England seamer Stuart Broad became the seventh man to take 500 wickets in Test cricket with many including former international Ryan Sidebottom believing he could be the last quick bowler to achieve the feat.
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The question now is who will be the next man to break through that 500 wicket mark in the game’s ultimate format.
Closest to the mark is Dale Steyn, but the Proteas paceman has called time on his Test career just 61 wickets shy of 500.
Sidebottom and those who share his belief that the modern game is too hard on the quicks for this mark to be attainable are likely aware that no active fast bowlers other than Broad and Compatriot Jimmy Anderson have more than 300 wickets. Anderson being among the six men to have reached the milestone before Broad.
500 is not totally out of reach for all bowlers though with two spinners leading the race to become the eighth bowler to attain the marker of greatness.
Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon has 390 wickets to his name, but what counts against him is that he won’t play a Test in Asia for some time unless the schedule undergoes radical change. Lyon is nonetheless adept at taking wickets on surfaces that wouldn’t traditionally be considered spin-friendly and stands a good chance of cracking 500 before he calls it a day.
Breathing down Lyon’s neck is another off-spinner in the shape of India’s Ravichandran Ashwin. Already the third-highest wicket-taker for India in Test cricket, only injury or a sharp sudden loss of form will prevent Ashwin from at the very least taking 500 career wickets in Test cricket.
The fast bowler who is closest to the mark also hails from India, but it might be a stretch to suggest that Ishant Sharma will be thinking of 500. The gangly quick seems to have been around forever having made his debut in 2007, but for large portions of his career, he was out of favour. In the last few years, he has established himself as a valued member of India’s pace attack. His height will make him a danger when India tour Australia later this year. At 31-years-old Sharma might be able to stretch his already 13-year career out long enough to take another 203 wickets.
Written by James Richardson for Hollywoodbets
