The Ashes series began in the 1882/83 season in Australia. Since then, there have been many great bowling performances. These bowling performances were some of the greatest in world cricket.
Jim Laker became the first man to take all ten wickets in an innings in a Test match when he did it against Australia in 1956. To add to it, he had already taken nine wickets in the first innings of the same Test match. Till date, Laker’s match figures remain the best in Test cricket.
Four of the five best figures in an Ashes innings have come in England, three of them at the Old Trafford in Manchester. The latest entrant to that list is England’s Stuart Broad who bowled a brilliant spell against the Aussies in 2015 when he took 8 wickets in less than 10 overs.
Here are the Top 5 bowling figures in an Ashes innings:
| Ashes series | Player | Team | Venue | Innings figures |
| 1956 | Jim Laker | England | Manchester | 51.2-23-53-10 |
| 1956 | Jim Laker | England | Manchester | 16.4-4-37-9 |
| 1920/21 | Arthur Mailey | Australia | Melbourne | 47.0-8-121-9 |
| 2015 | Stuart Broad | England | Nottingham | 9.3-5-15-8 |
| 1909 | Frank Laver | Australia | Manchester | 18.2-7-31-8 |
Here are the Top 5 bowling figures in an Ashes match:
| Ashes series | Player | Team | Venue | Match figures |
| 1956 | Jim Laker | England | Manchester | 68.0-27-90-19 |
| 1972 | Robert Massie | Australia | London (Lord's) | 60.1-16-137-16 |
| 1934 | Hedley Verity | England | London (Lord's) | 58.3-23-104-15 |
| 1903/04 | Wilfred Rhodes | England | Melbourne | 30.2-3-124-15 |
| 1882 | Fred Spofforth | Australia | London (KO) | 64.3-33-90-14 |
