Best New Zealand Fast Bowlers In Tests Featured

Top 10 New Zealand Fast Bowlers In Tests Since 1950

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). So, here are the Top 10 Kiwi 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 New Zealand.

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

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 RJ Hadlee NZ 1973 1990 1981.5 150 431 158.89
2 BR Taylor NZ 1965 1973 1969 53 111 40.92
RANK ERA 2 NAT FP LP MP INNS WKTS RAT
TS JM Anderson ENG 2003 2024 2013.5 350 704 200.00
1 CS Martin NZ 2000 2013 2006.5 126 233 66.19
2 CL Cairns NZ 1989 2004 1996.5 104 218 61.93
3 SB Doull NZ 1992 2000 1996 51 98 27.84
4 DJ Nash NZ 1992 2001 1996.5 53 93 26.42
RANK ERA 3 NAT FP LP MP INNS WKTS RAT
TS TG Southee NZ 2008 2024 2016 203 391 160.00
1 TG Southee NZ 2008 2024 2016 203 391 160.00
2 TA Boult NZ 2011 2022 2016.5 149 317 129.72
3 N Wagner NZ 2012 2024 2018 122 260 106.39
4 MJ Henry NZ 2015 2024 2019.5 59 120 49.10

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 RJ Hadlee 150 9612 431 22.30 22.29 164.21
2 TA Boult 149 8717 317 27.50 26.66 137.31
3 BR Taylor 53 2953 111 26.60 26.97 135.73
4 SB Doull 51 2872 98 29.31 27.46 133.30
5 DJ Nash 53 2649 93 28.48 27.55 132.86
6 N Wagner 122 7169 260 27.57 27.63 132.47
7 CL Cairns 104 6410 218 29.40 27.71 132.12
8 MJ Henry 59 3581 120 29.84 28.81 127.07
9 TG Southee 203 11832 391 30.26 29.07 125.93
10 CS Martin 126 7878 233 33.81 31.09 117.72

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 RJ Hadlee 121 8006 352 22.74 22.73 170.40
2 BR Taylor 43 2252 90 25.02 25.37 152.72
3 DJ Nash 38 2082 73 28.52 27.59 140.42
4 N Wagner 74 4433 157 28.24 28.30 136.90
5 MJ Henry 49 3031 103 29.43 28.41 136.37
6 TA Boult 93 5641 192 29.38 28.48 136.00
7 CL Cairns 78 4822 151 31.93 30.09 128.74
8 TG Southee 143 8733 263 33.21 31.89 121.45
9 SB Doull 37 2297 62 37.05 34.72 111.58
10 CS Martin 93 6162 163 37.80 34.77 111.42

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 RJ Hadlee 150 21918 431 50.85 47.60 276.27
2 BR Taylor 53 6334 111 57.06 50.30 261.40
3 CL Cairns 104 11698 218 53.66 51.58 254.93
4 N Wagner 122 13725 260 52.79 57.24 229.74
5 TA Boult 149 17416 317 54.94 57.50 228.68
6 SB Doull 51 6053 98 61.77 57.64 228.14
7 CS Martin 126 14026 233 60.20 61.17 214.96
8 MJ Henry 59 6750 120 56.25 61.43 214.06
9 DJ Nash 53 6196 93 66.62 62.98 208.78
10 TG Southee 203 23490 391 60.08 63.37 207.51

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 RJ Hadlee 9/52 7/23 7/116 6/26 6/49 6/50 6/51 6.71 92.16
2 TG Southee 7/64 6/43 6/50 6/62 6/68 6/80 5/32 6.00 82.35
3 CL Cairns 7/27 7/53 6/52 6/77 5/31 5/31 5/44 5.86 80.39
4 N Wagner 7/39 6/41 6/106 5/44 5/45 5/47 5/64 5.57 76.47
4 TA Boult 6/30 6/32 6/40 6/68 5/43 5/57 5/60 5.57 76.47
6 CS Martin 6/26 6/54 6/76 5/37 5/55 5/63 5/65 5.43 74.51
7 SB Doull 7/65 5/46 5/58 5/66 5/73 5/75 4/33 5.14 70.59
7 MJ Henry 7/23 7/67 5/15 5/70 4/48 4/80 4/84 5.14 70.59
9 BR Taylor 7/74 5/26 5/41 5/86 4/41 4/47 4/53 4.86 66.67
10 DJ Nash 6/27 6/76 5/93 4/38 4/39 4/62 4/72 4.71 64.71

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 RJ Hadlee 158.89 334.61 276.27 92.16 861.94 430.97
2 TA Boult 129.72 273.31 228.68 76.47 708.18 354.09
3 TG Southee 160.00 247.39 207.51 82.35 697.25 348.62
4 N Wagner 106.39 269.36 229.74 76.47 681.96 340.98
5 CL Cairns 61.93 260.85 254.93 80.39 658.11 329.06
6 BR Taylor 40.92 288.45 261.40 66.67 657.44 328.72
7 MJ Henry 49.10 263.44 214.06 70.59 597.19 298.60
8 CS Martin 66.19 229.14 214.96 74.51 584.81 292.40
9 DJ Nash 26.42 273.28 208.78 64.71 573.19 286.59
10 SB Doull 27.84 244.88 228.14 70.59 571.45 285.73

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 RJ Hadlee 75 201 22.96 53.05 732.02 183.01
2 N Wagner 79 178 27.19 48.95 626.51 156.63
3 TA Boult 72 173 25.04 50.76 619.76 154.94
4 TG Southee 114 234 28.80 57.10 604.20 151.05
5 MJ Henry 37 82 25.51 50.71 573.24 143.31
6 CL Cairns 52 109 28.36 52.83 557.70 139.43
7 CS Martin 73 146 30.99 54.60 528.92 132.23
8 BR Taylor 17 31 33.39 71.61 500.00 125.00
9 SB Doull 30 61 29.07 60.23 466.60 116.65
10 DJ Nash 23 36 30.56 73.50 410.48 102.62

Away From Home

Min Innings: 20

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 RJ Hadlee 75 230 21.73 48.93 873.08 873.08
2 BR Taylor 36 80 23.98 51.43 721.51 721.51
3 TA Boult 77 144 30.45 59.96 682.57 682.57
4 TG Southee 89 157 32.44 64.51 681.59 681.59
5 CL Cairns 52 109 30.45 54.50 659.59 659.59
6 DJ Nash 30 57 27.18 62.28 622.53 622.53
7 N Wagner 43 82 28.41 61.12 605.89 605.89
8 SB Doull 21 37 29.70 64.30 585.16 585.16
9 CS Martin 53 87 38.54 69.60 536.76 536.76
10 MJ Henry 22 38 39.18 68.21 485.61 485.61

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 RJ Hadlee 128 363 22.43 52.37 833.97 208.49
2 TA Boult 117 267 26.71 52.67 672.09 168.02
3 N Wagner 111 244 27.31 51.45 666.90 166.72
4 TG Southee 164 328 30.62 59.51 643.85 160.96
5 CL Cairns 86 188 28.87 53.04 632.23 158.06
6 BR Taylor 37 81 28.67 60.53 593.29 148.32
7 CS Martin 116 217 33.04 58.36 573.82 143.46
8 MJ Henry 49 102 29.87 55.60 560.65 140.16
9 DJ Nash 42 76 28.26 66.13 540.89 135.22
10 SB Doull 46 88 30.03 63.44 538.20 134.55

Unfavourable Conditions Rating

Non Asians In Asia

Min Innings: 10

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 RJ Hadlee 22 68 21.60 42.78 867.83 867.83
2 TG Southee 39 63 28.38 63.05 786.88 786.88
3 TA Boult 32 50 31.70 67.06 645.68 645.68
4 BR Taylor 16 30 21.03 47.70 642.81 642.81
5 CL Cairns 18 30 32.73 57.57 556.95 556.95
6 MJ Henry 10 18 29.67 59.94 516.01 516.01
7 SB Doull 5 10 22.90 47.00 500.00 500.00
8 DJ Nash 11 17 29.47 68.82 469.20 469.20
9 N Wagner 11 16 31.56 73.13 462.49 462.49
10 CS Martin 10 16 44.25 85.13 390.15 390.15

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 RJ Hadlee 873.08 183.01 867.83 208.49 2,132.41 213.24
2 TG Southee 681.59 151.05 786.88 160.96 1,780.48 178.05
3 TA Boult 682.57 154.94 645.68 168.02 1,651.22 165.12
4 BR Taylor 721.51 125.00 642.81 148.32 1,637.64 163.76
5 CL Cairns 659.59 139.43 556.95 158.06 1,514.02 151.40
6 N Wagner 605.89 156.63 462.49 166.72 1,391.73 139.17
7 SB Doull 585.16 116.65 500.00 134.55 1,336.36 133.64
8 DJ Nash 622.53 102.62 469.20 135.22 1,329.58 132.96
9 MJ Henry 485.61 143.31 516.01 140.16 1,285.09 128.51
10 CS Martin 536.76 132.23 390.15 143.46 1,202.59 120.26

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 RJ Hadlee 30 89 20.02 49.48 756.47 151.29
2 TG Southee 30 83 22.75 44.64 683.47 136.69
3 TA Boult 30 83 22.45 44.18 669.05 133.81
4 N Wagner 30 78 22.91 43.69 664.65 132.93
5 CL Cairns 30 69 23.58 43.74 655.83 131.17
6 MJ Henry 30 76 22.87 44.84 651.62 130.32
7 CS Martin 30 66 28.14 49.20 600.29 120.06
8 SB Doull 30 61 29.07 60.23 563.75 112.75
9 DJ Nash 23 36 30.56 73.50 404.59 80.92
10 BR Taylor 17 31 33.39 71.61 386.64 77.33

TOP FORM AWAY

Min Innings: 10

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 RJ Hadlee 30 117 16.82 40.82 944.14 755.31
2 BR Taylor 30 66 21.77 47.80 692.82 554.26
3 CL Cairns 30 68 25.71 49.04 679.49 543.59
4 N Wagner 30 68 23.15 54.65 644.50 515.60
5 TG Southee 30 62 26.35 54.74 636.06 508.85
6 DJ Nash 30 57 27.18 62.28 592.99 474.39
7 TA Boult 30 59 30.08 59.42 564.41 451.53
8 CS Martin 30 54 35.31 66.30 517.68 414.15
9 SB Doull 21 37 29.70 64.30 513.13 410.51
10 MJ Henry 22 38 39.18 68.21 438.98 351.19

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 RJ Hadlee 150 431 2.87 996.50 498.25
2 BR Taylor 53 111 2.09 759.30 379.65
3 MJ Henry 59 120 2.03 744.03 372.02
4 N Wagner 122 260 2.13 736.31 368.15
5 TA Boult 149 317 2.13 736.01 368.00
6 CL Cairns 104 218 2.10 697.62 348.81
7 DJ Nash 53 93 1.75 684.72 342.36
8 SB Doull 51 98 1.92 676.56 338.28
9 TG Southee 203 391 1.93 673.52 336.76
10 CS Martin 126 233 1.85 657.57 328.78

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 RJ Hadlee 150 76 50.67 897.97 897.97
2 N Wagner 122 53 43.44 702.39 702.39
3 BR Taylor 53 22 41.51 660.33 660.33
4 TA Boult 149 57 38.26 633.74 633.74
5 TG Southee 203 72 35.47 606.80 606.80
6 MJ Henry 59 22 37.29 568.62 568.62
7 CL Cairns 104 39 37.50 543.01 543.01
8 DJ Nash 53 16 30.19 486.19 486.19
9 SB Doull 51 18 35.29 442.93 442.93
10 CS Martin 126 34 26.98 381.45 381.45

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 RJ Hadlee 151.29 755.31 498.25 897.97 2,302.83 230.28
2 N Wagner 132.93 515.60 368.15 702.39 1,719.07 171.91
3 BR Taylor 77.33 554.26 379.65 660.33 1,671.56 167.16
4 TG Southee 136.69 508.85 336.76 606.80 1,589.10 158.91
5 TA Boult 133.81 451.53 368.00 633.74 1,587.08 158.71
6 CL Cairns 131.17 543.59 348.81 543.01 1,566.58 156.66
7 MJ Henry 130.32 351.19 372.02 568.62 1,422.14 142.21
8 DJ Nash 80.92 474.39 342.36 486.19 1,383.86 138.39
9 SB Doull 112.75 410.51 338.28 442.93 1,304.47 130.45
10 CS Martin 120.06 414.15 328.78 381.45 1,244.44 124.44

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 1 RJ Hadlee NZ 430.97 213.24 230.28 874.49
2 31 TG Southee NZ 348.62 178.05 158.91 685.58
3 35 TA Boult NZ 354.09 165.12 158.71 677.92
4 44 BR Taylor NZ 328.72 163.76 167.16 659.64
5 48 N Wagner NZ 340.98 139.17 171.91 652.06
6 53 CL Cairns NZ 329.06 151.40 156.66 637.12
7 79 MJ Henry NZ 298.60 128.51 142.21 569.32
8 85 DJ Nash NZ 286.59 132.96 138.39 557.94
9 90 SB Doull NZ 285.73 133.64 130.45 549.81
10 99 CS Martin NZ 292.40 120.26 124.44 537.11

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

Leave a Comment