Top 10 bowlers with most wickets in fourth innings of a test match

Top 10 bowlers with most wickets in fourth innings of a test match: Cricket is best played in the longest format, that is the five-day matches, test cricket. It is not a uni-polar world with just all the batsmen around, it includes some very talented bowlers and utility all-rounders too. Batsmen make all the records with the help of the bowlers. It is about gaining supremacy. Bowling is very much crucial for the game, because ultimately its 20 wickets that win test matches. So to give little if not much importance and credit to the bowlers here we bring around the Top 10 bowlers with most wickets in the fourth innings of a test match. When bowling in a test match, it is important to keep your fitness levels and stamina at the top so that you don’t wilt over the long five days. The bowlers have to put the hard hour into the game bowling under the hot sun for most part of the day. Bowling in the fourth innings of a test match is the most strenuous of exercises for every bowler. As they would have already bowled their hearts out in the previous innings and have a task at hand after 3 or 4 days of the test match. Cricket Tracker presents before you the top 10 list of the bowlers who have taken the most number of wickets in the fourth innings of a test match. 10.Lance Kluesner (South Africa) – 8/64 South African all-rounder, Lance Klusner stands at 10th spot in the list with best figure of 8/64. (Photo Source: AFP) The most unlikely of bowlers in this list would be Lance Kluesner. He was always known as a utility player someone who could do well equally with the bat and the ball. Kluesner is an ideal player any captain would love to have in his side. He was so confident of his ability, that he would take risks which could cost them the match. Lance would back himself to hit a last ball six, that is the level of self belief he possessed. Kluesner started off as a fast bowler and then eventually came up as a pinch hitter. The South African all-rounder bowled his heart out against India at Kolkata in 1996 that gave him his best bowling figures of 8/64. This performance against India makes him 10th in the list. 9.Muttiah Muralitharan (Srilanka) – 8/46 Sri Lankan legendary spinner, Muttiah Muralitharan stands at 9th position here in the list with best figures of 8/46. (Photo Source: AFP) Muttiah Muralitharan – the man who had the eye of a dragon. He could seduce the top batsmen in the world with his delightful eyes. He can also be termed as the smiling assassin, he wore a smile on his face almost all the time. Muril is 9th in the list with a superlative performance against the mighty West Indies at the Kandy in 2005 where he returned with the figures of 8/46. Probably there are just two spinners who has mastered both the formats – one was Warne and the other Murali. Controversies always kept travelling with him, with being accused of throwing the ball. But he never lost the charm in his eyes. He came back again all the time much sharper, stronger than before. 8.Curtly Ambrose (West Indies) – 8/45 Sir Curtly Ambrose stands at 8th position in the list with best figure of 8/45. (Photo Source: ESPNcricinfo Ltd ) Curtly Ambrose, the tall and deadly fast bowler from West Indies is on the 8th position. Many haven’t seen a more lethal pace bowler than him. He was deadly accurate with his Yorkers and reasonably quick too. Ambrose was always a man of few words, refused to sledge but batsmen would know he didn’t need those words to get his scalps. Curtly Ambrose took 8/45 against England in Bridgetown in 1990 granting his team the win. This performance in the fourth innings earned his place in this list. 7.Bob Willis (England) – 8/43 Bob Willis stands at 7th position in the list with best figures of 8/43. (Photo Source: Getty Images) Bob Willis was perhaps, an unlucky bowlers who played the game with lot of pain. Bob Willis is 7th on the list with best figures of 8/43 that came in his retirement match and gave England victory over the Aussies. It was sheer will power and determination that allowed him to play 90 tests and pick over 320+ wickets. Not even Fred Truman could intimidate the batsmen like Willis, shows how deadly he was. 6.Albert Trott (England) – 8/43 Albert Trott stands at 6th position in this list with best figures of 8/43. (Photo Source: Getty Images) Albert Trott who played test cricket for both England and Australia is no.6 among the top 10 bowlers with most wickets in the fourth innings. It was while playing for Australia at the Adelaide against England in 1895 that he came up with scintillating figures of 8/43. Trott had a strange career, he took 2 hat-tricks in same innings, then went on to be named as Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1899 and finally committed suicide at the age of 41. Furthermore, he was penny less at the time of his demise. 5.Glenn Mcgrath (Australia) – 8/24 Australian legendary bowler stands at 5h position here in the list with best figure of 8/24. (Photo Source: AFP) Next on in the feature is one of the most disciplined bowlers Glenn McGrath. He took 8/24 vs Pakistan in the winter of 2004 that nailed his name in this list. Glenn McGrath was neither express pace nor a master of swing but he bowled an immaculate line and length throughout his career. There has been only one bowler whom Sachin Tendulkar has been bullied by, and that’s probably McGrath. The usual story with McGrath is you could hit him for a boundary in one ball and in the next ball he would get you out. Bowling coaches talk about doing the basics right as a key ingredient to be a successful fast bowler, and there is one of the few who have done it throughout his career. 4.George Lohmann (England) – 8/7 George Lohmann stands at 4th position here in the list with best figure of 8/7. (Photo Source: PA Photos) George Lohmann is at number 4. He is rated as one of the best test bowlers in world cricket. In 1886 he made his debut at the age of 21 but failed to deliver in the first 2 tests. But in the Oval Test he just rocked the batting order, both in the second and fourth innings also scripting his best figures by taking 8 wickets for merely 7 runs. Lohmann, overall had a brief career because of his fight with tuberculosis in 1892. Even though he was not quick he knew the art of swinging and seaming the ball. Lohmann was named Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1889. 3.Hugh Tayfield (South Africa) – 9/113 Hugh Tayfield stands at 3rd position here in the list with best figure of 9/113. (Photo Source: Getty Images) Hugh Tayfield is 3rd on the list for being the bowler with most wickets in the fourth innings of a test match. Tayfield is often regarded as one of the best spinners to have played for South Africa. He was not highly regarded as a big turner of the ball, but he was deadly accurate and had full control over his deliveries. Tayfield preferred to bowl over the wicket, creating angles to buckle up the batsmen. He came up with his best figures of 9/113 in the fourth innings at Johannesburg bowling 35 overs without a change. 2.Sarfraz Nawaz (Pakistan) – 9/86 Former Pakistani Bowler Sarfraz Nawaz stands at 2nd position in the list here with best figure of 9/86. (Photo Source: Getty Images) Sarfraz Nawaz is the second best ranked bowler in the list of top 10 bowlers with most wickets in the fourth innings. He is known to be one of the early exponents of reverse swing who played for Pakistan. In 1979 series of Australia he took 9/86 against Australia to grant Pakistan a surprise victory over the 4 time world champs. Nawaz’s looks deceived quite a lot, with him looking nothing more than a medium pacer. But he had a really strong body and a good action that allowed him to bowl with pace. In the flat tracks of Pakistan he could make the ball swing, seam and bounce rather awkwardly causing troubles to most of the opposition batsmen. 1.Anil Kumble (India) – 10/74 Indian legendary spinner Anil Kumble tops the list here with the best figure of 10/74. (Photo Source: AFP) Anil Kumble can easily be rated as one of the best bowlers to have played cricket for India across all formats of the game. He started off his career as a medium pace bowler, who later on switched to leg spinner. Despite not being a convention leggie, he is known to cause problems to world’s most feared batsmen. Kumble emulated Jim Laker’s record finishing with perfect figure of 10-74 from 26.3 overs as India routed Pakistan by 212 runs. He was never a big turner of the ball, but extracted bounce from the wicket with his height and supporting high arm action. Kumble knew his weaknesses more than the opponents and that served him the best, never going out of bonds to try something experimental. He for the most part of his career kept things simply and simply picked wickets, one of his biggest assets could also be the pace at which he bowled his leg spin. Anil Kumble is number 1 ranked bowler in our top 10 bowlers with most wickets in the fourth innings of a test match. *All stats updated till 14th December 2014.