The strike rate, which measures how frequently a bowler takes a wicket, serves as a useful gauge of a player’s effectiveness in Test match cricket.
No matter how many runs they give up in the process, the measure rewards bowlers who consistently manage to get batsmen out.
Which bowlers have had the lowest and, thus, best strike rates throughout the history of contemporary Test cricket?
This article will examine 10 bowlers with exceptional strike rates in Test cricket as well as some of their best game-winning efforts.
1. Shane Bond
Shane Bond has 87 wickets at an average of 22.09 and a strike rate of 38.07 in 18 Test matches. In other words, he has taken a wicket approximately every 38.07 balls. Bond had his best match statistics of 10/99 when he played against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo during New Zealand’s visit to Zimbabwe in August 2015. Zimbabwe was bowled out for 231 while batting first. Bond’s 6/51 innings saw him eliminate six of the top seven batsmen in the hosts’ batting order. New Zealand won the Test by an inning and 46 runs as Zimbabwe slumped for 207 in their second innings after the Kiwis had reached 484 in their sole innings. With a score of 4/48, Bond was the main wrecker once more.
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2. Kagiso Rabada
In 43 Test matches, Kagiso Rabada took 197 wickets at an average of 22.95 and a 40.6 strike rate. In the fourth game of a series at Centurion during England’s January 2006 tour of South Africa, he turned in probably his best Test performance. As they batted first, the hosts reached 475 thanks to tons from Cook and Amla. England responded with 342 runs, giving up a 133-run first-inning lead. Rabada claimed 7 out of 112 batters, including 6 of the victims’ top 7 batters. At 248/5, South Africa proclaimed their second. With 382 to reach, England faltered and was all out for 101. Once more, Rabada caused the most damage with 6/32 to win Man of the Match.
3. Dale Steyn
In 93 Test matches, Dale Steyn has 439 wickets at an average of 22.95 and a strike rate of 42.3. Steyn recorded his best bowling statistics in a game in Johannesburg in February 2013 against a visiting Pakistani squad in the opening game of a series. First, to bat, South Africa scored 253 before dismissing Pakistan for 49, with Steyn capturing 6 wickets for 8 runs. Pakistan was given a target of 480 after the hosts declared their second innings to be over with a score of 275/3. In their second attempt, the guests could only muster 268 runs, giving South Africa a 211-run victory. Steyn increased his overall match total to 11/60 with 5/52 in the second innings.
4. Waqar Younis
Waqar Younis has taken 373 wickets with a strike rate of 43.4 and an average of 23.56 in 87 Test matches. The first Test match between the two teams took place in Karachi in December 1993 during Zimbabwe’s visit of Pakistan. Waqar took 7/91 as Pakistan declared after scoring 423/8 while batting first and bowled out Zimbabwe for 289. Zimbabwe was given a target of 266 in the fourth inning, but Pakistan defeated the hosts for just 134 runs to win by 131 runs. Younis collected 6/44, bringing his match total to 13/35.
5. Jasprit Bumrah
Jasprit Bumrah has 68 wickets at an average of 20.33 and a strike rate of 45.3 in 14 Test matches. India batted first and scored 416 in the second Test at Kingston during their August 2019 tour of the West Indies. The West Indies could only muster 117 in response. Bumrah destroyed the top order with a 6/27. India opened their second innings, giving the hosts a 468-point goal to hit. The West Indies once again crumbled, this time for 210, giving India a 257-run victory. Bumrah needed 1/31 to finish, and her match figures were 7/58.
6. Shoaib Akhtar
Shoaib Akhtar has 178 wickets at an average of 25.69 and a strike rate of 45.7 in 46 Test matches. In Wellington during Pakistan’s tour of New Zealand in December 2003, the hosts batted first and put up a respectable score of 366 in the second Test of the series. Pakistan’s response of 196 gave the New Zealanders a 170-run lead after their first innings. In contrast, New Zealand’s second innings saw them crumble and be all out for 103 before Pakistan launched a successful chase that resulted in a 7-wicket triumph for the visitors. Akhtar added 6/30 to his 5/48 first innings total.
7. Jumaine Lawson
Jermaine Lawson has 51 wickets at a strike rate of 46.6 and a cost of 29.64 in 13 Test matches. The first Test between the two teams took place in Dhaka during the December 2002 West Indies tour of Bangladesh. The hosts struggled when batting first, going out for 139. Following the hosts’ 536-run response, the visitors won by innings and 310 runs, bowling the latter out for 87 in their second innings. With 6 wickets for just 3 runs to go along with his first-inning statistics of 24/9, Lawson was the major tormentor of the Bangladeshi batsmen in their second innings.
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8. Allen Donald
Allan Donald has taken 330 wickets at an average of 22.25 and a 47.0 strike rate in 72 Test matches. England’s first Test during a tour of South Africa in November 1999 in Johannesburg, South Africa, was bowled out for 122. Allan Donald (6/53) was practically impossible for the England batters to play. In response, South Africa declared at 403/9 before dismissing England for 260 in their second innings to win by an inning and 21 runs.
9. Pat Cummins
Pat Cummins has 143 wickets at an average of 21.82 and a strike rate of 47.2 in 30 Test matches. On their January 2019 tour of Australia, Sri Lanka was bowled out for 144 at Brisbane in the first Test of a series. After Sri Lanka’s 323-run response, Australia defeated them by three innings and 40 runs. With statistics of 4/39 and 6/23, Pat Cummins was Sri Lanka’s primary tormentor in both of its innings.
10. Simon Jones
Simon Jones has 59 wickets at an average of 28.23 and a strike rate of 47.8 in 18 Test matches. During England’s March 2004 tour of the West Indies, the hosts batted first and scored 208, and England responded with 319, taking a useful first-inning lead of 110. In their second innings, the West Indies did not fare much better, being dismissed for just 209 runs. The most significant factor in the hosts’ demise was Simon Jones’ 5/57 (in addition to his 1/44 in the first innings). With 7 wickets left, England took care of the 99-run chase.
