Taking 300 or more wickets across a playing career is considered a significant achievement in Test cricket. First accomplished in 1964 by Englishman Fred Trueman, the feat has been achieved by only 42 cricketers in the history of the game. Nine players from Australia, seven from India, six from South Africa, five from England and the West Indies, four from New Zealand, and three from Pakistan and Sri Lanka have crossed the 300-wicket mark in Tests. Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Ireland and Zimbabwe are yet to see a player reach the 300 mark.

As of March 2024, former Sri Lankan cricketer Muttiah Muralitharan has the highest aggregate with 800 wickets. He also holds the record for the most five-wicket hauls (67) and ten-wicket hauls in a match (22); his 16 wickets for 220 runs against England in 1998 is the fifth-best bowling performance by a player in a match. Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin crossed the 300-wicket mark in the fewest number of matches (54), whilst South African Kagiso Rabada did so in the fewest deliveries (11,817). The late West Indian player Malcolm Marshall has the best bowling average (20.94) among those who have achieved the milestone. Fellow West Indian Lance Gibbs is the most economical player with 1.98 runs per over, while South African fast bowler Kagiso Rabada has the best strike rate of 38.5 balls per wicket. India's Anil Kumble has the second-best bowling figures in an innings (10 wickets for 74 runs against Pakistan in 1999); they are the second-best in the history of Test cricket after English off-spin bowler Jim Laker's 10 for 53 (against Australia in 1956).

In 1990, Richard Hadlee became the first bowler to take 400 Test wickets, whilst in 2001, Courtney Walsh was the first to reach 500 wicket mark. Shane Warne was the first to take both 600 and 700 Test wickets, in 2005 and 2006 respectively. Warne's haul of 96 wickets in 2005 is the highest total in a calendar year, ahead of the 90 wickets taken the following year by Muralitharan, although he played fewer innings.

Key

Mat. – Number of matches played Inn. – Number of innings bowled Balls – Balls bowled in career Runs – Runs conceded in career Wkts – Wickets taken in career Ave. – Average runs per wicket Econ. – Runs conceded per over SR. – Number of balls bowled per wicket taken BBI – Best bowling in an innings BBM – Best bowling in a match 5WI – Five or more wickets in an innings 10WM – Ten or more wickets in a match Period – Cricketing career of the player

Bowlers with 300 or more Test wickets

Statistics are correct to . The list is initially sorted by the most wickets taken by a bowler. To sort this table by any statistic, click on the arrows next to the column title.

Denotes players who have been Inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame†Denotes players who are still active + Bowlers who have taken 300 or more wickets in Test cricket No. Bowler Type Team Mat. Inn. Balls Runs Wkts Ave. Econ. SR BBI BBM 5WI 10WM Period Ref(s) 1 Right-arm off break 133 230 44,039 18,180800 22.72 2.47 55.0 67 22 1992–2010 2 Right-arm leg break 145 273 40,705 17,995708 25.41 2.65 57.4 37 10 1992–2007 3 Right-arm fast-medium 188 350 40,037 18,627704 26.45 2.79 56.9 32 3 2003–2024 4 Right-arm leg break 132 236 40,850 18,355619 29.65 2.69 65.9 35 8 1990–2008 5 Right-arm fast-medium 167 309 33,698 16,719604 27.68 2.97 55.7 20 3 2007–2023 6 Right-arm off break 143 265 35,117 17,249571 30.20 2.94 61.5 24 5 2011– 7 Right arm fast-medium 124 243 29,248 12,186563 21.64 2.49 51.9 29 3 1993–2007 8 Right-arm off break 106 200 27,246 12,891537 24.00 2.83 50.73 37 8 2011–2024 9 Right-arm fast 132 242 519 24.44 2.53 57.8 22 3 1984–2001 10 Left-arm fast 107 206 20,313 11,626445 26.12 3.43 45.6 19 4 2011– 11 Right-arm fast 93 171 18,608 10,077439 22.95 3.24 42.3 26 5 2004–2019 12 Right arm fast-medium 131 227 27,740 12,867434 29.64 2.78 63.9 23 2 1978–1994 13 Left-arm off break 93 170 25,993 12,157433 28.07 2.80 60.0 34 9 1999–2018 14 Right-arm fast 86 150 21,918 9,611431 22.29 2.63 50.8 36 9 1973–1990 15 Right arm fast-medium 108 202 24,353 9,733421 23.11 2.39 57.8 16 1 1995–2008 16 Right-arm off break 103 190 28,580 13,537417 32.46 2.84 68.5 25 5 1998–2015 17 Left-arm fast 104 181 22,627 9,779414 23.62 2.59 54.6 25 5 1985–2002 18 Right-arm fast 98 179 22,103 8,501405 20.99 2.30 54.5 22 3 1988–2000 19 Right-arm fast-medium 107 203 23,490 11,832391 30.26 3.02 60.07 15 1 2008–2024 20 Right-arm fast 101 190 20,834 11,242390 28.82 3.23 53.4 18 4 1998–2009 21 Right-arm fast-medium 102 168 21,815 10,878383 28.40 2.99 56.9 27 4 1977–1992 22 Right-arm fast 81 151 17,584 7,876376 20.94 2.68 46.7 22 4 1978–1991 23 Right-arm fast 87 154 16,224 8,788373 23.56 3.25 43.4 22 5 1989–2003 24 Right-arm fast 88 142 19,458 8,258362 22.81 2.54 53.7 23 6 1971–1992 Left-arm off break 113 187 28,814 12,441362 34.36 2.59 79.5 20 3 1997–2015 26 Left-arm off break 91 171 20,856 9,008356 25.30 2.59 58.6 15 3 2012– 27 Right-arm fast 70 132 18,467 8,493355 23.92 2.75 52.0 23 7 1971–1984 Left-arm fast medium 111 194 23,438 10,501355 29.58 2.68 66.0 12 2 1994–2009 29 Right-arm fast 73 134 13,436 7,493340 22.03 3.34 39.5 17 4 2015– 30 Right-arm fast 72 129 15,519 7,344330 22.25 2.83 47.0 20 3 1992–2002 31 Right-arm fast 90 165 17,357 8,190325 25.20 2.83 53.4 16 0 1971–1984 32 Right-arm fast 74 137 14,673 7,056322 21.91 2.88 45.5 14 2 2011– 33 Left-arm fast-medium 78 149 17,417 8,717317 27.49 3.00 54.9 10 1 2011–2022 34 Left-arm fast 73 140 16,001 8,891313 28.40 3.33 51.1 12 3 2007–2015 35 Right-arm fast-medium 105 188 19,160 10,078311 32.40 3.15 61.6 11 1 2007–2021 Left-arm fast-medium 92 165 18,785 10,247311 32.94 3.27 60.4 11 1 2000–2014 37 Right-arm fast 76 150 16,531 9,554310 30.81 3.46 53.3 10 0 1999–2008 38 Right-arm fast 86 160 16,498 8,550309 27.66 3.10 53.3 8 0 2006–2018 Right arm off break 79 148 27,115 8,989309 29.09 1.98 87.7 18 2 1958–1976 40 Right-arm fast 67 127 15,178 6,625307 21.57 2.61 49.4 17 3 1952–1965 41 Right-arm fast 91 165 15,773 8,192304 26.94 3.11 51.8 12 1 2009– 42 Right-arm fast 78 147 15,717 7,272303 24.00 2.77 51.8 14 0 2014– Last Updated: 22 September 2026

By team

Team Players976543Total42

See also List of Test cricket records List of bowlers who have taken 300 or more wickets in One Day International cricket

References