Best South African Fast Bowlers In ODIs Featured

Top 10 South African Fast Bowlers In ODIs

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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. 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 South African Fast bowlers in ODI cricket in all matches.

*Note: All ODI Ratings are updated till 2025-09-15

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. ECONOMIC
3.3.1. Against All Teams
3.3.2. Against Top Teams
3.4. BEST BOWLING BY WKTS (NWT)
3.5. BEST BOWLING BY ECO (NWT)
3.6. 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. WORLD CUP
5.2. IMPACT INNINGS
5.3. TOP FORM
5.4. SECONDARY RATING
6. OVERALL RATING
7. NON WEAK TEAMS
8. TOP TEAMS
Nations Filter

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

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

THE CRITERIA

CRITERIA CONSTITUENTS
Primary Wickets, Average, Economy, BBI (Wkts & Eco)
Conditions Home, Away, In Asia, Outside Asia
Secondary World Cup, Top Form, 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.
TT and NWT

Some sections consider performances only against the top teams (TT) and non weak teams (NWT). Here is some information:-

  • Win/Loss Ratio is used to determine TT and NWT.
  • They are calculated by decades.
  • A bowler's performace is counted in TT or NWT if it comes against that team in the specific decade.
  • Knock Out and Super Six matches of ODI World Cup are also counted.
  • TT & NWT may be found in the last section.

QUALIFICATION

Min Innings (TT) 25
Min Career Wkts 50

PRIMARY CRITERIA

The Primary Rating is divided into 5 main sections:-

CRITERIA STAT POINTS
Prolific Wickets Taken 200.00
Consistent Average 300.00
Economic Strike Rate 300.00
Best Bowling Top Inns (Wkts) 100.00
Economic Bowling Top Inns (Eco) 100.00

PROLIFIC

The Eras

The time period of ODI cricket 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 2011
Era 3 MP greater than 2010

Criteria: Points For Wickets Taken

RANK ERA 1 NAT FP LP MP INNS WKTS RAT
TS N Kapil Dev IND 1978 1994 1986 221 253 150.00
RANK ERA 2 NAT FP LP MP INNS WKTS RAT
TS Wasim Akram PAK 1984 2003 1993.5 351 502 200.00
1 SM Pollock SA 1996 2008 2002 297 393 156.57
2 JH Kallis SA 1996 2013 2004.5 283 273 108.76
3 AA Donald SA 1991 2003 1997 162 272 108.37
4 M Ntini SA 1998 2009 2003.5 171 266 105.98
5 PS de Villiers SA 1992 1997 1994.5 82 95 37.85
6 CR Matthews SA 1991 1997 1994 55 79 31.47
RANK ERA 3 NAT FP LP MP INNS WKTS RAT
TS SL Malinga SL 2004 2019 2011.5 220 338 170.00
1 DW Steyn SA 2005 2019 2012 124 196 98.58
2 M Morkel SA 2007 2018 2012.5 114 188 94.56
3 K Rabada SA 2015 2025 2020 104 168 84.50
4 LL Tsotsobe SA 2009 2013 2011 60 94 47.28

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 bowler has played.
  • Time Period in which he has been active

Criteria: Points For Relative Average

Min Qualification For TS
Min Wickets 100
Min Wickets (TT) 60

Against All Teams

RANK BOWLER INNS RUNS WKTS AVE R AVE RAT
TS SE Bond 80 3069 147 20.88 20.57 150.00
1 AA Donald 162 5926 272 21.79 22.31 138.31
2 CR Matthews 55 1975 79 25.00 24.80 124.44
3 LL Tsotsobe 60 2347 94 24.97 24.83 124.26
4 M Morkel 114 4761 188 25.32 24.90 123.94
5 M Ntini 171 6559 266 24.66 25.17 122.60
6 SM Pollock 297 9631 393 24.51 25.17 122.57
7 DW Steyn 124 5087 196 25.95 25.41 121.44
8 K Rabada 104 4613 168 27.46 26.76 115.29
9 PS de Villiers 82 2636 95 27.75 27.28 113.11
10 JH Kallis 283 8680 273 31.79 32.29 95.55

Against Top Teams

RANK BOWLER INNS RUNS WKTS AVE R AVE RAT
TS J Garner 91 2615 139 18.81 20.65 150.00
1 AA Donald 117 4322 184 23.49 23.35 132.64
2 CR Matthews 36 1318 53 24.87 23.43 132.18
3 LL Tsotsobe 49 1971 82 24.04 23.49 131.85
4 M Morkel 83 3467 136 25.49 24.11 128.45
5 M Ntini 126 5054 196 25.79 25.29 122.46
6 DW Steyn 94 4054 146 27.77 26.03 119.01
7 SM Pollock 205 6997 265 26.40 26.12 118.58
8 PS de Villiers 67 2205 81 27.22 26.13 118.53
9 K Rabada 81 3711 133 27.90 26.53 116.76
10 JH Kallis 206 6727 201 33.47 32.86 94.27

ECONOMIC

R ER

Relative Economy Rate (R ER) for bowlers is calculated using the same method as R Ave with average being replaced with ER.

Criteria: Points For R ER

Min Qualification For TS
Min Balls 1500

Against All Teams

RANK BOWLER INNS BLS RUNS ER R ER RAT
TS J Garner 98 5330 2752 3.10 3.53 150.00
1 SM Pollock 297 15712 9631 3.68 3.54 149.85
2 PS de Villiers 82 4422 2636 3.58 3.64 145.68
3 LL Tsotsobe 60 2964 2347 4.75 4.04 131.03
4 CR Matthews 55 3003 1975 3.95 4.06 130.39
5 K Rabada 104 5444 4613 5.08 4.13 128.34
6 DW Steyn 124 6256 5087 4.88 4.16 127.33
7 M Morkel 114 5760 4761 4.96 4.19 126.38
8 AA Donald 162 8561 5926 4.15 4.21 125.91
9 M Ntini 171 8687 6559 4.53 4.24 124.90
10 JH Kallis 283 10750 8680 4.84 4.57 115.95

Against Top Teams

RANK BOWLER INNS BLS RUNS ER R ER RAT
TS J Garner 91 4970 2615 3.16 3.58 150.00
1 SM Pollock 205 10887 6997 3.86 3.62 148.35
2 PS de Villiers 67 3654 2205 3.62 3.65 147.13
3 LL Tsotsobe 49 2495 1971 4.74 3.98 135.07
4 CR Matthews 36 1985 1318 3.98 4.02 133.57
5 M Morkel 83 4198 3467 4.96 4.10 130.97
6 K Rabada 81 4299 3711 5.18 4.15 129.36
7 DW Steyn 94 4841 4054 5.02 4.19 128.27
8 AA Donald 117 6118 4322 4.24 4.24 126.77
9 M Ntini 126 6376 5054 4.76 4.34 123.60
10 JH Kallis 206 7974 6727 5.06 4.68 114.70

BEST BOWLING BY WKTS (NWT)

BBW

In this criteria, we have taken the top 5 bowling performances by Wkts of a bowler against Non Weak Teams in all matches. Best Bowling By Wickets (BBW) is simply the total wickets taken in the 5 innings divided by 5.

Criteria: Points For Wkts Taken In Top 5 Inns

RANK BOWLER 1 2 3 4 5 BBW RAT
TS Waqar Younis 7/36 6/26 6/30 6/44 6/59 6.20 100.00
1 SM Pollock 6/35 5/20 5/23 5/36 5/37 5.20 83.87
2 M Ntini 6/22 5/21 5/31 5/37 4/24 5.00 80.65
3 DW Steyn 6/39 5/25 5/50 4/16 4/27 4.80 77.42
4 K Rabada 6/16 5/39 4/39 4/41 4/41 4.60 74.19
5 M Morkel 5/21 5/38 4/10 4/21 4/22 4.40 70.97
6 AA Donald 5/29 4/17 4/29 4/31 4/32 4.20 67.74
6 JH Kallis 5/30 5/41 4/22 4/33 3/3 4.20 67.74
8 LL Tsotsobe 4/22 4/22 4/25 4/27 4/31 4.00 64.52
9 CR Matthews 4/10 4/38 4/47 3/19 3/22 3.60 58.06
10 PS de Villiers 4/27 4/32 3/15 3/19 3/21 3.40 54.84

BEST BOWLING BY ECO (NWT)

BBE

In this criteria, we have taken the top 5 bowling performances by Economy of a bowler against Non Weak Teams. Best Bowling By Economy (BBE) is the Relative Economy of the bowler in the 5 Inns. Only 30+ Balls performaces are counted in this criteria.

Criteria: Points For Economy In Top 5 Inns

RANK BOWLER 1 2 3 4 5 BBE RAT
TS CEL Ambrose 10.0/5 5.0/4 8.4/9 6.0/8 8.5/13 1.05 100.00
1 SM Pollock 10.0/9 5.0/6 9.5/12 8.0/10 7.0/9 1.11 94.77
2 PS de Villiers 5.0/5 8.0/10 10.0/15 8.0/15 10.0/19 1.59 66.29
3 M Ntini 7.0/12 10.0/18 7.0/13 10.0/20 9.0/19 1.79 58.92
4 M Morkel 6.0/10 6.0/13 10.0/22 7.0/16 5.0/12 1.81 57.97
5 AA Donald 10.0/17 8.2/15 10.0/18 6.0/11 6.4/13 1.83 57.54
6 K Rabada 7.0/13 8.0/16 6.0/16 6.0/16 6.0/18 1.94 54.12
7 DW Steyn 8.0/16 8.0/19 7.0/17 10.0/25 7.0/18 2.03 51.94
8 CR Matthews 8.0/10 10.0/20 9.0/20 10.0/23 8.0/19 2.10 49.97
9 JH Kallis 8.0/17 5.0/11 8.0/18 6.0/14 10.0/24 2.14 49.13
10 LL Tsotsobe 10.0/22 9.0/23 10.0/27 5.0/14 10.0/28 2.20 47.71

PRIMARY RATING

The total of the above five criteria comes out to be 1,000.00 points. The Primary Rating is the addition of the points a bowler scored in the five criteria. The Weightage of the Rating is 40%.

RANK BOWLER PRO CON ECO BBW BBE RAT PRI PTS
1 SM Pollock 156.57 241.15 298.20 83.87 94.77 874.57 349.83
2 AA Donald 108.37 270.96 252.69 67.74 57.54 757.29 302.91
3 M Ntini 105.98 245.06 248.50 80.65 58.92 739.10 295.64
4 M Morkel 94.56 252.39 257.35 70.97 57.97 733.23 293.29
5 DW Steyn 98.58 240.45 255.60 77.42 51.94 723.99 289.60
6 K Rabada 84.50 232.05 257.70 74.19 54.12 702.56 281.03
7 PS de Villiers 37.85 231.63 292.82 54.84 66.29 683.42 273.37
8 LL Tsotsobe 47.28 256.12 266.10 64.52 47.71 681.72 272.69
9 CR Matthews 31.47 256.62 263.95 58.06 49.97 660.08 264.03
10 JH Kallis 108.76 189.82 230.65 67.74 49.13 646.11 258.45

CONDITIONS CRITERIA

The Conditions Rating is calculated by applying the five criteria of Primary Rating to various conditions. 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 conditions criteria and thier weightage is as follows:-

CRITERIA POINTS
Home 20.00
Away 80.00
Favourable Conditions 20.00
Unfavourable Conditions 80.00

HOME/AWAY

HM/AW RATING

Points to note:-

  • U.A.E. and India are considered as Home for Afghanistan.
  • U.A.E. is also considered as a second home for Pakistan.
  • All Home and Away stats of Pakistani and Afghani bowlers are calculated accordingly.

At Home

Min Innings Vs Top Teams: 7

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE ECO RAT WTG
1 SM Pollock 125 193 20.24 3.51 917.59 18.35
2 M Ntini 76 122 23.98 4.42 717.60 14.35
3 DW Steyn 55 89 25.25 4.73 680.35 13.61
4 M Morkel 40 61 26.87 4.91 652.12 13.04
5 LL Tsotsobe 29 49 23.63 4.81 640.93 12.82
6 AA Donald 62 88 26.35 4.24 637.37 12.75
7 K Rabada 47 74 29.04 5.17 605.60 12.11
8 CR Matthews 28 40 24.65 4.00 602.05 12.04
9 JH Kallis 121 116 32.61 4.96 600.34 12.01
10 PS de Villiers 31 34 28.50 3.45 584.66 11.69

Away From Home

Min Innings Vs Top Teams: 15

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE ECO RAT WTG
1 AA Donald 100 184 19.60 4.10 790.54 63.24
2 SM Pollock 172 200 28.63 3.80 776.26 62.10
3 M Morkel 74 127 24.58 4.99 733.39 58.67
4 K Rabada 57 94 26.21 5.01 721.99 57.76
5 M Ntini 95 144 25.23 4.62 695.11 55.61
6 DW Steyn 69 107 26.54 5.01 693.30 55.46
7 PS de Villiers 51 61 27.33 3.66 691.14 55.29
8 LL Tsotsobe 31 45 26.42 4.70 649.84 51.99
9 CR Matthews 27 39 25.36 3.89 649.76 51.98
10 JH Kallis 162 157 31.19 4.76 633.75 50.70

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 ECO RAT WTG
1 SM Pollock 236 309 24.21 3.60 921.08 18.42
2 AA Donald 136 222 22.28 4.12 776.91 15.54
3 M Ntini 135 207 25.12 4.48 761.28 15.23
4 M Morkel 82 136 25.04 4.98 761.24 15.22
5 DW Steyn 102 160 25.89 4.81 757.28 15.15
6 K Rabada 75 118 28.52 5.06 693.26 13.87
7 LL Tsotsobe 46 70 26.20 4.94 682.06 13.64
8 CR Matthews 39 59 23.41 3.98 666.92 13.34
9 JH Kallis 226 211 32.68 4.87 655.21 13.10
10 PS de Villiers 52 59 28.08 3.54 650.66 13.01

Unfavourable Conditions Rating

Non Asians In Asia

Min Innings Vs Top Teams: 7

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE ECO RAT WTG
1 SM Pollock 61 84 25.58 3.96 822.29 65.78
2 K Rabada 29 50 24.96 5.15 749.56 59.96
3 M Ntini 36 59 23.05 4.75 724.98 58.00
4 M Morkel 32 52 26.06 4.91 716.03 57.28
5 AA Donald 26 50 19.60 4.33 714.24 57.14
6 JH Kallis 57 62 28.79 4.74 681.73 54.54
7 DW Steyn 22 36 26.22 5.19 676.48 54.12
8 PS de Villiers 30 36 27.19 3.65 670.87 53.67
9 LL Tsotsobe 14 24 21.38 4.19 649.80 51.98
10 CR Matthews 16 20 29.70 3.88 536.21 42.90

CONDITIONS RATING

The Conditions Rating is the addition of the points a bowler scored in the four criteria. The Weightage of the Rating is 20%.

RANK BOWLER AW HM UC FC CON PTS
1 SM Pollock 62.10 18.35 65.78 18.42 164.66
2 AA Donald 63.24 12.75 57.14 15.54 148.67
3 M Morkel 58.67 13.04 57.28 15.22 144.22
4 K Rabada 57.76 12.11 59.96 13.87 143.70
5 M Ntini 55.61 14.35 58.00 15.23 143.19
6 DW Steyn 55.46 13.61 54.12 15.15 138.33
7 PS de Villiers 55.29 11.69 53.67 13.01 133.67
8 LL Tsotsobe 51.99 12.82 51.98 13.64 130.43
9 JH Kallis 50.70 12.01 54.54 13.10 130.35
10 CR Matthews 51.98 12.04 42.90 13.34 120.26

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
World Cup 150.00
Impact Innings 150.00
Top Form 100.00

WORLD CUP

Min Innings Vs Top Teams: 5

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE ECO RAT WTG
1 SM Pollock 31 31 31.29 3.61 598.09 89.71
2 AA Donald 25 38 24.03 4.17 592.24 88.84
3 M Morkel 14 26 19.46 4.66 562.65 84.40
4 DW Steyn 14 23 23.39 4.68 559.36 83.90
5 K Rabada 17 24 31.71 5.05 521.10 78.17
6 CR Matthews 6 7 32.29 3.80 500.00 75.00
6 PS de Villiers 1 2 13.50 3.86 500.00 75.00
6 LL Tsotsobe 1 3 4.67 2.80 500.00 75.00
9 JH Kallis 32 21 43.05 4.28 469.77 70.47
10 M Ntini 13 16 29.31 4.07 435.65 65.35
IMPACT INNINGS (II)

Impact Innings are those innings which have an impact either in terms of wickets or economy 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 4.
  • A Bowler bowls more than 30 balls and has a low ER.
  • The required ER is calculated by the number of wickets taken.

IMPACT INNINGS

Min Innings Vs Top Teams: 25

RANK BOWLER INNS II II Perc RAT WTG
1 SM Pollock 297 156 52.53 881.63 132.24
2 M Morkel 114 38 33.33 552.73 82.91
3 DW Steyn 124 39 31.45 529.85 79.48
4 AA Donald 162 58 35.80 516.07 77.41
5 M Ntini 171 55 32.16 509.03 76.36
6 K Rabada 104 34 32.69 506.08 75.91
7 PS de Villiers 82 31 37.80 500.00 75.00
8 LL Tsotsobe 60 20 33.33 444.92 66.74
9 CR Matthews 55 15 27.27 330.52 49.58
10 JH Kallis 283 45 15.90 279.50 41.92
TOP FORM RATING

Points to note:-

  • Top Form is calculated by taking the best 50 consecutive innings of a bowler.
  • Only Inns against Non Weak Teams are considered in the rating.
  • Non Weak Teams may be found in the last section.

TOP FORM

Min Innings Vs Non Weak Teams: 15

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE ECO RAT WTG
1 SM Pollock 50 76 21.61 3.78 804.50 80.45
2 M Morkel 50 92 21.45 4.74 794.50 79.45
3 DW Steyn 50 87 21.16 4.39 792.43 79.24
4 AA Donald 50 99 19.14 4.26 792.25 79.22
5 M Ntini 50 89 21.09 4.38 770.85 77.09
6 LL Tsotsobe 50 84 23.79 4.82 729.29 72.93
7 K Rabada 50 80 27.70 5.09 713.40 71.34
8 CR Matthews 50 77 23.62 3.88 713.03 71.30
9 PS de Villiers 50 60 27.03 3.58 684.89 68.49
10 JH Kallis 50 66 25.50 4.52 642.90 64.29

SECONDARY RATING

The Secondary Rating is the addition of the points a bowler scored in the three criteria. The Weightage of the Rating is 40%.

RANK BOWLER WC II TF SEC RAT
1 SM Pollock 89.71 132.24 80.45 302.41
2 M Morkel 84.40 82.91 79.45 246.76
3 AA Donald 88.84 77.41 79.22 245.47
4 DW Steyn 83.90 79.48 79.24 242.62
5 K Rabada 78.17 75.91 71.34 225.42
6 M Ntini 65.35 76.36 77.09 218.79
7 PS de Villiers 75.00 75.00 68.49 218.49
8 LL Tsotsobe 75.00 66.74 72.93 214.67
9 CR Matthews 75.00 49.58 71.30 195.88
10 JH Kallis 70.47 41.92 64.29 176.68

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 PTS CON PTS SEC PTS FIN RAT
1 3 SM Pollock SA 349.83 164.66 302.41 816.89
2 20 AA Donald SA 302.91 148.67 245.47 697.05
3 22 M Morkel SA 293.29 144.22 246.76 684.27
4 24 DW Steyn SA 289.60 138.33 242.62 670.55
5 32 M Ntini SA 295.64 143.19 218.79 657.61
6 35 K Rabada SA 281.03 143.70 225.42 650.14
7 49 PS de Villiers SA 273.37 133.67 218.49 625.53
8 56 LL Tsotsobe SA 272.69 130.43 214.67 617.79
9 76 CR Matthews SA 264.03 120.26 195.88 580.17
10 87 JH Kallis SA 258.45 130.35 176.68 565.47

NON WEAK TEAMS

DECADE OF MAT 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1970s WI ENG AUS NZ PAK SL IND
1980s WI ENG AUS PAK IND NZ SL ZIM
1990s SA AUS PAK WI IND SL ENG NZ ZIM
2000s AUS SA SL PAK IND NZ ENG WI BAN
2010s IND SA AUS ENG NZ PAK SL BAN WI
2020s IND NZ SL AUS PAK SA BAN ENG WI AFG

TOP TEAMS

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

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