Fast bowler Jofra Archer broke James Anderson's record for the fastest England player to 50 ODI wickets during his side's Champions Trophy match against Afghanistan.
Thanks to a washout between Australia and South Africa yesterday (February 25), England headed into their second match of the tournament knowing that a loss would see them eliminated from the competition.
They were put into the field in Lahore as Afghanistan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi elected to bat first, and Jofra Archer took the first new ball with Mark Wood at the other end.
After two tight overs, Archer struck with the very first ball of his third. Rahmanullah Gurbaz got an inside edge, which deflected onto the pad ad back onto the stumps. It was Archer's 50th ODI wicket in his 30th match, making him the fastest England bowler to the mark. Archer beat James Anderson's record of 31 matches, which had been achieved in 2004. Rounding out the top three is Steve Harmison.
The fastest bowler ever to 50 ODI wickets is former Sri Lanka spinner Ajantha Mendis, who took just 19 matches to get there. Sandeep Lamichhane (Nepal) did it in 22 games, while Ajit Agarkar (India) and Mitchell McClenaghan (New Zealand) both did it in 23.
Quickest England bowlers to 50 ODI wickets
| Name | Date Reached | Matches Taken |
| Jofra Archer | 26 February 2025 | 30 |
| James Anderson | 5 May 2004 | 31 |
| Steve Harmison | 7 July 2005 | 32 |
| Steven Finn | 23 February 2013 | 33 |
| Darren Gough | 2 March 1997 | 34 |
| Stuart Broad | 26 August 2008 | 34 |
| James Tredwell | 31 May 2014 | 35 |
| Liam Plunkett | 26 June 2016 | 37 |
| Adil Rashid | 12 October 2016 | 37 |
| Allan Mullally | 15 July 2000 | 38 |
| Craig White | 16 February 2002 | 39 |
| Graeme Swann | 10 September 2010 | 39 |
| Chris Woakes | 13 November 2015 | 39 |
| Bob Willis | 15 January 1983 | 40 |
| Phil DeFreitas | 27 May 1989 | 40 |
Quickest bowlers to 50 ODI wickets, full list
| Name | Team | Date Reached | Matches Taken |
| Ajantha Mendis | Sri Lanka | 12 Jan 2009 | 19 |
| Sandeep Lamichhane | Nepal | 26 Mar 2022 | 22 |
| Ajit Agarkar | India | 30 Sep 1998 | 23 |
| Mitchell McClenaghan | New Zealand | 24 Oct 2014 | 23 |
| Dennis Lillee | Australia | 18 Dec 1980 | 24 |
| Hasan Ali | Pakistan | 18 Oct 2017 | 24 |
| Kuldeep Yadav | India | 18 Sep 2018 | 24 |
| Shane Warne | Australia | 13 Sep 1994 | 25 |
| Matt Henry | New Zealand | 8 Feb 2016 | 25 |
| Barry McCarthy | Ireland | 5 May 2019 | 25 |
| Shaheen Shah Afridi | Pakistan | 7 Apr 2021 | 25 |
| Zahoor Khan | UAE | 9 Mar 2022 | 25 |
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