Top 5 bowlers with most wickets in a calendar year across all formats

Glenn Mcgrath
Glenn Mcgrath

Bowling in cricket is perceived as the most strenuous aspect of the game. Bowling is physically and mentally more demanding and taxing for the players when compared to batting. It does not mean that batting is an effortless task, but it is relatively less burdensome than bowling.

Generally, the bowler's career span is also way less than that of batsmen. The maintenance of optimum fitness has been an issue for most of the bowlers throughout their international cricketing careers.

The beautiful game of cricket has seen many great bowlers over the years who have amused the spectators through their display of magnificent skills and a wide range of accomplishments.

From deadly West Indies pace bowlers to exquisite Indian spin bowlers, from enchanting Pakistan swing bowlers to adroit and versatile Australian bowlers, the cricketing universe has witnessed and savoured everyone's contribution towards the game since its inception.

Over the years there have been many eminent bowlers who consistently performed for their teams and lead them to numerous victories. Premiere bowlers like Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Muralitharan, Anil Kumble, Wasim Akram proved their match-winning capabilities through exceptional accomplishments over the course of their careers across all formats of the game.

Through their performances, they demonstrated that they are not inferior to their counterparts in any aspect of the game. The bowlers have also evolved through various phases of the game by constantly adjusting according to the changes in playing conditions.

In this slideshow, we are going to look at the bowlers who have displayed immaculate levels of consistency and performed exceptionally well for their nation.

Here are top 5 bowlers who took most number of wickets in a single calendar year -


Notable mentions - The players from the top ten of this list are

#6 Graeme Swann - 111 wickets (39 matches), 2010

#7 Saeed Ajmal - 111 wickets (50 matches), 2013

#8 Muttiah Muralitharan - 109 wickets (31 matches), 2000

#9 Allan Donald - 107 wickets (27 matches), 1998

#10 Dennis Lillee - 105 wickets (28 matches), 1981


#5 Mitchell Johnson (113 wickets) - 2009

Mitchell Johnson
Mitchell Johnson

Fiery pace bowler Mitchell Johnson was one of the biggest match-winners that Australian team produced in the last decade.

He took over the reins of Australian pace attack after the departure of legends like Glenn Mcgrath, Brett Lee and led the attack with reasonable success until he bid adieu to the game of cricket. His monumental contributions played a vital part in Australia's success in the Test cricket during the fag end of his career.

Mitchell Johnson was always known for his wicket-taking ability throughout his career. He took 113 wickets in 2009 across all formats from 47 matches at an average of 28.18

He occupies the fifth position on this list.

#4 Glenn McGrath (119 wickets) - 1999

Glenn McGrath
Glenn McGrath

Former Australian pacer Glenn McGrath is widely regarded as one of the greatest pace bowlers of all time. He was highly consistent with the ball throughout his career in all formats of the game and was a pivotal member of the invincible Australian team of early 2000's.

He took 119 wickets in 1999 across all formats from 41 matches at an average of 20.23

He is also the leading wicket-taker(in a calendar year) among the pace bowlers as the rest of the positions in this list are occupied by spin bowlers.

#3 Shane Warne (120 wickets) - 1994

Shane Warne
Shane Warne

Shane Warne is the fourth Australian on this list. He is an obvious inclusion in any list compiled about the highest wicket-takers as he is one of the most prolific wicket-takers of all time. Warne took 120 wickets in 1994 across all formats from 39 matches at an average of 19.32.

He is widely regarded as the best leg spinner the game of cricket has ever seen. He occupies the third spot on this elite list.

#1 and #2 Muttiah Muralitharan (136 & 128 wickets) - 2001, 2006

The ultimate wicket-taker - Muttiah Muralitharan
The ultimate wicket-taker - Muttiah Muralitharan

Spin Wizard Muttiah Muralitharan holds both the first and second positions in this list which justify his standing as the most prolific wicket-taking bowler the game of cricket has ever seen. He is the biggest match winner to emerge from Sri Lanka and has single-handedly won them numerous contests across all formats of the game.

Muralitharan took 128 wickets in 2006 across all formats from 40 matches at an average of 20.99 including 9 five-wicket hauls which is the second highest wicket tally in a calendar year.

He took 136 wickets in 2001 across all formats from 45 matches at an average of 19.98 including 8 five-wicket hauls.

He finished his career as the leading wicket-taker in the world across all formats of the game. He has taken a whopping 1347 international wickets from 495 matches including 77 five-wicket hauls.

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Edited by Kumud Ranjan