Asian pitches have always been a challenge for the SENA countries as they are not used to the conditions of the largest continent. The tracks in Asia tend to provide more assistance to spinners rather than fast bowlers, and as a result, visiting nations find it quite difficult to play on these kinds of pitches. However, there are still some bowlers from outside the mainland that have performed exceptionally well in these conditions for their nation.
Nathan Lyon recently scripted history in the third Test of the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2023 as he created a new record of most wickets by a visiting bowler in Asia. On day 1 of the Indore Test, he picked an eleven-wicket match haul to achieve the feat.
On that note, let’s have a look at the top five visiting players with the most wickets on Asian soil:
1) Nathan Lyon
The veteran Aussie spinner has so far represented his nation in 118 Test matches picking up 479 wickets in the longest format. Lyon’s record in Asia is also very impressive, as his best bowling figures came in Asia against India in the third test of the BGT 2023.
Matches in Asia: 27 | Wickets: 137 | Average: 30.38 | 5-fers: 11 | Best: 8/50
2) Shane Warne
Legendary Shane Warne is second on the list in terms of most wickets on Asian soil. He appeared in 145 matches for Australia and has 708 wickets to his name in the red-ball format.
Matches in Asia: 25 | Wickets: 127 | Average: 26.81 | 5-fers: 11 | Best: 7/94
3) Daniel Vettori
The New Zealand all-rounder has bagged 362 Test wickets in 113 matches and has been quite an effective spinner in Asian conditions as well. Daniel Vettori is the most-capped Kiwi Test cricketer.
Matches in Asia: 21 | Wickets: 98 | Average: 28.86 | 5-fers: 8 | Best: 6/28
4) Dale Steyn
Dale Steyn is one of the few fast bowlers to perform well on the Asian wicket. He played 93 Test matches for South Africa and grabbed 439 scalps in the longest format.
Matches in Asia: 22 | Wickets: 92 | Average: 24.11 | 5-fers: 5 | Best: 7/51
5) James Anderson
England’s premier pacer, James Anderson, is only the second active player to feature in the list. So far, he has struck 685 dismissals in 179 Test matches and has a decent record in the world’s largest continent.
Matches in Asia: 28 | Wickets: 82 | Average: 26.78 | 5-fers: 2 | Best: 6/40
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