On February 1, 1895 in Sydney, Johnny Briggs, the left-arm spinner from England, became the first cricketer to take 100 Test wickets.
Since then many bowlers, fast and slow, from different parts of the world have joined the list – and the bar has been raised manifolds.
Yet, the history of cricket is full of bowlers, who have made significant contributions to their teams’ cause, and yet fell short of the 100-wicket mark.
At times, some of these bowlers had significant effects on the opposition as well; Harold Larwood and Charlie Griffith being prime examples.
This article is mainly about these bowlers and I have added a restriction of a minimum of 50 wickets. This helped me avoid the small data size effect, for example, in cases like Jasu Patel or Bob Massie.
Of course, I haven’t considered the current players.
10. Geoff Dymock (Aus) 21 Tests, 78 wickets, Avg 27.1
With 94 wickets at an average of 24, Stuart Clark was a very strong candidate for this No.10 slot, but in the end, I gave my vote to the left-armer from Queensland, mainly because of his superlative efforts in the difficult tour to India in the (northern) autumn of 1979.
After living under the shadow of more flamboyant and perhaps more naturally gifted Gary Gilmour, he finally got regular chances during the Packer era and made the most of his opportunities.
The tour by Kim Hughes’ team to the subcontinent marked the end of the Packer division in Aussie cricket.
While the batters, especially skipper Hughes himself and Allan Border, held their own for the most part of the series, it was a different experience for the bowlers – in particular Rodney Hogg.
Struggling with back problems during the long tour in the Autumn heat, he performed poorly.
Instead, it was Dymock who was the spearhead of the attack and his 12-wicket haul at Kanpur in the third Test went in vain as the tourists’ batting collapsed on the final day.
Overall, he finished the series with 24 wickets at 24 apiece.
When Australia returned to India in 1986 under Border, another left-armer Bruce Reid emerged as the main pacer picking up two wickets in the three-match series.
The others, Craig McDermott, Dave Gilbert and Simon Davis managed none in between themselves,
9. Colin Miller (Aus) 18 Tests, 69 wickets, Avg 26.15
Another Australian bowler whose contribution is often underestimated, Miller could bowl both medium pace and off spin. Thus he was vital in keeping the balance of the bowling attack.
At the age of 34, he was a surprise pick for the difficult tour to Pakistan in 1998. There he chipped away with vital wickets here and there, as Australia enjoyed success in the sub-continent after a long break.
His brightest moment came at Adelaide in Dec 2000, as his 10-wicket haul ensured a victory for the home side despite a classy 182 from Brian Lara.
Colin “Funky” Miller bowls at Melbourne in 2000. (Photo: Robert Cianflone/ALLSPORT)
8. Patrick Patterson (WI) 28 Tests, 93 wickets, Avg 30.90
Fast and furious. These two words are enough to describe the Jamaican speedster.
He wasn’t lethal by any means, and his overall test record is fairly ordinary; especially in comparison to many of his teammates in the great Windies team of the second half of the 1980s.
But in the eyes of most of the batters facing him, he was the most fearsome; and as Graham Gooch put it: “the nastiest”.
Making his debut in February 1986, against England, he took four for 30 on the opening day and he wasn’t even given the new ball. The tourists were bundled out for 159, but the actual damage was even more.
On a dangerously uneven track, he created fear among the England batters, and they were shocked. Windies won the first Test by 10 wickets and went on to win the series 5-0.
Even on batting-friendly pitches, Patterson could unnerve the best of the batters.
In November 1987, he took 5-24 on the opening day at Delhi, as the hosts were 75 all out. This was India’s lowest score at home till very recently.
7. Ken Higgs (Eng) 15 Tests, 71 wickets, Avg 20.74
In a Test career spanning just three years, Higgs, the Lancashire pace bowler, made excellent use of the new ball.
He was extremely accurate, his economy rate was just 2.14.
It’s generally believed that his somewhat lukewarm relationship with the authority meant that he didn’t feature for the Poms more regularly.
The main reason that he doesn’t feature higher in this list, is because he mostly played his Tests in bowler-friendly conditions.
He never had enough opportunity to prove himself in batting-friendly conditions.
6. Shane Bond (NZ) 18 Tests, 87 wickets, Avg.22.1
The Name was Bond… Shane Bond.
The Kiwis are generally known to produce medium fast or fast medium bowlers who would mainly rely on the movement of the cherry – either in the air or off the wicket – to dislodge the batters.
Bond could move the ball, and at a genuine pace. A strike rate of below 39 would give a clue about his enormous potential.
His case was somewhat similar to Higgs’, where injuries were his biggest obstacle.
5. Fanie De Villiers (South Africa) 18 Tests, 85 wickets, Avg 24.89
For the most part of his test career, Fanie shared the new ball with Alan Donald, but the contrast between the two was quite noticeable.
While Donald had a smooth run up to the wicket, and followed it with an almost perfect delivery action, Fanie had a somewhat unathletic approach to the wicket.
Nevertheless, he delivered regularly during his short international career, and his 10-wicket haul at SCG in the famous five-run victory has ensured a permanent place for him in the annals of Proteas’ history.
4. Bert Ironmonger (Aus) 14 Tests, 74 wickets, Avg 17.97
The fact that he is the only specialist spinner in this list is hardly surprising.
It’s possible for a spinner, even with a modest record, to enjoy a long career – John Emburey and Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan are prime examples.
For Ironmonger though, the chances were limited, as he was already over 45 when he made his Test debut against England in 1928.
He made most of his limited opportunities, picking up 74 wickets in 14 matches at 18 apiece.
While his Ashes record is pretty ordinary, he proved unplayable against the South Africans and the Windies.
Among the other spinners, Aubrey Faulkner, from South Africa, enjoyed a very high reputation as an All-rounder and should consider himself very unlucky not to complete the double.
He took 82 wickets at 26.6 with his leg breaks and googleys.
3. Harold Larwood (Eng) 21 Tests, 78 wickets, Avg: 28.35
His modest bowling average in Tests casts serious doubts about Larwood’s position among the top fast bowlers in the history of the game.
Yet, there is no doubt that no other bowler had created more controversy and excitement than the Nottinghamshire speedster.
Almost a century has passed since he last took the new ball for the Poms, but there is still controversy about his bowling and the overall tactics used by the Eng captain to tame the little Don Bradman during the Bodyline series – and the controversy is likely to go on.
Interestingly, all of Larwood’s ‘partners in crime’, Bill Voce (98 wickets at 28), Gubby Allen (81 at 29) and Bill Bowes (68 at 22) were contenders for my list.
2. Frank Tyson (Eng) 17 Tests, 76 wickets, Avg 18.56
On his first day in international cricket, at the Oval, in August 1954, he made an immediate impact taking four Pakistan wickets for just 35 runs.
But, it was Fazal Mahmood, the police officer from Lahore, who stole the show, taking 12 wickets to record a historic win for Pakistan.
It was during the tour Down Under, later in the year, that Tyson became a national hero. His raw pace in the hard bouncy pitches terrified the Aussie batters.
The home side thrashed the Poms in the opening test at the Gabba, but Len Hutton’s men recovered to win the series 3-1.
Tyson was the spearhead of the attack, taking 28 wickets at less than 21.
Injuries combined with his commitment to the teaching profession meant that his Test career ended even before reached 30.
1. Fred Spofforth (Aus) 18 Tests, 94 wickets, Avg. 18.4
Even after considering his playing time, when the bowlers, rather than the batters, dominated the game, I still decided to give the No. 1 slot to the fast bowler from NSW.
After all, his name is associated with the greatest rivalry in cricket, and possibly in any sport.
It was his 14-wicket haul at the Oval, in 1882, and the seven-run victory for the tourists that led to the beginning of the Ashes saga.
Honourable mentions
I have already mentioned Stuart Clark’s impressive Test record.
Among other Australian’s Gary Gilmour (54 wickets at 26), Len Pascoe (64 at 26) Damien Fleming (75 at 25.9) all caught my attention.
Fleming’s record surprised me a bit, as I always saw him as a white ball cricketer.
Damien Fleming celebrates the wicket of Inzamam-ul-Huq at Rawalpindi in 1998. (Photo Allsport UK /Allsport)
Australia also has a couple of players to finish on the 99-wicket mark. Arthur Mailey, the millionaire leggie at 33.9 apiece during the first quarter of the 20th century and pacer Ben Hilfenhaus with an average of 28.5 almost a century later.
As expected, Pakistan provided some interesting cases. Khan Mohammad, the opening bowler for Pakistan in the 1950s, took 54 wickets at less than 24 apiece, but mostly against weaker oppositions.
Belonging to the next generation, Asif Iqbal and Mushtaq Mohammad were mostly known for their batting, but, their bowling records surprised me. Asif had 53 wickets at 28.33 with his slow-medium bowling and Mushtaq had 79 victims at 29.23 with his leg spin.
Interestingly, Abdul Qadir, generally regarded as his country’s best leggie, only averaged 32.81 with the ball.
Mudassar Nazar has a modest bowling average (38.36) for his 66 wickets, but he holds a permanent place in Pakistan cricket history for his medium pacers.
Pakistan had to wait 28 years after Fazal Mahmood’s heroics at the Oval for their second victory against England. Mudassar Nazar with six for 32 was the hero at Lord’s in 1982, as Imran Khan’s men recorded a 10-wicket success.
Occasionally, Mudassar took the new ball in home Tests, to allow an extra spinner in the team.
Sikander Bakht, the tall and lanky fast bowler from Karachi, also deserves a small mention. His 67 wickets in 26 Tests came at a modest average of 36.
But, there was a remarkable three-match stint, late in 1979, when he appeared almost unplayable to Gavaskar and Co. in India.
He wasn’t even in the original Pakistan team but with Imran struggling with injuries and Sarfraz Nawaz out of favour with skipper Asif. He flew from Pakistan to Delhi to take part in the second Test of the series and 8-69 and 3-121 at the Feroz Shah Kotal was followed by 5-55 and 2-30 at the Wankhede and 5-56 and 0-63 at the Green Park, Kanpur.
Things however, evened out a bit as he finished the series with only one wicket in the last two Tests.
Coming to the 21st century, left-arm spinner Abdur Rehman ended his 22-Test career with 99 wickets at 29.4.
Mike Hendrick from Derby was a model third seamer for England in the 1970s. He never had a five-wicket haul in a Test innings, but still finished with 87 wickets at 25.8.
A decade earlier, Sir Charlie Griffith from Barbados had an entirely different influence on international cricket. Sharing the new ball with his fellow Bajan, Wes Hall, he terrorized the England batters during the 1963 tour.
Although, there were always some question marks over his bowling action, his and Hall’s heroics during the time inspired a group of children across the Caribbean islands to take up fast bowling – and they would change the game forever a decade later.
Finally, among the current players, Axar Patel, the left-arm spinner from Gujarat, has 55 wickets at 19.3. Back in February 2021, he made a sensational debut against England taking 27 wickets in three Tests.
But wickets have dried out since then, and the fact that he hasn’t made the Indian team for the tour Down Under, would suggest that his future perhaps lies with white ball cricket.
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