Top 25 Test Fast Bowlers In Top Form At Home

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 their Top Form At Home

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

TOP FORM – HOME Rating

This rating only include stats of Fast bowlers in their Top Form 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. Top Form is calculated by taking the best 30 consecutive innings of a bowler such that his overall points are maximum.

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

PROLIFIC


Criteria: Points For Wickets Taken

RANK BOWLER NAT FP LP INNS WKTS RAT
TS Imran Khan PAK 1980-12-30 1986-11-20 30 107 250.00
1 Imran Khan PAK 1980-12-30 1986-11-20 30 107 250.00
2 Waqar Younis PAK 1989-11-15 1995-09-08 30 105 245.33
3 MD Marshall WI 1984-03-30 1989-04-15 30 103 240.65
4 DK Lillee AUS 1977-01-01 1981-11-13 30 97 226.64
5 K Rabada SA 2016-01-14 2018-03-22 30 95 221.96
6 DW Steyn SA 2010-01-03 2013-02-22 30 92 214.95
6 FS Trueman ENG 1960-06-09 1963-07-04 30 92 214.95
8 AA Donald SA 1997-03-21 2000-11-17 30 87 203.27
9 M Ntini SA 2005-01-21 2007-11-16 30 86 200.93
9 MG Johnson AUS 2009-12-04 2014-01-03 30 86 200.93
11 RJ Hadlee NZ 1979-02-23 1985-02-09 30 84 196.26
11 Wasim Akram PAK 1990-11-23 1997-12-06 30 84 196.26
13 JM Anderson ENG 2015-07-29 2018-06-01 30 83 193.93
13 RGD Willis ENG 1980-06-05 1983-07-28 30 83 193.93
15 AR Caddick ENG 1997-08-21 2001-08-02 30 82 191.59
15 Shoaib Akhtar PAK 2000-03-05 2005-11-29 30 82 191.59
17 KAJ Roach WI 2018-07-04 2022-06-16 30 76 177.57
17 SM Pollock SA 1996-01-02 1999-11-25 30 76 177.57
17 PJ Cummins AUS 2018-12-14 2021-12-26 30 76 177.57
20 N Kapil Dev IND 1978-12-15 1980-01-29 30 75 175.23
21 CEL Ambrose WI 1995-04-21 1999-03-05 30 72 168.22
22 GD McGrath AUS 2002-11-07 2005-11-17 30 68 158.88
23 UT Yadav IND 2016-12-16 2019-11-22 30 66 154.21
23 CEH Croft WI 1977-02-18 1982-01-30 22 66 154.21
25 VD Philander SA 2016-08-27 2019-12-26 30 65 151.87
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 Imran Khan 30 1404 107 13.12 31.03 13.53 150.00
1 Imran Khan 30 1404 107 13.12 31.03 13.53 150.00
2 JM Anderson 30 1207 83 14.54 32.06 14.51 139.82
3 VD Philander 30 1052 65 16.18 31.32 16.53 122.74
4 K Rabada 30 1574 95 16.57 31.10 17.05 119.05
5 DW Steyn 30 1580 92 17.17 32.24 17.05 119.04
6 Waqar Younis 30 1805 105 17.19 31.55 17.44 116.39
7 GD McGrath 30 1199 68 17.63 32.27 17.49 116.06
8 MD Marshall 30 1708 103 16.58 30.07 17.65 115.00
9 SM Pollock 30 1382 76 18.18 32.82 17.73 114.45
10 CEL Ambrose 30 1232 72 17.11 30.71 17.83 113.84
11 UT Yadav 30 1328 66 20.12 35.06 18.36 110.51
12 KAJ Roach 30 1350 76 17.76 30.94 18.37 110.46
13 Wasim Akram 30 1510 84 17.98 30.86 18.64 108.89
14 AA Donald 30 1584 87 18.21 31.18 18.68 108.62
15 PJ Cummins 30 1381 76 18.17 30.21 19.25 105.44
16 M Ntini 30 1794 86 20.86 33.94 19.67 103.19
17 DK Lillee 30 1824 97 18.80 29.86 20.15 100.71
18 RJ Hadlee 30 1607 84 19.13 30.25 20.23 100.30
19 Shoaib Akhtar 30 1783 82 21.74 34.29 20.29 100.01
20 AR Caddick 30 1736 82 21.17 33.13 20.45 99.23
21 N Kapil Dev 30 1554 75 20.72 31.84 20.82 97.47
22 CEH Croft 22 1301 66 19.71 30.19 20.90 97.12
23 FS Trueman 30 1842 92 20.02 29.40 21.79 93.12
24 MG Johnson 30 1936 86 22.51 33.03 21.81 93.04
25 RGD Willis 30 1786 83 21.52 30.75 22.40 90.62

Against Top Teams

RANK BOWLER INNS RUNS WKTS AVE C AVE R AVE RAT
TS JM Anderson 10 344 27 12.74 32.06 12.72 150.00
1 JM Anderson 10 344 27 12.74 32.06 12.72 150.00
2 Imran Khan 13 459 36 12.75 31.03 13.15 145.10
3 CEL Ambrose 15 604 43 14.05 30.71 14.63 130.34
4 VD Philander 16 557 37 15.05 31.32 15.38 124.03
5 SM Pollock 19 881 53 16.62 32.82 16.21 117.68
6 DW Steyn 18 1020 58 17.59 32.24 17.46 109.26
7 AA Donald 24 1244 72 17.28 31.18 17.73 107.59
8 Wasim Akram 16 806 47 17.15 30.86 17.78 107.28
9 K Rabada 18 1044 58 18.00 31.10 18.52 102.99
10 MD Marshall 26 1503 86 17.48 30.07 18.60 102.56
11 DK Lillee 21 1181 67 17.63 29.86 18.89 100.98
12 RJ Hadlee 19 1066 59 18.07 30.25 19.11 99.82
13 GD McGrath 11 477 24 19.88 32.27 19.71 96.78
14 KAJ Roach 19 900 47 19.15 30.94 19.81 96.31
15 PJ Cummins 22 1015 54 18.80 30.21 19.91 95.81
16 CEH Croft 12 625 33 18.94 30.19 20.08 95.01
17 M Ntini 22 1348 62 21.74 33.94 20.50 93.06
18 UT Yadav 18 818 36 22.72 35.06 20.74 91.98
19 N Kapil Dev 30 1554 75 20.72 31.84 20.82 91.61
20 MG Johnson 17 1195 55 21.73 33.03 21.05 90.61
21 Waqar Younis 10 554 26 21.31 31.55 21.61 88.26
22 FS Trueman 22 1403 70 20.04 29.40 21.82 87.43
23 RGD Willis 25 1456 68 21.41 30.75 22.28 85.60
24 Shoaib Akhtar 21 1399 53 26.40 34.29 24.63 77.43
25 AR Caddick 6 461 18 25.61 33.13 24.74 77.10
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 K Rabada 30 2841 95 29.91 59.29 32.79 250.00
1 K Rabada 30 2841 95 29.91 59.29 32.79 250.00
2 Waqar Younis 30 3547 105 33.78 63.58 34.53 237.34
3 Imran Khan 30 3827 107 35.77 65.60 35.44 231.29
4 UT Yadav 30 2433 66 36.86 66.73 35.91 228.27
5 MD Marshall 30 3648 103 35.42 63.43 36.29 225.85
6 AA Donald 30 3138 87 36.07 64.34 36.44 224.93
7 M Ntini 30 3098 86 36.02 63.37 36.95 221.81
8 Shoaib Akhtar 30 3215 82 39.21 66.32 38.43 213.28
9 JM Anderson 30 3003 83 36.18 61.12 38.48 213.03
10 DW Steyn 30 3359 92 36.51 61.04 38.88 210.81
11 CEH Croft 22 2585 66 39.17 64.98 39.18 209.20
12 FS Trueman 30 3963 92 43.08 71.24 39.30 208.55
13 DK Lillee 30 3939 97 40.61 65.88 40.07 204.56
14 Wasim Akram 30 3336 84 39.71 63.38 40.73 201.24
15 MG Johnson 30 3451 86 40.13 62.60 41.67 196.71
16 RGD Willis 30 3566 83 42.96 67.02 41.67 196.70
17 N Kapil Dev 30 3190 75 42.53 65.87 41.97 195.28
18 AR Caddick 30 3571 82 43.55 64.45 43.92 186.61
19 VD Philander 30 2626 65 40.40 59.51 44.13 185.74
20 SM Pollock 30 3334 76 43.87 63.69 44.77 183.08
21 KAJ Roach 30 3088 76 40.63 58.72 44.98 182.23
22 GD McGrath 30 3100 68 45.59 63.54 46.64 175.74
23 CEL Ambrose 30 3335 72 46.32 64.04 47.01 174.35
24 PJ Cummins 30 3218 76 42.34 58.20 47.29 173.34
25 RJ Hadlee 30 4140 84 49.29 64.84 49.41 165.90
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 Imran Khan 8/58 8/60 6/35 6/46 6/58 6/98 5/40 6.43 100.00
1 Imran Khan 8/58 8/60 6/35 6/46 6/58 6/98 5/40 6.43 100.00
2 Waqar Younis 7/76 7/86 7/91 6/44 5/46 5/54 5/65 6.00 93.33
3 K Rabada 7/112 6/32 6/54 6/55 5/30 5/33 5/78 5.71 88.89
3 FS Trueman 7/44 6/30 6/31 6/100 5/27 5/52 5/58 5.71 88.89
5 MD Marshall 7/80 6/55 5/34 5/42 5/51 5/60 5/65 5.43 84.44
5 RJ Hadlee 6/51 6/68 6/100 5/28 5/34 5/47 5/63 5.43 84.44
5 JM Anderson 7/42 6/47 5/16 5/29 5/58 5/72 5/76 5.43 84.44
5 DK Lillee 6/26 6/53 6/60 5/18 5/63 5/78 5/78 5.43 84.44
9 M Ntini 6/59 6/100 5/35 5/48 5/51 5/83 5/94 5.29 82.22
9 DW Steyn 6/8 6/50 5/17 5/51 5/52 5/73 5/75 5.29 82.22
11 AA Donald 6/53 5/36 5/47 5/49 5/49 5/54 5/74 5.14 80.00
11 Shoaib Akhtar 6/11 6/50 5/24 5/60 5/71 5/75 4/30 5.14 80.00
11 MG Johnson 7/40 6/38 5/42 5/63 5/103 4/61 4/63 5.14 80.00
11 N Kapil Dev 7/56 6/63 5/58 5/74 5/82 4/30 4/38 5.14 80.00
11 RGD Willis 8/43 6/101 5/35 5/65 4/43 4/57 4/63 5.14 80.00
16 CEH Croft 8/29 6/74 5/40 4/15 4/39 4/47 4/47 5.00 77.78
16 SM Pollock 6/50 5/32 5/39 5/43 5/54 5/83 4/16 5.00 77.78
18 Wasim Akram 6/48 5/28 5/55 5/63 5/65 4/42 4/42 4.86 75.56
18 PJ Cummins 6/23 6/27 5/28 5/38 4/21 4/29 4/39 4.86 75.56
18 CEL Ambrose 5/25 5/37 5/45 5/52 5/68 5/87 4/20 4.86 75.56
21 GD McGrath 8/24 5/37 4/31 4/35 4/36 4/41 4/50 4.71 73.33
21 AR Caddick 5/14 5/16 5/32 5/42 5/101 4/38 4/52 4.71 73.33
23 VD Philander 6/21 6/42 5/45 4/16 4/27 3/28 3/30 4.43 68.89
23 KAJ Roach 5/8 5/17 5/53 4/30 4/48 4/52 4/52 4.43 68.89
25 UT Yadav 6/88 5/53 4/32 4/45 3/22 3/26 3/29 4.00 62.22
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 PJ Cummins 6/23 6/27 3/15 4/21 5/28 4/29 5/38 5.48 100.00
1 PJ Cummins 6/23 6/27 3/15 4/21 5/28 4/29 5/38 5.48 100.00
2 JM Anderson 5/16 3/16 5/29 7/42 6/47 3/25 4/38 6.45 84.98
3 GD McGrath 8/24 3/19 3/20 5/37 4/31 4/35 4/36 6.52 84.17
4 VD Philander 6/21 4/16 4/27 6/42 5/45 3/28 3/30 6.74 81.35
5 DW Steyn 6/8 5/17 4/18 6/50 5/51 5/52 3/34 6.76 81.08
6 AR Caddick 5/14 5/16 5/32 5/42 3/28 4/38 3/35 6.83 80.27
7 Imran Khan 6/35 3/19 8/58 4/30 8/60 6/46 5/40 7.20 76.18
8 KAJ Roach 5/8 5/17 4/30 3/28 3/30 5/53 4/48 7.38 74.33
9 CEL Ambrose 4/20 5/25 5/37 3/23 5/45 3/28 4/38 7.45 73.64
10 RJ Hadlee 3/16 5/28 5/34 4/33 4/34 6/51 5/47 7.59 72.23
11 K Rabada 6/32 5/30 5/33 6/54 6/55 4/37 3/33 7.83 70.06
12 SM Pollock 4/16 5/32 5/39 3/25 6/50 5/43 5/54 7.85 69.88
13 FS Trueman 6/30 6/31 5/27 7/44 5/52 5/58 4/58 7.89 69.47
14 MG Johnson 7/40 6/38 3/25 5/42 3/27 3/33 3/34 7.97 68.85
15 Shoaib Akhtar 6/11 5/24 4/30 6/50 4/36 5/60 5/71 8.06 68.07
16 CEH Croft 8/29 4/15 5/40 4/39 4/47 4/47 4/49 8.06 68.05
17 AA Donald 3/20 4/27 5/36 6/53 5/47 5/49 5/49 8.52 64.41
18 M Ntini 3/12 5/35 3/23 3/28 5/48 6/59 5/51 8.53 64.28
19 DK Lillee 5/18 6/26 6/53 4/40 6/60 5/63 4/53 8.69 63.08
20 MD Marshall 5/34 5/42 6/55 4/38 3/29 4/40 5/51 9.03 60.73
21 UT Yadav 3/22 4/32 3/26 3/29 3/29 5/53 4/45 9.44 58.10
22 Waqar Younis 3/20 6/44 5/46 4/40 5/54 7/76 4/44 9.53 57.56
23 Wasim Akram 5/28 6/48 4/42 4/42 4/42 5/55 5/63 9.70 56.56
24 N Kapil Dev 4/30 7/56 4/38 4/39 6/63 5/58 5/74 10.23 53.62
25 RGD Willis 8/43 5/35 4/43 5/65 3/41 4/57 3/47 10.34 53.03
TF HM Rating

The TOP FORM – HOME (TF 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 TF HM RAT
1 Imran Khan 250.00 150.00 145.10 231.29 100.00 76.18 952.56
2 JM Anderson 193.93 139.82 150.00 213.03 84.44 84.98 866.20
3 K Rabada 221.96 119.05 102.99 250.00 88.89 70.06 852.95
4 Waqar Younis 245.33 116.39 88.26 237.34 93.33 57.56 838.21
5 MD Marshall 240.65 115.00 102.56 225.85 84.44 60.73 829.24
6 DW Steyn 214.95 119.04 109.26 210.81 82.22 81.08 817.37
7 AA Donald 203.27 108.62 107.59 224.93 80.00 64.41 788.82
8 DK Lillee 226.64 100.71 100.98 204.56 84.44 63.08 780.41
9 M Ntini 200.93 103.19 93.06 221.81 82.22 64.28 765.49
10 FS Trueman 214.95 93.12 87.43 208.55 88.89 69.47 762.42
11 Wasim Akram 196.26 108.89 107.28 201.24 75.56 56.56 745.79
12 SM Pollock 177.57 114.45 117.68 183.08 77.78 69.88 740.45
13 CEL Ambrose 168.22 113.84 130.34 174.35 75.56 73.64 735.95
14 VD Philander 151.87 122.74 124.03 185.74 68.89 81.35 734.61
15 Shoaib Akhtar 191.59 100.01 77.43 213.28 80.00 68.07 730.39
16 MG Johnson 200.93 93.04 90.61 196.71 80.00 68.85 730.14
17 PJ Cummins 177.57 105.44 95.81 173.34 75.56 100.00 727.72
18 RJ Hadlee 196.26 100.30 99.82 165.90 84.44 72.23 718.95
19 KAJ Roach 177.57 110.46 96.31 182.23 68.89 74.33 709.79
20 AR Caddick 191.59 99.23 77.10 186.61 73.33 80.27 708.13
21 UT Yadav 154.21 110.51 91.98 228.27 62.22 58.10 705.29
22 GD McGrath 158.88 116.06 96.78 175.74 73.33 84.17 704.96
23 CEH Croft 154.21 97.12 95.01 209.20 77.78 68.05 701.36
24 RGD Willis 193.93 90.62 85.60 196.70 80.00 53.03 699.87
25 N Kapil Dev 175.23 97.47 91.61 195.28 80.00 53.62 693.22

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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