The World Test Championship is not only a test of batter skills, but it is also a test of bowler skills. Every batter wants to score the most runs in WTC, and every bowler wants to take the most wickets.
Taking the most wickets in the World Test Championship is a very difficult task. It requires a lot of consistent effort with excellent line and length. Some bowlers take wickets in the early overs, while others take wickets with the Old ball with reverse swing.
Therefore, fast bowlers have an extraordinary benefit of a new ball in test cricket, where they can seam and swing the ball to take early wickets. On the other hand, spin bowlers benefit in the middle of the over when they start to spin the bowl with a slightly old ball.
But unless all the bowling conditions are met, all these bowling abilities are useless. Some of the most important bowling conditions that support any test bowler are the weather, wind in the air, and pitch condition.
Any fast bowler who wants to take wickets with the new ball will need moisture and win in the air. In the same way, any spin bowler who wants to take a wicket in a test match will need an old pitch for a spin. Now, we will look at the most wicket-takers in World Test Championship:
Most Wickets in WTC All Time
Nathan Lyon has the highest wickets in World Test Championship of all time. He has taken 139 test wickets in 33 matches of WTC from 2019 to 2023. He has bowled with an excellent bowling average of 28.74 and an economy rate of 2.66. Nathan Lyon is the only bowler with two 10 wickets haul in WTC matches.
Ravichandran Aswhin from India is the second-highest wicket-taker in WTC history. He appeared in 27 Test games for India and took 132 wickets.
The main reason why we will watch India vs Australia WTC Final at the Oval is because of these two bowlers. Now, we will look at the top 10 highest wicket takers overall in the World Test Championship.
| Bowlers | Team | Matches | Wickets | BBF | BBM | Econ | 5W | 10W | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nathan Lyon | AUS | 33 | 139 | 8/64 | 11/99 | 2.66 | 9 | 2 | 2019-2023 |
| Ravi Ashwin | IND | 27 | 132 | 7/145 | 9/207 | 2.55 | 6 | 0 | 2019-2023 |
| Pat Cummins | AUS | 29 | 123 | 5/28 | 8/79 | 2.66 | 4 | 0 | 2019-2023 |
| Stuart Broad | ENG | 28 | 112 | 6/31 | 10/67 | 2.96 | 3 | 1 | 2019-2022 |
| Tim Southee | NZ | 24 | 106 | 5/32 | 9/110 | 2.82 | 6 | 0 | 2019-2023 |
| K Rabada | SA | 23 | 104 | 6/50 | 8/89 | 3.39 | 4 | 0 | 2019-2023 |
| James Anderson | ENG | 27 | 97 | 6/40 | 7/63 | 2.28 | 5 | 0 | 2019-2022 |
| Mitch Starc | AUS | 26 | 95 | 6/66 | 9/97 | 3.1 | 2 | 0 | 2019-2023 |
| M Leach | ENG | 26 | 88 | 5/66 | 10/166 | 3.05 | 3 | 1 | 2019-2022 |
| Mohammed Shami | IND | 23 | 81 | 5/35 | 8/107 | 3.14 | 2 | 0 | 2019-2023 |
Most Wickets in WTC 2021-23
Nathan Lyon has taken the most wickets in World Test Championship. He took 83 wickets in 19 Test matches in WTC this season. Below is the list of the top 10 highest wicket-taker in World Test Championship:
| Bowelr | Team | Wickets | BBI | BBF | Econ | 5W | 10W |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nathan Lyon | AUS | 83 | 8/64 | 11/99 | 2.57 | 5 | 1 |
| Kargos Rabada | SA | 78 | 6/50 | 8/89 | 3.43 | 4 | 0 |
| Ravi Ashwin | IND | 65 | 6/91 | 8/42 | 2.44 | 2 | 0 |
| James Anderson | ENG | 58 | 5/60 | 6/62 | 2.27 | 2 | 0 |
| Tim Southee | NZ | 55 | 5/35 | 8/144 | 2.91 | 3 | 0 |
| Pat Cummins | AUS | 53 | 5/38 | 8/79 | 2.68 | 3 | 0 |
| Robinson | ENG | 53 | 5/49 | 7/81 | 2.69 | 3 | 0 |
| Mitch Starc | AUS | 51 | 4/33 | 6/80 | 3.05 | 0 | 0 |
| Jack Leach | ENG | 48 | 5/66 | 10/166 | 2.99 | 2 | 1 |
| Kemar Roach | WI | 46 | 5/47 | 7/74 | 3.04 | 2 | 0 |
Most Wickets for India in World Test Championship 2021-23
Ravichandran Ashwin has taken most wickets for India in World Test Championship 2021-23. He took 61 wickets in 13 Test matches of WTC 2021-23. His bowling average of just 19 is the lowest among all leading wicket takers in WTC.
Ashwin took eight wickets in a vital win for India against Australia in 2023. This one-inning, 132-run victory qualifies India to the World T20 Final.
Which Indian bowlers have most wickets in WTC? We will have a look at the following table.
| Bowler | Matches | Wicket | BBI | BBM | Econ | 5W | 10W |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ravi Ashwin | 14 | 65 | 6/91 | 8/42 | 2.44 | 2 | 0 |
| Jasprit Bumrah | 11 | 45 | 5/24 | 9/110 | 2.68 | 3 | 0 |
| Mohammed Shami | 13 | 45 | 5/44 | 8/107 | 3.26 | 1 | 0 |
| Ravindra Jadeja | 13 | 44 | 7/42 | 10/110 | 2.42 | 3 | 1 |
| Mohammed Siraj | 13 | 31 | 4/32 | 8/126 | 3.54 | 0 | 0 |
| Axar Patel | 9 | 23 | 5/62 | 6/85 | 2.3 | 1 | 0 |
| Shardul Thakur | 6 | 20 | 7/61 | 8/108 | 3.54 | 1 | 0 |
| Umesh Yadav | 8 | 20 | 4/25 | 6/136 | 3.27 | 0 | 0 |
Highest Wickets for Australia in World Test Championship 2021-23
Nathan Lyon has the most wickets for Australia in World Test Championship. He took 83 wickets in 19 matches of WTC. His best bowling figure in World Test Championship is against India where he took 11 wickets by conceding only 99 runs.
Which other Australian bowlers have taken the most wickets in World Test Championship?
| Bowlers | Matches | Wickets | BBI | BBM | Econ | 5W | Bowler |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nathan Lyon | 19 | 83 | 8/64 | 11/99 | 2.57 | 5 | 1 |
| Pat Cummins | 15 | 53 | 5/38 | 8/79 | 2.68 | 3 | 0 |
| Mitch Starc | 16 | 51 | 4/33 | 6/80 | 3.05 | 0 | 0 |
| S Boland | 7 | 28 | 6/7 | 7/55 | 2.18 | 1 | 0 |
| Cameron Green | 16 | 23 | 5/27 | 5/27 | 3.1 | 1 | 0 |
| T Murphy | 4 | 14 | 7/124 | 7/124 | 2.56 | 1 | 0 |
| Josh Hazlewood | 4 | 10 | 4/48 | 5/57 | 2.3 | 0 | 0 |
| Swepson | 4 | 10 | 3/55 | 5/89 | 3.08 | 0 | 0 |
FAQ’s
Ajaz Patel from New Zealand has the best bowling figure in WTC 2021-23. He took 14 wickets at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai against India. In the first inning, he took a 10-wicket haul by conceding 119 runs.
Scott Boland from Australia has the best bowling average in WTC. He has a bowling average of 13.42 in seven Test matches.
Nathan Lyonn not only has the most wickets, but he also has the most maiden overs in the World Test Championship. In 19 matches, he bowled 870 overs, including 192 overs ended up conceding any runs.
