5 fast bowlers who can break Glenn McGrath's record of 563 test wickets

Glenn McGrath is one of the best fast bowlers to ever have played the game of cricket. He had been at the heart of Australian dominance starting from the late 90s and stretching forward to the late 2000s. Along with Brett Lee and Jason Gillespie, they had one of the most fearsome fast bowling attacks in the world. His battles with Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara are for the ages. McGrath's record of 563 wickets in 124 tests at an average of 21.64 till date remains the highest wickets taken by a fast bowler in Test cricket.

Here we take a look at the active fast bowlers who come closer to eclipse a long-standing record.

Mohammad Amir

Mohammad Amir

Mohammad Amir had a dream start to his test career against Sri Lanka, taking six wickets in his debut match, which included the wicket of Kumar Sangakkara in both the innings and the wicket of Mahela Jayawardene, at the age of 17. A year later in the tour of England, he hit the rock-bottom when he admitted to spot fixing which involved deliberately bowling no-balls in return for payment from a betting syndicate. He was banned for five years from international cricket along with the then skipper Salman Butt, who was banned for ten years and Mohammed Asif, who was banned for seven years.

On 15th January 2016, he made his return to International cricket in a Twenty20 international against New Zealand. Amir also possesses the ability to consistently clock speeds of above 145 kilometers per hour.

Amir currently has 107 scalps at a reasonable average of 31.25. Since Amir's establishment in the international arena, former Pakistani batsman Rameez Raja, as well as Akram himself, have stated "He is much cleverer than (Akram) at 18". With age on his side, he can become one of the greatest fast bowlers Pakistan has produced.

Kagiso Rabada

Kagiso Rabada

South Africa is a land of quality fast bowlers, ranging from Fanie De Villiers, Allan Donald, Shaun Pollock, Makhaya Ntini to Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel. Kagiso Rabada is nothing short of a sensational bowler for South Africa and has taken the cricketing fraternity by storm. In the fourth Test of England's 2015-16 tour of South Africa, Rabada became the youngest South African to take a ten-wicket haul. He has proved that he is the adept replacement for Dale Steyn who might be at the fag-end of his career.

Rabada's scintillating performance against Australia in the 2nd Test in March 2018 earned him a top spot in ICC Test bowler rankings with 902 points. Currently, he sits 2nd in the rankings, just ten points shy of James Anderson.

At the age of 23, the speedster has taken 151 wickets from just 32 tests at an impressive average of 21.71. He already has nine five- wicket and four ten-wicket hauls in his short career. He could very well be the man to threaten and ultimately gun down the long-standing record.

Stuart Broad

Stuart Broad

The first memory that comes into the mind when one thinks of Stuart Broad is how Yuvraj Singh shattered his confidence by hitting him for six sixes in an over in a Twenty20 international. From there on, Stuart Broad orchestrated a spectacular turnaround of his career from where there was no looking back.

While he may not have had an impressive limited overs career, Broad is one of the mainstays of England's current bowling attack in red ball cricket. Broad's breakthrough series came in Ashes 2009 against the arch rivals Australia, finishing the series with 18 wickets at an average of 30.22. He was ruled out of the successful Ashes series in 2010 in Australia after the 2nd test with a stomach muscle injury.

The speedster came back strongly against India in 2011 in the home series, bagging 25 wickets at an average of 13.84.

Stuart Broad remains one of the foremost contenders to eclipse McGrath as the leading wicket-taker in tests if his body permits. He currently has 417 scalps in 118 tests.

Dale Steyn

Dale Steyn

Perhaps the greatest fast bowler of this generation, Dale Steyn has 421 wickets under his belt at a healthy average of 22.64 with a strike rate of 42. In July 2018, during the first test against Sri Lanka, Steyn became the joint leading wicket-taker alongside Shaun Pollock for South Africa in Test matches with 421 scalps.

He solidified his place in the test team in the 2007/08 season with his devastating performance against New Zealand and West Indies in home Tests. He was equally effective in away Tests against Bangladesh, India, Australia and West Indies.

At present, Dale Steyn remains the leader of South Africa's bowling attack. Currently the aggressive quick is in the twilight of his career, with age catching up to him and frequent injuries denting his speed and ability.

Surpassing Glenn McGrath can be a far-fetched goal for him. However, if he limits himself to playing only red-ball cricket, he could very well be on course.

James Anderson

James Anderson

There is little doubt on anybody's mind that James Anderson remains the front runner in taking over McGrath as the leading wicket-taker among the fast bowlers in test cricket. Anderson had a roller-coaster start to his test career with Steve Harmison and Matthew Hoggard remaining the senior bowlers and thereby getting the nod. Anderson made his first appearance in test cricket against Zimbabwe and took five wickets in his first outing. In the process, he also became the 42nd Englishman to do so. While Anderson's record in the sub-continent may not be a stellar one, it isn't abysmal either, averaging 13.17 in his first tour of India. Anderson, at present shares the new ball along with Stuart Broad, accompanied by Mark Wood and Chris Woakes who compliments them extremely well.

Anderson, currently is the leading wicket-taker for England in test and one-day international cricket. Anderson has 540 wickets in 138 test matches and sits fifth in all time leading wicket-takers. With five tests against India looming and three tests against Sri Lanka, this would be Anderson's best chance to eclipse McGrath.