Dale Steyn And...? 3 Players With Most Days As Number 1 In ICC Test Bowler Rankings

Probuddha Bhattacharjee

Dale Steyn playing Test Cricket [Source: @bet365/x.com]Dale Steyn playing Test Cricket [Source: @bet365/x.com]

The Indian pace superstar, Jasprit Bumrah has recently reached the top spot in the ICC Test bowler rankings. This was a reward for his heroic efforts in the first Test of the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 at the Perth Stadium. 

Just when the Indian speedster is ruling the ICC Test bowler rankings we take a look at the players who have held this position for the longest in the history of the Test cricket. 

3. Muttiah Muralitharan

Muttiah Muralitharan [Source: @Makashule/x.com]Muttiah Muralitharan [Source: @Makashule/x.com]

The Sri Lankan legend has the most number of wickets in Test cricket. Muttiah Muralitharan is the only man in the plant to pick up 800 Test wickets. The off-spinner has played 133 matches for his nation to pick up those wickets at an average of 22.72 while having a strike rate of 55.0. 

One of (if not) the greatest spinners off all time once held the number one spot in ICC Test bowler rankings for 1,711 days. This puts him in the third position of this list.

2. Sir Curtly Ambrose

Sir Curtly Ambrose playing Test Cricket [Source: @PBTheBanglaBoy/x.com]Sir Curtly Ambrose playing Test Cricket [Source: @PBTheBanglaBoy/x.com]

West Indies is known to produce some of the legendary pacers in the history of the game. Among these great names one was Sir Curtly Ambrose. Known for his great line and length, Ambrose was an asset for the Carribean team during the mid and late 90s of the last century. Ambrose had played 98 Test matches for West Indies and has picked up 405 wickets in the at an average of 20.99 with a strike rate of 54.50.

Sir Ambrose held the rank 1 in the ICC Test bowler rankings for 1,719 days and that is the second most in the long history of the game. 

1. Dale Steyn

One of the greatest ever pacers in the history of South African cricket was Dale Steyn. Pace, swing, accuracy and aggression, Steyn in action at his peak was a sight to behold. The ace pacer played 93 Tests for his nation and picked up 439 Wicket in them at an average of 22.95, while having a strike rate of 42.30.

When Steyn was going at his full throttle, there were little chances for others to dethrone him from the number one spot in the ICC Bowlers Rankings. This is evident from the fact that he ruled the ranking for 2, 343 days continuously, which is more than six years. This is the record for a bowler staying at the spot the longest ever.