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). 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). So, here are the Top 10 English Fast bowlers in Test Cricket since 1950.

*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
4.2.2. Unfavourable Conditions Rating
4.2.2.1. Non 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. OVERALL RATING
7. TOP TEAMS
7.1. Top Teams In Asia
7.2. Top Teams Outside Asia
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 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

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 1991
Era 2 MP between 1990 And 2016
Era 3 MP greater than 2015

Criteria: Points For Wickets Taken

RANK ERA 1 NAT FP LP MP INNS WKTS RAT
TS N Kapil Dev IND 1978 1994 1986 227 434 160.00
1 IT Botham ENG 1977 1992 1984.5 168 383 141.20
2 RGD Willis ENG 1971 1984 1977.5 165 325 119.82
3 FS Trueman ENG 1952 1965 1958.5 127 307 113.18
4 JB Statham ENG 1951 1965 1958 129 252 92.90
5 JA Snow ENG 1965 1976 1970.5 93 202 74.47
RANK ERA 2 NAT FP LP MP INNS WKTS RAT
TS JM Anderson ENG 2003 2024 2013.5 350 704 200.00
1 JM Anderson ENG 2003 2024 2013.5 350 704 200.00
2 SCJ Broad ENG 2007 2023 2015 309 604 171.59
3 MJ Hoggard ENG 2000 2008 2004 122 248 70.45
4 D Gough ENG 1994 2003 1998.5 95 229 65.06
5 ARC Fraser ENG 1989 1998 1993.5 79 177 50.28
RANK ERA 3 NAT FP LP MP INNS WKTS RAT
TS TG Southee NZ 2008 2024 2016 203 391 160.00

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 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 FS Trueman 127 6625 307 21.58 22.45 163.06
2 RGD Willis 165 8190 325 25.20 24.89 147.04
3 JM Anderson 350 18627 704 26.46 25.12 145.72
4 JB Statham 129 6261 252 24.85 25.13 145.64
5 D Gough 95 6503 229 28.40 26.33 139.03
6 SCJ Broad 309 16719 604 27.68 26.82 136.51
7 ARC Fraser 79 4836 177 27.32 26.87 136.23
8 JA Snow 93 5387 202 26.67 27.02 135.47
9 MJ Hoggard 122 7564 248 30.50 27.48 133.22
10 IT Botham 168 10878 383 28.40 28.21 129.78

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 FS Trueman 89 5038 212 23.76 24.72 156.70
2 RGD Willis 137 6875 264 26.04 25.73 150.58
3 ARC Fraser 72 4262 158 26.97 26.53 146.02
4 JM Anderson 287 15418 551 27.98 26.57 145.82
5 SCJ Broad 248 13424 486 27.62 26.76 144.77
6 JA Snow 80 4677 176 26.57 26.92 143.87
7 D Gough 78 5526 186 29.71 27.54 140.63
8 JB Statham 101 5279 188 28.08 28.41 136.37
9 MJ Hoggard 81 5320 159 33.46 30.14 128.52
10 IT Botham 140 9391 309 30.39 30.18 128.35

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 Waqar Younis 154 16224 373 43.50 43.83 300.00
1 FS Trueman 127 15178 307 49.44 44.00 298.86
2 D Gough 95 11821 229 51.62 49.53 265.49
3 RGD Willis 165 17357 325 53.41 49.97 263.17
4 JB Statham 129 16056 252 63.71 54.00 243.50
5 JA Snow 93 12021 202 59.51 54.31 242.14
6 IT Botham 168 21815 383 56.96 54.72 240.32
7 MJ Hoggard 122 13909 248 56.08 56.13 234.27
8 SCJ Broad 309 33698 604 55.79 58.94 223.08
9 JM Anderson 350 40037 704 56.87 59.17 222.25
10 ARC Fraser 79 10876 177 61.45 60.05 218.97

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 N Kapil Dev 9/83 8/85 8/106 7/56 7/220 6/63 6/77 7.29 100.00
1 IT Botham 8/34 8/103 7/48 6/34 6/58 6/78 6/90 6.71 92.16
2 SCJ Broad 8/15 7/44 7/72 6/17 6/25 6/31 6/46 6.57 90.20
3 FS Trueman 8/31 7/44 7/75 6/30 6/31 6/100 5/27 6.43 88.24
4 JM Anderson 7/42 7/43 6/17 6/40 6/42 6/47 5/16 6.14 84.31
5 MJ Hoggard 7/61 7/63 7/109 6/57 5/73 5/92 5/144 6.00 82.35
5 ARC Fraser 8/53 8/75 6/82 5/28 5/40 5/42 5/60 6.00 82.35
5 RGD Willis 8/43 7/78 6/53 6/101 5/27 5/32 5/35 6.00 82.35
8 JA Snow 7/40 7/49 6/60 6/114 5/57 5/86 5/92 5.86 80.39
9 JB Statham 7/39 7/57 6/63 5/31 5/34 5/40 5/53 5.71 78.43
10 D Gough 6/42 6/49 5/40 5/61 5/70 5/96 5/103 5.29 72.55

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 OVERALL Rating, i.e. 500 pts.

RANK BOWLER PRO CON ATT BBW RAT PRI PTS
1 FS Trueman 113.18 319.76 298.86 88.24 820.04 410.02
2 JM Anderson 200.00 291.54 222.25 84.31 798.10 399.05
3 SCJ Broad 171.59 281.28 223.08 90.20 766.15 383.07
4 RGD Willis 119.82 297.62 263.17 82.35 762.95 381.48
5 IT Botham 141.20 258.12 240.32 92.16 731.80 365.90
6 JB Statham 92.90 282.02 243.50 78.43 696.85 348.42
7 D Gough 65.06 279.67 265.49 72.55 682.76 341.38
8 JA Snow 74.47 279.34 242.14 80.39 676.34 338.17
9 MJ Hoggard 70.45 261.74 234.27 82.35 648.81 324.41
10 ARC Fraser 50.28 282.24 218.97 82.35 633.85 316.93

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 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 FS Trueman 90 229 20.04 44.96 778.76 194.69
2 JM Anderson 202 438 24.41 52.34 729.68 182.42
3 SCJ Broad 188 398 25.93 50.20 717.73 179.43
4 RGD Willis 73 176 23.51 46.14 715.12 178.78
5 IT Botham 96 226 27.55 54.17 676.26 169.07
6 JB Statham 70 148 22.77 59.19 622.71 155.68
7 D Gough 51 124 29.66 50.96 566.61 141.65
8 JA Snow 71 140 29.21 64.31 551.67 137.92
9 ARC Fraser 40 90 29.16 65.17 518.83 129.71
10 MJ Hoggard 60 122 30.74 54.86 503.44 125.86

Away From Home

Min Innings: 20

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 JA Snow 22 62 20.92 48.66 801.80 801.80
2 JM Anderson 148 266 29.83 64.33 743.23 743.23
3 D Gough 44 105 26.90 52.40 699.47 699.47
4 MJ Hoggard 62 126 30.27 57.27 689.61 689.61
5 RGD Willis 92 149 27.20 61.99 688.44 688.44
6 FS Trueman 37 78 26.09 62.60 687.31 687.31
7 SCJ Broad 121 206 31.06 66.60 686.51 686.51
8 IT Botham 72 157 29.63 60.97 669.07 669.07
9 ARC Fraser 39 87 25.43 57.60 659.77 659.77
10 JB Statham 59 104 27.80 70.15 648.06 648.06

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 FS Trueman 127 307 21.58 49.44 818.43 204.61
2 JM Anderson 292 612 26.30 55.85 767.70 191.92
3 SCJ Broad 272 560 26.86 53.64 759.54 189.89
4 RGD Willis 138 281 25.51 53.44 732.85 183.21
5 IT Botham 154 348 28.61 56.75 718.82 179.71
6 JB Statham 122 244 24.46 62.70 698.79 174.70
7 JA Snow 91 198 26.78 59.59 666.46 166.61
8 D Gough 85 205 29.08 52.60 640.82 160.20
9 ARC Fraser 79 177 27.32 61.45 626.08 156.52
10 MJ Hoggard 97 198 31.08 55.29 608.36 152.09

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 63.67 806.93 806.93
2 RGD Willis 27 44 23.23 53.16 683.26 683.26
3 MJ Hoggard 25 50 28.22 59.24 648.34 648.34
4 D Gough 10 24 22.58 43.29 645.13 645.13
5 IT Botham 14 35 26.31 59.00 637.74 637.74
6 SCJ Broad 37 44 38.09 83.14 534.82 534.82
7 JB Statham 7 8 36.63 94.50 500.00 500.00
7 FS Trueman 0 0 NA NA 500.00 500.00
7 ARC Fraser 0 0 NA NA 500.00 500.00
7 JA Snow 2 4 21.25 55.50 500.00 500.00

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 OVERALL Rating, i.e. 250 pts.

RANK BOWLER AWAY HOME UC FC TOT CON PTS
1 JM Anderson 743.23 182.42 806.93 191.92 1,924.51 192.45
2 RGD Willis 688.44 178.78 683.26 183.21 1,733.68 173.37
3 IT Botham 669.07 169.07 637.74 179.71 1,655.58 165.56
4 D Gough 699.47 141.65 645.13 160.20 1,646.46 164.65
5 MJ Hoggard 689.61 125.86 648.34 152.09 1,615.90 161.59
6 JA Snow 801.80 137.92 500.00 166.61 1,606.33 160.63
7 SCJ Broad 686.51 179.43 534.82 189.89 1,590.65 159.07
8 FS Trueman 687.31 194.69 500.00 204.61 1,586.60 158.66
9 JB Statham 648.06 155.68 500.00 174.70 1,478.44 147.84
10 ARC Fraser 659.77 129.71 500.00 156.52 1,446.00 144.60

SECONDARY CRITERIA

The Secondary Rating consists of four 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 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 OVERALL Rating: Home and Away.

TOP FORM AT HOME

Min Innings: 10

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 JM Anderson 30 83 14.54 36.18 806.53 161.31
2 FS Trueman 30 92 20.02 43.08 761.19 152.24
3 IT Botham 30 83 20.41 45.87 738.69 147.74
4 RGD Willis 30 83 21.52 42.96 720.22 144.04
5 D Gough 30 86 24.41 42.41 707.21 141.44
6 SCJ Broad 30 80 22.03 45.43 695.84 139.17
7 JB Statham 30 80 19.01 49.80 691.59 138.32
8 MJ Hoggard 30 67 25.37 43.01 602.86 120.57
9 ARC Fraser 30 65 28.32 62.22 571.21 114.24
10 JA Snow 30 65 26.46 57.55 566.10 113.22

TOP FORM AWAY

Min Innings: 10

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 IT Botham 30 94 20.78 47.67 789.60 631.68
2 JA Snow 22 62 20.92 48.66 734.70 587.76
3 ARC Fraser 30 76 22.12 52.75 722.01 577.61
4 JM Anderson 30 62 18.50 50.84 721.51 577.21
5 MJ Hoggard 30 69 26.23 51.25 695.83 556.67
6 JB Statham 30 60 19.68 56.93 690.43 552.35
7 FS Trueman 30 68 23.21 57.93 685.19 548.15
8 D Gough 30 74 26.82 52.14 667.60 534.08
9 RGD Willis 30 58 20.43 54.09 667.11 533.69
10 SCJ Broad 30 61 25.69 53.05 642.67 514.13

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 D Gough 95 229 2.41 830.53 415.27
2 FS Trueman 127 307 2.42 820.60 410.30
3 JA Snow 93 202 2.17 777.19 388.60
4 IT Botham 168 383 2.28 773.08 386.54
5 ARC Fraser 79 177 2.24 770.95 385.47
6 MJ Hoggard 122 248 2.03 718.22 359.11
7 JM Anderson 350 704 2.01 701.13 350.57
8 RGD Willis 165 325 1.97 695.11 347.55
9 SCJ Broad 309 604 1.95 694.65 347.32
10 JB Statham 129 252 1.95 686.82 343.41

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 JM Anderson 350 140 40.00 730.13 730.13
2 FS Trueman 127 56 44.09 707.87 707.87
3 JA Snow 93 35 37.63 681.89 681.89
4 RGD Willis 165 65 39.39 654.72 654.72
5 D Gough 95 40 42.11 650.57 650.57
6 SCJ Broad 309 113 36.57 649.92 649.92
7 IT Botham 168 62 36.90 606.80 606.80
8 JB Statham 129 45 34.88 535.04 535.04
9 ARC Fraser 79 28 35.44 523.45 523.45
10 MJ Hoggard 122 39 31.97 470.89 470.89

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 OVERALL Rating, i.e. 250 pts.

RANK BOWLER TF HM TF AW WPI II TOT SEC RAT
1 JM Anderson 161.31 577.21 350.57 730.13 1,819.21 181.92
2 FS Trueman 152.24 548.15 410.30 707.87 1,818.56 181.86
3 IT Botham 147.74 631.68 386.54 606.80 1,772.76 177.28
4 JA Snow 113.22 587.76 388.60 681.89 1,771.47 177.15
5 D Gough 141.44 534.08 415.27 650.57 1,741.35 174.14
6 RGD Willis 144.04 533.69 347.55 654.72 1,680.01 168.00
7 SCJ Broad 139.17 514.13 347.32 649.92 1,650.54 165.05
8 ARC Fraser 114.24 577.61 385.47 523.45 1,600.77 160.08
9 JB Statham 138.32 552.35 343.41 535.04 1,569.12 156.91
10 MJ Hoggard 120.57 556.67 359.11 470.89 1,507.24 150.72

OVERALL RATING

OVERALL 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 OV RANK BOWLER NAT PRI RAT CON RAT SEC RAT FIN RAT
1 10 JM Anderson ENG 399.05 192.45 181.92 773.42
2 17 FS Trueman ENG 410.02 158.66 181.86 750.53
3 24 RGD Willis ENG 381.48 173.37 168.00 722.85
4 27 IT Botham ENG 365.90 165.56 177.28 708.73
5 28 SCJ Broad ENG 383.07 159.07 165.05 707.19
6 33 D Gough ENG 341.38 164.65 174.14 680.16
7 37 JA Snow ENG 338.17 160.63 177.15 675.95
8 46 JB Statham ENG 348.42 147.84 156.91 653.18
9 54 MJ Hoggard ENG 324.41 161.59 150.72 636.72
10 58 ARC Fraser ENG 316.93 144.60 160.08 621.60

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
FULL RATING WITH ALL NATIONS

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