Bowlers are different beasts when it comes to bowling at home, which is their familiar territory. But when they play away from home, it makes a huge difference in their performance, with conditions not favouring them.
Despite that, some bowlers have overcome the challenge by adapting to the situation, giving hosts a run for their money. During the process, the bowlers have bagged bucketloads of wickes with their skills and temperament.
In this article, we’ll look at the top 10 bowlers with the most wickets away from home in Test cricket.
Most Wickets Away from Home in Tests
| Player | Innings | Wickets | Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shane Warne (AUS) | 144 | 389 | 24.61 |
| Muthiah Muralidaran (SL) | 96 | 307 | 27.79 |
| Courtney Walsh (WI) | 137 | 290 | 25.03 |
| Glenn McGrath (AUS) | 112 | 274 | 20.81 |
| Nathan Lyon (AUS) | 116 | 271 | 29.71 |
| Anil Kumble (IND) | 121 | 269 | 35.85 |
| James Anderson (ENG) | 148 | 266 | 29.83 |
| Wasim Akram (PAK) | 111 | 260 | 24.44 |
| Richard Hadlee (NZ) | 75 | 230 | 21.72 |
| Yasir Shah (PAK) | 81 | 230 | 31.06 |
Note: Stats include wickets taken at away (home of opposition) and neutral venues.
Key Insights
Shane Warne holds the record for picking up the most wickets in away from home Tests. The Australian leggie scalped 389 wickets in 144 innings at an average of 24.61.
18 bowlers have taken 200 or more wickets at away and neutral venues.
3 bowlers have grabbed 20 or more five-wicket hauls in away from home Tests, with Muthiah Muralidaran and Warne having the joint-most (22). Sir Richard Hadlee is the other bowler with 21 fifers.
Also Read | A Complete List of Muttiah Muralitharan Records
These 3 bowlers have also nabbed 5 or more ten-wicket hauls. Muralidaran has the most with 7 ten-wicket hauls, while Warne and Hadlee share 6 each.
Curtly Ambrose has the best bowling average among the bowlers with 200+ away from home wickets. The Caribbean pacer averaged 20.78 while picking up 202 wickets in 86 innings. Glenn McGrath (20.81) is the other bowler to average less than 21.
New Zealand’s Ajaz Patel is the only bowler to dismiss all 10 batters of the opponent in an innings on foreign soil. The left-arm spinner returned with record bowling figures of 10 for 119 against India in Mumbai in 2021.
