Greatest Cricket Bowling Spells of All Time: Jim Laker, Shane Warne, and the Magical 10-Fors

Jim Laker's 19 for 90 — The Greatest Bowling Performance

Jim Laker's 19 wickets for 90 runs in the Fourth Test of the 1956 Ashes at Old Trafford is the greatest bowling performance in cricket history — by any measure. Laker took 9/37 in Australia's first innings and then an extraordinary 10/53 in the second innings. His match figures of 19/90 are 2 wickets more than any other bowler has ever taken in a single Test match. His 10-wicket innings haul is one of only 10 times a bowler has taken 10 in an innings in all of Test cricket.

Other Legendary Bowling Spells

Several other bowling performances have entered cricket legend. Anil Kumble's 10/74 against Pakistan in Delhi in 1999 made him only the second bowler in Test history to take all 10 in an innings (after Laker in 1956). Bob Willis' 8/43 at Headingley in 1981 sealed England's most famous Ashes comeback. Shane Warne's ball of the century to Mike Gatting in 1993 — a leg break that turned over a foot and clipped the off stump — is cricket's most replayed bowling moment.

Stuart Broad's 8 for 15 in an ODI

Outside Tests, Stuart Broad's 8/15 against Australia at Headingley in the 2023 Ashes (his career swansong) was one of the great farewell performances. In limited-overs cricket, Shane Bond's 6/19 against India in the 2003 World Cup and Mitchell Starc's 6/28 in the 2015 World Cup final are among the finest one-day bowling performances. T20 best figures include Samuel Badree's 6/7 for West Indies.