Top 5: Most Ten-Wicket Hauls in Test Cricket

Test cricket is a format of patience and skills for both the batters and bowlers. To beat the defence of the batters is not an easy task for the bowlers, but there are a few bowlers who bamboozled the batters with their skilful bowling.

In this article, we will talk about the top 5 bowlers with the most ten-wicket hauls in Test cricket.

5. Ravichandran Ashwin (8)

Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has taken 8 ten-wicket hauls in his Test career of around 100 Tests. The off-spinner has taken over 500 Test wickets at an average close to 23 and a strike rate of around 50.

Ashwin made his Test debut in 2011 against the West Indies in Delhi, and in his first game itself, he showed glimpses of his talent. He picked 9 wickets and was also named player of the match for his terrific performance.

Ashwin’s performance peaked when Virat Kohli took over as the Indian skipper. Under Kohli, Ashwin picked 5 ten-wicket hauls out of which 3 came against New Zealand.

4. Rangana Herath (9)

Sri Lankan left-arm spinner Rangana Herath picked up 9 ten-wicket hauls in his Test career of 93 Tests. Herath took 433 wickets at an average of 28 and a strike rate of 60, with 34 five-wicket hauls to his name. Whenever Herath picked up a ten-wicket haul, Sri Lanka never lost the match.

Herath made his debut for Sri Lanka in the year 1999 against Australia at Galle and played his last Test match in 2018 against England at the same place where he made his debut.

3. Richard Hadlee (9)

Richard Hadlee, who represented New Zealand in 86 Test matches, also picked up 9 ten-wicket hauls in his career. Hadlee took 431 wickets at an average of 22 and a strike rate of 50.

Hadlee made his debut in 1973 against Pakistan at Wellington and played his last game in 1990 against England at Birmingham.

Hadlee picked up 3 ten-wicket hauls against Australia, which is his highest number of ten-wicket hauls against a team. Hadlee also picked up 2 ten-wicket hauls in Asia, 1 each in India and Sri Lanka.

2. Shane Warne (10)

Late Australian leg spinner Shane Warne, who is the second-highest wicket-taker in the history of Test cricket, picked up 10 ten-wicket hauls in his Test career of 145 matches.

Warne picked up a total of 708 wickets at an average of 25, a strike rate of 57, and picked up 37 five-wicket hauls. He picked up 4 ten-wicket hauls in Australia and 3 in England, a place where spinners generally struggled but Warne found success.

Warne made his Test debut in 1992 against India in Sydney and also played his last Test at the same venue this time against Australia’s arch-rivals England.

1. Muttiah Muralitharan (22)

Sri Lankan legend Muttiah Muralitharan, who took 800 Test wickets in his career of 133 matches at an average of 22 and a strike rate of 55, took 22 ten-wicket hauls and 67 five-wicket hauls.

Murali, with his off-spin, made batters find it tough to play him. In his home conditions, he picked up 15 ten-wicket hauls from 73 Tests and also picked up 3 ten-wicket hauls in England.

Out of 22 ten-wicket hauls of Murali, 18 came in wins, 2 in losses, and 2 in drawn Tests. In 2006, Murali picked up 4 ten-wicket hauls and took 46 wickets from just 5 Tests at an average of 17 and a strike rate of 40.