The 300 club: How does Pat Cummins compare to other Test fast bowling greats?

Having already knocked over Wiaan Mulder in the evening session of day one, Cummins was key to Australia making early inroads on day two. He bagged the crucial wicket of Temba Bavuma before lunch, before nicking off David Bedingham early in the afternoon to leave South Africa six down.

He then trapped Kyle Verreynne later in the day before taking a catch off his own bowling to dismiss Marco Jansen in the same over, completing the 14th five-for of his Test career. Finishing off the innings with the wicket of Kagiso Rabada gave him figures of 6-28, and secured Australia a 74-run first innings lead.

Having led Australia to two WTC finals, as well as a World Cup title, Cummins now has various individual records in his sights.

Fastest seamers to 300 Test wickets

Cummins is one of 12 seamers to have taken less than 70 Tests to reach 300 wickets. However, that list features only three bowlers who can be considered his contemporaries – players whose careers had a significant overlap with his – Mitchell Johnson, Dale Steyn and Kagiso Rabada. Even among those three, the only one whose career is directly comparable to Cummins is Rabada, with the South Africa pacer having played all of his career after Cummins' debut.

ALSO READ: On grandest stage, Kagiso Rabada seizes moment that might never have come

Where could Cummins finish on the all-time pacer list?

In terms of volume of wickets, the next Australian Cummins will have his sights on is Brett Lee, who finished his career with 310 wickets. Johnson is only three wickets higher with 313, before a bit of a gap to Australia's absolute all-timers in Denis Lillee (355), Mitchell Starc (384) and Glenn McGrath (563).

Considering Australia's schedule for the next WTC cycle, Cummins could well have passed all but McGrath. He is the leading wicket-taker ahead of Australia's final innings in this cycle, having taken 79 wickets in 18 matches. Australia will play 22 matches in the next cycle, with two of Australia's three away series being in South Africa and West Indies.

Pacers with more than 400 Test wickets

By the end of the next cycle, Cummins will be 34 and theoretically could have another couple of years left as a Test bowler. That could put him into the 400 club if he has a good next WTC cycle and stays injury free. Only 10 pacers have taken more than 400 wickets in Tests, and of those only McGrath among Australians.

Given that the bottom six of those pacers with 400 wickets are quite close together in the standings – Steyn is in fifth place on the all-time standings with 439 – it's not unrealistic to predict that Cummins could find himself in the top five wicket-takers among pace-bowlers of all time at the end of his career.

Pat Cummins becomes the first captain in 17 years to take a Test five-for at Lord’s.

Leading by example on the biggest Test stage 🇦🇺#PatCummins #WTCFinal pic.twitter.com/Fm5l54nCSX

— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) June 12, 2025

Who has the best average among pacers with 300+ wickets?

Cummins' average is currently 22.08, which is the sixth-best of pacers with 300 or more Test wickets. One place above him is Rabada, while his next closest contemporary, Steyn, finished his career with an average of 22.95. Looking further down the list, James Anderson (704) and Trent Boult (317) finished their careers with averages of 26.45 and 27.49 respectively, while Mitchell Starc (384) has an average which currently reads 27.53.

Depending on how Cummins ends his career, he's currently on track to rank alongside the all-time great pacers by the time he hangs up his boots.

Follow Wisden for all cricket updates, including live scores, match stats, quizzes and more. Stay up to date with the latest cricket news, player updates, team standings, match highlights, video analysis and live match odds.