List of bowlers who have taken 300 or more wickets in Test cricket - wikipedia List of bowlers who have taken 300 or more wickets in Test cricket Muttiah Muralitharan has captured the highest number of wickets in Test cricket. Taking 300 or more wickets across a playing career is considered a significant achievement in Test cricket. The feat, first accomplished by Englishman Fred Trueman in 1964, has only been achieved by thirty - three players in the history of the game as of October 2018. Six players from Australia, five each from India, England and South Africa ; four from the West Indies ; three each from Pakistan and Sri Lanka ; and two from New Zealand have crossed the 300 - wicket mark in Tests. Bangladesh and Zimbabwe are yet to see a Test player reach the 300 mark. As of October 2018, former Sri Lankan cricketer Muttiah Muralitharan has the highest aggregate with 800 wickets. He also holds the record for the most five - wicket hauls ( 67 ) and ten - wicket hauls in a match ( 22 ) ; his 16 wickets for 220 runs against England in 1998 is the fifth - best bowling performance by a player in a match. Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is the fastest to cross the 300 - wicket mark ( 54 Tests ), while the late West Indian player Malcolm Marshall has the best bowling average ( 20.94 ) among those who have achieved the milestone. Fellow West Indian Lance Gibbs is the most economical player with 1.98 runs per over, while South African fast bowler Dale Steyn has the best strike rate of 42.0 balls per wicket. India 's Anil Kumble has the best bowling figures in an innings ( 10 wickets for 74 runs against Pakistan in 1999 ) ; they are the second - best in the history of Test cricket after English cricketer Jim Laker 's 10 for 53 ( against Australia in 1956 ). Contents 1 Key 2 Bowlers with 300 or more Test wickets 3 See also 4 References Key Mat -- Number of matches played Inn -- Number of innings bowled Balls -- Balls bowled in career Runs -- Runs conceded in career Wkt -- Wickets taken in career Ave -- Average runs per wicket Econ -- Runs conceded per over SR -- Number of balls bowled per wicket taken BBI -- Best bowling in innings BBM -- Best bowling in match 5wI -- Five or more wickets in an innings 10wI -- Ten or more wickets in a match Period -- Cricketing career of the player Bowlers with 300 or more Test wickets The list is initially arranged by the most number of wickets taken by a bowler. To sort this table by any statistic, click on the applicable header box beside ( not on ) the column title. Inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame † Denotes player who is still active Bowlers who have taken 300 or more wickets in Test cricket No. Bowler Team Mat. Inn. Balls Runs Wkt Ave. Econ. SR. BBI BBM 5wl 10wl Period Ref ( s ) Muttiah Muralitharan ^ Sri Lanka 133 230 44,039 18,180 800 22.72 2.47 55.0 9 / 51 16 / 220 67 22 1992 -- 2010 Shane Warne ^ Australia 145 273 40,705 17,995 708 25.41 2.65 57.4 8 / 71 12 / 128 37 10 1992 -- 2007 Anil Kumble ^ India 132 236 40,850 18,355 619 29.65 2.69 65.9 10 / 74 14 / 149 35 8 1990 -- 2008 James Anderson England 143 267 31,500 15,140 564 26.84 2.88 55.8 7 / 42 11 / 71 26 2003 -- present 5 Glenn McGrath ^ Australia 124 243 29,248 12,186 563 21.64 2.49 51.9 8 / 24 10 / 27 29 1993 -- 2007 6 Courtney Walsh ^ West Indies 132 242 30,019 12,688 519 24.44 2.53 57.8 7 / 37 13 / 55 22 1984 -- 2001 7 Kapil Dev ^ India 131 227 27,740 12,867 434 29.64 2.78 63.9 9 / 83 11 / 146 23 1978 -- 1994 8 Stuart Broad England 123 225 25,257 12,525 433 28.92 2.97 58.3 8 / 15 11 / 121 16 2007 -- present 9 Richard Hadlee ^ New Zealand 86 150 21,918 9,611 431 22.29 2.63 50.8 9 / 52 15 / 123 36 9 1973 -- 1990 10 Rangana Herath Sri Lanka 92 168 25,704 12,022 430 27.96 2.81 59.8 9 / 127 14 / 184 34 9 1999 -- present 11 Dale Steyn South Africa 88 161 17,707 9,533 421 22.64 3.23 42.0 7 / 51 11 / 60 26 5 2004 -- present Shaun Pollock South Africa 108 202 24,353 9,733 421 23.11 2.39 57.8 7 / 87 10 / 147 16 1995 -- 2008 13 Harbhajan Singh India 103 190 28,580 13,537 417 32.46 2.84 68.5 8 / 84 15 / 217 25 5 1998 -- present 14 Wasim Akram ^ Pakistan 104 181 22,627 9,779 414 23.62 2.59 54.6 7 / 119 11 / 110 25 5 1985 -- 2002 15 Curtly Ambrose ^ West Indies 98 179 22,103 8,501 405 20.99 2.30 54.5 8 / 45 11 / 84 22 1988 -- 2000 16 Makhaya Ntini South Africa 101 190 20,834 11,242 390 28.82 3.23 53.4 7 / 37 13 / 132 18 1998 -- 2009 17 Ian Botham ^ England 102 160 21,815 10,878 383 28.40 2.99 56.9 8 / 34 13 / 106 27 1977 -- 1992 18 Malcolm Marshall ^ West Indies 81 151 17,584 7,876 376 20.94 2.68 46.7 7 / 22 11 / 89 22 1978 -- 1991 19 Waqar Younis ^ Pakistan 87 154 16,224 8,788 373 23.56 3.25 43.4 7 / 76 13 / 135 22 5 1989 -- 2003 20 Imran Khan ^ Pakistan 88 142 19,458 8,258 362 22.81 2.54 53.7 8 / 58 14 / 116 23 6 1971 -- 1992 Daniel Vettori New Zealand 113 187 28,814 12,441 362 34.36 2.59 79.5 7 / 87 12 / 149 20 1997 -- 2015 22 Dennis Lillee ^ Australia 70 132 18,467 8,493 355 23.92 2.75 52.0 7 / 83 11 / 123 23 7 1971 -- 1984 Chaminda Vaas Sri Lanka 111 194 23,438 10,501 355 29.58 2.68 66.0 7 / 71 14 / 191 12 1994 -- 2009 24 Ravichandran Ashwin India 64 120 17,851 8,551 336 25.44 2.87 53.1 7 / 59 13 / 140 26 7 2011 -- present 25 Allan Donald ^ South Africa 72 129 15,519 7,344 330 22.25 2.83 47.0 8 / 71 12 / 139 20 1992 -- 2002 26 Bob Willis England 90 165 17,357 8,190 325 25.20 2.83 53.4 8 / 43 9 / 92 16 0 1971 -- 1984 27 Nathan Lyon Australia 80 153 20,081 10,224 318 32.21 3.06 63.1 8 / 50 13 / 154 12 2011 -- present 28 Mitchell Johnson Australia 73 150 16,001 8,891 313 28.40 3.33 51.1 8 / 61 12 / 127 12 2007 -- 2015 29 Zaheer Khan India 92 165 18,785 10,247 311 32.94 3.27 60.4 7 / 87 10 / 149 11 2000 -- 2014 30 Brett Lee Australia 76 150 16,531 9,554 310 30.81 3.46 53.3 5 / 30 9 / 171 10 0 1999 -- 2008 31 Lance Gibbs ^ West Indies 79 148 27,115 8,989 309 29.09 1.98 87.7 8 / 38 11 / 157 18 1958 -- 1976 Morné Morkel South Africa 86 160 16,498 8,550 309 27.66 3.10 53.3 6 / 23 9 / 110 8 0 2006 -- 2018 33 Fred Trueman ^ England 67 127 15,178 6,625 307 21.57 2.61 49.4 8 / 31 12 / 119 17 1952 -- 1965 Last updated : 20 October 2018 See also List of Test cricket records List of bowlers who have taken 300 or more wickets in ODI cricket References ^ Jump up to : `` Player Profile : Muttiah Muralitharan ''. ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 13 February 2012. Retrieved 30 December 2013. ^ Jump up to : Alter, Jamie ( 26 August 2009 ). `` Vettori joins 300 - wicket club ''. ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 14 November 2013. Retrieved 8 October 2018. To claim 300 Test wickets is an achievement for any bowler... Jump up ^ `` Steyn captures 300th Test wicket ''. Geo TV. Agence France - Presse ( AFP ). 2 January 2013. Archived from the original on 14 November 2016. Retrieved 8 October 2018. ' It 's an unbelievable achievement, ' said South African captain Graeme Smith... Jump up ^ Botham, Ian ( 18 May 2013 ). `` Ian Botham on Jimmy Anderson : Congrats on taking your 300th Test wicket -- now come and catch me ! ''. Daily Mirror. London. Archived from the original on 19 December 2014. Retrieved 8 October 2018. Congratulations to Jimmy Anderson on yet another magnificent achievement... ^ Jump up to : `` Player Profile : Fred Trueman ''. ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 7 February 2014. Retrieved 30 December 2013. ^ Jump up to : `` Records / Test matches / Bowling records / Most wickets in career ''. ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 5 October 2018. Jump up ^ `` Records / Test matches / Bowling records / Best figures in a match ''. ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 18 May 2016. Retrieved 23 February 2013. Jump up ^ `` Records / Test matches / Bowling records / Most five - wickets - in - an - innings in a career ''. ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 20 November 2016. Retrieved 30 December 2013. Jump up ^ `` Records / Test matches / Bowling records / Most ten - wickets - in - a-match in a career ''. ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 14 October 2016. Retrieved 30 December 2013. Jump up ^ `` Record / Test matches / Bowling record / Fastest to 300 wickets ''. ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 29 January 2014. Retrieved 30 December 2013. Jump up ^ `` Records / Test matches / Bowling records / Best figures in an innings ''. ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 24 April 2016. Retrieved 23 February 2013. Jump up ^ `` Muttiah Muralitharan reaches 800 Test wickets landmark ''. BBC Sport. 22 July 2010. Archived from the original on 29 December 2013. Retrieved 5 October 2018. Jump up ^ `` Player Profile : Shane Warne ''. ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 8 June 2017. Retrieved 30 December 2013. Jump up ^ `` 2006 -- 07 -- Warne 's 700th wicket ''. BBC Sport. 2 June 2009. Archived from the original on 4 November 2013. Retrieved 5 October 2018. Jump up ^ `` Player Profile : Anil Kumble ''. ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 19 December 2011. Retrieved 30 December 2013. Jump up ^ Vaidyanathan, Siddhartha ( 17 January 2008 ). `` Kumble joins 900 - wicket club ''. ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 17 November 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2013. Jump up ^ `` Player Profile : James Anderson ''. ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 14 September 2014. Retrieved 15 September 2014. Jump up ^ `` Player Profile : Glenn McGrath ''. ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 17 November 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2013. Jump up ^ English, Peter ( 23 December 2006 ). `` Machine - like McGrath reaches 500 ''. ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 17 November 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2013. Jump up ^ `` Player Profile : Courtney Walsh ''. ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 27 January 2014. Retrieved 30 December 2013. Jump up ^ CricInfo ( 19 March 2001 ). `` Walsh becomes the first man to 500 Test wickets ''. ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 17 November 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2013. Jump up ^ `` Player Profile : Kapil Dev ''. ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 28 December 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2013. Jump up ^ `` Player Profile : Stuart Broad ''. ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 10 August 2015. Retrieved 21 August 2015. Jump up ^ `` Player Profile : Richard Hadlee ''. ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 10 December 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2013. Jump up ^ `` Magical Herath spins Sri Lanka to innings win ''. ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 18 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015. Jump up ^ `` Rangana Herath Profile ''. Cricbuzz. Archived from the original on 5 October 2018. Retrieved 5 October 2018. Jump up ^ Ramakrishnan, Madhusudhan ( 3 January 2013 ). `` Exceptional in Test wins ''. ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 15 November 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2013. Jump up ^ `` Player Profile : Dale Steyn ''. ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 30 December 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2013. Jump up ^ `` Player Profile : Shaun Pollock ''. ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 10 February 2012. Retrieved 30 December 2013. Jump up ^ `` Player Profile : Harbhajan Singh ''. ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 18 December 2011. Retrieved 12 August 2015. Jump up ^ Gupta, Rajneesh ( 17 June 2000 ). `` Wasim Akram completes 400 wickets in Test cricket ''. ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 17 November 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2013. Jump up ^ `` Player Profile : Wasim Akram ''. ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 1 January 2012. Retrieved 30 December 2013. Jump up ^ `` Player Profile : Curtly Ambrose ''. ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 31 January 2014. Retrieved 30 December 2013. Jump up ^ `` Player Profile : Makhaya Ntini ''. ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 31 October 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2013. Jump up ^ `` Player Profile : Ian Botham ''. ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 20 December 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2013. Jump up ^ `` Player Profile : Malcolm Marshall ''. ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 16 November 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2013. Jump up ^ Gupta, Rajneesh ( 17 June 2000 ). `` Waqar Younis completes 300 wickets in Test cricket ''. ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 17 November 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2013. Jump up ^ `` Player Profile : Waqar Younis ''. ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 8 February 2012. Retrieved 30 December 2013. Jump up ^ `` Player Profile : Imran Khan ''. ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 7 February 2014. Retrieved 30 December 2013. Jump up ^ `` New Zealand 's Daniel Vettori retires from international cricket ''. BBC Sport. 31 March 2015. Archived from the original on 31 March 2015. Retrieved 8 October 2018. Jump up ^ `` Player Profile : Daniel Vettori ''. ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 29 November 2015. Retrieved 30 December 2013. Jump up ^ `` Player Profile : Dennis Lillee ''. ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 7 May 2017. Retrieved 30 December 2013. Jump up ^ `` Player Profile : Chaminda Vaas ''. ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 14 February 2012. Retrieved 30 December 2013. Jump up ^ `` Player Profile : Ravichandran Ashwin ''. ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 27 November 2017. Jump up ^ `` Player Profile : Allan Donald ''. ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 6 February 2014. Retrieved 30 December 2013. Jump up ^ `` Player Profile : Bob Willis ''. ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 17 November 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2013. Jump up ^ `` Player Profile : Nathan Lyon ''. ESPNcricinfo. Text `` url : http://m.espncricinfo.com/australia/content/player/272279.html '' ignored ( help ) ; Missing or empty url = ( help ) ; access - date = requires url = ( help ) Jump up ^ `` Player Profile : Mitchell Johnson ''. ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 26 August 2015. Retrieved 22 August 2015. Jump up ^ `` Player Profile : Zaheer Khan ''. ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 13 March 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2013. Jump up ^ `` Player Profile : Brett Lee ''. ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 10 February 2012. Retrieved 30 December 2013. Jump up ^ `` Player Profile : Lance Gibbs ''. ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 1 February 2014. Retrieved 30 December 2013. Jump up ^ `` Player Profile : Morne Morkel ''. ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 26 March 2018. Bowlers who have taken 300 or more wickets in Test cricket Australia Shane Warne ( 708 ) Glenn McGrath ( 563 ) Dennis Lillee ( 355 ) Mitchell Johnson ( 313 ) Brett Lee ( 310 ) Nathan Lyon ( 306 ) England James Anderson ( 564 ) Stuart Broad ( 427 ) Ian Botham ( 383 ) Bob Willis ( 325 ) Fred Trueman ( 307 ) India Anil Kumble ( 619 ) Kapil Dev ( 434 ) Harbhajan Singh ( 417 ) Ravichandran Ashwin ( 323 ) Zaheer Khan ( 311 ) New Zealand Richard Hadlee ( 431 ) Daniel Vettori ( 362 ) Pakistan Wasim Akram ( 414 ) Waqar Younis ( 373 ) Imran Khan ( 362 ) South Africa Shaun Pollock ( 421 ) Dale Steyn ( 421 ) Makhaya Ntini ( 390 ) Allan Donald ( 330 ) Morné Morkel ( 309 ) Sri Lanka Muttiah Muralitharan ( 800 ) Rangana Herath ( 430 ) Chaminda Vaas ( 355 ) West Indies Courtney Walsh ( 519 ) Curtly Ambrose ( 405 ) Malcolm Marshall ( 376 ) Lance Gibbs ( 309 ) Current players are listed in italics. Cricket records Test records By team Australia Bangladesh England India Ireland New Zealand Pakistan Sri Lanka South Africa West Indies Zimbabwe Batting Most career runs Triple centuries Centuries in both innings Centuries on debut Bowling Most career wickets Five - wicket hauls on debut Double five - wicket hauls on debut Hat - tricks ODI records By team Australia Bangladesh England India New Zealand Pakistan Sri Lanka South Africa West Indies Zimbabwe Batting Most career runs Highest individual scores Double centuries Centuries on debut Bowling Most career wickets Hat - tricks Five - wicket haul on debut T20I records By team Australia Bangladesh England India Nepal New Zealand Pakistan Sri Lanka South Africa West Indies Zimbabwe Batting Centuries Bowling Five - wicket hauls Hat - tricks Miscellaneous records International Centuries Career Five Wicket Hauls 100 wickets in a season Wicket with first ball World Cup records First - class records Batsmen with 100 FC centuries FC quadruple centuries Ranji Trophy List - A records Centuries by ground Five - wicket hauls by ground Twenty20 records Under - 19 records Women 's cricket Records WTest records WODI records WT20I records Batting WTest centuries WODI centuries WT20I centuries Bowling WTest five - wicket hauls on debut WODI five - wicket hauls WT20I five - wicket hauls Hat - tricks Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_bowlers_who_have_taken_300_or_more_wickets_in_Test_cricket&oldid=864895925 '' Categories : Test cricket records Hidden categories : Pages with citations using unnamed parameters Pages using web citations with no URL Pages using citations with accessdate and no URL Articles containing potentially dated statements from October 2018 All articles containing potentially dated statements Articles with hCards Featured lists Talk Contents About Wikipedia বাংলা Edit links This page was last edited on 20 October 2018, at 07 : 12 ( UTC ). 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Question: who has taken the highest number of wickets in test cricket
Answer: Muttiah Muralitharan