Most Test Wickets in Cricket History

Muttiah Muralitharan holds the record for the most Test wickets, with 800. No other bowler has passed 710, and Muralitharan’s total sits nearly 100 clear of the next name on the list, making it one of the most secure records in cricket.

Test wickets reward both skill and endurance, and the all-time list mixes the great spinners with the fast bowlers who kept going for well over a decade. Here is the full top-10 leaderboard, the careers behind it, and the active bowler still climbing. Figures are as of the 2025 season.

The most Test wickets: all-time leaderboard

The table ranks the ten leading wicket-takers in Test history. Active players are noted.

Rank	Wickets	Player	Country	Type
1	800	Muttiah Muralitharan	Sri Lanka	Off-spin
2	708	Shane Warne	Australia	Leg-spin
3	704	James Anderson	England	Fast
4	619	Anil Kumble	India	Leg-spin
5	604	Stuart Broad	England	Fast
6	563	Glenn McGrath	Australia	Fast
7	530+	Nathan Lyon*	Australia	Off-spin
8	519	Courtney Walsh	West Indies	Fast
9	439	Dale Steyn	South Africa	Fast
10	434	Kapil Dev	India	Fast

*Nathan Lyon is active; his total keeps rising with every Test he plays and had passed 530 wickets, placing him inside the all-time top ten.

Muralitharan and Warne, the two great spinners of their era, sit one and two, with James Anderson’s 704 the standout mark among fast bowlers.

The record holder: Muttiah Muralitharan

Muralitharan took his 800th Test wicket in his final match, against India in July 2010, a storybook finish to a career that redefined off-spin. His unusual bowling action drew scrutiny but also produced turn and bounce that no batting line-up solved for long. He averaged close to six wickets per Test, the best rate among the all-time leaders, which is how he reached 800 in fewer matches than several bowlers below him.

The gap to the rest is the headline. Shane Warne, one of the greatest bowlers to play the game, finished 92 wickets behind. Reaching 800 would require a modern bowler to stay at the top for the better part of two decades.

Warne, Anderson and the fast-bowling greats

Behind Muralitharan sits a cluster of legends. Shane Warne’s 708 leg-breaks and James Anderson’s 704 seamers are separated by just four wickets, spinner against swing bowler. Anderson’s total is the more astonishing for a fast bowler, built on remarkable fitness that carried him past 40 years old before he retired in 2024.

Stuart Broad (604) and Glenn McGrath (563) reinforce how much England and Australia’s seam attacks dominated the modern game. Anil Kumble breaks up the fast bowlers at fourth with 619, India’s greatest wicket-taker and one of the few to claim all ten wickets in a Test innings.

Nathan Lyon and the active chase

Nathan Lyon is the active bowler best placed on the list, Australia’s most successful off-spinner with more than 530 Test wickets and still adding to the tally. He has moved comfortably inside the all-time top ten and could climb further past retired names above him if he keeps playing.

Muralitharan’s 800, though, is a different order of achievement. Lyon would need many more years at his current rate to approach it, and no other active bowler is close enough to make the argument. As with every current player, his total is a moving figure that changes each series.

How the record has held up

The volume of Test cricket has grown, giving modern bowlers more matches, yet 800 has stood since 2010 and looks safe for now. The record rewards a rare combination: a bowler good enough to keep taking wickets and durable enough to play around 130 Tests. Only Muralitharan has cleared 710, and the chase is measured in whole careers rather than single seasons.

For the batters these bowlers tried to dismiss, see our leaderboards for most Test runs and most Test centuries, where India’s Sachin Tendulkar tops both lists. Muralitharan’s 800 remains cricket’s benchmark for wicket-taking, unmatched for 15 years and counting.