The milestone of playing 100 Test matches is a bigger establishment for a bowler than a batsman. A bowler needs to be super fit and consistently good to stay in a Test side for that long; especially, for a pace bowler. The fact that Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad are the only bowlers to play 150 Test matches among the elite list of 10 players stays as proof for the above statement.
Now that we have seen the best batsmen after playing 100 Test matches, it is time we honor the bowlers who are consistently good until the count of their Test matches turns three-digit.
Muttiah Muralitharan, who rules almost every bowling record in Cricket, tops this chart too, with 593 wickets after completing his 100th Test match, followed by the Indian leg-spinner, Anil Kumble. He picked 485 wickets in his first 100 Test matches.
Glenn McGrath, who ranks third in this list, tops the pacers list for the same record.
Most Wickets after 100 Test Matches
| BOWLERS | INNINGS | WICKETS |
|---|---|---|
| Muttiah Muralitharan (SL) | 170 | 593 |
| Anil Kumble (IND) | 178 | 485 |
| Glenn McGrath (AUS) | 195 | 451 |
| Shane Warne (AUS) | 185 | 444 |
| Harbhajan Singh (IND) | 184 | 411 |
| Wasim Akram (PAK) | 175 | 409 |
| Nathan Lyon (AUS) | 190 | 399 |
| Shaun Pollock (SA) | 186 | 391 |
| Makhaya Ntini (SA) | 189 | 390 |
| James Anderson (ENG) | 187 | 384 |
Stats Insights
Dale Steyn of South Africa had picked 439 wickets when he retired after playing 93 Test matches – the highest for any bowler under 100 Tests.
Richard Hadlee, Rangana Herath, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Curtly Ambrose are four other players who picked 400+ wickets playing under 100 Test matches.
Ravi Ashwin is the only batsman among the current lot who hasn’t played his 100th Test yet but picked more than 400 wickets. It will be interesting to see what number Ashwin will achieve when he plays his milestone game.
Look into our prediction of how many Test wickets Ashwin will reach until the end of his career.
