Why Is It Almost Impossible to Break These 8 Fast Bowling Records?
By Why Is It NOT Possible? Editorial·November 13, 2026·5 min read
Phil Simmons bowled ten overs against Pakistan in 1992 and gave away three runs. One boundary would have cost more than his entire spell. That record has lasted more than 30 years. Beating it would take an almost faultless day. Passing James Anderson’s 704 Test wickets could take most of a bowler’s career. Why are these fast bowling records so difficult to break?
1. James Anderson’s 704 Test Wickets
Anderson finished his Test career in July 2024 with 704 wickets from 188 matches. No fast bowler has taken more. He was 41 when he played his final Test, more than 21 years after his debut.
A fast bowler chasing 704 needs years of regular Test cricket. An injury can cost him a series; losing his place can cost him much longer. As he gets older and loses pace, he has to keep finding ways to take wickets. Even then, his country must play enough Tests to give him a chance. A bowler playing five Tests a year faces a very different chase from one playing twelve.
2. Shoaib Akhtar’s 161.3 km/h Delivery
Shoaib’s delivery against England at the 2003 World Cup was clocked at 161.3 km/h, just over 100 mph. Guinness World Records lists it as the fastest recorded delivery. Speed guns have not always used the same technology, which makes comparisons between eras difficult.
There is no proven human limit at 161.3 km/h. But extra effort alone does not produce extra speed: a bowler’s strength and the timing of his action matter too. More than two decades later, Shoaib’s recorded mark still stands.
3. Wasim Akram’s 502 ODI Wickets
Wasim took 502 wickets in 356 ODIs. It is the highest career total by a fast bowler in men’s ODI cricket. At 25 wickets a year, reaching 503 would take more than 20 years. A few big seasons would help, but injuries and missed tours would push the target further away.
A modern fast bowler would have to find room for that much one-day cricket alongside Tests, T20 internationals and franchise tournaments.
4. Chaminda Vaas’s 8 for 19 in an ODI
Against Zimbabwe in Colombo on 8 December 2001, Vaas took eight wickets for 19 runs. Zimbabwe were bowled out for 38. His figures remain the best in men’s ODI cricket. Vaas took the first eight wickets. Sri Lanka then brought on Muttiah Muralitharan, who took the last two in just four deliveries.
An ODI bowler has at most ten overs, and every wicket taken at the other end leaves one fewer available to him. To improve on Vaas, someone needs nine wickets, or eight while conceding fewer than 19 runs.
5. Waqar Younis’s 13 ODI Five-Wicket Hauls
Waqar took five or more wickets in an ODI innings 13 times, the men’s record. Three of those hauls came in consecutive ODIs in 1990. His full, late-swinging deliveries helped him dismiss the lower order as well as the top order.
To pass him, another bowler has to take at least five wickets in an ODI innings on 14 separate occasions. A bowler could take three wickets in every match of a tour and make no progress towards this record.
6. Phil Simmons’s Three Runs in Ten ODI Overs
Simmons’s figures against Pakistan in Sydney on 17 December 1992 were 10 overs, eight maidens, three runs and four wickets. His wickets included Saleem Malik and Javed Miandad, and Pakistan were bowled out for 81.
His economy rate of 0.30 remains the best in men’s ODIs for a spell of at least ten overs. He achieved it bowling medium pace. To beat that economy rate over ten overs, a bowler must concede no more than two runs.
7. Bob Massie’s 16 Wickets on Test Debut
Massie took eight wickets in each innings against England at Lord’s in 1972, finishing with 16 for 137. Massie swung the ball late in both directions and kept a good length through both innings. Dennis Lillee took the other four wickets.
No pace bowler has bettered Massie’s match figures on Test debut. India’s leg-spinner Narendra Hirwani later took 16 for 136, so Massie does not hold the outright debut record. To better his figures, a pace bowler needs 17 wickets, or 16 for fewer runs, on Test debut.
8. Mitchell Starc’s 27 Wickets in One ODI World Cup
Starc took 27 wickets in ten matches at the 2019 World Cup, passing Glenn McGrath’s previous record of 26. His tournament included five-wicket hauls against West Indies and New Zealand. He took 27 wickets without playing in the final; Australia went out in the semi-final against England.
Another bowler needs 28 wickets in one edition to beat him. Over ten appearances, that means averaging 2.8 per match. But those appearances depend on the team staying in the tournament. A bowler can keep taking wickets and still lose his chance when his side is knocked out.
This record has a better chance of falling than Anderson’s 704. Much depends on how many matches a future World Cup gives a bowler.