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 2024-11-11

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 197 385 150.00

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 77 3559 173 20.57 19.18 200.00
1 FS Trueman 127 6625 307 21.58 22.45 170.87
2 RGD Willis 165 8190 325 25.20 24.89 154.08
3 JM Anderson 350 18627 704 26.46 24.96 153.69
4 JB Statham 129 6261 252 24.85 25.13 152.62
5 D Gough 95 6503 229 28.40 26.25 146.10
6 SCJ Broad 309 16719 604 27.68 26.63 144.04
7 ARC Fraser 79 4836 177 27.32 26.87 142.75
8 JA Snow 93 5387 202 26.67 27.02 141.96
9 MJ Hoggard 122 7564 248 30.50 27.34 140.32
10 IT Botham 168 10878 383 28.40 28.21 135.99

Against Top Teams

RANK BOWLER INNS RUNS WKTS AVE R AVE RAT
TS J Garner 94 4444 227 19.58 20.16 200.00
1 FS Trueman 89 5038 212 23.76 24.72 163.13
2 RGD Willis 137 6875 264 26.04 25.73 156.76
3 ARC Fraser 66 3966 151 26.26 25.83 156.12
4 JA Snow 80 4677 176 26.57 26.92 149.78
5 JM Anderson 264 14491 501 28.92 27.28 147.81
6 SCJ Broad 225 12410 436 28.46 27.38 147.27
7 JB Statham 108 5492 199 27.60 27.92 144.45
8 MJ Hoggard 72 4675 143 32.69 29.30 137.64
9 D Gough 66 4733 147 32.20 29.77 135.47
10 IT Botham 138 9315 306 30.44 30.23 133.40

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 K Rabada 120 12057 313 38.52 43.54 300.00
1 FS Trueman 127 15178 307 49.44 44.00 296.88
2 D Gough 95 11821 229 51.62 49.45 264.15
3 RGD Willis 165 17357 325 53.41 49.97 261.42
4 JB Statham 129 16056 252 63.71 54.00 241.88
5 JA Snow 93 12021 202 59.51 54.31 240.53
6 IT Botham 168 21815 383 56.96 54.72 238.73
7 MJ Hoggard 122 13909 248 56.08 55.94 233.50
8 SCJ Broad 309 33698 604 55.79 58.52 223.21
9 JM Anderson 350 40037 704 56.87 58.82 222.06
10 ARC Fraser 79 10876 177 61.45 60.05 217.52

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 113.18 334.00 296.88 88.24 832.30 416.15
2 JM Anderson 200.00 301.50 222.06 84.31 807.86 403.93
3 SCJ Broad 171.59 291.31 223.21 90.20 776.31 388.15
4 RGD Willis 119.82 310.84 261.42 82.35 774.43 387.21
5 IT Botham 141.20 269.39 238.73 92.16 741.47 370.74
6 JB Statham 92.90 297.07 241.88 78.43 710.28 355.14
7 JA Snow 74.47 291.74 240.53 80.39 687.13 343.56
8 D Gough 65.06 281.57 264.15 72.55 683.33 341.66
9 MJ Hoggard 70.45 277.96 233.50 82.35 664.27 332.13
10 ARC Fraser 50.28 298.87 217.52 82.35 649.03 324.51

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 44.96 772.27 193.07
2 JM Anderson 202 438 24.41 52.34 719.34 179.83
3 SCJ Broad 188 398 25.93 50.20 708.80 177.20
4 RGD Willis 73 176 23.51 46.14 708.69 177.17
5 IT Botham 96 226 27.55 54.17 670.95 167.74
6 JB Statham 70 148 22.77 59.19 620.63 155.16
7 D Gough 51 124 29.66 50.96 551.38 137.85
8 JA Snow 71 140 29.21 64.31 546.64 136.66
9 ARC Fraser 40 90 29.16 65.17 520.46 130.12
10 MJ Hoggard 60 122 30.74 54.86 504.33 126.08

Away From Home

Min Innings: 20

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 JA Snow 22 62 20.92 48.66 800.91 800.91
2 JM Anderson 148 266 29.83 64.33 745.91 745.91
3 MJ Hoggard 62 126 30.27 57.27 691.27 691.27
4 SCJ Broad 121 206 31.06 66.60 690.24 690.24
5 D Gough 44 105 26.90 52.40 689.88 689.88
6 RGD Willis 92 149 27.20 61.99 687.77 687.77
7 FS Trueman 37 78 26.09 62.60 686.55 686.55
8 IT Botham 72 157 29.63 60.97 667.95 667.95
9 ARC Fraser 39 87 25.43 57.60 659.07 659.07
10 JB Statham 59 104 27.80 70.15 647.40 647.40

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 49.44 818.77 204.69
2 JM Anderson 292 612 26.30 55.85 765.71 191.43
3 SCJ Broad 272 560 26.86 53.64 759.31 189.83
4 RGD Willis 138 281 25.51 53.44 733.11 183.28
5 IT Botham 154 348 28.61 56.75 718.84 179.71
6 JB Statham 122 244 24.46 62.70 701.47 175.37
7 JA Snow 91 198 26.78 59.59 666.66 166.67
8 ARC Fraser 79 177 27.32 61.45 630.09 157.52
9 D Gough 85 205 29.08 52.60 629.28 157.32
10 MJ Hoggard 97 198 31.08 55.29 613.73 153.43

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 63.67 808.47 808.47
2 RGD Willis 27 44 23.23 53.16 683.26 683.26
3 MJ Hoggard 25 50 28.22 59.24 649.50 649.50
4 D Gough 10 24 22.58 43.29 648.82 648.82
5 IT Botham 14 35 26.31 59.00 637.74 637.74
6 SCJ Broad 37 44 38.09 83.14 535.73 535.73
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 745.91 179.83 808.47 191.43 1,925.64 192.56
2 RGD Willis 687.77 177.17 683.26 183.28 1,731.47 173.15
3 IT Botham 667.95 167.74 637.74 179.71 1,653.14 165.31
4 D Gough 689.88 137.85 648.82 157.32 1,633.87 163.39
5 MJ Hoggard 691.27 126.08 649.50 153.43 1,620.28 162.03
6 JA Snow 800.91 136.66 500.00 166.67 1,604.23 160.42
7 SCJ Broad 690.24 177.20 535.73 189.83 1,593.00 159.30
8 FS Trueman 686.55 193.07 500.00 204.69 1,584.31 158.43
9 JB Statham 647.40 155.16 500.00 175.37 1,477.93 147.79
10 ARC Fraser 659.07 130.12 500.00 157.52 1,446.71 144.67

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 36.18 808.80 161.76
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 42.41 707.86 141.57
6 SCJ Broad 30 80 22.03 45.43 697.37 139.47
7 JB Statham 30 80 19.01 49.80 691.59 138.32
8 MJ Hoggard 30 67 25.37 43.01 604.05 120.81
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 47.67 788.62 630.90
2 JA Snow 22 62 20.92 48.66 733.67 586.93
3 JM Anderson 30 62 18.50 50.84 723.37 578.70
4 ARC Fraser 30 76 22.12 52.75 721.13 576.91
5 MJ Hoggard 30 69 26.23 51.25 696.50 557.20
6 JB Statham 30 60 19.68 56.93 689.39 551.51
7 FS Trueman 30 68 23.21 57.93 684.24 547.39
8 D Gough 30 74 26.82 52.14 667.52 534.02
9 RGD Willis 30 58 20.43 54.09 666.15 532.92
10 SCJ Broad 30 61 25.69 53.05 644.93 515.94

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 FS Trueman 127 307 2.42 820.60 410.30
2 D Gough 95 229 2.41 814.27 407.13
3 ARC Fraser 79 177 2.24 787.10 393.55
4 JA Snow 93 202 2.17 777.19 388.60
5 IT Botham 168 383 2.28 774.91 387.45
6 MJ Hoggard 122 248 2.03 720.78 360.39
7 JM Anderson 350 704 2.01 697.21 348.61
8 RGD Willis 165 325 1.97 695.11 347.55
9 SCJ Broad 309 604 1.95 693.03 346.51
10 JB Statham 129 252 1.95 681.95 340.98

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 3 at a good AVE or SR.
  • 1st and 2nd; and 3rd and 4th inns are clubbed together.
  • The AVE should be less than 80% of the AVE of the better innings or
  • The SR should be less than 80% of the SR of the better innings.

Min Innings: 50

RANK BOWLER INNS II II Perc RAT WTG
1 JA Snow 93 26 27.96 728.82 728.82
2 ARC Fraser 79 26 32.91 714.09 714.09
3 FS Trueman 127 41 32.28 681.29 681.29
4 JM Anderson 350 89 25.43 665.22 665.22
5 IT Botham 168 47 27.98 645.77 645.77
6 D Gough 95 26 27.37 629.77 629.77
7 RGD Willis 165 44 26.67 614.68 614.68
8 SCJ Broad 309 71 22.98 553.16 553.16
9 JB Statham 129 30 23.26 483.77 483.77
10 MJ Hoggard 122 27 22.13 481.30 481.30

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 JA Snow 113.22 586.93 388.60 728.82 1,817.57 181.76
2 IT Botham 147.74 630.90 387.45 645.77 1,811.86 181.19
3 ARC Fraser 114.24 576.91 393.55 714.09 1,798.78 179.88
4 FS Trueman 152.24 547.39 410.30 681.29 1,791.21 179.12
5 JM Anderson 161.76 578.70 348.61 665.22 1,754.28 175.43
6 D Gough 141.57 534.02 407.13 629.77 1,712.49 171.25
7 RGD Willis 144.04 532.92 347.55 614.68 1,639.20 163.92
8 SCJ Broad 139.47 515.94 346.51 553.16 1,555.09 155.51
9 MJ Hoggard 120.81 557.20 360.39 481.30 1,519.71 151.97
10 JB Statham 138.32 551.51 340.98 483.77 1,514.58 151.46

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 11 JM Anderson ENG 403.93 192.56 175.43 771.93
2 17 FS Trueman ENG 416.15 158.43 179.12 753.70
3 24 RGD Willis ENG 387.21 173.15 163.92 724.28
4 25 IT Botham ENG 370.74 165.31 181.19 717.23
5 28 SCJ Broad ENG 388.15 159.30 155.51 702.96
6 32 JA Snow ENG 343.56 160.42 181.76 685.74
7 37 D Gough ENG 341.66 163.39 171.25 676.30
8 46 JB Statham ENG 355.14 147.79 151.46 654.39
9 49 ARC Fraser ENG 324.51 144.67 179.88 649.06
10 52 MJ Hoggard ENG 332.13 162.03 151.97 646.13

TOP TEAMS

Top Teams In Asia

DECADE OF MAT 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
1950s AUS WI PAK IND ENG
1960s WI AUS PAK IND NZ ENG SA
1970s PAK ENG IND WI SA AUS
1980s PAK WI ENG NZ IND AUS
1990s IND PAK SA AUS SL WI
2000s AUS SL IND PAK SA ENG
2010s IND PAK SL ENG NZ SA AUS
2020s IND SL PAK AUS NZ ENG

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
FULL RATING WITH ALL NATIONS

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