Best South African Fast Bowlers In Tests Featured

Top 10 South African Fast Bowlers In Tests Since 1950

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All Test Ratings on the website are from 01/01/1950 onwards (Know Why). They are updated till 2026-02-05. Brief explanation of the ratings is given before each section (Detailed Explanation) and at the end. So, here are the Top 10 South African Fast bowlers in Test Cricket since 1950.

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
3.3.1. Against All Teams
3.3.2. Against Top Teams
3.4. BEST BOWLING (WKTS)
3.4.1. Against All Teams
3.4.2. Against Top Teams
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. WKTS/INN
5.2. TOP FORM
5.3. IMPACT INNINGS
5.4. SECONDARY RATING
6. OVERALL RATING
6.1. BRIEF EXPLANATION
6.1.1. Dynamic Nature
6.1.2. Trend Setter (TS)
6.1.3. Top Teams (TT)
6.1.4. Abbreviations
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, Strike Rate, Top Inns
Conditions Home, Away, In Asia, Outside Asia
Secondary Wkts Per Inn, Top Form, Impact Inns

QUALIFICATION

Min Innings (TT) 25
Min Career Wkts 50

PRIMARY CRITERIA

CRITERIA STAT POINTS
Prolific Wickets Taken 250.00
Consistent Average 300.00
Attacking Strike Rate 300.00
Best Bowling Top Bowling Performances 150.00

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 1976
Era 2 MP between 1975 And 1996
Era 3 MP between 1995 And 2016
Era 4 MP greater than 2015

Criteria: Points For Wickets Taken

RANK ERA 1 NAT FP LP MP INNS WKTS RAT
TS FS Trueman ENG 1952 1965 1958.5 127 307 220.00
1 PM Pollock SA 1961 1970 1965.5 52 116 83.13
2 NAT Adcock SA 1953 1962 1957.5 46 104 74.53
RANK ERA 2 NAT FP LP MP INNS WKTS RAT
TS CA Walsh WI 1984 2001 1992.5 242 519 240.00
RANK ERA 3 NAT FP LP MP INNS WKTS RAT
TS JM Anderson ENG 2003 2024 2013.5 350 704 250.00
1 DW Steyn SA 2004 2019 2011.5 171 439 155.89
2 SM Pollock SA 1995 2008 2001.5 202 421 149.50
3 M Ntini SA 1998 2009 2003.5 190 390 138.49
4 AA Donald SA 1992 2002 1997 129 330 117.19
5 M Morkel SA 2006 2018 2012 160 309 109.73
RANK ERA 4 NAT FP LP MP INNS WKTS RAT
TS MA Starc AUS 2011 2026 2018.5 202 433 230.00
1 K Rabada SA 2015 2025 2020 134 340 180.60
2 VD Philander SA 2011 2020 2015.5 119 224 118.98
3 M Jansen SA 2021 2025 2023 38 89 47.27

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 75
Min Wickets (TT) 60

Against All Teams

RANK BOWLER INNS RUNS WKTS AVE R AVE RAT
TS JJ Bumrah 99 4631 234 19.79 19.33 120.00
1 DW Steyn 171 10077 439 22.95 20.91 110.91
2 VD Philander 119 5000 224 22.32 21.10 109.92
3 M Jansen 38 1880 89 21.12 21.82 106.26
4 K Rabada 134 7493 340 22.04 22.16 104.66
5 AA Donald 129 7344 330 22.25 22.53 102.92
6 SM Pollock 202 9733 421 23.12 23.13 100.27
7 NAT Adcock 46 2195 104 21.11 23.48 98.75
8 PM Pollock 52 2806 116 24.19 24.64 94.11
9 M Morkel 160 8550 309 27.67 24.77 93.62
10 M Ntini 190 11242 390 28.83 27.62 83.97

Against Top Teams

RANK BOWLER INNS RUNS WKTS AVE R AVE RAT
TS JJ Bumrah 83 4138 193 21.44 20.10 180.00
1 M Jansen 28 1311 62 21.15 20.63 175.37
2 K Rabada 88 5364 220 24.38 22.53 160.57
3 DW Steyn 97 6356 232 27.40 22.55 160.43
4 NAT Adcock 33 1562 71 22.00 22.62 159.92
5 AA Donald 66 3738 160 23.36 22.76 158.92
6 VD Philander 75 3252 124 26.23 23.19 156.03
7 SM Pollock 100 5160 202 25.54 23.97 150.90
8 M Morkel 112 6426 223 28.82 24.12 149.98
9 PM Pollock 40 2249 84 26.77 25.34 142.73
10 M Ntini 94 5923 180 32.91 27.99 129.27

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 75
Min Wickets (TT) 60

Against All Teams

RANK BOWLER INNS BLS WKTS SR R SR RAT
TS M Jansen 38 3408 89 38.29 42.71 120.00
1 M Jansen 38 3408 89 38.29 42.71 120.00
2 DW Steyn 171 18608 439 42.39 42.72 119.99
3 K Rabada 134 13436 340 39.52 42.76 119.87
4 AA Donald 129 15519 330 47.03 45.35 113.03
5 PM Pollock 52 6522 116 56.22 46.93 109.22
6 NAT Adcock 46 6391 104 61.45 49.68 103.17
7 VD Philander 119 11391 224 50.85 53.31 96.15
8 M Morkel 160 16498 309 53.39 53.54 95.73
9 M Ntini 190 20834 390 53.42 53.87 95.14
10 SM Pollock 202 24353 421 57.85 57.75 88.76

Against Top Teams

RANK BOWLER INNS BLS WKTS SR R SR RAT
TS M Jansen 28 2507 62 40.44 42.78 180.00
1 M Jansen 28 2507 62 40.44 42.78 180.00
2 K Rabada 88 9468 220 43.04 43.45 177.23
3 DW Steyn 97 11156 232 48.09 44.70 172.28
4 AA Donald 66 7646 160 47.79 45.54 169.10
5 PM Pollock 40 4969 84 59.15 48.45 158.94
6 NAT Adcock 33 4536 71 63.89 48.99 157.17
7 M Morkel 112 12424 223 55.71 52.90 145.57
8 M Ntini 94 10848 180 60.27 56.49 136.31
9 SM Pollock 100 12429 202 61.53 59.37 129.71
10 VD Philander 75 7499 124 60.48 60.28 127.73

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

Against All Teams

RANK BOWLER 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 BBW RAT
TS N Kapil Dev 9/83 8/85 8/106 7/56 7/220 6/63 6/77 7.29 50.00
1 AA Donald 8/71 7/84 6/53 6/59 6/88 5/32 5/36 6.14 42.16
1 DW Steyn 7/51 6/8 6/34 6/49 6/50 6/72 6/100 6.14 42.16
3 SM Pollock 7/87 6/30 6/39 6/50 6/56 6/78 5/28 6.00 41.18
3 K Rabada 7/112 6/32 6/46 6/50 6/54 6/55 5/30 6.00 41.18
5 M Ntini 7/37 6/59 6/66 6/95 6/100 5/19 5/35 5.86 40.20
6 VD Philander 6/21 6/42 6/44 6/81 5/7 5/15 5/21 5.57 38.24
7 PM Pollock 6/38 6/47 6/95 5/34 5/39 5/43 5/53 5.43 37.25
8 M Morkel 6/23 5/20 5/21 5/23 5/50 5/54 5/75 5.14 35.29
8 M Jansen 7/13 6/48 6/52 5/35 4/31 4/36 4/55 5.14 35.29
10 NAT Adcock 6/43 6/65 5/43 5/45 5/62 4/20 4/36 5.00 34.31

Against Top Teams

RANK BOWLER 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 BBW RAT
TS N Kapil Dev 9/83 8/85 8/106 7/56 7/220 6/63 6/77 7.29 100.00
1 SM Pollock 7/87 6/50 6/78 5/28 5/37 5/43 5/54 5.57 76.47
1 DW Steyn 7/51 6/50 6/100 5/23 5/51 5/54 5/56 5.57 76.47
1 K Rabada 7/112 6/32 6/54 5/51 5/52 5/59 5/60 5.57 76.47
4 PM Pollock 6/95 5/34 5/39 5/43 5/53 5/83 5/129 5.14 70.59
4 VD Philander 6/21 6/42 5/15 5/21 5/30 5/70 4/16 5.14 70.59
6 AA Donald 6/59 5/36 5/40 5/49 5/49 5/79 4/14 5.00 68.63
6 M Ntini 6/59 6/100 5/64 5/83 5/94 4/33 4/44 5.00 68.63
8 NAT Adcock 6/43 6/65 5/62 4/20 4/36 4/39 4/66 4.71 64.71
8 M Morkel 5/20 5/23 5/54 5/75 5/146 4/29 4/41 4.71 64.71
10 M Jansen 6/48 5/35 4/31 4/36 4/55 4/98 3/32 4.29 58.82

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 40%.

RANK BOWLER PRO CON ATT BBW RAT PRI PTS
1 K Rabada 180.60 265.23 119.87 117.65 860.57 344.23
2 DW Steyn 155.89 271.34 119.99 118.63 838.13 335.25
3 AA Donald 117.19 261.84 113.03 110.78 771.94 308.77
4 SM Pollock 149.50 251.16 88.76 117.65 736.77 294.71
5 M Jansen 47.27 281.62 120.00 94.12 723.02 289.21
6 VD Philander 118.98 265.95 96.15 108.82 717.64 287.06
7 PM Pollock 83.13 236.84 109.22 107.84 695.98 278.39
8 M Morkel 109.73 243.61 95.73 100.00 694.64 277.85
9 NAT Adcock 74.53 258.67 103.17 99.02 692.56 277.02
10 M Ntini 138.49 213.23 95.14 108.82 692.01 276.80

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 30.00
Away 120.00
Favourable Conditions 30.00
Unfavourable Conditions 120.00

HOME/AWAY

HM/AW 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 Vs Top Teams: 10

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 K Rabada 71 198 20.08 35.10 797.95 23.94
2 DW Steyn 99 261 21.62 40.21 722.92 21.69
3 AA Donald 68 177 21.64 45.02 697.69 20.93
4 VD Philander 69 146 19.09 43.89 693.73 20.81
5 M Ntini 103 249 24.04 45.24 684.15 20.52
6 SM Pollock 109 235 21.09 52.57 665.84 19.98
7 NAT Adcock 31 68 19.94 59.40 637.32 19.12
8 M Jansen 20 51 19.88 33.86 621.26 18.64
9 M Morkel 80 155 26.19 50.51 587.66 17.63
10 PM Pollock 31 56 26.29 62.14 524.18 15.73

Away From Home

Min Innings Vs Top Teams: 10

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 DW Steyn 72 178 24.91 45.57 787.67 94.52
2 K Rabada 63 142 24.77 45.68 755.19 90.62
3 PM Pollock 21 60 22.23 50.70 705.08 84.61
4 AA Donald 61 153 22.96 49.35 694.40 83.33
5 SM Pollock 93 186 25.69 64.52 679.98 81.60
6 M Morkel 80 154 29.16 56.29 671.41 80.57
7 M Jansen 18 38 22.79 44.24 643.68 77.24
8 VD Philander 50 78 28.37 63.88 575.24 69.03
9 M Ntini 87 141 37.28 67.86 558.79 67.05
10 NAT Adcock 15 36 23.31 65.33 558.65 67.04

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 SR RAT WTG
1 K Rabada 109 300 21.32 37.51 843.90 25.32
2 DW Steyn 133 347 22.65 42.23 763.44 22.90
3 AA Donald 113 294 22.49 46.85 737.61 22.13
4 VD Philander 102 208 21.11 47.76 711.50 21.34
5 SM Pollock 171 361 23.11 58.01 698.40 20.95
6 M Ntini 158 342 28.03 51.53 677.06 20.31
7 PM Pollock 52 116 24.19 56.22 673.08 20.19
8 NAT Adcock 46 104 21.11 61.45 668.07 20.04
9 M Morkel 129 261 27.08 51.74 652.68 19.58
10 M Jansen 32 77 22.03 38.04 650.15 19.50

Unfavourable Conditions Rating

Non Asians In Asia

Min Innings Vs All Teams: 7

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 DW Steyn 38 92 24.12 42.99 945.33 113.44
2 SM Pollock 31 60 23.18 56.85 721.35 86.56
3 K Rabada 25 40 27.43 54.58 685.43 82.25
4 AA Donald 16 36 20.33 48.50 656.22 78.75
5 M Morkel 31 48 30.85 62.38 643.55 77.23
6 M Ntini 32 48 34.52 66.90 562.50 67.50
7 NAT Adcock 0 0 NA NA 500.00 60.00
7 PM Pollock 0 0 NA NA 500.00 60.00
7 M Jansen 6 12 15.33 39.92 500.00 60.00
10 VD Philander 17 16 38.06 91.00 405.56 48.67

CONDITIONS RATING

The Conditions Rating is the addition of the points a bowler scored in the four criteria. The Weightage of the Rating is 30%.

RANK BOWLER AWAY HOME UC FC CON PTS
1 DW Steyn 787.67 180.73 945.33 190.86 252.55
2 K Rabada 755.19 199.49 685.43 210.98 222.13
3 SM Pollock 679.98 166.46 721.35 174.60 209.09
4 AA Donald 694.40 174.42 656.22 184.40 205.13
5 M Morkel 671.41 146.92 643.55 163.17 195.01
6 PM Pollock 705.08 131.05 500.00 168.27 180.53
7 M Ntini 558.79 171.04 562.50 169.27 175.39
8 M Jansen 643.68 155.32 500.00 162.54 175.38
9 NAT Adcock 558.65 159.33 500.00 167.02 166.20
10 VD Philander 575.24 173.43 405.56 177.87 159.85

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
Wickets Per Inn 50.00
Top Form 100.00
Impact Innings 150.00

WKTS/INN

WPI RATING

Points to note about WPI Rating:-

  • It gives points for three criteria.
  • The number of wkts per inn overall and aganst Top Teams.
  • The number of bowled victims per inn.
  • The number of top 7 batsmen dismissed per inn.

Min Innings Vs Top Teams: 25

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS W/I RAT WTG
1 NAT Adcock 46 104 2.26 831.60 41.58
2 AA Donald 129 330 2.56 795.46 39.77
3 DW Steyn 171 439 2.57 790.13 39.51
4 K Rabada 134 340 2.54 748.78 37.44
5 M Jansen 38 89 2.34 723.61 36.18
6 PM Pollock 52 116 2.23 717.46 35.87
7 M Ntini 190 390 2.05 640.75 32.04
8 SM Pollock 202 421 2.08 604.59 30.23
9 M Morkel 160 309 1.93 576.18 28.81
10 VD Philander 119 224 1.88 538.14 26.91

TOP FORM

TF RATING

Points to note about TF Rating:-

  • TF is calculated by taking the best 50 consecutive innings of a bowler.
  • The inns are taken such that his points are maximum.
  • Only innings against Top Teams are considered.

Min Innings Vs Top Teams: 20

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 AA Donald 50 130 19.92 42.68 848.18 84.82
2 DW Steyn 50 141 24.87 42.72 845.92 84.59
3 K Rabada 50 136 22.82 39.30 824.90 82.49
4 SM Pollock 50 118 20.51 53.43 781.68 78.17
5 M Ntini 50 118 26.79 48.53 740.00 74.00
6 M Morkel 50 104 25.46 51.50 700.17 70.02
7 PM Pollock 40 84 26.77 59.15 669.61 66.96
8 M Jansen 28 62 21.15 40.44 664.09 66.41
9 NAT Adcock 33 71 22.00 63.89 642.56 64.26
10 VD Philander 50 88 26.72 58.69 640.56 64.06

IMPACT INNINGS

II RATING

Impact Innings (II) 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 equal to or more wickets than 2 at a good AVE or SR.
  • The required AVE or SR increases as the number of wickets taken increases.

Min Innings Vs Top Teams: 25

RANK BOWLER INNS II II Perc RAT WTG
1 AA Donald 129 74 57.36 841.17 126.18
2 K Rabada 134 69 51.49 811.67 121.75
3 PM Pollock 52 28 53.85 789.36 118.40
4 DW Steyn 171 93 54.39 783.18 117.48
5 M Jansen 38 21 55.26 757.19 113.58
6 SM Pollock 202 94 46.53 713.35 107.00
7 NAT Adcock 46 21 45.65 634.32 95.15
8 VD Philander 119 49 41.18 620.13 93.02
9 M Ntini 190 74 38.95 599.17 89.88
10 M Morkel 160 63 39.38 583.23 87.49

SECONDARY RATING

The Secondary Rating is the addition of the points a bowler scored in the three criteria. The Weightage of the Rating is 30%.

RANK BOWLER TF WPI II SEC RAT
1 AA Donald 84.82 39.77 126.18 250.77
2 K Rabada 82.49 37.44 121.75 241.68
3 DW Steyn 84.59 39.51 117.48 241.58
4 PM Pollock 66.96 35.87 118.40 221.24
5 M Jansen 66.41 36.18 113.58 216.17
6 SM Pollock 78.17 30.23 107.00 215.40
7 NAT Adcock 64.26 41.58 95.15 200.98
8 M Ntini 74.00 32.04 89.88 195.91
9 M Morkel 70.02 28.81 87.49 186.31
10 VD Philander 64.06 26.91 93.02 183.98

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 RAT CON RAT SEC RAT FIN RAT
1 5 DW Steyn SA 335.25 252.55 241.58 829.38
2 6 K Rabada SA 344.23 222.13 241.68 808.04
3 14 AA Donald SA 308.77 205.13 250.77 764.68
4 26 SM Pollock SA 294.71 209.09 215.40 719.20
5 36 M Jansen SA 289.21 175.38 216.17 680.76
6 37 PM Pollock SA 278.39 180.53 221.24 680.16
7 46 M Morkel SA 277.85 195.01 186.31 659.17
8 51 M Ntini SA 276.80 175.39 195.91 648.11
9 53 NAT Adcock SA 277.02 166.20 200.98 644.21
10 57 VD Philander SA 287.06 159.85 183.98 630.89

BRIEF EXPLANATION

Dynamic Nature

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.

Trend Setter (TS)

  1. TS is the player who does the best in a criteria.
  2. The rating of all other players are calculated taking the TS as the benchmark. Example:-
  3. TS Bowling Ave: 25.00; Player X Ave: 30.00; Section Points: 300.00
  4. TS Points: 300.00 (Max)
  5. Player X Points: TS Ave/Ave X 300 = 25.00/30.00 X 300 = 250.00.
  6. Ratings of all sections are calculated similarly with Ave being replaced by the Criteria Stat.
  7. Know All About the Trend Setter
    8. .

Top Teams (TT)

  1. An opposition is counted as a TT considering its Win/Loss (WL) Ratios in last 7 years.
  2. Home, Away, In Asia, Outside Asia and Overall WL Ratio is considered.
  3. The WL Ratio should be more than a certain value overall or in specific conditions.

Abbreviations

  1. AVE - Average or Runs/Wkt
  2. BLS - Balls
  3. ER - Economy Rate or Runs/Over
  4. FF, 5WH - Five Fors or 5 Wkt Hauls
  5. FP - First Played by Year
  6. INF - Infinite
  7. INNS - Innings
  8. LP - Last Played by Year
  9. MDNS - Maidens
  10. MP - Middle Played or (FP+LP)/2
  11. NA - Not Applicable
  12. NI - Not In Top
  13. NK - Not Known
  14. NO, * - Not Out
  15. NQ - Not Qualified
  16. OPP - Opposition
  17. OVRS - Overs
  18. SR - Strike Rate or Balls/Wkts
  19. TS - Trend Setter
  20. TT - Top Teams
  21. WKTS - Wickets Taken

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