Top 10: Non-Asian Bowlers with Most Test Wickets in Asia

Whenever an overseas team tours any of the Asian countries for a Test series, they have a task cut out for themselves. The non-Asian players aren’t familiar with the conditions and struggle to get going on the spin-friendly pitches.

Since the Asian pitches are more conducive to spinners, the non-Asian tweakers have enjoyed bowling here, bagging heaps of wickets.

On the other hand, pacers have to work their way up to take wickets with little to no help from the surface. However, some notable pacers have also managed to be among the wickets, along with the spinners.

In this article, we’ll look at the top 10 non-Asian bowlers with the most Test wickets in Asia.

Non-Asian Bowlers with Most Test Wickets in Asia

Key Insights

Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon is the leading wicket-taker in Asia among non-Asian bowlers, with over 140 scalps to his name. (Check out Nathan Lyon’s year-wise Test performance here.)

92 wickets by James Anderson and Dale Steyn are the joint-most wickets among the pacers on the Asian continent. The English pacer grabbed those wickets in 32 Tests, while the South African speedster did so in 22 matches. Anderson is the only fast bowler to bowl in 30 or more Test matches in Asia.

1: Richie Benaud was the first non-Asian bowler to take 50 or more Test wickets in Asia. He grabbed his 50th wicket in his 8th Test on December 12, 1959.

Benaud’s bowling average of 19.32 is the lowest in Asia among the bowlers with 50 or more wickets. 

Over 27 non-Asian bowlers have picked up 50 or more wickets on Asian pitches.

Ajaz Patel’s bowling figures of 10 for 119 are the best in an innings in Asia. The Kiwi spinner ran through the Indian batting lineup at Wankhede Stadium in 2021. Patel became only the third bowler to grab all 10 wickets of the opponent in an innings.

Nathan Lyon and Shane Warne are the only 2 bowlers with more than 10 five-wicket hauls. While there are 4 bowlers with 2 or more ten-wicket hauls — Warne, Lyon, Richard Hadlee, and Graeme Swann.