5 Active Bowlers With Most Five-Wicket Hauls In Test Cricket

Test cricket is the oldest format of the game and the name itself suggests testing a player’s patience in all aspects of batting, bowling and fielding.

Where batters have to be more cautious in their batting stance to stay long at the crease, the bowlers have to give their every ounce to pick a wicket.

The success of a bowler in the red-ball format is determined by the number of wickets he grabs, irrespective of the runs he leaks. Unlike in limited-overs, where a bowler with a superior economy rate gets considered as best.

A bowler who picks five wickets registers a five-for, which is a big achievement for him and helps to boost his inner confidence. Australia’s Billy Midwinter was the first bowler to pick a five-wicket haul in Tests or one can say in international cricket.

Midwinter took 5/78 against England in what was the first-ever Test match played in international cricket in 1877. Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan, who holds the record of most Test wickets (800), has achieved the milestone a total of 67 times with the red ball.

To achieve Muralitharan’s record or surpass him is an arduous task but as it is said that “Rome was never built in a day”, so in that sense, only time will tell us whether the Sri Lankan bowler’s record gets leapfrogged or it remains intact for eternity.

For now, let us take you’ll to the current lot of international bowlers who have amassed the most five-wicket hauls in their Test career. So we at CricketAddictor bring you the top 5 active bowlers with the most five-fors in Test cricket.

5 Active Bowlers With Most Five-Wicket Hauls In Test Cricket

5) Shakib Al Hasan (18-Bangladesh)

Bangladesh’s iconic player has been influential in the nation’s cricket history and will end up as one of the greatest all-rounders not only from his nation but in the world cricket itself.

The former Bangladesh skipper has accounted for a total of  215 Test scalps with the help of 18 five-fors in his 14 years alliance with the traditional format. His best figures of 7/36 came up against New Zealand in 2007 in Chattogram.

4) Nathan Lyon (18-Australia)

Australia’s frontline spinner is just one wicket shy from bringing up his 400 Test wickets and he will have to wait for The Ashes, which remains in doubt, to achieve the remarkable feat.

Lyon, who can flight the ball meticulously, had a remarkable debut in Sri Lanka as he got the wicket of Sri Lanka’s greatest batsman Kumar Sangakkara on the very first delivery of his career and also claimed five wickets in that innings.

Earlier in January, the New South Wales player went on to play his 100th Test match against India in Brisbane and he is just 33 which means he is likely to pick more wickets given his potential and sharpness with the ball.

In 2017, Lyon rattled the Indians by picking eight wickets in the first innings of the second Test match in Bengaluru.

3) Stuart Broad (18-England)

Stuart Broad has been England’s second-highest wicket-taker with 524 Test wickets, only behind his best friend James Anderson with whom he has shared the new ball over the last few years.

In July 2020, Broad became the fourth fast bowler and seventh overall to achieve 500 Test wickets in the third Test against West Indies in Manchester.

Broad’s strongest weapon is the nip-backer, which he skids sharply and bends into the right-handed batsman to deceive them. The Nottinghamshire bowler dazzled the Australians on his home ground as he bowled a marvelous spell of 8/15 to bowl them out for 60 runs.

2) Ravichandran Ashwin (30-India)

The wily off-spinner has been dominant with his stock deliveries and the carrom ball which have earned him the majority of his wickets. He is one of the key factors for India’s dominance at home.

Ashwin picked 72 wickets including eight five-wicket hauls in 2016 only with his best performance of 7/59 was against New Zealand and his excellent spells helped India hand the visitors a 3-0 whitewash.

Out of his 30 five-fors, 24 of them have occurred in India and he is yet to achieve that milestone in SENA countries.

1) James Anderson (31- England)

Anderson is the brand ambassador of Test cricket, particularly for the aspiring and current fast bowlers to aim for longevity in the game and stay hungry for more.

Anderson made an incredible debut against Zimbabwe back in 2003, when he notched up the figures of 5/73 at Lord’s.

It is unbelievable that even at the age of 39 he can still bowl long spells and get wickets on regular basis and his 5/62 against India was a testament that he is in his prime form. It was also his seventh five-wicket haul at Lord’s and the bowler believes he will get more such performances.

Anderson has broked one after another record in the last few years and his latest achievement was to surpass Indian spinner Anil Kumble’s tally of 619 Test wickets and now with 626 wickets, he is the third-highest wicket-taker just behind Shane Warne (708) and Muralitharan in Test cricket.