There were several notable bowling performances in 2022, and both pacers as well as spinners rocked the wickets tally with splendid consistent shows. South African speedster Kagiso Rabada, Australian spinner Nathan Lyon, and England tweaker Jack Leach were the only bowlers who picked up more than 40 wickets last year.
Rabada and Lyon had an equal number of wickets (47), but the Proteas accomplished the feat in just nine matches, while the Aussie took 11 games to go there. When it comes to bagging 10 wickets in a match, Leach and Sri Lankan spinner Prabath Jayasuriya were the only bowlers to achieve the landmark.
Veteran England pacer James Anderson, the third highest wicket-taker in the history of Test cricket, also had a memorable 2022 as he picked up 36 wickets from nine matches.
Top 10 highest wicket-takers in Tests in 2022:
- Kagiso Rabada (South Africa)
Matches: 9, Wickets: 47, Best: 8/89, Average: 22.25, Economy rate: 3.90 - Nathan Lyon (Australia)
Matches: 11, Wickets: 47, Best: 9/121, Average: 29.06, Economy rate: 2.72 - Jack Leach (England)
Matches: 14, Wickets: 46, Best: 10/166, Average: 38.28, Economy rate: 2.89 - Stuart Broad (England)
Matches: 9, Wickets: 40, Best: 7/86, Average: 25.75, Economy rate: 3.24 - Marco Jansen (South Africa)
Matches: 8, Wickets: 36, Best: 7/91, Average: 19.02, Economy rate: 3.18 - James Anderson (England)
Matches: 9, Wickets: 36, Best: 6/62, Average: 19.80, Economy rate: 2.42 - Pat Cummins (Australia)
Matches: 10, Wickets: 36, Best: 8/79, Average: 21.83, Economy rate: 2.65 - Mitchell Starc (Australia)
Matches: 11, Wickets: 35, Best: 5/67, Average: 28.11, Economy rate: 3.06 - Mehidy Hasan (Bangladesh)
Matches: 8, Wickets: 31, Best: 6/124, Average: 33.22, Economy rate: 2.99 - Prabath Jayasuriya (Sri Lanka)
Matches: 3, Wickets: 29, Best: 12/177, Average: 20.37, Economy rate: 2.73
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