
Anil Kumble of India tops the list of most LBW wickets in test cricket. In the 132 matches that he played, he took 619 wickets at an average of 29.65 out of which 156 wickets were LBW which is 25.2 % of the total wickets. He is followed by Muttiah Muralitharan of Sri Lanka. In the 133 matches that he played, he took 800 wickets at an average of 22.72 out of which 150 wickets were LBW which is 18.75 % of the total wickets. Australia’s legendary spinner Shane Warne is ranked third on the list. In the 145 matches that he played, he took 708 wickets at an average of 25.41 out of which 138 wickets were LBW which is 19.49 % of the total wickets.
There are only 10 players in the history of test cricket who took more than 100 wickets as LBW. These players are from countries like Sri Lanka, Australia, India & Pakistan.
There are 3 players each from India and Sri Lanka, most by any team. From India – Anil Kumble (156), Kapil Dev (111) & Ravichandran Ashwin (106). From Sri Lanka – Muttiah Muralitharan (150), Rangana Herath (108) & Chaminda Vaas (100). At the same time there are 2 players each from Australia & Pakistan. From Australia – Shane Warne (138) & Glenn McGrath (113). From Pakistan – Wasim Akram (119) & Waqar Younis (110)
S No. | Player | Team | Matches | Balls | Runs | Wickets | BBI | Average | 5W | LBW | % Wkts |
1 | Anil Kumble | India | 132 | 40850 | 18355 | 619 | 10/74 | 29.65 | 35 | 156 | 25.2 |
2 | Muttiah Muralidaran | Sri Lanka | 133 | 44039 | 18180 | 800 | 9/51 | 22.72 | 67 | 150 | 18.75 |
3 | Shane Warne | Australia | 145 | 40705 | 17995 | 708 | 8/71 | 25.41 | 37 | 138 | 19.49 |
4 | Wasim Akram | Pakistan | 104 | 22627 | 9779 | 414 | 7/119 | 23.62 | 25 | 119 | 28.74 |
5 | Glenn McGrath | Australia | 124 | 29248 | 12186 | 563 | 8/24 | 21.64 | 29 | 113 | 20.07 |
6 | Kapil Dev | India | 131 | 27740 | 12867 | 434 | 9/83 | 29.64 | 23 | 111 | 25.57 |
7 | Waqar Younis | Pakistan | 87 | 16224 | 8788 | 373 | 7/76 | 23.56 | 22 | 110 | 29.49 |
8 | Rangana Herath | Sri Lanka | 93 | 25993 | 12157 | 433 | 9/127 | 28.07 | 34 | 108 | 24.94 |
9 | Ravichandran Ashwin | India | 92 | 24573 | 11344 | 474 | 7/59 | 23.93 | 32 | 106 | 22.36 |
10 | Chaminda Vaas | Sri Lanka | 111 | 23438 | 10501 | 355 | 7/71 | 29.58 | 12 | 100 | 28.16 |
11 | Stuart Broad | England | 163 | 32856 | 16226 | 588 | 8/15 | 27.59 | 20 | 97 | 16.49 |
12 | James Anderson | England | 180 | 38521 | 17916 | 686 | 7/42 | 26.11 | 32 | 97 | 14.13 |
13 | Shaun Pollock | South Africa | 108 | 24353 | 9733 | 421 | 7/87 | 23.11 | 16 | 90 | 21.37 |
14 | Sir Richard Hadlee | New Zealand | 86 | 21918 | 9611 | 431 | 9/52 | 22.29 | 36 | 83 | 19.25 |
15 | Ian Botham | England | 102 | 21815 | 10878 | 383 | 8/34 | 28.4 | 27 | 81 | 21.14 |
16 | Imran Khan | Pakistan | 88 | 19458 | 8258 | 362 | 8/58 | 22.81 | 23 | 80 | 22.09 |
17 | Courtney Walsh | West Indies | 132 | 30019 | 12688 | 519 | 7/37 | 24.44 | 22 | 77 | 14.83 |
18 | Malcolm Marshall | West Indies | 81 | 17584 | 7876 | 376 | 7/22 | 20.94 | 22 | 76 | 20.21 |
19 | Daniel Vettori | New Zealand | 113 | 28814 | 12441 | 362 | 7/87 | 34.36 | 20 | 76 | 20.99 |
20 | Nathan Lyon | Australia | 121 | 31344 | 15344 | 495 | 8/50 | 30.99 | 23 | 73 | 14.74 |
21 | Graeme Swann | England | 60 | 15349 | 7642 | 255 | 6/65 | 29.96 | 17 | 70 | 27.45 |
22 | Harbhajan Singh | India | 103 | 28580 | 13537 | 417 | 8/84 | 32.46 | 25 | 68 | 16.3 |
23 | Matthew Hoggard | England | 67 | 13909 | 7564 | 248 | 7/61 | 30.5 | 7 | 65 | 26.2 |
24 | Dale Steyn | South Africa | 93 | 18608 | 10077 | 439 | 7/51 | 22.95 | 26 | 64 | 14.57 |
25 | Zaheer Khan | India | 92 | 18785 | 10247 | 311 | 7/87 | 32.94 | 11 | 63 | 20.25 |
26 | Dennis Lillee | Australia | 70 | 18467 | 8493 | 355 | 7/83 | 23.92 | 23 | 62 | 17.46 |
27 | Saeed Ajmal | Pakistan | 35 | 11592 | 5003 | 178 | 7/55 | 28.1 | 10 | 59 | 33.14 |
28 | Jason Gillespie | Australia | 71 | 14234 | 6770 | 259 | 7/37 | 26.13 | 8 | 59 | 22.77 |
29 | Terry Alderman | Australia | 41 | 10181 | 4616 | 170 | 6/47 | 27.15 | 14 | 58 | 34.11 |
30 | Joel Garner | West Indies | 58 | 13169 | 5433 | 259 | 6/56 | 20.97 | 7 | 57 | 22 |
FAQs
1. Which player holds the record for most LBW wickets in test cricket?
Anil Kumble of India holds the record for most LBW wickets in test cricket – 156.
2. Which pacer holds the record for most LBW wickets in test cricket?
Wasim Akram of Pakistan holds the record for most LBW wickets in test cricket as a pacer -119.
3. Which bowler has the best bowling average from the list?
Malcolm Marshall of the West Indies has the best bowling average from the list – 20.94.
4. Which English bowler has taken the most wickets as LBW?
Stuart Broad of England holds the record for most LBW wickets by an English bowler – 97.
5. Which South African bowler has taken the most wickets as LBW?
Shaun Pollock of South Africa has taken the most wickets as LBW by a South African bowler – 90.