Test Cricket 1970s and 1980s - Top Bowlers

 (27 November 1970 to 16 April 1990)

The terrifying duo of Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson.

The fearsome foursome of Roberts, Holding, Garner and Croft.

Marshall compounded the miseries of the batsmen.

This epoch of the decades of the 1970s and 1980s saw fast bowling like no other. It was also the time when some of the greatest allrounders in history paraded their wares. In fact, the leading wicket-takers in this period were four of these top-class allrounders. Richard Hadlee became the first bowler to capture 400 Test wickets. Ian Botham had 376 wickets to his name, Kapil Dev 364 and Imran Khan 358. All of them added to their tally, Hadlee finishing with a record 431 scalps. Kapil Dev pipped him towards the end of his career with 434 victims. Botham ended with 383 wickets, and Imran with 362, an era not likely to return.

One of the fiercest fast bowlers ever, Dennis Lillee had the record of 355 wickets to his name when he hung up his boots. The much-feared Malcolm Marshall and the tall and gangling Bob Willis also topped 300 wickets in this time, 329 and 325 respectively. Marshall rounded off his career with 376 wickets. Six bowlers grabbed at least 200 wickets, four of them pacemen, Joel Garner, Michael Holding, Andy Roberts and Jeff Thomson, and two spinners Derek Underwood and Abdul Qadir.

Among those who appeared in this time, six bowlers ripped out more than 200 wickets in their entire careers, a myriad collection of three pacemen, one of them a left-armer, and three spinners of different varieties. Courtney Walsh had taken the record with 519 scalps, Wasim Akram called it a day 414 wickets, while Lance Gibbs too was a record-holder with a bag of 309. Bishan SinghBedi, Bhagwat Chandrasekhar and John Snow were other members of the 200 wickets club.

Malcolm Marshall and Joel Garner registered some of the best averages ever. Marshall expended 20.76 runs for each of his 329 wickets, while Garner was just a wee bit behind with 20.97 for his 259 wickets. Marshall finally walked away with an average of 20.94, having blasted out 376 wielders of the willow.

Richard Hadlee’s average was 22.23 while he prised out 415 wickets. Imran Khan was close on his heels at 22.87, having claimed 358 victims. Hadlee eventually had an average of 22.29 for his 431 wickets, while Imran’s was 22.81 in his final count of 362 wickets. Colin Croft (125 wickets at 23.30), Holding (249 wickets at 23.68) and Lillee (355 wickets at 23.92) had career averages below 24. Walsh averaged 23.88 for his 134 wickets in this period, and finally gave away 24.44 runs for each of his 519 wickets.

They were followed by Bob Willis (325 wickets at 25.20) and Andy Roberts (202 wickets at 25.61). John Snow averaged 25.85 as he snapped up 103 wickets in this person, while he finally bowed out at 26.66 for his 202 wickets.

These were the top bowlers in the decades of the 1970s and 1980s ruled by speed, speed and more speed, with spin finding it exceedingly difficult to keep pace (pun unintended). While the West Indies speed merchants were spine-chilling, every other team had great fast bowlers in their ranks.

TOP WICKET-TAKERS (minimum 100 wickets)

Richard Hadlee (New Zealand, right-arm fast) 1973-90, Tests 83, Balls 21115, Wickets 415, Average 22.23, BBI 9/52, BBM 15/123, 5WI 35, 10WM 9

Ian Botham (England, right-arm fast-medium) 1977-89, Tests 97, Balls 21281, Wickets 376, Average 28.27, BBI 8/34, BBM 13/106, 5WI 27, 10WM 4

Kapil Dev (India, right-arm fast-medium) 1978-90, Tests 106, Balls 22269, Wickets 364, Average 29.54, BBI 9/83, BBM 11/146, 5WI 21, 10WM 2

Imran Khan (Pakistan, right-arm fast) 1971-90, Tests 82, Balls 19290, Wickets 358, Average 22.87, BBI 8/58, BBM 14/116, 5WI 23, 10WM 6

Dennis Lillee (Australia, right-arm fast) 1971-84, Tests 70, Balls 18467, Wickets 355, Average 23.92, BBI 7/83, BBM 11/123, 5WI 23, 10WM 7

Malcolm Marshall (West Indies, right-arm fast) 1978-90, Tests 68, Balls 15221, Wickets 329, Average 20.76, BBI 7/22, BBM 11/89, 5WI 22, 10WM 4

Bob Willis (England, right-arm fast) 1971-84, Tests 90, Balls 17357, Wickets 325, Average 25.20, BBI 8/43, BBM 9/92, 5WI 16, 10WM –

Joel Garner (West Indies, right-arm fast) 1977-87, Tests 58, Balls 13169, Wickets 259, Average 20.97, BBI 6/56, BBM 9/108, 5WI 7, 10WM -

Michael Holding (West Indies, right-arm fast) 1975-87, Tests 60, Balls 12680, Wickets 249, Average 23.68, BBI 8/92, BBM 14/149, 5WI 13, 10WM 2

Derek Underwood (England, slow left-arm) 1970-82, Tests 70, Balls 17939, Wickets 230, Average 28.46, BBI 8/51, BBM 13/71, 5WI 11, 10WM 4

Abdul Qadir (Pakistan, right-arm legbreak-googly) 1977-89, Tests 63, Balls 16592, Wickets 230, Average 32.42, BBI 9/56, BBM 13/101, 5WI 15, 10WM 5

Andy Roberts (West Indies, right-arm fast) 1974-83, Tests 47, Balls 11135, Wickets 202, Average 25.61, BBI 7/54, BBM 12/121, 5WI 11, 10WM 2

Jeff Thomson (Australia, right-arm fast) 1972-85, Tests 51, Balls 10535, Wickets 200, Average 28.00, BBI 6/46, BBM 9/105, 5WI 8, 10WM –

Bishan Singh Bedi (India, slow left-arm) 1971-79, Tests 48, Balls 15824, Wickets 196, Average 29.79, BBI 6/71, BBM 10/194, 5WI 10, 10WM 1

Bhagwat Chandrasekhar (India, legbreak-googly) 1971-79, Tests 42, Balls 11212, Wickets 180, Average 29.20, BBI 8/79, BBM 12/104, 5WI 14, 10WM 1

Geoff Lawson (Australia, right-arm fast) 1980-89, Tests 46, Balls 11118, Wickets 180, Average 30.56, BBI 8/112, BBM 11/134, 5WI 11, 10WM 2

Sarfraz Nawaz (Pakistan, right-arm fast-medium) 1972-84, Tests 54, Balls 13747, Wickets 177, Average 32.31, BBI 9/86, BBM 11/125, 5WI 4, 10WM 1

Iqbal Qasim (Pakistan, slow left-arm) 1976-88, Tests 50, Balls 13019, Wickets 171, Average 28.11, BBI 7/49, BBM 11/118, 5WI 8, 10WM 2

Terry Alderman (Australia, right-arm fast-medium) 1981-90, Tests 36, Balls 9152, Wickets 153, Average 26.68, BBI 6/128, BBM 10/151, 5WI 13, 10WM 1

Chris Old (England, right-arm fast-medium) 1972-81, Tests 46, Balls 8858, Wickets 143, Average 28.11, BBI 7/50, BBM 9/88, 5WI 4, 10WM –

Tony Greig (England, right-arm medium fast, off-break) 1972-77, Tests 58, Balls 9802, Wickets 141, Average 32.20, BBI 8/86, BBM 13/156, 5WI 6, 10WM 2

Ravi Shastri (India, slow left-arm) 1981-89, Tests 69, Balls 14528, Wickets 141, Average 39.51, BBI 5/75, BBM 8/179, 5WI 2, 10WM –

Graham Dilley (England, right-arm fast) 1979-89, Tests 41, Balls 8192, Wickets 138, Average 29.76, BBI 6/38, BBM 9/128, 5WI 6, 10WM –

John Emburey (England, right-arm off-break) 1978-89, Tests 60, Balls 14227, Wickets 138, Average 36.99, BBI 7/78, BBM 7/105, 5WI 6, 10WM –

Max Walker (Australia, right-arm fast-medium) 1972-77, Tests 34, Balls 10094, Wickets 138, Average 27.47, BBI 8/143, BBM 8/143, 5WI 6, 10WM –

Courtney Walsh (West Indies, right-arm fast) 1984-90, Tests 37, Balls 7177, Wickets 134, Average 23.88, BBI 6/62, BBM 10/101, 5WI 5, 10WM 1

Lance Cairns (New Zealand, right-arm medium-fast) 1974-85, Tests 43, Balls 10628, Wickets 130, Average 32.92, BBI 7/74, BBM 10/144, 5WI 6, 10WM 1

Bruce Yardley (Australia, right-arm off-break) 1978-83, Tests 33, Balls 8909, Wickets 126, Average 31.63, BBI 7/98, BBM 10/185, 5WI 6, 10WM 1

Colin Croft (West Indies, right-arm fast) 1977-82, Tests 27, Balls 6165, Wickets 125, Average 23.30, BBI 8/29, BBM 9/95, 5WI 3, 10WM –

Phil Edmonds (England, slow left-arm) 1975-87, Tests 51, Balls 12028, Wickets 125, Average 34.18, BBI 7/76, BBM 7/76, 5WI 2, 10WM –

Ewan Chatfield (New Zealand, right-arm fast-medium) 1975-89, Tests 43, Balls 10360, Wickets 123, Average 32.17, BBI 6/73, BBM 10/124, 5WI 3, 10WM 1

Rodney Hogg (Australia, right-arm fast) 1978-84, Tests 38, Balls 7633, Wickets 123, Average 28.47, BBI 6/74, BBM 10/66, 5WI 6, 10WM 2

Dilip Doshi (India, slow left-arm) 1979-83, Tests 33, Balls 9322, Wickets 114, Average 30.71, BBI 6/102, BBM 8/103, 5WI 6, 10WM -

Wasim Akram (Pakistan, left-arm fast) 1985-90, Tests 32, Balls 7017, Wickets 111, Average 26.72, BBI 6/62, BBM 11/160, 5WI 8, 10WM 2

Karsan Ghavri (India, left-arm fast, slow left-arm) 1974-81, Tests 39, Balls 3656, Wickets 109, Average 33.54, BBI 5/33, BBM 7/120, 5WI 4, 10WM –

Srinivas Venkataraghavan (India, right-arm off-break) 1971-83, Tests 43, Balls 11220, Wickets 109, Average 40.83, BBI 5/95, BBM 7/102, 5WI 1, 10WM –

Geoff Arnold (England, right-arm fast-medium) 1972-75, Tests 31, Balls 7134, Wickets 107, Average 28.75, BBI 6/45, BBM 9/91, 5WI 5, 10WM –

John Snow (England, right-arm fast) 1970-76, Tests 24, Balls 6044, Wickets 103, Average 25.85, BBI 7/40, BBM 8/63, 5WI 4, 10WM –

Shivlal Yadav (India, right-arm off-break) 1979-87, Tests 35, Balls 8360, Wickets 102, Average 35.09, BBI 5/76, BBM 8/118, 5WI 3, 10WM –

Lance Gibbs (West Indies, right-arm off-break) 1971-76, Tests 29, Balls 9886, Wickets 100, Average 32.32, BBI 7/98, BBM 9/143, 5WI 5, 10WM –

Vanburn Holder (West Indies, right-arm fast-medium) 1971-79, Tests 37, Balls 8202, Wickets 100, Average 32.92, BBI 6/28, BBM 8/223, 5WI 3, 10WM -

 

BEST AVERAGES (minimum 100 wickets)

Malcolm Marshall (West Indies) 1978-90, Tests 68, Balls 15221, Wickets 329, Average 20.76, BBI 7/22, BBM 11/89, 5WI 22, 10WM 4

Joel Garner (West Indies) 1977-87, Tests 58, Balls 13169, Wickets 259, Average 20.97, BBI 6/56, BBM 9/108, 5WI 7, 10WM -

Richard Hadlee (New Zealand) 1973-90, Tests 83, Balls 21115, Wickets 415, Average 22.23, BBI 9/52, BBM 15/123, 5WI 35, 10WM 9

Imran Khan (Pakistan) 1971-90, Tests 82, Balls 19290, Wickets 358, Average 22.87, BBI 8/58, BBM 14/116, 5WI 23, 10WM 6

Colin Croft (West Indies) 1977-82, Tests 27, Balls 6165, Wickets 125, Average 23.30, BBI 8/29, BBM 9/95, 5WI 3, 10WM –

Michael Holding (West Indies) 1975-87, Tests 60, Balls 12680, Wickets 249, Average 23.68, BBI 8/92, BBM 14/149, 5WI 13, 10WM 2

Courtney Walsh (West Indies) 1984-90, Tests 37, Balls 7177, Wickets 134, Average 23.88, BBI 6/62, BBM 10/101, 5WI 5, 10WM 1

Dennis Lillee (Australia) 1971-84, Tests 70, Balls 18467, Wickets 355, Average 23.92, BBI 7/83, BBM 11/123, 5WI 23, 10WM 7

Bob Willis (England) 1971-84, Tests 90, Balls 17357, Wickets 325, Average 25.20, BBI 8/43, BBM 9/92, 5WI 16, 10WM –

Andy Roberts (West Indies) 1974-83, Tests 47, Balls 11135, Wickets 202, Average 25.61, BBI 7/54, BBM 12/121, 5WI 11, 10WM 2

John Snow (England) 1970-76, Tests 24, Balls 6044, Wickets 103, Average 25.85, BBI 7/40, BBM 8/63, 5WI 4, 10WM –

Terry Alderman (Australia) 1981-90, Tests 36, Balls 9152, Wickets 153, Average 26.68, BBI 6/128, BBM 10/151, 5WI 13, 10WM 1

Wasim Akram (Pakistan) 1985-90, Tests 32, Balls 7017, Wickets 111, Average 26.72, BBI 6/62, BBM 11/160, 5WI 8, 10WM 2

Max Walker (Australia) 1972-77, Tests 34, Balls 10094, Wickets 138, Average 27.47, BBI 8/143, BBM 8/143, 5WI 6, 10WM –

Jeff Thomson (Australia) 1972-85, Tests 51, Balls 10535, Wickets 200, Average 28.00, BBI 6/46, BBM 9/105, 5WI 8, 10WM –

Iqbal Qasim (Pakistan) 1976-88, Tests 50, Balls 13019, Wickets 171, Average 28.11, BBI 7/49, BBM 11/118, 5WI 8, 10WM 2

Chris Old (England) 1972-81, Tests 46, Balls 8858, Wickets 143, Average 28.11, BBI 7/50, BBM 9/88, 5WI 4, 10WM –

Ian Botham (England) 1977-89, Tests 97, Balls 21281, Wickets 376, Average 28.27, BBI 8/34, BBM 13/106, 5WI 27, 10WM 4

Derek Underwood (England) 1970-82, Tests 70, Balls 17939, Wickets 230, Average 28.46, BBI 8/51, BBM 13/71, 5WI 11, 10WM 4

Rodney Hogg (Australia) 1978-84, Tests 38, Balls 7633, Wickets 123, Average 28.47, BBI 6/74, BBM 10/66, 5WI 6, 10WM 2

Geoff Arnold (England) 1972-75, Tests 31, Balls 7134, Wickets 107, Average 28.75, BBI 6/45, BBM 9/91, 5WI 5, 10WM –

Bhagwat Chandrasekhar (India) 1971-79, Tests 42, Balls 11212, Wickets 180, Average 29.20, BBI 8/79, BBM 12/104, 5WI 14, 10WM 1

Kapil Dev (India) 1978-90, Tests 106, Balls 22269, Wickets 364, Average 29.54, BBI 9/83, BBM 11/146, 5WI 21, 10WM 2

Graham Dilley (England) 1979-89, Tests 41, Balls 8192, Wickets 138, Average 29.76, BBI 6/38, BBM 9/128, 5WI 6, 10WM –

Bishan Singh Bedi (India) 1971-79, Tests 48, Balls 15824, Wickets 196, Average 29.79, BBI 6/71, BBM 10/194, 5WI 10, 10WM 1

Geoff Lawson (Australia) 1980-89, Tests 46, Balls 11118, Wickets 180, Average 30.56, BBI 8/112, BBM 11/134, 5WI 11, 10WM 2

Dilip Doshi (India) 1979-83, Tests 33, Balls 9322, Wickets 114, Average 30.71, BBI 6/102, BBM 8/103, 5WI 6, 10WM –

Bruce Yardley (Australia) 1978-83, Tests 33, Balls 8909, Wickets 126, Average 31.63, BBI 7/98, BBM 10/185, 5WI 6, 10WM 1

Ewan Chatfield (New Zealand) 1975-89, Tests 43, Balls 10360, Wickets 123, Average 32.17, BBI 6/73, BBM 10/124, 5WI 3, 10WM 1

Tony Greig (England) 1972-77, Tests 58, Balls 9802, Wickets 141, Average 32.20, BBI 8/86, BBM 13/156, 5WI 6, 10WM 2

Sarfraz Nawaz (Pakistan) 1972-84, Tests 54, Balls 13747, Wickets 177, Average 32.31, BBI 9/86, BBM 11/125, 5WI 4, 10WM 1

Lance Gibbs (West Indies) 1971-76, Tests 29, Balls 9886, Wickets 100, Average 32.32, BBI 7/98, BBM 9/143, 5WI 5, 10WM –

Abdul Qadir (Pakistan) 1977-89, Tests 63, Balls 16592, Wickets 230, Average 32.42, BBI 9/56, BBM 13/101, 5WI 15, 10WM 5

Lance Cairns (New Zealand) 1974-85, Tests 43, Balls 10628, Wickets 130, Average 32.92, BBI 7/74, BBM 10/144, 5WI 6, 10WM 1

Vanburn Holder (West Indies) 1971-79, Tests 37, Balls 8202, Wickets 100, Average 32.92, BBI 6/28, BBM 8/223, 5WI 3, 10WM –

Karsan Ghavri (India) 1974-81, Tests 39, Balls 3656, Wickets 109, Average 33.54, BBI 5/33, BBM 7/120, 5WI 4, 10WM –

Phil Edmonds (England) 1975-87, Tests 51, Balls 12028, Wickets 125, Average 34.18, BBI 7/76, BBM 7/76, 5WI 2, 10WM –
Shivlal Yadav (India) 1979-87, Tests 35, Balls 8360, Wickets 102, Average 35.09, BBI 5/76, BBM 8/118, 5WI 3, 10WM –

John Emburey (England) 1978-89, Tests 60, Balls 14227, Wickets 138, Average 36.99, BBI 7/78, BBM 7/105, 5WI 6, 10WM –

Ravi Shastri (India) 1981-89, Tests 69, Balls 14528, Wickets 141, Average 39.51, BBI 5/75, BBM 8/179, 5WI 2, 10WM –

Srinivas Venkataraghavan (India) 1971-83, Tests 43, Balls 11220, Wickets 109, Average 40.83, BBI 5/95, BBM 7/102, 5WI 1, 10WM

 

FULL CAREER

Courtney Walsh (West Indies) 1984-2001, Tests 132, Balls 30019, Wickets 519, Average 24.44, BBI 7/37, BBM 13/55, 5WI 22, 10WM 3

Kapil Dev (India) 1978-94, Tests 131, Balls 27740, Wickets 434, Average 29.64, BBI 9/83, BBM 11/146, 5WI 23, 10WM 2

Richard Hadlee (New Zealand) 1973-90, Tests 86, Balls 21918, Wickets 431, Average 22.29, BBI 9/52, BBM 15/123, 5WI 36, 10WM 9

Wasim Akram (Pakistan) 1985-2002, Tests 104, Balls 22627, Wickets 414, Average 23.62, BBI 7/119, BBM 11/110, 5WI 25, 10WM 5

Ian Botham (England) 1977-92, Tests 102, Balls 21815, Wickets 383, Average 28.40, BBI 8/34, BBM 13/106, 5WI 27, 10WM 4

Malcolm Marshall (West Indies) 1978-91, Tests 81, Balls 17584, Wickets 376, Average 20.94, BBI 7/22, BBM 11/89, 5WI 22, 10WM 4

Imran Khan (Pakistan) 1971-92, Tests 88, Balls 19458, Wickets 362, Average 22.81, BBI 8/58, BBM 14/116, 5WI 23, 10WM 6

Lance Gibbs (West Indies) 1958-76, Tests 79, Balls 27115, Wickets 309, Average 29.09, BBI 8/38, BBM 11/157, 5WI 18, 10WM 2

Derek Underwood (England) 1966-82, Tests 86, Balls 21862, Wickets 297, Average 25.83, BBI 8/51, BBM 13/71, 5WI 17, 10WM 6

Abdul Qadir (Pakistan) 1977-90, Tests 67, Balls 17126, Wickets 236, Average 32.80, BBI 9/56, BBM 13/101, 5WI 15, 10WM 5

Bishan Singh Bedi (India) 1966-79, Tests 67, Balls 21364, Wickets 266, Average 28.71, BBI 7/98, BBM 10/194, 5WI 14, 10WM 1

Bhagwat Chandrasekhar (India) 1964-79, Tests 58, Balls 15963, Wickets 242, Average 29.74, BBI 8/79, BBM 12/104, 5WI 16, 10WM 2

John Snow (England) 1965-76, Tests 49, Balls 12021, Wickets 202, Average 26.66, BBI 7/40, BBM 10/142, 5WI 8, 10WM 1

Sarfraz Nawaz (Pakistan) 1969-84, Tests 55, Balls 13951, Wickets 177, Average 32.75, BBI 9/86, BBM 11/125, 5WI 4, 10WM 1

Terry Alderman (Australia) 1981-91, Tests 41, Balls 10181, Wickets 170, Average 27.15, BBI 6/47, BBM 10/151, 5WI 14, 10WM 1

Srinivas Venkataraghavan (India) 1965-83, Tests 57, Balls 14877, Wickets 156, Average 36.11, BBI 8/72, BBM 12/152, 5WI 3, 10WM 1

Ravi Shastri (India) 1981-92, Tests 80, Balls 15751, Wickets 151, Average 40.96, BBI 5/75, BBM 8/179, 5WI 2, 10WM –

John Emburey (England) 1978-95, Tests 64, Balls 15391, Wickets 147, Average 38.40, BBI 7/78, BBM 7/105, 5WI 6, 10WM –

Geoff Arnold (England) 1967-75, Tests 34, Balls 7650, Wickets 115, Average 28.29, BBI 6/45, BBM 9/91, 5WI 6, 10WM –

Vanburn Holder (West Indies) 1969-79, Tests 40, Balls 9095, Wickets 109, Average 33.27, BBI 6/28, BBM 8/223, 5WI 3, 10WM –