It is well known that if one bowler bowls an outstanding spell in a test match, more often than not his team ends up winning the match. These spells by bowlers are etched in history and people remember them for long periods of time .
There have been a few bowlers who have bowled spells such that they are in the record books and forever etched in history. Let’s look at the 5 best bowling figures in a test match.
1. Jim Laker (19 Wickets):
This spell of bowling is probably the greatest bowling of all time and is most likely going to be the greatest ever as it will take 20 Wickets in a match to beat this incredible feat. Jim Laker, that match destroyed the Aussies single handedly and won England the match suite comfortably and his name will be written in golden letters forever in the history of test cricket.
2. Sydney Barnes (17 Wickets):
Sydney Barnes , during this test match bowled a spell of bowling that was the greatest for more than 40 years at that time. He completely bamboozled the then South Africa team picking up 17 Wickets in the match and on his own making England win that match by an innings and 12 runs. He will forever be remembered for this bowling figures that he achieved during this match.
3. Narendra Hirwani (16 Wickets):
This legendary Indian bowler holds the record for the best bowling figures for an Indian in a test match ever. He picked 16 Wickets in just over 33 overs against the great West Indies team of the 1980s,so the scale of the achievement grows exponentially. And he helped India beat West Indies by 255 runs in that match and he etched his name in the annals of Indian cricket history forever.
4. Bob Massie (16 Wickets):
He bowled this legendary spell of 16 Wickets in a match during an Ashes test match against England so it would mean more to him. He single handedly decimated the English team in that match and took 16 Wickets by himself. This has taken him to the history books of test cricket and his name would never be forgotten by Aussie fans. And Australia won that match by 8 wickets so he helped the team to win.
5. Muttiah Muralitharan (16 Wickets):
If there is a bowling record in test cricket, it’s safe to assume Muttiah Muralitharan will be a part of it and this record is no different. He picked 16 Wickets in this match against a very strong England team and won Sri Lanka the match by a whopping 10 Wickets. The English batters had no answer to his guile, spin and skills in that match. He is a bona fide legend of test match cricket and this is one more instance where he has written his name in the history books.
