & economy rate in cricket
2. James Anderson
Jimmy Anderson, as he is fondly called, has recently overcome Anil Kumble on the list of Most Wickets in Home Tests.
James Anderson is one of the best bowlers of his generation, who has the ability to swing the cricket ball at its best.
He is currently top wicket-taker for England in both ODI & Tests. More than anything, his ability o play this long as a fast bowler is matchless.
Jimmy Anderson in Home Tests, so far:
- Innings: 192
- Overs: 3640.3
- Runs Given: 10207
- Wickets: 429
- 5-Wickets: 24
- 10 Wickets: 3
- Best: 7/42
- Average: 23.79
- Strike Rate: 50.9
- Economy: 2.80
He has picked more than 400 wickets in Home Test matches – the only pacer to do so.
Anderson is also one of the only 2 Test bowlers, including Muttiah Muralitharan, to pick more than 100 Test Wickets in a single venue: Lord’s cricket ground.
1. Muttiah Muralitharan
Here comes the king of Test Bowling records, who ranks No.1 in
- Most Test Wickets – 800
- Most Test Wickets in Home – 493
- Most Test Wickets in a single venue (166 at Colombo, 117 at Kandy & 111 at Galle)
- Most 5-Wickets Hauls in Test (Overall, Home & Away)
- Most 10-Wickets Hauls in Test (Overall, Home & Away)
- Most Balls bowled in Test Cricket – 44039 Balls
- Most Runs by an 11th Batsman
There is no surprise in Murali leading this chart of Most wickets in Home Test Matches. Here is a complete compilation of all his stats in Test cricket.
He had been legendary bowler during his time and will continue to enjoy the top position in most of the Test bowling records for years to come.
Wrapping it up
Another player who is closing in on to this list is Ravichandran Ashwin from India, who has 254 Test wickets in Home currently.
Ravichandran Ashwin is the other probable to get into this list soon.
Kagiso Rabada, young and consistent, is another contestant to get to this list in the future. Still, it is very early to tell and the youngster has a long task ahead.
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