World Test Championship’s inaugural edition has been a roller-coaster ride of cracking contest between bat and ball. We have seen some powerful performances from few bowlers who were just amazing in their WTC journey. India and New Zealand will now face each other in the final of WTC at Southampton and we will see changes in the numbers. Pat Cummins’s domination in Ashes, Bumrah’s hattrick in West Indies, Nathan Lyon’s spin-brilliance, and Ashwin’s pure class in Indian conditions – we have so many stories from WTC, and in this segment, we see which players are the most wicket-takers in World Test Championship 2019-21. Only one Indian made it into the list of top 5 leading wicket-takers.
Pat Cummins
Pat Cummins holds the top rankings in the Test format and he maintained his ranking through the WTC 2019-21. Cummins has 70 wickets from 14 matches at an average of 21.02. He has one 5-wickets haul but he got wickets at crucial phases of the game. He was at his peak in the Ashes series 2019 by picking 29 wickets at an average of 19.62. He was also the leading wicket-taker of the Broder-Gavaskar Trophy with 21 wickets at an average of 20.04. Cummins’ specialty was he hasn’t got big figures in WTC but still takes the top position in the list.
Stuart Broad
England’s legendary fast bowler surprised everyone with his class bowling. He has 69 wickets from 17 matches at an average of 20.08. He has one 10-wicket haul and two 5-wicket hauls. He was dropped from one Test against West Indies and England lost the Test. Broad made comeback with a match-winning performance in Manchester and also completed his 500 wickets in Test format. Broad picked 23 wickets in Ashes series 2019 with one 5-wicket haul.
Ravi Ashwin
Indian off-spinner was extra-ordinary in WTC 2019-21 and his spin brilliance helped India to crack the final. Ashwin's dominance started with the home assignment against South Africa but best version against England in 2021 which also helped him to win the player of the month award for February. Ashwin has 67 wickets from 13 matches at an average of 20.88 and he can finish at the top if he gets four wickets in the final against New Zealand. Chennai’s local guy claimed four 5-wicket haul in WTC, joint-most with Lyon and Axar Patel. Ashwin picked 12 wickets in Australia which is ideally a surface for pacers and he got 32 wickets in the home series against England. His best figure was recorded in Chennai with 6 for 61.
Nathan Lyon
Australia’s Nathan Lyon is only the second spinner to appear in this list and he has 57 wickets in World Test Championship. He was not so impressive against India but ruled the WTC with his world-class spin. Lyon played his all matches in seaming conditions but still troubled batsmen. Lyon was the leading wicket-taker in the home series against New Zealand with 20 wickets at an average of 17.25. He bagged a 10-wicket haul in SCG against New Zealand and he is one of the seven players who have a 10-wicket haul in WTC. Lyon also bagged 20 wickets in Ashes including 6-wicket haul in Birmingham.
Tim Southee
Tim Southee leads the New Zealand name in this list. He played a vital role for New Zealand to earn a back-to-back ICC final. Southee has 51 wickets in just 10 matches at an average of 20.66 and he claimed three 5-wicket hauls in WTC 2019-21. He achieved a 9-wicket haul in a match against Australia. Southee was the leading wicket-taker against India in the home series with 14 wickets and this series opened the door for Kiwis to finish in the top two. He picked up 19 wickets in last home summer against West Indies and Pakistan.
Special Mention: Josh Hazlewood – 48 wickets at an avg of 20.54, 3 fifers with the best figure of 9 for 115
