Top 20 ODI Fast Bowlers With Best Economy

Our One Day International (ODI) ratings take into account all matches from the first ODI match on January 5, 1971 till the below mentioned last update date.To qualify for the rating, a player must have played at least 25 innings against the Top Teams (TT). TT may be found in the last section of the rating.

*Note: All ODI Ratings are updated till 2023-01-08

Best Economy Rates

The first list simply gives you the bowlers with best Economy Rates in ODI Cricket. The second list gives you the bowlers with best Relative Economy Rates (R ER). How it is calculated is explained in the highlighted sections. Only bowlers who have bowled more than 2500 balls are considered for both lists.

TOP 20 ODI Pacers With Best Economy Rates


RANK BOWLER NAT FP LP INNS RUNS BALLS ER
1 J Garner WI 1977 1987 98 2752 5330 3.10
2 RGD Willis ENG 1973 1984 64 1968 3595 3.28
3 RJ Hadlee NZ 1973 1990 112 3407 6182 3.31
4 MA Holding WI 1976 1987 102 3034 5473 3.33
5 AME Roberts WI 1975 1983 56 1771 3123 3.40
6 CEL Ambrose WI 1988 2000 175 5429 9353 3.48
7 MD Marshall WI 1980 1992 134 4233 7175 3.54
8 PS de Villiers SA 1992 1997 82 2636 4422 3.58
9 EJ Chatfield NZ 1979 1989 112 3620 6065 3.58
10 DK Lillee AUS 1972 1983 63 2145 3593 3.58
11 GF Lawson AUS 1980 1989 79 2592 4259 3.65
12 TM Alderman AUS 1981 1991 65 2056 3371 3.66
13 SM Pollock SA 1996 2008 297 9631 15712 3.68
14 N Kapil Dev IND 1978 1994 221 6945 11202 3.72
15 GR Larsen NZ 1990 1999 119 4000 6368 3.77
16 CA Walsh WI 1985 2000 204 6915 10822 3.83
17 AD Mullally ENG 1996 2001 49 1728 2699 3.84
18 GD McGrath AUS 1993 2007 248 8391 12970 3.88
19 Imran Khan PAK 1974 1992 153 4845 7462 3.90
20 Wasim Akram PAK 1984 2003 351 11812 18186 3.90
C ER

The Comparative Economy Rate (C ER) for bowlers is calculated by taken into account two factors:-

  • First is the ER of batsmen in the decades the bowler played.
  • Second is the ER of the opposition batsmen at Home, in Asia or outside Asia; whichever is applicable.
  • The ER of the opposing team’s batsmen is also calculated by decades.
  • Higher C ER suggest that more runs per over were scored by the batsmen in the above mentioned factors.
  • Thus it was difficult to contain runs and the bowler will benefit from this.
  • Lower C ER means the opposite.
R ER

The Relative Economy Rate (R ER) is calculated using the C ER. Its formula is (Bowler ER/C ER)*A Constant Factor. This constant doesn’t affect the rating as it is the same for everone. If your C ER is comparatively high, your R ER will be low; which is better for bowlers. Broadly speaking, the following bowlers will benefit from this system:-

  • Bowlers who have played more in unfavourable conditions.
  • Asian fast bowlers and Non-Asian spin bowlers whereever applicable.
  • Modern day bowlers benefit from R ER.
  • This is because scoring rates have increased with time and it has become more difficult to be economic.
  • Bowlers who have played more against top opposition than weaker teams.

TOP 20 ODI Pacers With Best R ER


RANK BOWLER NAT FP LP INNS RUNS BALLS ER R ER
1 J Garner WI 1977 1987 98 2752 5330 3.10 3.41
2 SM Pollock SA 1996 2008 297 9631 15712 3.68 3.52
3 CEL Ambrose WI 1988 2000 175 5429 9353 3.48 3.59
4 RJ Hadlee NZ 1973 1990 112 3407 6182 3.31 3.64
5 MA Holding WI 1976 1987 102 3034 5473 3.33 3.64
6 PS de Villiers SA 1992 1997 82 2636 4422 3.58 3.66
7 JR Hazlewood AUS 2010 2022 68 2766 3626 4.58 3.73
8 RGD Willis ENG 1973 1984 64 1968 3595 3.28 3.74
9 GD McGrath AUS 1993 2007 248 8391 12970 3.88 3.75
10 MD Marshall WI 1980 1992 134 4233 7175 3.54 3.75
11 JJ Bumrah IND 2016 2022 72 2941 3807 4.64 3.76
12 AR Caddick ENG 1993 2003 53 1965 2937 4.01 3.78
13 AME Roberts WI 1975 1983 56 1771 3123 3.40 3.80
14 AD Mathews SL 2008 2020 158 4003 5191 4.63 3.83
15 AD Mullally ENG 1996 2001 49 1728 2699 3.84 3.84
16 N Kapil Dev IND 1978 1994 221 6945 11202 3.72 3.85
17 Wasim Akram PAK 1984 2003 351 11812 18186 3.90 3.87
18 EJ Chatfield NZ 1979 1989 112 3620 6065 3.58 3.88
19 SE Bond NZ 2002 2010 80 3069 4295 4.29 3.90
20 GR Larsen NZ 1990 1999 119 4000 6368 3.77 3.91

TOP TEAMS


DECADE OF MAT 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
1970s WI ENG AUS NZ PAK
1980s WI ENG AUS PAK NZ IND SL
1990s SA AUS PAK WI IND ENG SL NZ
2000s AUS SA PAK SL IND NZ ENG WI
2010s IND SA AUS ENG NZ SL PAK BAN
2020s BAN PAK AUS NZ IND SA SL ENG


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