Best Australian Fast Bowlers of All Time – Top 10 Players

Australia is known for its deadly animals and is one of the most successful and dominating cricket teams. With a range of pacers, Australia has produced some of the fastest bowlers over the years. From Jason Gillespie to Mitchell Johnson, Australian bowlers give tough time to batters on the ground.

Let’s look at the best Australian fast bowlers of all time.

Sl. No.	Player	Country	Span	Total Matches	Total Innings	Total Wickets
1	Glenn McGrath	Australia	1993-2007	376	493	949
2	Dennis Lillee	Australia	1971-1984	133	195	458
3	Brett Lee	Australia	1999-2012	322	392	718
4	Jeff Thomson	Australia	1972-1985	101	140	255
5	Charlie Turner	Australia	1887-1895	17	30	101
6	Mitchell Johnson	Australia	1996-2012	256	320	590
7	Craig McDermott	Australia	1984-1996	209	262	494
8	Mitchell Starc	Australia	2010-Present	245	315	598
9	Jason Gillespie	Australia	1996-2005	169	234	402
10	Ray Lindwall	Australia	1946-1960	61	113	228

1. Glenn McGrath

Average Bowling Speed – 138 Km/h

Fastest Ball – 148 Km/h

One of the fastest and most successful bowlers in Australia is Glenn McGrath. He was known for his swing and seam position because of his wrist. McGrath was ranked 2nd in the highest wicket-taker by a fast bowler in international cricket.

	Matches	Innings	Balls	runs	Wickets	Economy	Average	SR	5W	10W
Test	124	243	29248	12186	563	2.5	21.64	51.95	29	3
ODI	250	248	12970	8391	381	3.88	22.02	34.04	7	0
T20I	2	2	48	79	5	9.88	15.8	9.6	0	0
IPL	14	14	324	357	12	6.61	29.75	27.0	0	0

2. Dennis Lillee

Average Bowling Speed – 140 Km/h

Fastest Ball – 154.8 Km/h

Lillee was not a swing bowler like McGrath. But his long run-up and pace made him one of the most dangerous bowlers. Lillee and Jeff Thomson were considered the deadliest combination of that time. They were like a nightmare to the batsmen.

	Matches	Innings	Balls	Runs	Wickets	Economy	Average	SR	5W	10W
Test	70	132	17017	8493	355	2.99	23.92	47.94	23	7
ODI	63	63	3577	2145	103	3.6	20.83	34.73	1	0

3. Brett Lee

Average Bowling Speed – 148 Km/h

Fastest Ball – 161.1 Km/h

Brett is another fast and deadly bowler that Australia has produced. He was one of the quickest bowlers of the world in his time. He used to bowl at 150kmph+ consistently. He also has a world cup hat trick. Brett Lee also has a record of bowling the second-fastest ball in the world. He bowled at a speed of 161.1kmph.

	Matches	Innings	Balls	Runs	Wickets	Economy	Average	SR	5W	10W
Test	76	150	16531	9554	310	3.47	30.82	53.33	10	0
ODI	221	217	11185	8877	380	4.76	23.36	29.43	9	0
T20I	25	25	545	714	28	7.86	25.5	19.46	0	0
IPL	38	38	875	1095	25	7.51	43.8	35.0	0	0

4. Jeff Thomson

Average Bowling Speed – 148 Km/h

Fastest Ball – 160.6Km/h

Known as Thomo, Initially, Jeff didn’t have a good start to his career as he finished with 0/110. But as days passed, he became one of the most dangerous bowlers. He along with Dennis Lillee was considered to be one of the deadliest duos of that time.

	Matches	Innings	Balls	Runs	Wickets	Econ	Average	SR	5W	10W
Test	51	90	9545	5601	200	3.52	28.0	47.73	8	0
ODI	50	50	2682	1942	55	4.34	35.31	48.76	0	0

5. Charlie Turner

Charlie Turner was one of the greatest test bowlers that Australia has ever produced. He had a record of taking 101 wickets in just 17 test matches. He was so good with the ball that he was successful even on the batting wicket. He was given a nickname – ‘Terror Turner’. Turner is also the first bowler to take 100 wickets in international cricket.

Bowling Career Summary

	Matches	Innings	Balls	Runs	Wickets	Econ	Average	SR	5W	10W
Test	17	30	6320	1670	101	1.59	16.53	62.57	11	2

6. Mitchell Johnson

Average Bowling Speed – 140 Km/h

Fastest Ball – 156.8 Km/h

Mitchell Johnson was one of the most dangerous bowlers in Australia. Batsmen feared him, especially in test matches. He was very aggressive in terms of his bowling. Johnson became the fastest bowler to pick 150 wickets in terms of time. He was the lead bowler of the Ashes series.

	Matches	Innings	Balls	Runs	Wickets	Economy	Average	SR	5W	10W
Test	73	140	16001	8891	313	3.33	28.41	51.12	12	3
ODI	153	150	7489	6037	239	4.84	25.26	31.33	3	0
T20I	30	30	656	797	38	7.29	20.97	17.26	0	0
IPL	54	54	1232	1702	61	8.29	27.9	20.2	0	0

7. Craig McDermott

Average Bowling Speed – 140 Km/h

Fastest Ball – 150 Km/h

Craig McDermott was amongst the fastest bowlers in the world. Craig became an important player on the Australian team soon after he made his debut. He was known as the pace battery as he used to ball at high speed consistently. He retired at the age of just 30 years due to several injuries but had a great career.

	Matches	Innings	Balls	Runs	Wickets	Economy	Average	SR	5W	10W
Test	71	124	16586	8332	291	3.01	28.63	57.0	14	2
ODI	138	138	7461	5018	203	4.04	24.72	36.75	1	0

8. Mitchell Starc

Average Bowling Speed – 144 Km/h

Fastest Ball – 160.4 Km/h

Mitchell Starc also known as Starcy is the most lethal fast bowler currently. He has pace, swing bounce, and everything that a fast bowler should have. He is known for his toe-crushing yorker. He also bats at the lower order and has 1000+ test runs. His major highlight is when he was named the player of the tournament in the 2015 ICC World Cup hosted by England.

	Matches	Innings	Balls	Runs	Wickets	Economy	Average	SR	5W	10W
Test	77	147	15307	8422	306	3.3	27.52	50.02	13	2
ODI	110	110	5676	4840	219	5.12	22.1	25.92	9	0
T20I	58	58	1314	1673	73	7.64	22.92	18.0	0	0
IPL	27	26	580	693	34	7.17	20.38	17.06	0	0

9. Jason Gillespie

Average Bowling Speed – 138 Km/h

Fastest Ball – 150Km/h

 The most underrated player in Australia is none other than Jason Gillespie. He played in a team that had legends like Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, and Brett Lee but still managed to make his identity and became a regular bowler of the side. He was also a good batsman; he has a double century to his name which came against Bangladesh. Gillespie has 400+ international wickets despite having injuries.

	Matches	Innings	Balls	Runs	Wickets	Economy	Average	SR	5W	10W
Test	71	137	14234	6770	259	2.85	26.14	54.96	8	0
ODI	97	96	5144	3611	142	4.21	25.43	36.23	3	0
T20I	1	1	24	49	1	12.25	49.0	24.0	0	0

10. Ray Lindwall

He was one of the great pacers in the 1950s. Lindwall was known for his raw pace and swing. He was a former rugby player. He had an exceptional Ashes series in 1953 as he picked 26 wickets at an average of 18.84. He also has 2 centuries against his name.

	Matches	Innings	Balls	Runs	Wickets	Eco	Average	SR	5W	10W
Test	61	113	11828	5251	228	2.66	23.03	51.88	12	0