Cricket Stats: Who has been the best test bowler on home soil in the last five years?

Cricket Stats: For a bowler to pick a wicket in Test cricket is like being rewarded for their perseverance throughout their enduring spells. Even for the most skillful and decorated bowler it t takes a lot of patience and hard work to get one wicket despite the fielding position being way more aggressive than we see in the white-ball formats.

Yet bowlers give out their every ounce of sweat and enthusiasm to get the best results for their team and many end up picking five-fors or more than it. For a bowler to adapt to his home conditions takes a lot of practice and determination to acclimatize to the pitches in their respective country.

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A bowler is likely to impress with staggering numbers on his debut at home but it takes more effort than we think to maintain consistency in picking wickets throughout their career. Now, let's take a look at the detailed stats and records of these three(Cummins, Anderson, Ashwin) in the last five years in test cricket.

Pat Cummins | Australia | 92 wickets

Australian new Test skipper, pacer Pat Cummins has picked up a fifer against England in the ongoing Ashes series. He has been phenomenal in Test cricket for Australia in the last five years. Cummins's debut was back in 2011 against South Africa at the Wanderers Stadium. Pat has picked up 169 wickets in 66 innings with an average of 21.18 on his test career.

Meanwhile, when it comes to the last five years, Cummins has shown that he has the best bowler for the Aussies in the longer format of the game. Cummins has scalped 92 wickets with an average of 21.39 in the last 5 years of his Test career at home. Currently, he is leading his team in the 5 match Ashes 2021-22 series in absence of Tim Paine.

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James Anderson | England | 106 wickets

James Anderson is the best example to define the quote 'age is just a number, as it is unbelievable that even at the age of 39 he can still bowl long spells and get wickets on regular basis.

In the Headingley Test, he toppled the top-order of the Indian team in the first hour of the match to put England in a commanding position, it just shows how hungry the Lancashire bowler is to perform at the peak of his career. James Anderson made an incredible debut against Zimbabwe back in 2003, when he notched up the figures of 5/73 at Lord's, and in the second Test against India, he achieved his seventh five-wicket haul at the particular venue.

Anderson has broked one after another record in the last few years and his latest achievement was to surpass Indian spinner Anil Kumble's tally of 619 Test wickets and now with 630 wickets. He is the third-highest wicket-taker just behind Shane Warne (708) and Muralitharan in Test cricket.

Anderson has scalped 106 wickets with an average of 20.20 in the last 5 years of his Test career at home soil. Currently, he is in with his team England for the Ashes series will play the next Pink ball test match.

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Ravichandran Ashwin | India | 132 wickets

Currently India's best spinner, Ravichandran Ashwin has been in his pick form for the last five years. Ashwin has also contributed with the bat for his team whenever it's needed. In-home conditions, Ashwin is the best bowler for team India. Ashwin's Test debut was back in 2011 against West Indies at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi. Ashwin has picked up 427 wickets in his Test career with an average of 24.13. Meanwhile, Ashwin is just behind legend Kapil Dev who scalped 434 wickets in his Test career.

Moreover, he is among the top five bowlers who have taken the most wickets in their international career. Ravichandran Ashwin has scalped 132 wickets with an average of 21.45 in the last 5 years of his Test career at home soil. He is also the second-fastest to reach the 400 wickets milestone in Test cricket. Meanwhile, currently, he is ranked at number 2 on the test cricket bowlers list and destructed NZ at home recently.

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Conclusion :

So, it's very hard to say who is the best among these three. But, if we have to pick one between them then it will be definitely Ravichandran Ashwin. He is the best among them at home. Ashwin has bowled in fewer innings among the three and scalps the most wickets on his home soil. Although, Andersen and Cummins are not far away from him.

N.B: The stats are accurate as of 09/12/2021.