Top Test Fast Bowlers Top Form Featured

Top 25 Test Fast Bowlers In Top Form

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). Here are the Top 25 Fast bowlers in their Top Form in Test cricket.

*Note: All Test Ratings are updated till 2024-06-09

CONTENTS
1. THE CRITERIA
2. QUALIFICATION
3. PROLIFIC
4. CONSISTENT
4.1. Against All Teams
5. ATTACKING
6. BEST BOWLING (WKTS)
7. TOP FORM RATING
8. TOP TEAMS
8.1. Top Teams In Asia
8.2. Top Teams Outside Asia
TF RATING

Points to note about TOP FORM Rating:-

  • Top Form is calculated by taking the best 50 consecutive innings of a bowler.
  • The inns are taken such that his overall points are maximum.

THE CRITERIA

The TF Rating is divided into 4 main sections:-

CRITERIA STAT POINTS
Prolific Wickets Taken 300.00
Consistent Average 300.00
Attacking Strike Rate 200.00
Best Bowling Top Bowling Performances 200.00
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 a simple 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.

QUALIFICATION

Min Innings 10

PROLIFIC

Criteria: Points For Wickets Taken

RANK BOWLER NAT FP LP INNS WKTS RAT
TS Waqar Younis PAK 1990-01-19 1994-09-28 50 179 300.00
1 Waqar Younis PAK 1990-01-19 1994-09-28 50 179 300.00
2 RJ Hadlee NZ 1984-03-09 1988-11-24 50 176 294.97
3 Imran Khan PAK 1980-12-08 1986-11-20 50 163 273.18
4 MD Marshall WI 1984-07-12 1988-06-30 50 161 269.83
5 DK Lillee AUS 1977-02-25 1981-11-27 50 156 261.45
5 DW Steyn SA 2007-01-26 2010-02-06 50 156 261.45
7 AA Donald SA 1996-01-02 1999-01-15 50 152 254.75
8 Wasim Akram PAK 1989-12-09 1994-09-28 50 151 253.07
9 IT Botham ENG 1977-07-28 1980-07-10 50 149 249.72
10 K Rabada SA 2016-01-14 2018-07-12 50 144 241.34
11 AK Davidson AUS 1957-12-23 1961-07-27 50 141 236.31
12 FS Trueman ENG 1960-06-23 1964-07-02 50 140 234.64
13 JR Thomson AUS 1974-11-29 1978-03-31 50 138 231.28
13 M Ntini SA 2004-11-28 2007-01-26 50 138 231.28
15 CEL Ambrose WI 1990-04-05 1994-03-17 50 137 229.61
15 CA Walsh WI 1997-11-17 2000-08-17 50 137 229.61
17 GD McGrath AUS 1995-02-03 1997-08-21 50 136 227.93
18 PJ Cummins AUS 2018-01-04 2021-12-08 50 133 222.91
19 Shoaib Akhtar PAK 2000-03-12 2007-11-22 50 131 219.55
20 MA Holding WI 1976-03-10 1982-01-30 50 129 216.20
21 SM Pollock SA 1998-08-06 2001-01-20 50 128 214.53
22 WW Hall WI 1958-11-28 1963-06-20 50 124 207.82
23 JM Anderson ENG 2016-01-22 2018-08-09 50 123 206.15
24 JJ Bumrah IND 2018-12-14 2024-02-02 50 119 199.44
25 RGD Willis ENG 1976-07-22 1978-12-15 50 116 194.41

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 50

Against All Teams

RANK BOWLER INNS RUNS WKTS AVE R AVE RAT
TS Imran Khan 50 2448 163 15.02 14.32 300.00
1 Imran Khan 50 2448 163 15.02 14.32 300.00
2 SM Pollock 50 2160 128 16.88 16.09 267.11
3 JM Anderson 50 2248 123 18.28 17.18 250.16
4 Waqar Younis 50 3128 179 17.47 17.38 247.17
5 MD Marshall 50 2745 161 17.05 17.43 246.58
6 RJ Hadlee 50 3135 176 17.81 17.80 241.35
7 AK Davidson 50 2529 141 17.94 18.14 236.85
8 JJ Bumrah 50 2246 119 18.87 18.46 232.75
9 CEL Ambrose 50 2504 137 18.28 18.46 232.72
10 AA Donald 50 2879 152 18.94 19.02 225.96
11 Wasim Akram 50 2908 151 19.26 19.03 225.78
12 GD McGrath 50 2773 136 20.39 19.13 224.61
13 IT Botham 50 2882 149 19.34 19.21 223.70
14 Shoaib Akhtar 50 2829 131 21.60 19.43 221.12
15 RGD Willis 50 2291 116 19.75 19.51 220.24
16 PJ Cummins 50 2599 133 19.54 19.56 219.65
17 DW Steyn 50 3216 156 20.62 19.71 217.97
18 CA Walsh 50 2776 137 20.26 19.80 216.97
19 K Rabada 50 2839 144 19.72 20.09 213.92
20 MA Holding 50 2580 129 20.00 20.59 208.70
21 DK Lillee 50 3235 156 20.74 21.01 204.49
22 FS Trueman 50 2874 140 20.53 21.35 201.22
23 WW Hall 50 2785 124 22.46 21.45 200.32
24 M Ntini 50 3245 138 23.51 21.51 199.80
25 JR Thomson 50 3253 138 23.57 23.58 182.25

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 50
RANK BOWLER INNS BLS WKTS SR R SR RAT
TS Waqar Younis 50 5927 179 33.11 33.32 200.00
1 Waqar Younis 50 5927 179 33.11 33.32 200.00
2 Shoaib Akhtar 50 5003 131 38.19 36.64 181.93
3 DW Steyn 50 5636 156 36.13 37.68 176.89
4 Imran Khan 50 6686 163 41.02 38.04 175.19
5 AA Donald 50 6120 152 40.26 39.66 168.05
6 MD Marshall 50 6355 161 39.47 39.78 167.55
7 RJ Hadlee 50 7522 176 42.74 40.00 166.62
8 K Rabada 50 5218 144 36.24 40.51 164.51
9 WW Hall 50 6051 124 48.80 40.60 164.18
10 FS Trueman 50 6474 140 46.24 41.15 161.96
11 DK Lillee 50 6922 156 44.37 41.88 159.15
12 RGD Willis 50 5308 116 45.76 42.81 155.68
13 JR Thomson 50 6436 138 46.64 43.53 153.10
14 M Ntini 50 5981 138 43.34 43.70 152.51
15 IT Botham 50 6790 149 45.57 43.78 152.25
16 GD McGrath 50 6103 136 44.88 44.07 151.23
17 Wasim Akram 50 6755 151 44.74 44.10 151.13
18 AK Davidson 50 7882 141 55.90 45.21 147.43
19 MA Holding 50 6037 129 46.80 46.23 144.18
20 JJ Bumrah 50 4989 119 41.92 46.37 143.74
21 PJ Cummins 50 5775 133 43.42 47.28 140.97
22 SM Pollock 50 6046 128 47.23 47.30 140.90
23 JM Anderson 50 5701 123 46.35 47.61 139.98
24 CA Walsh 50 6946 137 50.70 49.56 134.47
25 CEL Ambrose 50 6957 137 50.78 50.81 131.16

BEST BOWLING (WKTS)

BBW

In this criteria, we have taken the top 5 bowling performances by Wkts of a bowler. Best Bowling By Wickets (BBW) is simply the total wickets taken in the 5 innings divided by 5.

Criteria: Points For Wkts Taken In Top 5 Inns

RANK BOWLER 1 2 3 4 5 BBW RAT
TS N Kapil Dev 9/83 8/85 7/220 6/77 6/91 7.20 200.00
1 Imran Khan 8/58 8/60 7/52 6/35 6/46 7.00 194.44
2 RJ Hadlee 9/52 7/116 6/49 6/50 6/51 6.80 188.89
3 CEL Ambrose 8/45 7/25 6/34 6/52 6/74 6.60 183.33
3 Waqar Younis 7/76 7/86 7/91 6/34 6/44 6.60 183.33
3 IT Botham 8/34 7/48 6/34 6/58 6/78 6.60 183.33
3 MD Marshall 7/22 7/53 7/80 6/32 6/69 6.60 183.33
7 FS Trueman 7/44 7/75 6/30 6/31 6/100 6.40 177.78
7 GD McGrath 8/38 7/76 6/47 6/86 5/40 6.40 177.78
7 MA Holding 8/92 6/57 6/62 6/65 6/67 6.40 177.78
10 AK Davidson 7/93 6/34 6/53 6/64 6/87 6.20 172.22
10 DK Lillee 7/89 6/26 6/53 6/60 6/72 6.20 172.22
12 M Ntini 7/37 6/59 6/95 6/100 5/35 6.00 166.67
12 WW Hall 7/69 6/49 6/50 6/90 5/20 6.00 166.67
12 K Rabada 7/112 6/32 6/54 6/55 5/30 6.00 166.67
12 Wasim Akram 7/119 6/43 6/62 6/67 5/28 6.00 166.67
16 DW Steyn 7/51 6/49 6/72 5/23 5/34 5.80 161.11
16 JJ Bumrah 6/27 6/33 6/45 6/61 5/7 5.80 161.11
18 RGD Willis 7/78 6/53 5/27 5/32 5/42 5.60 155.56
18 JR Thomson 6/46 6/50 6/77 5/38 5/62 5.60 155.56
18 Shoaib Akhtar 6/11 6/30 6/50 5/21 5/24 5.60 155.56
21 AA Donald 6/59 6/88 5/32 5/36 5/40 5.40 150.00
21 CA Walsh 6/74 6/80 5/22 5/36 5/39 5.40 150.00
21 PJ Cummins 6/23 6/27 5/28 5/38 5/83 5.40 150.00
21 JM Anderson 7/42 5/16 5/20 5/29 5/43 5.40 150.00
25 SM Pollock 6/30 5/33 5/39 5/43 5/53 5.20 144.44

TOP FORM RATING

The TOP FORM (TF) Rating is the addition of the points of all the above criteria. The rating is out of 1,000.

RANK BOWLER PRO CON ATT BBW TF RAT
1 Imran Khan 273.18 300.00 175.19 194.44 942.82
2 Waqar Younis 300.00 247.17 200.00 183.33 930.50
3 RJ Hadlee 294.97 241.35 166.62 188.89 891.83
4 MD Marshall 269.83 246.58 167.55 183.33 867.30
5 DW Steyn 261.45 217.97 176.89 161.11 817.42
6 IT Botham 249.72 223.70 152.25 183.33 809.00
7 AA Donald 254.75 225.96 168.05 150.00 798.75
8 DK Lillee 261.45 204.49 159.15 172.22 797.32
9 Wasim Akram 253.07 225.78 151.13 166.67 796.66
10 AK Davidson 236.31 236.85 147.43 172.22 792.81
11 K Rabada 241.34 213.92 164.51 166.67 786.44
12 GD McGrath 227.93 224.61 151.23 177.78 781.54
13 Shoaib Akhtar 219.55 221.12 181.93 155.56 778.15
14 CEL Ambrose 229.61 232.72 131.16 183.33 776.82
15 FS Trueman 234.64 201.22 161.96 177.78 775.59
16 SM Pollock 214.53 267.11 140.90 144.44 766.98
17 M Ntini 231.28 199.80 152.51 166.67 750.26
18 MA Holding 216.20 208.70 144.18 177.78 746.86
19 JM Anderson 206.15 250.16 139.98 150.00 746.29
20 WW Hall 207.82 200.32 164.18 166.67 738.98
21 JJ Bumrah 199.44 232.75 143.74 161.11 737.04
22 PJ Cummins 222.91 219.65 140.97 150.00 733.52
23 CA Walsh 229.61 216.97 134.47 150.00 731.05
24 RGD Willis 194.41 220.24 155.68 155.56 725.89
25 JR Thomson 231.28 182.25 153.10 155.56 722.20

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 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 PAK AUS ENG NZ

Top Teams Outside Asia

DECADE OF MAT 1 2 3 4 5
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

Leave a Comment