Clubhouse

World Cup History: Best Bowling

Fresh Videos

By

West Indies India Cricket World Cup bowling out

Photo courtesy of ICC Cricket World Cup Facebook

Glenn McGrath, who is known quite well in India for his play with IPL’s Delhi Daredevils, sits atop the rankings for best bowling average in World Cup history.  With 71 wickets in 39 matches, McGrath’s dominance is second to none, with a best figure of 7-for-15.

His average – in both ODIs and Tests – are beyond comprehensible, at 7-15 and 8-24. Although his 7-15 re-wrote the history books in 2003, many fans will remember McGrath’s 26 wickets at the 2007 World Cup.

Take a look at McGrath’s bowling performance analysis.

Matches Balls Runs Wickets Best Avg Eco S/R 5s 10s
ODI 250 12,970 8,391 381 7-15 22.02 3.9 34.04 7 3
Tests 124 29,248 12,186 563 8-24 21.64 2.5 51.95 56 3
Twenty20 2 48 79 5 3-8 15.8 9.88 9.6 - -

Here is the list of top bowling averages in World Cup history:

Players Country Avg Wickets Matches Balls Best
GD McGrath Australia 18.2 71 39 1955 7-15
Imran Khan Pakistan 19.26 34 28 1017 4-26
M Muralitharan Sri Lanka 19.63 68 40 2061 4-14
Z Khan India 20.23 44 23 1193 4-17
WPUJC Vaas Sri Lanka 21.22 49 31 1570 6-22
AME Roberts West Indies 21.23 26 16 1021 3-15
JDP Oram New Zealand 21.33 36 23 1094 4-39
A Kumble India 22.84 31 18 1039 4-12
Wasim Akram Pakistan 23.84 55 38 1947 5-15
AA Donald South Africa 24.03 38 25 1313 4-14
IT Botham England 25.4 30 22 1332 4-29
PAJ DeFreitas England 25.59 29 22 1127 3-15
CZ Harris New Zealand 26.91 32 28 1166 4-7
J Srinath India 27.82 44 34 1700 4-23
SR Waugh Australia 30.15 27 33 1039 3-16
SM Pollock South Africa 31.29 31 31 1614 5-20
Kapil Dev India 31.86 28 26 1422 5-28
GR Larsen New Zealand 33.28 18 19 1020 3-16
TM Odoyo Kenya 35.89 28 29 1215 4-25
HH Streak Zimbabwe 36.55 22 22 1050 3-15

Rohit Ghosh is a Senior Writer for www.Rantsports.com. Follow him on Twitter @RohitGhosh. “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.

Share Tweet
Trending Now on