Best English Fast Bowlers In Tests Featured

Top 10 English Fast Bowlers In Tests 1950

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All Test Ratings on the website are from 01/01/1950 onwards (Know Why). They are updated till 2026-02-05. Brief explanation of the ratings is given before each section (Detailed Explanation) and at the end. So, here are the Top 10 English Fast bowlers in Test Cricket since 1950.

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
3.3.1. Against All Teams
3.3.2. Against Top Teams
3.4. BEST BOWLING (WKTS)
3.4.1. Against All Teams
3.4.2. Against Top Teams
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. WKTS/INN
5.2. TOP FORM
5.3. IMPACT INNINGS
5.4. SECONDARY RATING
6. OVERALL RATING
6.1. BRIEF EXPLANATION
6.1.1. Dynamic Nature
6.1.2. Trend Setter (TS)
6.1.3. Top Teams (TT)
6.1.4. Abbreviations
Nations Filter

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

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

THE CRITERIA

CRITERIA CONSTITUENTS
Primary Wickets, Average, Strike Rate, Top Inns
Conditions Home, Away, In Asia, Outside Asia
Secondary Wkts Per Inn, Top Form, Impact Inns

QUALIFICATION

Min Innings (TT) 25
Min Career Wkts 50

PRIMARY CRITERIA

CRITERIA STAT POINTS
Prolific Wickets Taken 250.00
Consistent Average 300.00
Attacking Strike Rate 300.00
Best Bowling Top Bowling Performances 150.00

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 1976
Era 2 MP between 1975 And 1996
Era 3 MP between 1995 And 2016
Era 4 MP greater than 2015

Criteria: Points For Wickets Taken

RANK ERA 1 NAT FP LP MP INNS WKTS RAT
TS FS Trueman ENG 1952 1965 1958.5 127 307 220.00
1 FS Trueman ENG 1952 1965 1958.5 127 307 220.00
2 JB Statham ENG 1951 1965 1958 129 252 180.59
3 JA Snow ENG 1965 1976 1970.5 93 202 144.76
RANK ERA 2 NAT FP LP MP INNS WKTS RAT
TS CA Walsh WI 1984 2001 1992.5 242 519 240.00
1 IT Botham ENG 1977 1992 1984.5 168 383 177.11
2 RGD Willis ENG 1971 1984 1977.5 165 325 150.29
3 ARC Fraser ENG 1989 1998 1993.5 79 177 81.85
RANK ERA 3 NAT FP LP MP INNS WKTS RAT
TS JM Anderson ENG 2003 2024 2013.5 350 704 250.00
1 JM Anderson ENG 2003 2024 2013.5 350 704 250.00
2 SCJ Broad ENG 2007 2023 2015 309 604 214.49
3 MJ Hoggard ENG 2000 2008 2004 122 248 88.07
4 D Gough ENG 1994 2003 1998.5 95 229 81.32
RANK ERA 4 NAT FP LP MP INNS WKTS RAT
TS MA Starc AUS 2011 2026 2018.5 202 433 230.00

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 75
Min Wickets (TT) 60

Against All Teams

RANK BOWLER INNS RUNS WKTS AVE R AVE RAT
TS JJ Bumrah 99 4631 234 19.79 19.33 120.00
1 FS Trueman 127 6625 307 21.58 23.28 99.62
2 JM Anderson 350 18627 704 26.46 23.80 97.45
3 JB Statham 129 6261 252 24.85 24.73 93.77
4 RGD Willis 165 8190 325 25.20 25.02 92.70
5 SCJ Broad 309 16719 604 27.68 25.32 91.60
6 JA Snow 93 5387 202 26.67 25.86 89.69
7 ARC Fraser 79 4836 177 27.32 25.99 89.21
8 D Gough 95 6503 229 28.40 27.50 84.33
9 MJ Hoggard 122 7564 248 30.50 28.37 81.73
10 IT Botham 168 10878 383 28.40 28.98 80.01

Against Top Teams

RANK BOWLER INNS RUNS WKTS AVE R AVE RAT
TS JJ Bumrah 83 4138 193 21.44 20.10 180.00
1 FS Trueman 53 3125 124 25.20 23.32 155.14
2 JA Snow 74 4443 169 26.29 24.28 149.02
3 JM Anderson 237 12709 438 29.02 24.55 147.38
4 SCJ Broad 204 11091 389 28.51 24.66 146.69
5 ARC Fraser 66 3966 151 26.26 25.02 144.61
6 RGD Willis 108 5613 207 27.12 25.77 140.37
7 JB Statham 70 3626 124 29.24 26.69 135.55
8 MJ Hoggard 69 4224 131 32.24 27.03 133.81
9 D Gough 74 5269 172 30.63 29.39 123.10
10 IT Botham 114 7724 248 31.15 30.63 118.09

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 75
Min Wickets (TT) 60

Against All Teams

RANK BOWLER INNS BLS WKTS SR R SR RAT
TS M Jansen 38 3408 89 38.29 42.71 120.00
1 FS Trueman 127 15178 307 49.44 45.60 112.39
2 D Gough 95 11821 229 51.62 49.58 103.37
3 RGD Willis 165 17357 325 53.41 50.02 102.47
4 JA Snow 93 12021 202 59.51 51.59 99.35
5 JB Statham 129 16056 252 63.71 53.76 95.34
6 MJ Hoggard 122 13909 248 56.08 55.27 92.74
7 IT Botham 168 21815 383 56.96 55.62 92.16
8 SCJ Broad 309 33698 604 55.79 56.12 91.33
9 JM Anderson 350 40037 704 56.87 56.20 91.20
10 ARC Fraser 79 10876 177 61.45 58.85 87.09

Against Top Teams

RANK BOWLER INNS BLS WKTS SR R SR RAT
TS M Jansen 28 2507 62 40.44 42.78 180.00
1 FS Trueman 53 6791 124 54.77 45.33 169.88
2 JA Snow 74 9663 169 57.18 48.11 160.06
3 RGD Willis 108 11540 207 55.75 51.35 149.96
4 D Gough 74 9416 172 54.74 52.49 146.71
5 MJ Hoggard 69 7707 131 58.83 53.79 143.16
6 SCJ Broad 204 22344 389 57.44 55.19 139.52
7 ARC Fraser 66 9015 151 59.70 57.40 134.14
8 JB Statham 70 8877 124 71.59 58.54 131.53
9 JM Anderson 237 27270 438 62.26 58.58 131.44
10 IT Botham 114 15296 248 61.68 59.59 129.22

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

Against All Teams

RANK BOWLER 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 BBW RAT
TS N Kapil Dev 9/83 8/85 8/106 7/56 7/220 6/63 6/77 7.29 50.00
1 IT Botham 8/34 8/103 7/48 6/34 6/58 6/78 6/90 6.71 46.08
2 SCJ Broad 8/15 7/44 7/72 6/17 6/25 6/31 6/46 6.57 45.10
3 FS Trueman 8/31 7/44 7/75 6/30 6/31 6/100 5/27 6.43 44.12
4 JM Anderson 7/42 7/43 6/17 6/40 6/42 6/47 5/16 6.14 42.16
5 RGD Willis 8/43 7/78 6/53 6/101 5/27 5/32 5/35 6.00 41.18
5 ARC Fraser 8/53 8/75 6/82 5/28 5/40 5/42 5/60 6.00 41.18
5 MJ Hoggard 7/61 7/63 7/109 6/57 5/73 5/92 5/144 6.00 41.18
8 JA Snow 7/40 7/49 6/60 6/114 5/57 5/86 5/92 5.86 40.20
9 JB Statham 7/39 7/57 6/63 5/31 5/34 5/40 5/53 5.71 39.22
10 D Gough 6/42 6/49 5/40 5/61 5/70 5/96 5/103 5.29 36.27

Against Top Teams

RANK BOWLER 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 BBW RAT
TS N Kapil Dev 9/83 8/85 8/106 7/56 7/220 6/63 6/77 7.29 100.00
1 IT Botham 8/103 7/48 6/58 6/78 6/95 6/125 5/11 6.29 86.27
1 SCJ Broad 8/15 6/17 6/25 6/46 6/50 6/54 6/81 6.29 86.27
3 ARC Fraser 8/53 8/75 6/82 5/28 5/40 5/42 5/60 6.00 82.35
4 JA Snow 7/40 7/49 6/60 6/114 5/57 5/86 5/92 5.86 80.39
5 RGD Willis 8/43 7/78 5/42 5/44 5/61 5/65 5/66 5.71 78.43
6 FS Trueman 7/44 6/30 6/100 5/48 5/52 5/58 5/62 5.57 76.47
7 JB Statham 7/39 7/57 5/40 5/53 5/60 4/18 4/64 5.29 72.55
7 D Gough 6/42 6/49 5/61 5/70 5/96 5/103 5/109 5.29 72.55
7 MJ Hoggard 7/61 7/109 6/57 5/144 4/29 4/35 4/80 5.29 72.55
10 JM Anderson 6/47 5/20 5/40 5/43 5/53 5/60 5/62 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 40%.

RANK BOWLER PRO CON ATT BBW RAT PRI PTS
1 FS Trueman 220.00 254.75 112.39 120.59 877.61 351.04
2 JM Anderson 250.00 244.83 91.20 112.75 830.21 332.08
3 SCJ Broad 214.49 238.29 91.33 131.37 815.00 326.00
4 JA Snow 144.76 238.71 99.35 120.59 763.47 305.39
5 RGD Willis 150.29 233.07 102.47 119.61 755.39 302.15
6 JB Statham 180.59 229.32 95.34 111.76 748.55 299.42
7 IT Botham 177.11 198.10 92.16 132.35 728.95 291.58
8 ARC Fraser 81.85 233.82 87.09 123.53 660.43 264.17
9 MJ Hoggard 88.07 215.55 92.74 113.73 653.24 261.30
10 D Gough 81.32 207.43 103.37 108.82 647.66 259.06

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 30.00
Away 120.00
Favourable Conditions 30.00
Unfavourable Conditions 120.00

HOME/AWAY

HM/AW 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 Vs Top Teams: 10

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 FS Trueman 90 229 20.04 44.96 844.05 25.32
2 SCJ Broad 188 398 25.93 50.20 777.72 23.33
3 JM Anderson 202 438 24.41 52.34 767.73 23.03
4 RGD Willis 73 176 23.51 46.14 740.57 22.22
5 IT Botham 96 226 27.55 54.17 717.26 21.52
6 JB Statham 70 148 22.77 59.19 641.73 19.25
7 JA Snow 71 140 29.21 64.31 612.02 18.36
8 ARC Fraser 40 90 29.16 65.17 567.26 17.02
9 D Gough 51 124 29.66 50.96 562.37 16.87
10 MJ Hoggard 60 122 30.74 54.86 486.92 14.61

Away From Home

Min Innings Vs Top Teams: 10

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 JA Snow 22 62 20.92 48.66 814.12 97.69
2 JM Anderson 148 266 29.83 64.33 751.71 90.21
3 SCJ Broad 121 206 31.06 66.60 695.44 83.45
4 JB Statham 59 104 27.80 70.15 664.61 79.75
5 MJ Hoggard 62 126 30.27 57.27 659.99 79.20
6 RGD Willis 92 149 27.20 61.99 626.87 75.22
7 ARC Fraser 39 87 25.43 57.60 626.68 75.20
8 FS Trueman 37 78 26.09 62.60 625.51 75.06
9 IT Botham 72 157 29.63 60.97 624.10 74.89
10 D Gough 44 105 26.90 52.40 608.26 72.99

FAVOURABLE/UNFAVOURABLE CONDITIONS

FC/UC 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 Vs Top Teams: 15

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 FS Trueman 127 307 21.58 49.44 859.71 25.79
2 SCJ Broad 272 560 26.86 53.64 814.67 24.44
3 JM Anderson 292 612 26.30 55.85 797.51 23.93
4 JA Snow 91 198 26.78 59.59 734.48 22.03
5 JB Statham 122 244 24.46 62.70 729.98 21.90
6 RGD Willis 138 281 25.51 53.44 727.20 21.82
7 IT Botham 154 348 28.61 56.75 711.59 21.35
8 ARC Fraser 79 177 27.32 61.45 654.15 19.62
9 D Gough 85 205 29.08 52.60 621.38 18.64
10 MJ Hoggard 97 198 31.08 55.29 604.92 18.15

Unfavourable Conditions Rating

Non Asians In Asia

Min Innings Vs All Teams: 7

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 JM Anderson 58 92 27.51 63.67 822.07 98.65
2 RGD Willis 27 44 23.23 53.16 676.39 81.17
3 MJ Hoggard 25 50 28.22 59.24 641.33 76.96
4 IT Botham 14 35 26.31 59.00 631.17 75.74
5 D Gough 10 24 22.58 43.29 617.07 74.05
6 SCJ Broad 37 44 38.09 83.14 534.37 64.12
7 FS Trueman 0 0 NA NA 500.00 60.00
7 JA Snow 2 4 21.25 55.50 500.00 60.00
7 ARC Fraser 0 0 NA NA 500.00 60.00
10 JB Statham 7 8 36.63 94.50 404.05 48.49

CONDITIONS RATING

The Conditions Rating is the addition of the points a bowler scored in the four criteria. The Weightage of the Rating is 30%.

RANK BOWLER AWAY HOME UC FC CON PTS
1 JM Anderson 751.71 191.93 822.07 199.38 235.81
2 RGD Willis 626.87 185.14 676.39 181.80 200.42
3 JA Snow 814.12 153.00 500.00 183.62 198.09
4 SCJ Broad 695.44 194.43 534.37 203.67 195.35
5 IT Botham 624.10 179.32 631.17 177.90 193.50
6 MJ Hoggard 659.99 121.73 641.33 151.23 188.91
7 FS Trueman 625.51 211.01 500.00 214.93 186.17
8 D Gough 608.26 140.59 617.07 155.34 182.55
9 ARC Fraser 626.68 141.82 500.00 163.54 171.84
10 JB Statham 664.61 160.43 404.05 182.49 169.39

SECONDARY CRITERIA

The Secondary Rating consists of three 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 three secondary criteria and thier weightage is as follows:-

CRITERIA POINTS
Wickets Per Inn 50.00
Top Form 100.00
Impact Innings 150.00

WKTS/INN

WPI RATING

Points to note about WPI Rating:-

  • It gives points for three criteria.
  • The number of wkts per inn overall and aganst Top Teams.
  • The number of bowled victims per inn.
  • The number of top 7 batsmen dismissed per inn.

Min Innings Vs Top Teams: 25

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS W/I RAT WTG
1 FS Trueman 127 307 2.42 868.07 43.40
2 JA Snow 93 202 2.17 768.28 38.41
3 D Gough 95 229 2.41 767.89 38.39
4 JB Statham 129 252 1.95 761.81 38.09
5 IT Botham 168 383 2.28 663.53 33.18
6 ARC Fraser 79 177 2.24 658.75 32.94
7 RGD Willis 165 325 1.97 634.53 31.73
8 JM Anderson 350 704 2.01 626.34 31.32
9 MJ Hoggard 122 248 2.03 600.87 30.04
10 SCJ Broad 309 604 1.95 593.26 29.66

TOP FORM

TF RATING

Points to note about TF Rating:-

  • TF is calculated by taking the best 50 consecutive innings of a bowler.
  • The inns are taken such that his points are maximum.
  • Only innings against Top Teams are considered.

Min Innings Vs Top Teams: 20

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 JA Snow 50 126 22.36 51.78 829.45 82.95
2 IT Botham 50 139 23.20 51.11 813.36 81.34
3 SCJ Broad 50 112 23.38 48.39 788.67 78.87
4 ARC Fraser 50 121 25.79 57.52 758.45 75.84
5 D Gough 50 125 27.90 50.40 750.75 75.08
6 FS Trueman 50 118 24.81 54.44 743.96 74.40
7 JM Anderson 50 106 21.67 55.00 742.73 74.27
8 RGD Willis 50 102 24.62 52.18 739.79 73.98
9 JB Statham 50 95 24.89 62.46 692.84 69.28
10 MJ Hoggard 50 101 28.97 53.06 691.23 69.12

IMPACT INNINGS

II RATING

Impact Innings (II) 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 equal to or more wickets than 2 at a good AVE or SR.
  • The required AVE or SR increases as the number of wickets taken increases.

Min Innings Vs Top Teams: 25

RANK BOWLER INNS II II Perc RAT WTG
1 JM Anderson 350 150 42.86 749.22 112.38
2 FS Trueman 127 57 44.88 738.63 110.79
3 JA Snow 93 38 40.86 692.48 103.87
4 SCJ Broad 309 124 40.13 688.01 103.20
5 RGD Willis 165 71 43.03 679.77 101.97
6 D Gough 95 44 46.32 622.13 93.32
7 JB Statham 129 49 37.98 617.18 92.58
8 IT Botham 168 67 39.88 607.83 91.17
9 ARC Fraser 79 31 39.24 553.01 82.95
10 MJ Hoggard 122 46 37.70 506.62 75.99

SECONDARY RATING

The Secondary Rating is the addition of the points a bowler scored in the three criteria. The Weightage of the Rating is 30%.

RANK BOWLER TF WPI II SEC RAT
1 FS Trueman 74.40 43.40 110.79 228.59
2 JA Snow 82.95 38.41 103.87 225.23
3 JM Anderson 74.27 31.32 112.38 217.97
4 SCJ Broad 78.87 29.66 103.20 211.73
5 RGD Willis 73.98 31.73 101.97 207.67
6 D Gough 75.08 38.39 93.32 206.79
7 IT Botham 81.34 33.18 91.17 205.69
8 JB Statham 69.28 38.09 92.58 199.95
9 ARC Fraser 75.84 32.94 82.95 191.73
10 MJ Hoggard 69.12 30.04 75.99 175.16

OVERALL RATING

OVERALL Rating is the addition of the points of all the above criteria. The rating is out of 1,000 Pts.

RANK OV RANK BOWLER NAT PRI RAT CON RAT SEC RAT FIN RAT
1 11 JM Anderson ENG 332.08 235.81 217.97 785.87
2 13 FS Trueman ENG 351.04 186.17 228.59 765.81
3 22 SCJ Broad ENG 326.00 195.35 211.73 733.08
4 24 JA Snow ENG 305.39 198.09 225.23 728.71
5 28 RGD Willis ENG 302.15 200.42 207.67 710.25
6 34 IT Botham ENG 291.58 193.50 205.69 690.76
7 41 JB Statham ENG 299.42 169.39 199.95 668.76
8 50 D Gough ENG 259.06 182.55 206.79 648.41
9 58 ARC Fraser ENG 264.17 171.84 191.73 627.75
10 60 MJ Hoggard ENG 261.30 188.91 175.16 625.37

BRIEF EXPLANATION

Dynamic Nature

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.

Trend Setter (TS)

  1. TS is the player who does the best in a criteria.
  2. The rating of all other players are calculated taking the TS as the benchmark. Example:-
  3. TS Bowling Ave: 25.00; Player X Ave: 30.00; Section Points: 300.00
  4. TS Points: 300.00 (Max)
  5. Player X Points: TS Ave/Ave X 300 = 25.00/30.00 X 300 = 250.00.
  6. Ratings of all sections are calculated similarly with Ave being replaced by the Criteria Stat.
  7. Know All About the Trend Setter
    8. .

Top Teams (TT)

  1. An opposition is counted as a TT considering its Win/Loss (WL) Ratios in last 7 years.
  2. Home, Away, In Asia, Outside Asia and Overall WL Ratio is considered.
  3. The WL Ratio should be more than a certain value overall or in specific conditions.

Abbreviations

  1. AVE - Average or Runs/Wkt
  2. BLS - Balls
  3. ER - Economy Rate or Runs/Over
  4. FF, 5WH - Five Fors or 5 Wkt Hauls
  5. FP - First Played by Year
  6. INF - Infinite
  7. INNS - Innings
  8. LP - Last Played by Year
  9. MDNS - Maidens
  10. MP - Middle Played or (FP+LP)/2
  11. NA - Not Applicable
  12. NI - Not In Top
  13. NK - Not Known
  14. NO, * - Not Out
  15. NQ - Not Qualified
  16. OPP - Opposition
  17. OVRS - Overs
  18. SR - Strike Rate or Balls/Wkts
  19. TS - Trend Setter
  20. TT - Top Teams
  21. WKTS - Wickets Taken

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