Reaching out to the first 150 Test wickets is like a dream start for any bowler, especially in the longer format. Test cricket has seen multiple legendary bowlers who went on to pick a large number of wickets, but you will not find all their names in this list. This is a list of bowlers who have had a dream career start. Few went on to make it big, and few have diminished with time. And then there were a few who had a late start to their career, like Clarence Grimmett, who made his first international cricket appearance at 33. (Fun Fact: He bowled a record bowling figure in his debut Test match)
Following is the list of bowlers who are the fastest to 150 Test wickets in terms of matches played.
| PLAYER | MATCHES TAKEN TO 150 TEST WICKETS |
|---|---|
| Sydney Barnes (ENG) | 24 |
| Waqar Younis (PAK) | 27 |
| Yasir Shah (PAK) | 27 |
| Clarence Grimmett (AUS) | 28 |
| Hugh Tayfield (SA) | 29 |
| Ian Botham (ENG) | 29 |
| Dale Steyn (SA) | 29 |
| Saeed Ajmal (PAK) | 29 |
| Ravichandran Ashwin (IND) | 29 |
| Dennis Lillee (AUS) | 31 |
| Shane Warne (AUS) | 31 |
| Stuart MacGill (AUS) | 31 |
| Kagiso Rabada (SA) | 31 |
| Pat Cummins (AUS) | 31 |
Key Stats
Ravindra Jadeja, the Indian all-rounder, is the fastest left-arm bowler to reach 150 Test wickets. He took 32 matches to complete the milestone and is already on his way to cracking the top ten left-armer’s list of leading wicket-takers in Tests.
Sydney Barnes, at the top of the list, is the fastest fast bowler to reach the 150 mark, whereas Yasir Shah of Pakistan is the fastest when it comes to spinners.
Three right-arm off-breakers are found in the list: Hugh Tayfield, Ravi Ashwin, and Saeed Ajmal. All three picked their 150th Test wicket in their 29th game.
Sydney also holds the record for the most wickets taken by a bowler in a single bilateral Test series.
