Top 10 Bowlers Who Have Taken Most Wickets As 'Bowled' In ODIs

The best sight of a bowler is to clean up a batsman and rattle his timber. However, it is not something easy to achieve. It requires a lot of practice and hitting the right line and length on a consistent basis. Who are bowlers who have most wickets as bowled in ODIs?

Since the inception of cricket, we have witnessed many bowlers who had the quality to hit the right areas. This, in turn, increases the chances of getting a batsman bowled. Hitting the right line and length also makes the life of the batters difficult as it is tough to negate the swing and keep the ball from hitting the wicket.

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From Glenn McGrath to Wasim Akram many bowlers took this art to perfection as many others are following their footsteps.

We at Cricket Addictor will take a look at the list of top ten bowlers with most wickets as ‘bowled’ in One Day Internationals:

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10. Glenn McGrath

Former Australia fast bowler, Glenn McGrath’s USP was an unremitting off-stump line and an immaculate length. He gained off-cut and bounce, specialised in the opposition’s biggest wickets and stepped up on big occasions.

The tall and lanky McGrath, who often drew comparisons with Curtly Ambrose, is Australia’s most succesful pacer ever. McGrath ended his career with 381 wickets in total from 250 ODIs and is also the highest wicket-taker in the history of World Cups.

Meanwhile, out of the 381 scalps, 87 of those came from clean bowled which takes him to the tenth spot in the list of bowlers with most wickets as bowled in ODIs.

9. Sanath Jayasuriya

Sanath Jayasuriya bursts on to the international as a left-arm spinner who could bat. Although he gradually developed his batting and ended his career as one of the devastating batsmen, but Jayasuriya’s record as a bowler is eye-catching as well.

The short-height all-rounder has 323 wickets to his name from 445 ODIs out of which 88 came from clean bowled. Jayasuriya had a faster one in his armoury which hurried the batsmen and often sneaked through his bat and pad. He occupies the ninth spot in the list of bowlers with most wickets as bowled in ODIs.

Post his retirement, Sanath Jayasuriya has worked as the chairman of selectors for Sri Lanka. However, he and his entire team resigned in 2017 following Sri Lanka’s consistent poor outings.

8. Brett Lee

Brett Lee excelled as an exponent of extreme speed over a decade. Gradually he added outswing with the new ball and reverse swing with the old to his armoury which made him lethal and a nightmare to the batters. Besides, he could intimidate batsmen with the stare in his follow-throughs.

Known for his grit and determination, Lee finished his ODI career with 380 wickets from 221 encounters and played a key part during Australia’s successful campaign in the 2007 ICC World Cup. Lee had inflicted 89 clean bowled through his cricketing career which gives him the eighth spot in the list of bowlers with most wickets as bowled in ODIs.

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One of the gentlemen cricketers to have played the game, Lee announced his retirement from cricket in 2012. Post that, he has worked a commentator and a TV presenter and has also acted in various films.

7. Chaminda Vaas

Chaminda Vaas is easily the most penetrative and successful new-ball bowler Sri Lanka have had. He managed to swing and seam the ball with skill, his trademark delivery being the late in-swing along with various cutters which made him lethal.

Vaas is one of Sri Lanka’s highest wicket-takers with 400 ODI scalps from 322 matches including nine four-wicket hauls and four fifers. Out of these 400 wickets, 90 came from clean bowled which shows his control over line and length.

Post his retirement, Vaas has worked with various national sides in the capacity of a bowling coach. However, he spent most of the time in grooming the young fast bowlers from Sri Lanka.

6. Anil Kumble

Hailing from Bengaluru, Anil Kumble carried the legacy of spin bowlers in India. Not a great turner of the cricket ball, the former India skipper had very good control over his line and length. His natural ability to vary the pace made life difficult for the batters.

While Kumble is the highest wicket-taker for India in Tests, he also led India’s spin department for quite a few years. In 271 ODI games, he has played for his country, Kumble scalped 337 wickets including eight four wickets haul and two fifers.

Among those 337 ODI wickets, 92 wickets came from bowled which helps him occupy the sixth spot in the list of cricketers with most wickets as bowled. Post his retirement, Kumble has also worked as the head coach of Team India.

5. Shahid Afridi

The game of cricket will never witness another Shahid Afridi; such was his greatness. He grew stronger with each passing day and emerged as a leg-spinning all-rounder. Variety is his calling and as well as a traditional leg-break, he has two googlies, a conventional offie and a lethal faster one.

The former Pakistan cricketer has had 395 wickets to his name from 398 ODI matches out of which 104 have come from clean bowled. Thus, Afridi occupies the fifth spot in the list of bowlers with most wickets as clean bowled in an ODI.

Afridi bid farewell to Test cricket in 2010 while his ODI retirement came after the 2015 World Cup and T20I retirement came in 2017. He was slated to play the Euro T20 Slam in July this year, but the tournament got cancelled.

4. Lasith Malinga

Lasith Malinga is one of the great limited-overs bowlers of his generation. He gained a reputation for delivering searing inswinging yorkers from a round-arm action as destructive as it was distinctive.

The right-arm fast bowler who recently announced his retirement from ODIs has given many batsmen nightmares. Known for his toe-crushing yorkers, Malinga has clinched 338 wickets in the ODI career. Among all these, the Sri Lankan has affected 104 clean bowled.

As a result, he stands in the fourth spot in the list of bowlers with most wickets as bowled. He has taken Sri Lanka Cricket to greater heights with his spectacular bowling over the years.

3. Muttiah Muralitharan

The former Sri Lanka cricketer Muttiah Muralitharan is arguably the greatest spinner of all time. While there have been a lot of debates over the legality of his actions, this cannot snatch any of the success he has attained throughout his career.

The legendary spinner had a lot of variations in his arsenal. Muralitharan was a master in bamboozling batters and castling their timber. Throughout his career, the Sri Lankan cricketer has affected 104 clean bowled out of the 534 ODI wickets he has claimed.

Muralitharan is the highest wicket-taker in the 50-overs format of the game. It is one of the records that are unlikely to broken anytime soon.

2. Waqar Younis

The man who really put the reverse into the swing, Waqar Younis was a nightmare to the batsmen. His bowling run-up was a glorious sight and his late in-swingers even more. His method of aiming for the stumps rather than the batsman earned him one of the best strike-rates among the bowlers.

This also helped Younis affecting 151 clean bowled among the 416 wickets he has in ODIs to his name. His partnership with Wasim Akram took Pakistan cricket to greater heights and also played a key role in winning the 1992 World Cup. Younis is placed second in the list of bowlers with most wickets as bowled in ODIs.

Post his retirement, he has worked with various sides including Pakistan as a coach. Recently, he once again joined Pakistan team as a bowling coach after their dismal run in the World Cup.

1. Wasim Akram

Wasim Akram is rated by many as the best left-arm fast bowler of all time, and his career record certainly bears that out. His technical acumen took him miles ahead of his contemporaries.

Akram had complete mastery over swing and seam, and sometimes moves the ball both ways in one delivery. All of these he did at an express pace which made the life of a batsman tough.  Moreover, he had good control over his line and length. The left-arm fast bowler had inflicted 176 clean bowed – the most by any bowlers in the history of ODI cricket.

He had 502 ODI wickets to his name from 356 matches which makes him one of the greatest fast bowlers ever. After his retirement, Akram has also worked with various sides as a bowling coach.