Bowling Average and Strike Rate is regularly used to measure bowling performance. Even though they are quite useful, we are looking at another measure here, Wickets per Match (WPM). This measure will show the effectiveness of the bowlers in attacking aspect.
We are considering bowler with at least 100 wickets in Test matches.
Overall Wickets per Match
Among all bowlers with 100 or more wickets, Sydney Barnes of England leads way with 7 wickets per match. And, the lead is pretty clear; 0.78 wickets per match. Sydney Barnes who’s considers as one of the greatest of the game, took 189 wickets from 27 matches from 1901 to 1914.
From the bowler from recent times, Muralidaran of Sri Lanka, sits at the 3rd place. Through out his career, Murali led bowling for Sri Lanka with very little support apart from Chaminda Vass. Murali finished with 800 wickets in 133 matches.
Different Eras
In the overall list we’ll be comparing very different eras. The pitches and how they were maintained now are very different to the early 1900s. And, it gives different levels of support to the bowlers; probably the pitches of the first half of the 1900s were lot more bowler friendly.
But, the amount of matches played was increased over time giving the bowlers of recent times an added advantage.
WPM Among Highest Wicket Takers
Among the top 10 highest wicket takers, earliest to start was Courtney Walsh who started in 1984. So, the these bowlers would have a reasonably fair environments.
Murali is leading this list comfortably by almost a wicket per match. It’s quite impressive. But, it might be highlighting the lack of bowling strength of Sri Lanka during Murali’s career.
Warne and McGrath Partnership
Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath played a large number of matches together. And, the pair dominated opposition batters consistently. And, the impact of them is quite obvious when you look at the respective WPMs; 4.88 and 4.54.