Top 25 Fast Bowlers At Home In Test Cricket

All Test Ratings on the website are from 01/01/1950 onwards. Our ratings are based on conditions and diverse oppositions. Before the above mentioned date, there were primarily only two teams which dominated cricket. Moreover, matches were of unequal length with some ending in 4 days and some being timeless. Post 1950, West Indies and South Africa grew as test teams. Moreover, Asian teams India and Pakistan started improving after 1950 and became compenent at home at least. Performance in Asia and outside Asia are integral to our overall rating. How the rating works is explained in highlighted sections. So, here are the Top 25 Fast bowlers in matches At Home

*Note: All Test Ratings are updated till 2023-01-08

HOME Rating

This rating only include stats of Fast bowlers in matches At Home. The rating is divided into sections to make it easy to understand how it is calculated. Before each section, its criteria is highlighted in bold. Our ratings are dynamic, and as new matches are played, the rating of earlier bowlers may change if current bowlers set new benchmarks. It is to be noted that U.A.E. is considered as a second Home for Pakistan and all stats of Pakistani bowlers are calculated accordingly.

The Trend Setter

The Trend Setter (TS) is the player which does the best in a criteria. The rating of all other players are calculated as percentage points of TS. Let’s taken an example to understand it:-

  • Let’s assume that Glenn McGrath has taken 500 wkts, which is the highest. This makes him the TS.
  • Another player, say Jason Gillespie, has taken 250 wkts.
  • If the rating is out of 250, McGrath will get the full points (pts), that is 250.
  • The points of Gillespie are calculated as His Wkts/McGrath’s Wkts*250. This comes out to be 125.
  • Thus the formula is (Wkts Taken/Wkts Taken By TS)*Max Points.
  • All ratings are calculated similarly with Wkts being replaced by the Criteria Stat.
  • Obviously, for average the formula is reverased as the lower average is better for a bowler.
  • For Average and Strike Rate, a bowler is eligible to be TS only if he has taken a minimum number of wickets, which are mentioned in the qualificaton.
  • Lastly, it is to be noted that it is not necessary for a TS to be part of the rating as he might have topped in a criteria but not done well in others.

QUALIFICATION


Min Innings 20
Min Wickets (TS AVE SR) 50
Min Wickets v/s Top Teams (TS AVE) 25
The Eras

The first criteria Prolific gives points for wkts taken. We have divided cricket from 1950 onwards into 3 broad eras. This has been done to make it fair for players from earlier era, when less cricket was played, and also for current players, who are in the middle of their careers. Let’s take an example:-

  • Let’s assume Murlidharan has taken 500 wickets, which is the maximum and gives him 250 points.
  • Now, say Underwood in earlier times took 250 wkts, which was the max for his era.
  • If there are no eras, he would get 50% of the pts, that is 125.
  • Instead of that, we reduced 50 pts (according to %age) from the max to arrive at the figure of 200 pts for Underwood.
  • Now, everyone in his era is compared to Underwood and not Murlidharan.
  • So a player who has taken 50 Wkts in Underwood’s era will get (50/250)*200 pts or 40pts.
  • Eras are calculated by MP, which is the mean of the years a player: First Played (FP) and Last Played (LP).

PROLIFIC


Criteria: Points For Wickets Taken

Era 1 MP before 1991
Era 2 MP between 1990 and 2016
Era 3 MP greater than 2015
RANK ERA 1 NAT FP LP MP INNS WKTS RAT
TS DK Lillee AUS 1971 1984 1977.5 84 231 200.00
1 DK Lillee AUS 1971 1984 1977.5 84 231 200.00
2 FS Trueman ENG 1952 1965 1958.5 90 229 198.27
3 IT Botham ENG 1977 1992 1984.5 96 226 195.67
4 N Kapil Dev IND 1978 1994 1986 119 219 189.61
5 RJ Hadlee NZ 1973 1990 1981.5 75 201 174.03
6 RGD Willis ENG 1971 1984 1977.5 73 176 152.38
7 Imran Khan PAK 1971 1991 1981 59 163 141.13
8 MD Marshall WI 1978 1991 1984.5 58 157 135.93
9 CEH Croft WI 1977 1982 1979.5 22 66 57.14
RANK ERA 2 NAT FP LP MP INNS WKTS RAT
TS JM Anderson ENG 2003 2022 2012.5 192 429 250.00
1 JM Anderson ENG 2003 2022 2012.5 192 429 250.00
2 SCJ Broad ENG 2007 2022 2014.5 176 370 215.62
3 GD McGrath AUS 1993 2007 2000 131 289 168.41
4 DW Steyn SA 2004 2019 2011.5 99 261 152.10
5 M Ntini SA 1998 2009 2003.5 103 249 145.10
6 SM Pollock SA 1995 2008 2001.5 109 235 136.95
7 CEL Ambrose WI 1988 2000 1994 93 203 118.30
8 AA Donald SA 1992 2002 1997 68 177 103.15
9 Waqar Younis PAK 1989 2003 1996 66 174 101.40
RANK ERA 3 NAT FP LP MP INNS WKTS RAT
TS MA Starc AUS 2011 2022 2016.5 87 197 200.00
1 MA Starc AUS 2011 2022 2016.5 87 197 200.00
2 KAJ Roach WI 2009 2022 2015.5 80 180 182.74
3 K Rabada SA 2015 2022 2018.5 55 161 163.45
4 VD Philander SA 2011 2020 2015.5 69 146 148.22
5 PJ Cummins AUS 2011 2023 2017 53 128 129.95
6 UT Yadav IND 2022 2022 2022 60 98 99.49
7 Mohammed Shami IND 2013 2022 2017.5 36 67 68.02
C Ave

The Comparative Average (C Ave) for bowlers is calculated by taken into account two factors:-

  • First is the average of batsmen in the decades the bowler played.
  • Second is the average of the opposition batsmen at Home, in Asia or outside Asia; whichever is applicable.
  • The average of the opposing team’s batsmen is also calculated by decades.
  • Higher C Ave suggest that more runs were scored by the batsmen in the above mentioned factors.
  • Thus it was difficult to get Wkts and the bowler will benefit from this.
  • Lower C Ave means the opposite.
R Ave

The Relative Average (R Ave) is calculated using the C Ave. Its formula is (Bowler Ave/C Ave)*A Constant Factor. This constant doesn’t affect the rating as it is the same for everone. If your C Ave is comparatively high, your R Ave will be low; which is better for bowlers. Broadly speaking, the following bowlers will benefit from this system:-

  • Bowlers who have played more in unfavourable conditions.
  • Asian fast bowlers and Non-Asian spin bowlers whereever applicable.
  • Bowlers who have played in an era where the batsmen dominated, like the 2000s
  • Bowlers who have played more against top opposition than weaker teams.
Top Teams (TT)

The R Ave Rating is divided into two parts:-

  • One is Overall which gives points for the overall R Ave.
  • The second part is Against Top Teams, which gives points for R Ave against 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.
  • To be a top team, the team should be among the top teams in the specific condition (Asia or outside Asia) or among the top teams of the decade overall.
  • A bowler’s performace is counted in TT if he palyed against it in the specific condition and in the specific decade.
  • The Top Teams may be found in the last section of the rating.

CONSISTENT


Criteria: Points For Relative Average

Against All Teams

RANK BOWLER INNS RUNS WKTS AVE C AVE R AVE RAT
TS Mohammed Shami 36 1426 67 21.28 36.01 18.91 150.00
1 Mohammed Shami 36 1426 67 21.28 36.01 18.91 150.00
2 Imran Khan 59 3131 163 19.21 31.26 19.66 144.28
3 VD Philander 69 2787 146 19.09 28.76 21.24 133.55
4 CEH Croft 22 1301 66 19.71 29.16 21.63 131.16
5 Waqar Younis 66 3564 174 20.48 30.01 21.84 129.87
6 SM Pollock 109 4955 235 21.09 30.79 21.91 129.45
7 MD Marshall 58 3150 157 20.06 29.24 21.95 129.22
8 UT Yadav 60 2466 98 25.16 36.36 22.15 128.08
9 FS Trueman 90 4590 229 20.04 28.32 22.65 125.24
10 K Rabada 55 3215 161 19.97 28.09 22.75 124.71
11 CEL Ambrose 93 4302 203 21.19 29.73 22.81 124.37
12 DW Steyn 99 5643 261 21.62 30.02 23.04 123.10
13 GD McGrath 131 6483 289 22.43 30.92 23.22 122.17
14 AA Donald 68 3831 177 21.64 29.72 23.30 121.73
15 PJ Cummins 53 2584 128 20.19 27.72 23.30 121.73
16 M Ntini 103 5986 249 24.04 32.14 23.94 118.50
17 KAJ Roach 80 3947 180 21.93 28.58 24.55 115.53
18 RJ Hadlee 75 4615 201 22.96 29.57 24.85 114.16
19 RGD Willis 73 4137 176 23.51 29.78 25.26 112.31
20 DK Lillee 84 5482 231 23.73 29.79 25.49 111.27
21 JM Anderson 192 10207 429 23.79 29.77 25.58 110.91
22 N Kapil Dev 119 5803 219 26.50 31.88 26.60 106.64
23 SCJ Broad 176 9582 370 25.90 29.61 27.99 101.34
24 MA Starc 87 5180 197 26.29 28.29 29.74 95.39
25 IT Botham 96 6226 226 27.55 29.64 29.75 95.36

Against Top Teams

RANK BOWLER INNS RUNS WKTS AVE C AVE R AVE RAT
TS JDP Oram 14 505 26 19.42 31.88 19.50 150.00
1 Imran Khan 28 1245 65 19.15 31.26 19.61 149.17
2 Mohammed Shami 16 713 32 22.28 36.01 19.80 147.72
3 CEH Croft 12 625 33 18.94 29.16 20.78 140.74
4 SM Pollock 66 3153 150 21.02 30.79 21.85 133.87
5 CEL Ambrose 62 3082 150 20.55 29.73 22.11 132.25
6 MD Marshall 43 2365 117 20.21 29.24 22.12 132.23
7 VD Philander 40 1677 81 20.70 28.76 23.04 126.95
8 DW Steyn 60 3580 164 21.83 30.02 23.27 125.70
9 UT Yadav 36 1427 52 27.44 36.36 24.15 121.08
10 RJ Hadlee 53 3341 149 22.42 29.57 24.27 120.52
11 PJ Cummins 44 2184 103 21.20 27.72 24.48 119.48
12 K Rabada 33 2131 99 21.53 28.09 24.52 119.28
13 AA Donald 47 2711 119 22.78 29.72 24.53 119.24
14 GD McGrath 83 4278 177 24.17 30.92 25.02 116.91
15 DK Lillee 66 4137 177 23.37 29.79 25.11 116.48
16 FS Trueman 55 3108 139 22.36 28.32 25.27 115.74
17 KAJ Roach 45 2432 106 22.94 28.58 25.69 113.84
18 RGD Willis 55 3216 134 24.00 29.78 25.79 113.40
19 Waqar Younis 28 1501 60 25.02 30.01 26.68 109.63
20 N Kapil Dev 96 4965 182 27.28 31.88 27.39 106.79
21 M Ntini 55 3444 124 27.77 32.14 27.66 105.75
22 JM Anderson 125 7022 266 26.40 29.77 28.38 103.06
23 SCJ Broad 116 6515 242 26.92 29.61 29.10 100.51
24 MA Starc 65 3788 138 27.45 28.29 31.04 94.21
25 IT Botham 76 5115 172 29.74 29.64 32.11 91.08
C SR And R SR

The Comparative Strike Rate (C SR) and Relative Strike Rate (R SR) for bowlers is calculated using the same method as in C Ave and R Ave with average replaced with SR. Points to note are:-

  • Bowlers from the earlier era benefit from R SR.
  • This is because more balls were taken to get a Wkt back then as batsmen had better defensive technique.
  • Rest of the factors are the same as in R Ave

ATTACKING


Criteria: Points For R SR or Relative Balls/Wkt

RANK BOWLER INNS BLS WKTS SR C SR R SR RAT
TS CEH Croft 22 2585 66 39.17 64.37 39.55 250.00
1 CEH Croft 22 2585 66 39.17 64.37 39.55 250.00
2 Mohammed Shami 36 2824 67 42.15 69.01 39.70 249.07
3 K Rabada 55 5509 161 34.22 54.51 40.80 242.33
4 Waqar Younis 66 6754 174 38.82 60.52 41.69 237.20
5 FS Trueman 90 10295 229 44.96 69.50 42.05 235.17
6 UT Yadav 60 4631 98 47.26 69.89 43.95 224.99
7 MD Marshall 58 6672 157 42.50 62.84 43.96 224.95
8 DW Steyn 99 10496 261 40.21 57.25 45.66 216.56
9 RGD Willis 73 8121 176 46.14 65.18 46.01 214.89
10 Imran Khan 59 7673 163 47.07 65.14 46.97 210.52
11 AA Donald 68 7968 177 45.02 62.19 47.05 210.17
12 M Ntini 103 11266 249 45.24 60.32 48.76 202.82
13 DK Lillee 84 11534 231 49.93 65.46 49.58 199.44
14 VD Philander 69 6408 146 43.89 55.53 51.38 192.46
15 RJ Hadlee 75 10663 201 53.05 64.21 53.70 184.14
16 KAJ Roach 80 8309 180 46.16 55.25 54.31 182.07
17 PJ Cummins 53 5828 128 45.53 54.42 54.38 181.82
18 IT Botham 96 12243 226 54.17 64.27 54.79 180.48
19 N Kapil Dev 119 12211 219 55.76 65.56 55.28 178.87
20 SM Pollock 109 12353 235 52.57 60.68 56.31 175.62
21 MA Starc 87 9478 197 48.11 55.12 56.73 174.29
22 SCJ Broad 176 18685 370 50.50 57.04 57.54 171.84
23 JM Anderson 192 21842 429 50.91 57.48 57.57 171.75
24 CEL Ambrose 93 11325 203 55.79 62.82 57.72 171.31
25 GD McGrath 131 15829 289 54.77 61.37 58.01 170.45
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.

BEST BOWLING (WKTS)


Criteria: Points For Wkts Taken In Top 7 Inns

RANK BOWLER 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 BBW RAT
TS IT Botham 8/34 8/103 6/34 6/90 6/95 6/101 6/125 6.57 100.00
1 SCJ Broad 8/15 7/44 7/72 6/25 6/31 6/46 6/50 6.57 100.00
1 IT Botham 8/34 8/103 6/34 6/90 6/95 6/101 6/125 6.57 100.00
3 Imran Khan 8/58 8/60 6/35 6/46 6/58 6/98 5/40 6.43 97.83
4 RJ Hadlee 7/23 7/116 6/26 6/50 6/51 6/68 6/100 6.29 95.65
4 N Kapil Dev 9/83 7/56 6/63 6/77 6/91 5/58 5/68 6.29 95.65
6 FS Trueman 8/31 7/44 6/30 6/31 6/100 5/27 5/31 6.14 93.48
7 DK Lillee 7/83 6/26 6/53 6/60 6/82 6/171 5/18 6.00 91.30
7 Waqar Younis 7/76 7/86 7/91 6/44 5/46 5/54 5/65 6.00 91.30
9 RGD Willis 8/43 7/78 6/101 5/35 5/42 5/42 5/47 5.86 89.13
9 JM Anderson 7/42 7/43 6/17 6/47 5/16 5/20 5/29 5.86 89.13
9 GD McGrath 8/24 6/17 6/50 6/85 5/32 5/37 5/40 5.86 89.13
9 DW Steyn 6/8 6/34 6/49 6/50 6/72 6/100 5/17 5.86 89.13
13 CEL Ambrose 8/45 6/24 6/34 5/25 5/37 5/45 5/52 5.71 86.96
13 K Rabada 7/112 6/32 6/54 6/55 5/30 5/33 5/78 5.71 86.96
15 M Ntini 6/59 6/66 6/100 5/19 5/35 5/48 5/49 5.43 82.61
15 AA Donald 7/84 6/53 5/36 5/40 5/46 5/47 5/49 5.43 82.61
15 MD Marshall 7/80 6/55 5/34 5/37 5/42 5/51 5/60 5.43 82.61
15 SM Pollock 6/30 6/50 6/56 5/32 5/39 5/40 5/43 5.43 82.61
19 MA Starc 6/66 6/154 5/46 5/52 5/54 5/63 5/88 5.29 80.43
19 VD Philander 6/21 6/42 5/7 5/15 5/45 5/49 5/53 5.29 80.43
21 KAJ Roach 6/48 5/8 5/17 5/41 5/42 5/53 5/60 5.14 78.26
22 CEH Croft 8/29 6/74 5/40 4/15 4/39 4/47 4/47 5.00 76.09
22 PJ Cummins 6/23 6/27 5/28 5/38 5/42 4/21 4/29 5.00 76.09
24 UT Yadav 6/88 5/53 4/32 4/45 4/80 3/9 3/22 4.14 63.04
25 Mohammed Shami 5/35 5/47 4/31 4/71 4/100 3/10 3/27 4.00 60.87
BBA

In this criteria, we have taken the top 7 bowling performances by Average of a bowler. Best Bowling By Average (BBA) is simply the average of the bowler in the 7 Inns. Only 3+ Wkt performaces are counted in this criteria.

BEST BOWLING (AVE)


Criteria: Points For Average In Top 7 Inns

RANK BOWLER 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 BBA RAT
TS JM Anderson 3/6 6/17 5/16 5/20 4/20 3/16 3/16 3.83 100.00
1 JM Anderson 3/6 6/17 5/16 5/20 4/20 3/16 3/16 3.83 100.00
2 GD McGrath 4/10 6/17 8/24 3/13 3/19 5/32 3/20 4.22 90.73
3 VD Philander 5/7 5/15 6/21 4/16 4/27 6/42 4/29 4.62 82.89
4 SCJ Broad 8/15 6/25 4/19 6/31 4/21 7/44 5/37 4.80 79.74
5 CEL Ambrose 3/8 6/24 4/20 5/25 4/22 8/45 6/34 4.94 77.41
6 DW Steyn 6/8 5/17 4/18 6/34 5/33 5/34 4/30 4.97 76.99
7 FS Trueman 8/31 6/30 6/31 5/27 4/24 5/31 7/44 5.32 71.99
8 PJ Cummins 6/23 6/27 3/15 4/21 5/28 4/29 5/38 5.48 69.78
9 IT Botham 5/11 5/21 8/34 6/34 5/35 5/39 5/46 5.64 67.85
10 RJ Hadlee 7/23 6/26 3/16 5/28 5/34 5/39 4/33 5.69 67.32
11 SM Pollock 3/9 4/16 6/30 5/32 4/31 5/39 4/32 6.10 62.78
12 M Ntini 5/19 3/12 3/20 5/35 3/22 3/23 4/32 6.27 61.05
13 KAJ Roach 5/8 5/17 3/22 4/30 6/48 5/41 5/42 6.30 60.73
14 RGD Willis 4/16 8/43 5/35 3/24 5/42 5/42 5/47 7.11 53.80
15 Imran Khan 6/35 3/19 8/58 4/30 8/60 6/46 5/40 7.20 53.16
16 AA Donald 4/14 3/20 4/27 5/36 5/40 6/53 5/46 7.38 51.90
17 UT Yadav 3/9 3/22 3/23 4/32 3/26 3/29 3/29 7.73 49.53
18 K Rabada 6/32 5/30 5/33 6/54 6/55 4/37 4/38 7.75 49.39
19 CEH Croft 8/29 4/15 5/40 4/39 4/47 4/47 4/49 8.06 47.49
20 N Kapil Dev 3/21 4/30 3/24 7/56 4/36 9/83 4/38 8.47 45.19
21 MD Marshall 5/34 5/37 5/42 6/55 4/38 3/29 4/40 8.59 44.54
22 DK Lillee 5/18 6/26 6/53 4/40 6/60 7/83 4/49 8.66 44.21
23 Waqar Younis 4/19 3/20 6/44 5/46 4/40 5/54 7/76 8.79 43.52
24 MA Starc 3/24 3/25 4/36 5/46 4/37 3/29 3/29 9.04 42.34
25 Mohammed Shami 3/10 5/35 4/31 3/27 5/47 3/46 4/71 9.89 38.71
HM Rating

The HOME (HM) Rating is the addition of the points of all the above criteria. The rating is out of 1,000.

RATING


RANK BOWLER PRO CON CON TT ATT BBW BBA HM RAT
1 FS Trueman 198.27 125.24 115.74 235.17 93.48 71.99 839.88
2 JM Anderson 250.00 110.91 103.06 171.75 89.13 100.00 824.85
3 Imran Khan 141.13 144.28 149.17 210.52 97.83 53.16 796.08
4 K Rabada 163.45 124.71 119.28 242.33 86.96 49.39 786.12
5 DW Steyn 152.10 123.10 125.70 216.56 89.13 76.99 783.58
6 SCJ Broad 215.62 101.34 100.51 171.84 100.00 79.74 769.05
7 VD Philander 148.22 133.55 126.95 192.46 80.43 82.89 764.51
8 DK Lillee 200.00 111.27 116.48 199.44 91.30 44.21 762.70
9 GD McGrath 168.41 122.17 116.91 170.45 89.13 90.73 757.80
10 RJ Hadlee 174.03 114.16 120.52 184.14 95.65 67.32 755.82
11 MD Marshall 135.93 129.22 132.23 224.95 82.61 44.54 749.48
12 RGD Willis 152.38 112.31 113.40 214.89 89.13 53.80 735.92
13 KAJ Roach 182.74 115.53 113.84 182.07 78.26 60.73 733.17
14 IT Botham 195.67 95.36 91.08 180.48 100.00 67.85 730.45
15 N Kapil Dev 189.61 106.64 106.79 178.87 95.65 45.19 722.76
16 SM Pollock 136.95 129.45 133.87 175.62 82.61 62.78 721.27
17 M Ntini 145.10 118.50 105.75 202.82 82.61 61.05 715.83
18 Mohammed Shami 68.02 150.00 147.72 249.07 60.87 38.71 714.39
19 Waqar Younis 101.40 129.87 109.63 237.20 91.30 43.52 712.93
20 CEL Ambrose 118.30 124.37 132.25 171.31 86.96 77.41 710.59
21 CEH Croft 57.14 131.16 140.74 250.00 76.09 47.49 702.61
22 PJ Cummins 129.95 121.73 119.48 181.82 76.09 69.78 698.85
23 AA Donald 103.15 121.73 119.24 210.17 82.61 51.90 688.80
24 MA Starc 200.00 95.39 94.21 174.29 80.43 42.34 686.66
25 UT Yadav 99.49 128.08 121.08 224.99 63.04 49.53 686.22

TOP TEAMS IN ASIA


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

TOP TEAMS OUTSIDE ASIA


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



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