Best Australian Fast Bowlers In Tests Featured

Top 10 Australian Fast Bowlers In Tests Since 1950

by

Kindly switch to Landscape Mode for better viewing experience

All Test Ratings on the website are from 01/01/1950 onwards (Know Why). Most of our ratings are dynamic, and as new matches are played, the rating of earlier bowlers may change if current bowlers set new benchmarks. Brief explanation of the ratings is given before each section (Detailed Explanation). So, here are the Top 10 Australian Fast bowlers in Test Cricket since 1950.

*Note: All Test Ratings are updated till 2025-02-15

CONTENTS
1. THE CRITERIA
2. QUALIFICATION
3. PRIMARY CRITERIA
3.1. PROLIFIC
3.2. CONSISTENT
3.2.1. Against All Teams
3.2.2. Against Top Teams
3.3. ATTACKING
3.4. BEST BOWLING (WKTS)
3.5. PRIMARY RATING
4. CONDITIONS CRITERIA
4.1. HOME/AWAY
4.1.1. At Home
4.1.2. Away From Home
4.2. FAVOURABLE/UNFAVOURABLE CONDITIONS
4.2.1. Favourable Conditions Rating
4.2.1.1. Non Asians Outside Asia
4.2.2. Unfavourable Conditions Rating
4.2.2.1. Non Asians In Asia
4.3. CONDITIONS RATING
5. SECONDARY CRITERIA
5.1. TOP FORM AT HOME
5.2. TOP FORM AWAY
5.3. WKTS/INN
5.4. IMPACT INNINGS
5.5. SECONDARY RATING
6. OVERALL RATING
7. TOP TEAMS
7.1. Top Teams In Asia
7.2. Top Teams Outside Asia
Nations Filter

The Nations Rating filters the OVERALL Rating to show players only from Australia.

  • The Rating of the players from Australia remains the same as in the original OVERALL Rating.
  • Thus the Trend Setter can be from any nation and is not necessarily from Australia.

THE CRITERIA

CRITERIA CONSTITUENTS
Primary Wickets, Average, Strike Rate, Top Inns
Conditions Home, Away, In Asia, Outside Asia
Secondary Top Form Home, Top Form Away, Wkts/Inn, Impact Inns
The Trend Setter (TS)

TS is the player which does the best in a criteria. The rating of all other players are calculated taking the TS as the benchmark. Know All About TS. Here is an example:-

  • TS Ave: 25.00; Player X Ave: 30.00; Section Points: 300.00
  • TS Points: 300.00(Max); Player X Points: TS Ave/Ave X 300 = 25.00/30.00 X 300 = 250.00
  • Ratings of all sections are calculated similarly with Ave being replaced by the Criteria Stat.
Top Teams (TT)

Some sections consider performances only against the top teams. Here is some information about the Top Teams:-

  • Win/Loss Ratio is used to determine top teams.
  • The top teams are calculated by decades.
  • Further, they are divided into In Asia and Outside Asia.
  • A bowler’s performace is counted in TT if it comes in the specific condition and in the specific decade.

QUALIFICATION

Min Innings 50

PRIMARY CRITERIA

CRITERIA STAT POINTS
Prolific Wickets Taken 200.00
Consistent Average 400.00
Attacking Strike Rate 300.00
Best Bowling Top Bowling Performances 100.00

PROLIFIC

The Eras

The time period from 1950 to present is divided into eras for this section. This is because less cricket was played earlier. To make it fair for earlier players they are compared with players of the same period with a slight reduction in points. Know More About Eras.

Era 1 MP before 1991
Era 2 MP between 1990 And 2016
Era 3 MP greater than 2015

Criteria: Points For Wickets Taken

RANK ERA 1 NAT FP LP MP INNS WKTS RAT
TS N Kapil Dev IND 1978 1994 1986 227 434 160.00
1 DK Lillee AUS 1971 1984 1977.5 132 355 130.88
2 CJ McDermott AUS 1984 1996 1990 124 291 107.28
3 GD McKenzie AUS 1961 1971 1966 113 246 90.69
4 AK Davidson AUS 1953 1963 1958 82 186 68.57
RANK ERA 2 NAT FP LP MP INNS WKTS RAT
TS JM Anderson ENG 2003 2024 2013.5 350 704 200.00
1 GD McGrath AUS 1993 2007 2000 243 563 159.94
2 MG Johnson AUS 2007 2015 2011 140 313 88.92
3 JN Gillespie AUS 1996 2006 2001 137 259 73.58
4 RJ Harris AUS 2010 2015 2012.5 52 113 32.10
RANK ERA 3 NAT FP LP MP INNS WKTS RAT
TS TG Southee NZ 2008 2024 2016 203 391 160.00
1 MA Starc AUS 2011 2025 2018 184 382 156.32
2 PJ Cummins AUS 2011 2025 2018 125 294 120.31

CONSISTENT

R Ave

Relative Average (R Ave) is a more accurate type of average. Know How It Is Calculated. Briefly it takes into account:-

  • Strength of Opposition.
  • Venues at which a player has played.
  • Time Period in which a bowler has been active

Criteria: Points For Relative Average

Min Qualification For TS
Min Wickets 100

Against All Teams

RANK BOWLER INNS RUNS WKTS AVE R AVE RAT
TS JJ Bumrah 86 3977 205 19.40 18.30 200.00
1 GD McGrath 243 12186 563 21.64 20.35 179.88
2 AK Davidson 82 3819 186 20.53 20.77 176.25
3 RJ Harris 52 2658 113 23.52 23.01 159.05
4 PJ Cummins 125 6597 294 22.44 23.08 158.57
5 JN Gillespie 137 6770 259 26.14 23.88 153.27
6 DK Lillee 132 8493 355 23.92 24.24 150.99
7 MG Johnson 140 8891 313 28.41 25.98 140.92
8 MA Starc 184 10534 382 27.58 27.59 132.67
9 GD McKenzie 113 7328 246 29.79 27.61 132.59
10 CJ McDermott 124 8332 291 28.63 28.84 126.91

Against Top Teams

RANK BOWLER INNS RUNS WKTS AVE R AVE RAT
TS JJ Bumrah 78 3716 181 20.53 19.37 200.00
1 GD McGrath 201 10374 473 21.93 20.62 187.86
2 AK Davidson 82 3819 186 20.53 20.77 186.52
3 RJ Harris 48 2474 107 23.12 22.62 171.23
4 DK Lillee 108 6729 283 23.78 24.09 160.78
5 PJ Cummins 111 6086 255 23.87 24.55 157.77
6 MG Johnson 116 7506 261 28.76 26.30 147.30
7 JN Gillespie 107 5521 191 28.91 26.41 146.67
8 GD McKenzie 107 6876 226 30.42 28.20 137.38
9 MA Starc 164 9522 336 28.34 28.35 136.62
10 CJ McDermott 104 7069 244 28.97 29.18 132.73

ATTACKING

R SR

Relative Strike Rate (R SR) for bowlers is calculated using the same method as R Ave with average being replaced with SR.

Criteria: Points For R SR or Balls/Wkt

Min Qualification For TS
Min Wickets 100
RANK BOWLER INNS BALLS WKTS SR R SR RAT
TS Waqar Younis 154 16224 373 43.50 43.83 300.00
1 DK Lillee 132 18467 355 52.02 49.10 267.83
2 AK Davidson 82 11587 186 62.30 50.38 261.01
3 MG Johnson 140 16001 313 51.12 50.95 258.11
4 GD McGrath 243 29248 563 51.95 51.08 257.43
5 PJ Cummins 125 13616 294 46.31 52.24 251.70
6 MA Starc 184 18535 382 48.52 52.74 249.34
7 JN Gillespie 137 14234 259 54.96 53.88 244.05
8 RJ Harris 52 5736 113 50.76 53.97 243.65
9 CJ McDermott 124 16586 291 57.00 55.96 234.97
10 GD McKenzie 113 17681 246 71.87 59.16 222.26

BEST BOWLING (WKTS)

BBW

In this criteria, we have taken the top 7 bowling performances by Wkts of a bowler. Best Bowling By Wickets (BBW) is simply the total wickets taken in the 7 innings divided by 7.

Criteria: Points For Wkts Taken In Top 7 Inns

RANK BOWLER 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 AVE WT RAT
TS N Kapil Dev 9/83 8/85 8/106 7/56 7/220 6/63 6/77 7.29 100.00
1 GD McGrath 8/24 8/38 7/76 7/76 6/17 6/47 6/50 6.86 94.12
2 GD McKenzie 8/71 7/66 7/153 6/48 6/58 6/67 6/69 6.57 90.20
3 CJ McDermott 8/97 8/141 6/38 6/53 6/70 5/42 5/49 6.29 86.27
3 DK Lillee 7/83 7/89 6/26 6/53 6/60 6/66 6/72 6.29 86.27
3 MG Johnson 8/61 7/40 7/68 6/38 6/73 5/39 5/42 6.29 86.27
6 AK Davidson 7/93 6/34 6/53 6/64 6/75 6/87 5/25 6.00 82.35
7 MA Starc 6/48 6/50 6/66 6/111 6/154 5/34 5/44 5.71 78.43
8 PJ Cummins 6/23 6/27 6/79 6/91 5/28 5/38 5/42 5.57 76.47
9 JN Gillespie 7/37 6/40 5/39 5/53 5/54 5/56 5/88 5.43 74.51
10 RJ Harris 7/117 6/47 5/25 5/62 5/72 4/32 4/33 5.14 70.59

PRIMARY RATING

The total of the above four criteria comes out to be 1,000.00 points. The Primary Rating is the addition of the points a bowler scored in the four criteria. The Weightage of the Rating is half of the OVERALL Rating, i.e. 500 pts.

RANK BOWLER PRO CON ATT BBW RAT PRI PTS
1 GD McGrath 159.94 367.74 257.43 94.12 879.22 439.61
2 DK Lillee 130.88 311.77 267.83 86.27 796.75 398.38
3 AK Davidson 68.57 362.77 261.01 82.35 774.71 387.35
4 PJ Cummins 120.31 316.35 251.70 76.47 764.82 382.41
5 MA Starc 156.32 269.28 249.34 78.43 753.37 376.69
6 MG Johnson 88.92 288.22 258.11 86.27 721.52 360.76
7 JN Gillespie 73.58 299.94 244.05 74.51 692.07 346.04
8 CJ McDermott 107.28 259.64 234.97 86.27 688.16 344.08
9 RJ Harris 32.10 330.28 243.65 70.59 676.62 338.31
10 GD McKenzie 90.69 269.98 222.26 90.20 673.13 336.56

CONDITIONS CRITERIA

The Conditions

The Conditions Ratings are calculated by applying the four criteria of the Primary Rating to diffirent conditions. If Innings are less than the Qualification than the Player gets 50% of the Points. Click on the Ratings to see how they were calculated.

The four conditions criteria and thier weightage is as follows:-

CRITERIA POINTS
Home 250.00
Away 1,000.00
Favourable Conditions 250.00
Unfavourable Conditions 1,000.00

HOME/AWAY

HOME/AWAY RATING

Points to note:-

  • U.A.E. is considered as a second Home for Pakistan and Afghanistan.
  • All Home and Away stats of Pakistani and Afghani bowlers are calculated accordingly.

At Home

Min Innings: 20

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 DK Lillee 84 231 23.73 49.93 740.60 185.15
2 GD McGrath 131 289 22.43 54.77 713.55 178.39
3 AK Davidson 32 84 21.05 57.55 699.02 174.76
4 PJ Cummins 73 177 19.93 43.54 678.25 169.56
5 MG Johnson 66 171 25.48 45.98 665.84 166.46
6 MA Starc 107 235 26.46 47.92 652.90 163.23
7 CJ McDermott 78 193 26.47 53.85 651.78 162.94
8 JN Gillespie 56 110 24.68 54.55 573.64 143.41
9 GD McKenzie 49 109 30.61 69.92 565.45 141.36
10 RJ Harris 24 49 24.88 55.59 529.71 132.43

Away From Home

Min Innings: 20

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 GD McGrath 112 274 20.81 48.97 939.55 939.55
2 AK Davidson 50 102 20.11 66.21 741.93 741.93
3 MA Starc 77 147 29.35 49.48 736.43 736.43
4 PJ Cummins 52 117 26.24 50.51 721.04 721.04
5 DK Lillee 48 124 24.28 55.91 716.83 716.83
6 RJ Harris 28 64 22.48 47.06 712.28 712.28
7 JN Gillespie 81 149 27.21 55.26 709.09 709.09
8 GD McKenzie 64 137 29.14 73.43 678.70 678.70
9 MG Johnson 74 142 31.93 57.32 661.22 661.22
10 CJ McDermott 46 98 32.89 63.18 591.68 591.68

FAVOURABLE/UNFAVOURABLE CONDITIONS

Favourable/Unfavourable Conditions Rating

Points to note:-

  • Unfavourable Conditions (UC) is Outside Asia for Spinners and In Asia for Pacers.
  • Favourable Conditions (FC) are the opposite.

Favourable Conditions Rating

Non Asians Outside Asia

Min Innings: 20

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 GD McGrath 207 491 21.44 51.52 855.68 213.92
2 DK Lillee 126 349 23.16 50.64 811.92 202.98
3 PJ Cummins 108 263 21.57 44.34 748.34 187.08
4 AK Davidson 62 142 21.36 63.36 733.14 183.28
5 MG Johnson 117 280 27.00 47.71 720.75 180.19
6 MA Starc 149 324 27.36 47.70 704.26 176.07
7 CJ McDermott 112 270 27.97 55.94 690.78 172.70
8 JN Gillespie 110 205 26.77 55.98 641.77 160.44
9 RJ Harris 48 102 24.49 52.35 634.23 158.56
10 GD McKenzie 96 204 32.07 75.33 620.02 155.01

Unfavourable Conditions Rating

Non Asians In Asia

Min Innings: 10

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 GD McKenzie 17 42 18.71 55.07 801.02 801.02
2 GD McGrath 36 72 23.03 54.88 771.94 771.94
3 MA Starc 35 58 28.76 53.12 768.37 768.37
4 AK Davidson 20 44 17.86 58.86 743.65 743.65
5 JN Gillespie 27 54 23.76 51.09 712.94 712.94
6 PJ Cummins 17 31 29.84 63.03 566.54 566.54
7 RJ Harris 4 11 14.55 36.00 500.00 500.00
7 DK Lillee 6 6 68.33 132.00 500.00 500.00
9 MG Johnson 23 33 40.36 80.06 492.91 492.91
10 CJ McDermott 12 21 37.14 70.57 446.50 446.50

CONDITIONS RATING

The total of the above four criteria comes out to be 2,500.00 points. The Conditions Rating is the addition of the points a bowler scored in the four criteria. The Weightage of the Rating is one-fourth of the OVERALL Rating, i.e. 250 pts.

RANK BOWLER AWAY HOME UC FC TOT CON PTS
1 GD McGrath 939.55 178.39 771.94 213.92 2,103.79 210.38
2 MA Starc 736.43 163.23 768.37 176.07 1,844.09 184.41
3 AK Davidson 741.93 174.76 743.65 183.28 1,843.61 184.36
4 GD McKenzie 678.70 141.36 801.02 155.01 1,776.09 177.61
5 JN Gillespie 709.09 143.41 712.94 160.44 1,725.88 172.59
6 PJ Cummins 721.04 169.56 566.54 187.08 1,644.22 164.42
7 DK Lillee 716.83 185.15 500.00 202.98 1,604.96 160.50
8 RJ Harris 712.28 132.43 500.00 158.56 1,503.26 150.33
9 MG Johnson 661.22 166.46 492.91 180.19 1,500.78 150.08
10 CJ McDermott 591.68 162.94 446.50 172.70 1,373.82 137.38

SECONDARY CRITERIA

The Secondary Rating consists of four parts. If Innings are less than the Qualification than the Player gets 50% of the Points. Click on the Rating Titles to see how they were calculated.

The four secondary criteria and thier weightage is as follows:-

CRITERIA POINTS
Top Form Home 200.00
Top Form Away 800.00
Wkts Per Inn 500.00
Impact Innings 1,000.00
TOP FORM RATING

Points to note about Top Form Rating:-

  • Top Form is calculated by taking the best 30 consecutive innings of a bowler.
  • There are two TF Ratings used in our OVERALL Rating: Home and Away.

TOP FORM AT HOME

Min Innings: 10

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 DK Lillee 30 98 18.81 40.51 799.36 159.87
2 GD McGrath 30 78 17.64 44.82 738.16 147.63
3 MG Johnson 30 86 22.51 40.13 733.19 146.64
4 AK Davidson 30 82 20.51 56.51 731.31 146.26
5 PJ Cummins 30 80 16.33 37.59 718.48 143.70
6 CJ McDermott 30 89 23.67 49.70 693.97 138.79
7 MA Starc 30 80 21.54 40.90 672.23 134.45
8 GD McKenzie 30 75 27.16 62.27 654.67 130.93
9 JN Gillespie 30 69 21.94 47.43 646.04 129.21
10 RJ Harris 24 49 24.88 55.59 518.38 103.68

TOP FORM AWAY

Min Innings: 10

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 GD McGrath 30 81 15.93 41.36 848.68 678.94
2 AK Davidson 30 79 16.97 59.49 764.51 611.61
3 MA Starc 30 71 22.83 38.79 738.00 590.40
4 GD McKenzie 30 83 24.67 60.13 727.51 582.01
5 JN Gillespie 30 69 22.88 45.14 701.14 560.91
6 DK Lillee 30 83 24.59 55.28 695.57 556.46
7 PJ Cummins 30 76 23.05 46.99 686.98 549.58
8 RJ Harris 28 64 22.48 47.06 659.69 527.75
9 CJ McDermott 30 75 28.04 53.41 656.65 525.32
10 MG Johnson 30 69 30.49 53.23 616.90 493.52

WKTS/INN

WKTS/INN RATING

Points to note:-

  • This rating gives points for wkts taken per inn.
  • All Teams, Top Teams and Top 7 Batsmen are the criteria used.

Min Innings: 50

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS WKTS/INN RAT WTG
1 DK Lillee 132 355 2.69 939.10 469.55
2 CJ McDermott 124 291 2.35 848.65 424.32
3 GD McGrath 243 563 2.32 835.68 417.84
4 PJ Cummins 125 294 2.35 809.38 404.69
5 AK Davidson 82 186 2.27 791.40 395.70
6 MG Johnson 140 313 2.24 786.07 393.04
7 RJ Harris 52 113 2.17 774.99 387.49
8 GD McKenzie 113 246 2.18 772.01 386.00
9 MA Starc 184 382 2.08 726.42 363.21
10 JN Gillespie 137 259 1.89 663.00 331.50

IMPACT INNINGS

Impact Innings (II)

Impact Innings are those innings which have an impact either in terms of wickets or strike rate. Know All About II. These are the criteria for an inning to be included in II:-

  • A Bowler takes equal to or more wickets than 5.
  • A Bowler equal to or more wickets than 2 at a good AVE or SR.
  • 1st and 2nd; and 3rd and 4th inns are clubbed together.
  • The required AVE or SR is calculated by the number of wickets taken.

Min Innings: 50

RANK BOWLER INNS II II Perc RAT WTG
1 GD McGrath 243 121 49.79 883.43 883.43
2 RJ Harris 52 27 51.92 820.68 820.68
3 DK Lillee 132 63 47.73 801.21 801.21
4 CJ McDermott 124 56 45.16 739.69 739.69
5 PJ Cummins 125 54 43.20 700.14 700.14
6 AK Davidson 82 36 43.90 665.82 665.82
7 GD McKenzie 113 46 40.71 662.12 662.12
8 MG Johnson 140 60 42.86 651.11 651.11
9 MA Starc 184 66 35.87 638.10 638.10
10 JN Gillespie 137 52 37.96 555.95 555.95

SECONDARY RATING

The total of the above three criteria comes out to be 2,500.00 points. The Conditions Rating is the addition of the points a bowler scored in the three criteria. The Weightage of the Rating is one-fourth of the OVERALL Rating, i.e. 250 pts.

RANK BOWLER TF HM TF AW WPI II TOT SEC RAT
1 GD McGrath 147.63 678.94 417.84 883.43 2,127.84 212.78
2 DK Lillee 159.87 556.46 469.55 801.21 1,987.09 198.71
3 RJ Harris 103.68 527.75 387.49 820.68 1,839.60 183.96
4 CJ McDermott 138.79 525.32 424.32 739.69 1,828.14 182.81
5 AK Davidson 146.26 611.61 395.70 665.82 1,819.39 181.94
6 PJ Cummins 143.70 549.58 404.69 700.14 1,798.11 179.81
7 GD McKenzie 130.93 582.01 386.00 662.12 1,761.07 176.11
8 MA Starc 134.45 590.40 363.21 638.10 1,726.16 172.62
9 MG Johnson 146.64 493.52 393.04 651.11 1,684.30 168.43
10 JN Gillespie 129.21 560.91 331.50 555.95 1,577.57 157.76

OVERALL RATING

OVERALL Rating is the addition of the points of all the above criteria. The rating is out of 1,000 Pts. Half the points are for Primary Criteria; one-fourth for Conditions; and one-fourth for Secondary Criteria.

RANK OV RANK BOWLER NAT PRI RAT CON RAT SEC RAT FIN RAT
1 2 GD McGrath AUS 439.61 210.38 212.78 862.78
2 14 DK Lillee AUS 398.38 160.50 198.71 757.58
3 16 AK Davidson AUS 387.35 184.36 181.94 753.65
4 20 MA Starc AUS 376.69 184.41 172.62 733.71
5 22 PJ Cummins AUS 382.41 164.42 179.81 726.64
6 30 GD McKenzie AUS 336.56 177.61 176.11 690.28
7 34 MG Johnson AUS 360.76 150.08 168.43 679.27
8 36 JN Gillespie AUS 346.04 172.59 157.76 676.38
9 38 RJ Harris AUS 338.31 150.33 183.96 672.60
10 42 CJ McDermott AUS 344.08 137.38 182.81 664.28

TOP TEAMS

Top Teams In Asia

DECADE OF MAT 1 2 3 4 5 6
1950s AUS WI PAK IND ENG
1960s WI AUS PAK IND NZ ENG
1970s PAK ENG IND WI SA
1980s PAK WI ENG NZ IND
1990s IND PAK SA AUS SL WI
2000s AUS IND SL PAK SA ENG
2010s IND PAK SL ENG NZ SA
2020s IND AUS PAK NZ ENG SL

Top Teams Outside Asia

DECADE OF MAT 1 2 3 4 5 6
1950s AUS ENG WI SA
1960s ENG AUS WI SA NZ
1970s SA ENG WI AUS IND
1980s WI NZ AUS ENG PAK
1990s AUS SA WI PAK ENG NZ
2000s AUS ENG SA IND NZ PAK
2010s SA AUS ENG NZ IND PAK
2020s AUS ENG NZ SA IND WI
FULL RATING WITH ALL NATIONS

Leave a Comment