Tests - Best Fast Bowlers Present Era Featured

Top Test Fast Bowlers of The Present Era

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This Rating takes into account only the matches played in the last 30 years. Only bowlers active till at least 2024 are considered in this rating. Brief explanation of the ratings is given before each section (Detailed Explanation). So, here are the Top 10 Fast bowlers in Test Cricket in the last 30 years.

*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
4.2.1.2. Asians Outside Asia
4.2.2. Unfavourable Conditions Rating
4.2.2.1. Non Asians In Asia
4.2.2.2. 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. PRESENT ERA RATING
7. TOP TEAMS
7.1. Top Teams In Asia
7.2. Top Teams Outside Asia

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

Criteria: Points For Wickets Taken

RANK BOWLER NAT INNS WKTS RAT
TS JM Anderson ENG 350 704 200.00
1 JM Anderson ENG 350 704 200.00
2 TG Southee NZ 203 391 111.08
3 MA Starc AUS 184 382 108.52
4 K Rabada SA 128 327 92.90
5 PJ Cummins AUS 125 294 83.52
6 KAJ Roach WI 154 284 80.68
7 JR Hazlewood AUS 135 279 79.26
8 N Wagner NZ 122 260 73.86
9 JJ Bumrah IND 86 205 58.24
10 Shaheen Shah Afridi PAK 53 116 32.95

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 JJ Bumrah 86 3977 205 19.40 18.30 200.00
2 K Rabada 128 7196 327 22.01 22.90 159.82
3 PJ Cummins 125 6597 294 22.44 23.08 158.57
4 JR Hazlewood 135 6857 279 24.58 24.60 148.77
5 JM Anderson 350 18627 704 26.46 25.12 145.72
6 Shaheen Shah Afridi 53 3235 116 27.89 27.18 134.69
7 MA Starc 184 10534 382 27.58 27.59 132.67
8 N Wagner 122 7169 260 27.57 27.63 132.47
9 KAJ Roach 154 7729 284 27.21 28.10 130.25
10 TG Southee 203 11832 391 30.26 29.07 125.93

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 JJ Bumrah 78 3716 181 20.53 19.37 200.00
2 K Rabada 100 5837 254 22.98 23.92 161.96
3 PJ Cummins 111 6086 255 23.87 24.55 157.77
4 JR Hazlewood 118 6273 248 25.29 25.32 152.98
5 JM Anderson 287 15418 551 27.98 26.57 145.82
6 N Wagner 74 4433 157 28.24 28.30 136.90
7 MA Starc 164 9522 336 28.34 28.35 136.62
8 Shaheen Shah Afridi 37 2549 82 31.09 30.29 127.88
9 KAJ Roach 104 5722 191 29.96 30.94 125.21
10 TG Southee 143 8733 263 33.21 31.89 121.45

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 K Rabada 128 12898 327 39.44 45.20 300.00
1 K Rabada 128 12898 327 39.44 45.20 300.00
2 JJ Bumrah 86 8630 205 42.10 46.05 294.50
3 PJ Cummins 125 13616 294 46.31 52.24 259.57
4 MA Starc 184 18535 382 48.52 52.74 257.14
5 Shaheen Shah Afridi 53 6162 116 53.12 56.08 241.81
6 N Wagner 122 13725 260 52.79 57.24 236.92
7 KAJ Roach 154 14944 284 52.62 57.75 234.82
8 JR Hazlewood 135 14817 279 53.11 58.07 233.53
9 JM Anderson 350 40037 704 56.87 59.17 229.20
10 TG Southee 203 23490 391 60.08 63.37 214.00

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 JM Anderson 7/42 7/43 6/17 6/40 6/42 6/47 5/16 6.14 100.00
1 JM Anderson 7/42 7/43 6/17 6/40 6/42 6/47 5/16 6.14 100.00
2 TG Southee 7/64 6/43 6/50 6/62 6/68 6/80 5/32 6.00 97.67
2 K Rabada 7/112 6/32 6/46 6/50 6/54 6/55 5/30 6.00 97.67
4 MA Starc 6/48 6/50 6/66 6/111 6/154 5/34 5/44 5.71 93.02
4 JJ Bumrah 6/27 6/33 6/45 6/61 6/76 5/7 5/24 5.71 93.02
6 PJ Cummins 6/23 6/27 6/79 6/91 5/28 5/38 5/42 5.57 90.70
6 N Wagner 7/39 6/41 6/106 5/44 5/45 5/47 5/64 5.57 90.70
8 JR Hazlewood 6/67 6/70 6/89 5/8 5/30 5/31 5/35 5.43 88.37
9 KAJ Roach 6/48 5/8 5/17 5/41 5/42 5/47 5/53 5.14 83.72
10 Shaheen Shah Afridi 6/51 5/32 5/52 5/77 4/43 4/43 4/50 4.71 76.74

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 PRESENT ERA Rating, i.e. 500 pts.

RANK BOWLER PRO CON ATT BBW RAT PRI PTS
1 JJ Bumrah 58.24 400.00 294.50 93.02 845.76 422.88
2 JM Anderson 200.00 291.54 229.20 100.00 820.74 410.37
3 K Rabada 92.90 321.77 300.00 97.67 812.35 406.17
4 PJ Cummins 83.52 316.35 259.57 90.70 750.14 375.07
5 MA Starc 108.52 269.28 257.14 93.02 727.97 363.99
6 JR Hazlewood 79.26 301.75 233.53 88.37 702.91 351.45
7 N Wagner 73.86 269.36 236.92 90.70 670.85 335.42
8 TG Southee 111.08 247.39 214.00 97.67 670.14 335.07
9 KAJ Roach 80.68 255.46 234.82 83.72 654.68 327.34
10 Shaheen Shah Afridi 32.95 262.57 241.81 76.74 614.08 307.04

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.

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 JJ Bumrah 23 47 17.19 35.60 792.43 198.11
2 JM Anderson 202 438 24.41 52.34 765.81 191.45
3 K Rabada 71 198 20.08 35.10 757.81 189.45
4 PJ Cummins 73 177 19.93 43.54 683.23 170.81
5 KAJ Roach 89 196 22.30 46.19 655.64 163.91
6 JR Hazlewood 76 168 22.70 52.09 646.34 161.58
7 MA Starc 107 235 26.46 47.92 643.18 160.79
8 N Wagner 79 178 27.19 48.95 628.38 157.09
9 TG Southee 114 234 28.80 57.10 591.13 147.78
10 Shaheen Shah Afridi 19 35 33.06 63.09 500.00 125.00

Away From Home

Min Innings: 20

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 JJ Bumrah 63 158 20.06 44.03 909.75 909.75
2 JM Anderson 148 266 29.83 64.33 839.31 839.31
3 K Rabada 57 129 24.96 46.12 823.58 823.58
4 MA Starc 77 147 29.35 49.48 796.65 796.65
5 PJ Cummins 52 117 26.24 50.51 785.72 785.72
6 JR Hazlewood 59 111 27.41 54.65 738.01 738.01
7 TG Southee 89 157 32.44 64.51 727.89 727.89
8 Shaheen Shah Afridi 34 81 25.65 48.81 718.30 718.30
9 N Wagner 43 82 28.41 61.12 665.26 665.26
10 KAJ Roach 65 88 38.17 66.94 576.73 576.73

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 K Rabada 107 291 21.60 37.98 822.14 205.53
2 JM Anderson 292 612 26.30 55.85 816.41 204.10
3 PJ Cummins 108 263 21.57 44.34 767.80 191.95
4 JR Hazlewood 118 263 23.69 50.55 724.22 181.05
5 MA Starc 149 324 27.36 47.70 712.94 178.23
6 N Wagner 111 244 27.31 51.45 684.38 171.10
7 KAJ Roach 134 263 26.13 50.97 673.84 168.46
8 TG Southee 164 328 30.62 59.51 645.39 161.35

Asians Outside Asia

Min Innings: 10

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 JJ Bumrah 63 158 20.06 44.03 1,000.00 250.00
2 Shaheen Shah Afridi 24 61 26.87 50.84 677.02 169.25

Unfavourable Conditions Rating

Non Asians In Asia

Min Innings: 10

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 JM Anderson 58 92 27.51 63.67 906.62 906.62
2 TG Southee 39 63 28.38 63.05 822.27 822.27
3 MA Starc 35 58 28.76 53.12 813.04 813.04
4 K Rabada 21 36 25.28 51.31 738.05 738.05
5 PJ Cummins 17 31 29.84 63.03 623.06 623.06
6 N Wagner 11 16 31.56 73.13 530.09 530.09
7 KAJ Roach 20 21 40.86 73.33 454.12 454.12
8 JR Hazlewood 17 16 39.19 95.19 431.60 431.60

Asians In Asia

Min Innings: 20

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 JJ Bumrah 23 47 17.19 35.60 966.56 966.56
2 Shaheen Shah Afridi 29 55 29.02 55.65 751.04 751.04

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 PRESENT ERA Rating, i.e. 250 pts.

RANK BOWLER AWAY HOME UC FC TOT CON PTS
1 JJ Bumrah 909.75 198.11 966.56 250.00 2,324.42 232.44
2 JM Anderson 839.31 191.45 906.62 204.10 2,141.48 214.15
3 K Rabada 823.58 189.45 738.05 205.53 1,956.62 195.66
4 MA Starc 796.65 160.79 813.04 178.23 1,948.72 194.87
5 TG Southee 727.89 147.78 822.27 161.35 1,859.29 185.93
6 PJ Cummins 785.72 170.81 623.06 191.95 1,771.54 177.15
7 Shaheen Shah Afridi 718.30 125.00 751.04 169.25 1,763.59 176.36
8 N Wagner 665.26 157.09 530.09 171.10 1,523.54 152.35
9 JR Hazlewood 738.01 161.58 431.60 181.05 1,512.26 151.23
10 KAJ Roach 576.73 163.91 454.12 168.46 1,363.22 136.32

SECONDARY CRITERIA

The Secondary Rating consists of four parts. If Innings are less than the Qualification than the Player gets 50% of the Points.

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 PRESENT ERA Rating: Home and Away.

TOP FORM AT HOME

Min Innings: 10

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 K Rabada 30 95 16.57 29.91 913.65 182.73
2 JM Anderson 30 83 14.54 36.18 909.06 181.81
3 PJ Cummins 30 80 16.33 37.59 809.48 161.90
4 JJ Bumrah 23 47 17.19 35.60 795.09 159.02
5 TG Southee 30 83 22.75 44.64 769.88 153.98
6 KAJ Roach 30 76 17.76 40.63 761.83 152.37
7 MA Starc 30 80 21.54 40.90 756.95 151.39
8 N Wagner 30 78 22.91 43.69 748.52 149.70
9 JR Hazlewood 30 67 17.52 43.19 734.52 146.90
10 Shaheen Shah Afridi 19 35 33.06 63.09 485.35 97.07

TOP FORM AWAY

Min Innings: 10

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 K Rabada 30 80 21.66 38.58 922.40 737.92
2 JJ Bumrah 30 80 19.14 41.20 919.64 735.72
3 MA Starc 30 71 22.83 38.79 897.96 718.37
4 JM Anderson 30 62 18.50 50.84 869.40 695.52
5 PJ Cummins 30 76 23.05 46.99 844.30 675.44
6 Shaheen Shah Afridi 30 73 23.90 46.00 810.00 648.00
7 N Wagner 30 68 23.15 54.65 790.15 632.12
8 TG Southee 30 62 26.35 54.74 776.74 621.39
9 JR Hazlewood 30 58 28.53 54.67 705.82 564.65
10 KAJ Roach 30 50 34.72 58.30 608.27 486.61

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 K Rabada 128 327 2.55 1,000.00 500.00
2 JJ Bumrah 86 205 2.38 943.80 471.90
3 PJ Cummins 125 294 2.35 922.13 461.06
4 Shaheen Shah Afridi 53 116 2.19 896.25 448.13
5 JR Hazlewood 135 279 2.07 847.77 423.89
6 N Wagner 122 260 2.13 838.93 419.46
7 MA Starc 184 382 2.08 827.76 413.88
8 JM Anderson 350 704 2.01 798.74 399.37
9 TG Southee 203 391 1.93 767.34 383.67
10 KAJ Roach 154 284 1.84 745.00 372.50

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 K Rabada 128 62 48.44 842.78 842.78
2 JJ Bumrah 86 41 47.67 840.11 840.11
3 JM Anderson 350 140 40.00 816.24 816.24
4 N Wagner 122 53 43.44 761.88 761.88
5 PJ Cummins 125 54 43.20 761.37 761.37
6 JR Hazlewood 135 57 42.22 735.45 735.45
7 MA Starc 184 66 35.87 677.66 677.66
8 Shaheen Shah Afridi 53 21 39.62 673.18 673.18
9 TG Southee 203 72 35.47 634.03 634.03
10 KAJ Roach 154 57 37.01 628.56 628.56

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 PRESENT ERA Rating, i.e. 250 pts.

RANK BOWLER TF HM TF AW WPI II TOT SEC RAT
1 K Rabada 182.73 737.92 500.00 842.78 2,263.43 226.34
2 JJ Bumrah 159.02 735.72 471.90 840.11 2,206.74 220.67
3 JM Anderson 181.81 695.52 399.37 816.24 2,092.94 209.29
4 PJ Cummins 161.90 675.44 461.06 761.37 2,059.77 205.98
5 N Wagner 149.70 632.12 419.46 761.88 1,963.16 196.32
6 MA Starc 151.39 718.37 413.88 677.66 1,961.29 196.13
7 JR Hazlewood 146.90 564.65 423.89 735.45 1,870.90 187.09
8 Shaheen Shah Afridi 97.07 648.00 448.13 673.18 1,866.38 186.64
9 TG Southee 153.98 621.39 383.67 634.03 1,793.07 179.31
10 KAJ Roach 152.37 486.61 372.50 628.56 1,640.04 164.00

PRESENT ERA RATING

PRESENT ERA 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 BOWLER NAT PRI RAT CON RAT SEC RAT FIN RAT
1 JJ Bumrah IND 422.88 232.44 220.67 876.00
2 JM Anderson ENG 410.37 214.15 209.29 833.81
3 K Rabada SA 406.17 195.66 226.34 828.18
4 PJ Cummins AUS 375.07 177.15 205.98 758.20
5 MA Starc AUS 363.99 194.87 196.13 754.99
6 TG Southee NZ 335.07 185.93 179.31 700.31
7 JR Hazlewood AUS 351.45 151.23 187.09 689.77
8 N Wagner NZ 335.42 152.35 196.32 684.09
9 Shaheen Shah Afridi PAK 307.04 176.36 186.64 670.04
10 KAJ Roach WI 327.34 136.32 164.00 627.67

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

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