Former Sri Lanka spinner Muthiah Muralidaran has claimed the most wickets in international cricket.

Having made his international debut against Australia in a Test match in 1992, Muralidaran ended his career as the all-time highest wicket-taker in international cricket with 1347 scalps in 495 matches at an average of 22.86. He recorded 77 five-wicket hauls and 22 10-wicket hauls in his international career.

Considered to be one of the greatest bowlers to have played the sport, Muralidaran bagged 800 Test wickets in 133 matches at an average of 22.72 - the most by any bowler in the longest format of the game.

Muralidaran also holds the record for picking the most wickets in the ODI format, bagging 534 wickets in 350 matches at an impressive average of 23.08 and an economy of 3.93. 

The legendary off-spinner also played 12 T20Is, claiming 13 wickets at an economy of 6.31.

Muralitharan made his last international appearance in the 2011 World Cup final against India in Mumbai, which Sri Lanka lost by six wickets.

Australian legend Shane Warne features second on the list for most wickets in international cricket. During his international career, the leg-spinner picked 1001 wickets in 339 matches at an average of 25.51 including 38 five-wicket hauls and 10 10-wicket hauls.

Between 1992 and 2007, Warne bagged 708 Test wickets in 145 matches and 293 ODI wickets in 194 matches. 

England pacer James Anderson is third on the list for most wickets in international cricket. Anderson has bagged 975 wickets in 394 matches at an average of 27.12 with 34 five-wicket hauls and three 10-wicket hauls.

Former India spinner Anil Kumble and ex-Australia fast bowler Glenn McGrath complete the top five list for most wickets in international cricket.

While Kumble picked 956 wickets in 403 matches, McGrath picked up 949 wickets in 376 matches. Currently, Anderson has the most wickets in international cricket among active players.

Most wickets in international cricket

Player	Span	Matches	Wickets	AverageÂ	Economy	5w	10w
Muthiah Muralidaran	1992-2011	495	1347	22.86	2.92	77	22
Shane Warne	1992-2007	339	1001	25.51	2.98	38	10
James Anderson	2002-2023	394	975	27.12	3.25	34	3
Anil Kumble	1990-2008	403	956	30.09	3.11	37	8
Glenn McGrath	1993-2007	376	949	21.76	2.93	36	3
Wasim Akram	1984-2003	460	916	23.57	3.17	31	5
Stuart Broad	2006-2022	342	841	27.76	3.45	21	3
Shaun PollockÂ	1995-2008	423	829	23.73	2.92	21	1
Waqar Younis	1989-2003	349	789	23.70	3.88	35	5
Chaminda Vaas	1994-2009	439	761	28.44	3.30	16	2

Featured photo: SANKA VIDANAGAMA / AFP

Reverse swing in cricket is said to have originated in Pakistan and invented by former First-Class cricketer Salim Mir, who mastered the art while playing for Punjab Cricket Club in Lahore.   

Mir later shared the skills with his former teammate Sarfraz Nawaz, who brought the craft of reverse swing to the international stage during the late 1970s.

Over the years, several Pakistan pacers including 1992 World Cup-winning captain Imran Khan, Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis used reverse swing to their advantage to torment opposition batters. 

Apart from the Pakistan fast bowlers, pacers from other cricketing nations, the likes of Dale Steyn, Andrew Flintoff, James Anderson, Zaheer Khan, Mohammed Shami, Brett Lee, Jasprit Bumrah and Neil Wagner have acquired the expertise of reverse swing to deceive the batters.

But what is reverse swing in cricket? Here’s a closer look at the art of reverse swing, which has left plenty of batters bewildered due to the ball’s movement over the years.

What is reverse swing in cricket?

Reverse swing in cricket refers to a phenomenon when a fast bowler gets to swing the ball in an opposite direction as compared to his conventional or expected swing.

The occurrence of reverse swing only takes place when the ball is very old (at least 35-40 overs old) and has lost its shine on one side. In order to reverse swing, the players have to make sure that the one side of the ball is shiny, while the other side is rough.

If a bowler manages to master the craft of reverse swing, a natural outswinger becomes an inswinger, while an inswinger becomes an outswinger. The old ball will swing in the opposite direction towards where the shiny side is.

How to reverse swing a cricket ball?

Reverse swing is an art in cricket. It requires proper team effort to achieve the results. 

Before COVID-19 pandemic, cricketers were allowed to use saliva to shine the ball. They used to spit on the ball and later rub the ball on their thighs to keep one side of the ball shiny in order to help the bowlers get some reverse swing.

However, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has imposed a permanent ban on use of saliva as a preventive measure against the spread of Coronavirus. This measure has certainly affected bowlers in achieving the desired result of reverse swing.

In order to achieve this phenomenon, the seam of the ball also needs to be presented in a certain way. The bowler needs to hold the ball with the seam pointing towards the slips, and also released with a slightly angled seam.

Additionally, in case of a dry pitch and rough outfield, there are more chances of reverse swing.

In a few previous instances, cricketers have been involved in ball tampering in order to achieve reverse swing and affect the outcome of the game. Once found guilty, these cricketers have been punished by the cricket’s world governing body.

England cricketer James Anderson owns the record for the most wickets in international cricket among pacers.

Since making his international debut against arch-rivals Australia in a One-Day International (ODI) match at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in 2002, James Anderson has bagged 954 wickets in 388 matches at an average of 27.15. He has registered 34 five-wicket hauls and three 10-wicket hauls in his international cricket career so far.

Considered to be one of the greatest swing bowlers in cricket’s history, Anderson is currently the leading active wicket-taker in Test cricket. The right-arm fast bowler has claimed 672 Test wickets in 176 matches at an average of 26.16 and an economy of 2.79. He has recorded 32 five-wicket hauls and three five-wicket hauls since donning the England jersey for the first time in the longest format against Zimbabwe at Lord’s in 2003.

The legendary pacer has also played 19 T20Is, scalping 18 wickets at an average of 23.44 and an economy of 7.85.

Anderson has surpassed the previous record held by Australia fast bowler Glenn McGrath. 

Between 1993 and 2007, Glenn McGrath picked 949 international wickets in 376 matches at an average of 21.76 and an economy of 2.93.

McGrath made his international debut against trans-Tasman rival New Zealand in a Test match in Perth in 1993. He ended his legendary Test career as the fifth-highest wicket-taker with 563 scalps in 124 matches at an average of 21.64. McGrath registered 29 five-wicket hauls and three 10-wicket hauls in his Test career.

The Australian speedster also featured in 250 ODIs, scalping 381 wickets at an average of 22.02 and an economy of 3.88. He also bagged five T20I wickets in two matches he played for the Men in Yellow.

Meanwhile, former Pakistan cricketer Wasim Akram is third on the list for the most wickets in international cricket among pacers. 

Having made his international debut against New Zealand at Iqbal Stadium in 1984, Wasim claimed 916 wickets in 460 matches at an average of 23.57 including 31 five-wicket hauls and five 10-wicket hauls.

Akram finished as the second highest wicket-taker in the ODI format, having picked 502 wickets in 302 matches at an average of 23.53 and an economy of just 3.89. He recorded 17 four-wicket hauls and six-wicket hauls. In the longest format, the Pakistan fast bowler claimed 414 wickets in 104 matches at an average of 23.62. 

South Africa’s Shaun Pollock and Stuart Broad of England complete the top five list.

While Pollock has claimed 829 international wickets in 423 matches, Broad has already bagged 809 wickets in 336 matches.

Most wickets in international cricket among pacers

Player	Span	Matches	Wickets	AverageÂ	Economy	5w	10w
James Anderson	2002-2022*	388	954	27.15	3.27	34	3
Glenn McGrath	1993-2007	376	949	21.76	2.93	36	3
Wasim Akram	1984-2003	460	916	23.57	3.17	31	5
Shaun Pollock	1995-2008	423	829	23.73	2.92	21	1
Stuart Broad	2006-2022*	336	809	27.90	3.44	20	3

 

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Featured photo: Alamy

The record for most sixes in an innings in international cricket is currently 17 sixes.

England cricket team’s limited-overs captain Eoin Morgan achieved the feat in the 2019 ODI Cricket World Cup match against Afghanistan, and beat the previous record (16) that was jointly held by Rohit Sharma, AB de Villiers and Chris Gayle in One Day Internationals and Hazratullah Zazai in T20 Internationals.

Here we take a look at the batters who have hit the most sixes in an innings in cricket.

Most sixes in an innings in international cricket

Player	Sixes in innings	Team	Opponent	Year	Format
Eoin Morgan	17	England	Afghanistan	2019	ODI
Hazratullah Zazai	16	Afghanistan	Ireland	2019	T20I
AB de Villiers	16	South Africa	West Indies	2015	ODI
Chris Gayle	16	West Indies	Zimbabwe	2015	ODI
Rohit Sharma	16	India	Australia	2013	ODI

Most sixes in an innings in ODI

Eoin Morgan hit the most sixes in an innings during the 2019 Cricket World Cup against Afghanistan.

The England captain came out to bat when his side were 164/2 in 30 overs. Taking cue from Jonny Bairstow’s 99-ball 90, Morgan forged a 189-run stand with Joe Root. The left-hander broke the all-time record off a Gulbadin Naib delivery before getting dismissed in the very next delivery.

Player	Sixes in innings	Team	Opponent	Year
Eoin Morgan	17	England	Afghanistan	2019
Jaskaran Malhotra	16	USA	Papua New Guinea	2019
AB de Villiers	16	South Africa	West Indies	2015
Chris Gayle	16	West Indies	Zimbabwe	2015
Rohit Sharma	16	India	Australia	2013

Prior to Morgan, the record for most sixes in an innings in ODIs was shared by Rohit Sharma, Chris Gayle and AB de Villiers. Out of the three, India’s Rohit Sharma was the first to hit 16 sixes in an ODI innings with his effort coming against Australia in a 2013 ODI at Bengaluru.

The opener’s most productive over came in the 47th over bowled by Xavier Doherty, where he smashed three sixes in the over.

USA’s Jaskaran Malhotra also hit 16-sixes in an innings in a 2021 ODI fixture against Papua New Guinea.

Most sixes in an innings in Test

Wasim Akram hit the most sixes in an innings in Test cricket.

The legendary Pakistan all-rounder hit 12 sixes in his unbeaten knock of 257 against Zimbabwe. The knock was the only double century of his celebrated Test career.

Player	Sixes in innings	Team	Opponent	Year
Wasim Akram	12	Pakistan	Zimbabwe	1996
Brendon McCullum	11	New Zealand	Sri Lanka	2014
Brendon McCullum	11	New Zealand	Pakistan	2014
Matthew Hayden	11	Australia	Zimbabwe	2003
Nathan Astle	11	New Zealand	England	2002

Kiwi batter Nathan Astle held the previous record for most sixes in a Test innings, with his 11 sixes coming in a losing cause against England in 2002. His feat would be equalled by two other legendary batters in Matthew Hayden and Brendon McCullum. 

McCullum, for one, hit 11 sixes in a Test innings in consecutive Tests. He first hammered 11 maximums in the third Test against Pakistan and followed it up with 11 sixes in the first Test against Sri Lanka in 2014.

Most sixes in an innings in T20I

Afghanistan’s Hazratullah Zazai is the batter with the most sixes in an innings in T20Is.

The Afghanistan batter’s 16 sixes against Ireland helped his side post a match-winning total of 278/3 in the second game of the three-match T20I series in 2021.

Player	Sixes in innings	Team	Opponent	Year
Hazratullah Zazai	16	Afghanistan	Ireland	2019
George Munsey	14	Scotland	Netherlands	2019
Aaron Finch	14	Australia	England	2013
Richard Levi	13	South Africa	New Zealand	2012
Evin Lewis	12	West Indies	India	2017

Zazai’s exploits from 2021 meant he bettered the previous record jointly held by Aaron Finch and George Munsey, who hit 14 sixes. Finch’s knock came in 2013 while Munsey equalled the mark in 2019.

The Australian star slammed a 63-ball 156 against England, and his knock helped the team recover from the early dismissal of David Warner and the batting order that failed to keep up with the English bowling unit.

Richard Levi is third on this list with 13 maximums. The South African’s unbeaten 117 off 51 balls helped the Proteas chase down a target of 174 against New Zealand with four overs to spare back in 2012.

Most sixes in an innings in T20 cricket

Chris Gayle, who also holds the record for most sixes in T20 cricket history, is the batter with the most number of sixes in an innings in T20 cricket.

The ‘Universe Boss�slammed 18 sixes in the 2017 Bangladesh Premier League final between Rangpur Riders and Dhaka Dynamites. His 69-ball 146 helped the team set a match-winning total of 206/1 and would be declared the Player of the Match.

Player	Sixes in innings	Team	Opponent	Year
Chris Gayle	18	Rangpur Riders	Dhaka Dynamites	2017
Punit Bisht	17	Scotland	Netherlands	2021
Chris Gayle	17	Australia	England	2013
Dasun Shanaka	16	Sinhalese Sports Club	Saracens Sports Club	2017
Graham Napier	16	Essex	Sussex	2008

Gayle, with this performance, improved his own record, which he managed while playing for Bangalore against the now-defunct Pune in the 2013 Indian T20 League.

The Jamaican hard-hitter’s 17 sixes against Pune is still the existing record for most sixes in an innings in the Indian T20 League. The same innings also saw the West Indian put together the highest individual score in the competition and T20 cricket.

The Indian record for most sixes in an innings in T20 cricket is now in possession of Punit Bisht. The 35-year-old, representing Meghalaya, hit 17 sixes in the 2020-21 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Plate Group match against Mizoram. With this, Bisht broke the previous record that was held by Mumbai's Shreyas Iyer, who slammed 15 sixes in the 2018-19 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy game against Sikkim.

Author: William Paul

Featured photo: AFP / MIKE HEWITT

Former South Africa cricketer Shaun Pollock has bowled the most maiden overs in ODI cricket.

Having made his one-day international (ODI) debut against England in 1996, the right-arm pacer bowled 313 maiden overs in 303 ODIs. 

Interestingly, Pollock is the only cricketer to have bowled more than 300 maiden overs in ODI history.

Considered to be one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time, Pollock picked 393 wickets at an impressive economy of 3.68 and an average of 24.51.

The former Proteas captain played his last ODI match against West Indies in 2008 as he ended with five five-wicket hauls in his scintillating career.

Apart from Pollock, former Australia fast bowler Glenn McGrath and Sri Lanka left-arm pacer Chaminda Vaas have bowled the second most maiden overs in ODI cricket.

Both McGrath and Vaas registered 279 maidens in their respective ODI careers. While McGrath bagged 381 ODI wickets in 250 matches at an average of 22.02, Vaas claimed 400 wickets in 322 ODI matches at an economy of 4.18.

Former Pakistan left-arm speedster Wasim Akram features next on the list. Often regarded as one of the most lethal pacers of all time, Akram bowled 237 maidens in his ODI career, scalping 502 ODI wickets in 356 matches at an average of 23.52 and an economy of 3.89.

India 1983-World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev is also among the best, with 235 maiden overs in ODIs. In his 16-year-old ODI career, Dev scalped 253 wickets in 225 matches at an average of 27.45 and an economy of 3.72

Former Sri Lanka off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan bowled 198 maiden overs in ODI cricket while former West Indies fast bowler Curtly Ambrose registered 192 maiden overs in his ODI career.

New Zealand cricketer Richard Hadlee, West Indies fast bowler Courtney Walsh and New Zealand’s Ewen Chatfield complete the top 10 list.

While Richard Hadlee and Courtney Walsh bowled 185 maiden overs each, Ewen Chatfield registered 155 maidens in the ODI format.

Meanwhile, India’s Jhulan Goswami holds the record for the most maiden overs in women’s ODI cricket. Goswami has bowled 260 maidens in 199 matches.

The India women’s cricket team pacer broke the record held by former England cricketer Clare Taylor, who had bowled 205 maiden overs in her career. 

India’s Neetu David (189), Australia cricketer Cathryn Fitzpatrick (188) and Katherine Brunt of England are the other three players to have bowled more than 150 maiden overs in women’s ODI cricket.

Most maiden overs in ODI

Player	Country	Matches	Maidens
Shaun Pollock	South Africa	303	313
Glenn McGrath	Australia	250	279
Chaminda VaasÂ	Sri Lanka	322	279
Wasim Akram	Pakistan	356	237
Kapil Dev	India	225	235
Muttiah Muralitharan	Sri Lanka	350	198
Curtly Ambrose	West Indies	176	192
Richard Hadlee	New Zealand	115	185
Courtney Walsh	West Indies	176	185
Ewen Chatfield	New Zealand	114	155

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Featured photo: Saeed Khan / AFP

Legendary spinner Muthiah Muralitharan sits atop the list for most wickets in ODI having bagged 534 wickets in 350 ODI matches.

The spin wizard made his debut for Sri Lanka against India in 1993 and took the wicket of Pravin Amre in that game to play his part in an 8-run win for his team.

Since then, Muralitharan dismissed 275 different batters in his 18-year ODI career and has registered the most wickets taken via stumpings (56).

Muthiah Muralitharan claimed 500-plus ODI wickets in 15 years and 165 days to become the quickest bowler to reach the landmark. However, the first bowler to breach the 500 ODI wickets milestone was Pakistan’s Wasim Akram.

Nicknamed the Sultan of Swing, Akram is revered as one of cricket’s pace icons. The Pakistan great became the first to take 500 ODI wickets with the dismissal of Netherlands�Nick Statham in a 2003 Cricket World Cup match.

Wasim Akram would finish his limited-overs career with 502 scalps in 356 matches and sits second on the leaderboard for most wickets in ODIs.

Akram’s pace partner Waqar Younis is third on the list for most wickets in ODIs. The right-arm quick took 416 ODI wickets, while Sri Lanka’s Chaminda Vaas is fourth with 400 ODI wickets. 

The Sri Lankan pacer is considered one of the best new-ball bowlers to ever play in the 50-over format and is the only bowler to take eight wickets in an ODI innings (8/19 vs Zimbabwe, 2001).

Shahid Afridi rounds up our top five list for most ODI wickets. The flamboyant Pakistan all-rounder grabbed 395 wickets in 398 matches besides being a healthy contributor for his team with the bat as well.

Most wickets in ODI

Player	Career span	Matches	Wickets
Muthiah Muralitharan	1993-2011	350	534
Wasim Akram	1984-2003	356	502
Waqar Younis	1989-2003	262	416
Chaminda Vaas	1994-2008	322	400
Shahid Afridi	1996-2015	398	395

Author: William Paul

Featured photo: AFP / William West