Fastest to 500 Test Wickets

Key Insights

Muttiah Muralitharan took just 87 matches to claim 500 wickets, and with all other bowlers in the 500-wicket club taking more than 100 matches, his extraordinary feat earned him the tag of the fastest bowler to 500 Test wickets.

Moreover, he is also the fastest in terms of time taken, reaching the milestone in 11 years and 200 days.

Former West Indies speedster Courtney Walsh was the first bowler to grab 500 wickets in Test history, achieving the mark in his 129th Test in March 2001.

The English duo of James Anderson and Stuart Broad and the Australian duo of Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath are the only two pairs to have taken over 1000 wickets while bowling together in Tests. Interestingly, both pairs consist of two bowlers who have each claimed 500 or more wickets.