ICC World Test Championship: 5 Bowlers With Most Five Wicket Hauls In The Tournament

Bowlers win games for the team in any format and they have a big part to play in an important tournament like ICC World Test Championship where each and every point counts. Picking up 20 wickets in a match for any team almost assures them a victory unless they bat really poorly. Five-wickets-hauls is like centuries for batsmen and they should get more credit for it.

Fast bowlers do deserve a lot of praise for their fitness levels in test cricket and to pick a lot of wickets is not easy at all. They have to keep hitting the tough lengths time and again, even when the surfaces do not offer anything for the bowlers. Here are five bowlers with the most five-wicket hauls in the ICC World Test Championship.

5 Bowlers With Most Five Wicket Hauls In The Tournament:

Tim Southee:

Tim Southee is fifth on the list of most five-wicket hauls in the tournament with three to his name. There have been many bowlers with three-wicket hauls in the tournament, but Southee makes the list as he has the most wickets among those bowlers.

The New Zealand seamer picked up 51 wickets in 10 tests at an impressive average of 20.66 and his outswingers were unplayable in his home conditions. Southee had formed a great bowling pair alongside Trent Boult and he has been played an important part in taking the Kiwis to the finals of the ICC World Test Championship. His best figures of 5 for 32, came against the West Indies in the two-match test series.

Axar Patel:

Axar Patel is fourth on the list of most five-wicket hauls in the tournament with four hauls in the three tests he played. It is a massive achievement considering that he hasn’t played test cricket before that and all his four fifers came in the same home series against England.

Axar Patel finished with 27 wickets in 3 tests at a stunning average of 10.69 and proved to a match-winner for the side. His impressive performances earned him a spot in the Indian test squad for the ICC World Test Championship finals and it will be interesting to see if he makes the playing eleven.

Kyle Jamieson:

The New Zealand tall fast bowler Kyle Jamieson has been a revelation after making his test debut and his numbers in the format are stunning already. Jamieson played 6 tests and picked up 36 wickets at a phenomenal average of 13.27 which is amazing considering he is a fast bowler.

Jamieson picked up four five-wicket hauls in the tournament and also a ten-wicket haul which puts him third in the list of bowlers with the most five-wicket hauls in the ICC World Test Championship. Jamieson has become a regular in all the formats for New Zealand and is expected to do wonders for the side in the future.

Nathan Lyon:

Nathan Lyon has been picking up wickets consistently for Australia and he has to be given a lot of credit for the composure he has shown in wickets that don’t suit spin. He has been a sensation in the Australian bowling attack and has picked 56 wickets in the 14 tests he has played in the tournament.

His average of 31 is a little bit par as he had to bowl a lot of overs single-handedly and help the fast bowlers get enough rest. Lyon is already one of the greatest off-spinners Australia has ever had and he picked up four fifers in the tournament and also one ten-wicket match haul. He is second on the list of bowlers with the most fifers in the ICC World Test Championship.

Ravichandran Ashwin:

Ravichandran Ashwin is one of the leading spinners in the world and the stats do speak for himself. Ashwin picked up 67 wickets in the 13 tests he played at an average of 20.88 and finished as the third-highest wicket-taker in the ICC World Test Championship.

Ashwin is often associated with picking up fifers and he did manage to pick up four five-wicket hauls in the tournament which equals the most by any bowler. His best figures of 7 for 145 came against England recently in the home series and he is first on the list of bowlers with the most five-wicket hauls in the ICC World Test Championship.