One series, many wicket-takers

"Australia used 11 bowlers in the just concluded West Indies series and [they] all got at least one wicket. Is this the most bowlers in a series to get at least one wicket?" Steve Williams asked Steven Lynch . We nicked the idea for the List instead.

Of the 14 players in Australia's squad for the tour of the Caribbean, only Ricky Ponting, Matthew Wade and Ed Cowan did not bowl. All the others did, even David Warner, who picked up his first Test wickets. He took as many as Peter Siddle and Shane Watson, and more than Mitchell Starc, Michael Beer and James Pattinson. There have been two other three-Test series - both involving Australia and Pakistan - in which 11 bowlers took at least one wicket.

The most bowlers used in a three-Test series, however, is 13 - by England at home against New Zealand in 1937 - and all 13 took wickets. Five of them averaged below 20, eight below 25, and 11 under 30 per wicket. New Zealand did not make more than 300 in an innings and England won the rubber 1-0. The series contained the debuts of Arthur Wellard, Austin Matthews, Jim Parks, Denis Compton and Len Hutton. For Parks and Matthews, it was their only Test; Wellard played one more, against Australia in 1938; while Compton and Hutton went on to have illustrious international careers.

Most wicket-takers in a series of four of fewer Tests

Team	Series	Season	Matches	Players	Bowlers	Wkt Takers
West Indies	v England	1929/30	4	27	20	13
England	v New Zealand	1937	3	18	13	13
England	v New Zealand	1949	4	20	16	12
West Indies	v England	1947/48	4	19	13	11
England	v West Indies	1950	4	25	15	11
England	v Pakistan	1954	4	19	11	11
New Zealand	v India	1964/65	4	15	12	11
Australia	v Pakistan	1994/95	3	15	12	11
Pakistan	v Australia	1998/99	3	18	13	11
Australia	v West Indies	2011/12	3	14	11	11

There have been several four-Test series in which more than 11 bowlers were used by a team, and in two of them more than 11 took wickets. During England's tour of the West Indies in 1929-30, the visitors used only 13 players in four Tests. They were constrained by the limited size of the touring party of course. West Indies used as many as 27, of which 20 bowled and 13 took wickets. In the timeless Test at Sabina Park, legspinner Tommy Scott came within four deliveries of equalling the record for most balls bowled in an innings at the time, George Geary's 486.

For Leslie Walcott, Charles Passailaigue, Edwin St Hill, Frank de Caries, Mervyn Grell, Nelson Betancourt, George Gladstone and Errol Hunte, it was their only series. Another debutant George Headley, on the other hand, went on to have a memorable career. He was one of the seven who bowled but did not take a wicket. He would not take a wicket in his 22-Test career, but earned the sobriquet "Black Bradman" for his run-scoring.

In series of five Tests or more, the highest number of wicket-takers for a team is 15, and the most bowlers used, 19. The most recent such series was the 1989 Ashes, when England used as many as 29 players in six Tests, the second highest ever. Out of the 120 Australian wickets on offer, though, they managed to take only 65 in a 0-4 defeat. Neil Foster and Angus Fraser were the only England bowlers to average less than 40 per wicket.

Most wicket-takers in a five or six-Test series

Team	Series	Season	Matches	Players	Bowlers	Wkt Takers
England	v Australia	1989	6	29	19	15
England	v Australia	1899	5	24	19	14
Australia	v England	1970/71	6	19	15	14
England	v South Africa	1947	5	21	17	13
West Indies	v Australia	1955	5	19	15	13
India	v West Indies	1958/59	5	24	19	13
Australia	v England	1894/95	5	22	14	12
England	v Australia	1921	5	30	14	12
England	v South Africa	1929	5	23	15	12
England	v South Africa	1935	5	25	18	12
West Indies	v England	1953/54	5	18	16	12
England	v West Indies	1976	5	21	14	12
England	v Australia	1993	6	24	16	12
England	v Australia	2001	5	19	13	12

In one-day internationals, the most bowlers used by a team in a series is 16, and the most wicket-takers, 13. West Indies used 19 players in the five-ODI series at home against England in 1997-98, which the hosts won 4-1. Sixteen of them bowled, including batsmen such as Brian Lara, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Stuart Williams and Clayton Lambert, and 13 took wickets. In the fifth ODI in Port-of-Spain, West Indies used nine bowlers in a 57-run victory. Williams took 1 for 30 in the only time he turned his arm over in a 57-ODI career. The only West Indians not to bowl in the series were the wicketkeepers Ridley Jacobs and Junior Murray, and Philo Wallace.

Most wicket-takers in a bilateral ODI series

Team	Series	Season	Matches	Players	Bowlers	Wkt Takers
West Indies	v England	1997/98	5	19	16	13
England	v Australia	2009	7	16	12	12
England	v Australia	2010/11	7	19	14	12
India	v Sri Lanka	1986/87	5	14	10	10
Australia	v West Indies	1998/99	7	14	12	10
India	v New Zealand	1999/00	5	16	12	10
South Africa	v India	1999/00	5	15	12	10
South Africa	v West Indies	2000/01	7	16	11	10
England	v Zimbabwe	2001/02	5	16	11	10
New Zealand	v India	2002/03	7	16	10	10
Sri Lanka	v Zimbabwe	2004	5	16	11	10
South Africa	v Sri Lanka	2004	5	13	10	10
India	v Pakistan	2004/05	6	16	12	10
Pakistan	v England	2005/06	5	16	10	10
New Zealand	v Sri Lanka	2005/06	4	16	10	10
Zimbabwe	v Kenya	2005/06	4	14	10	10
Australia	v Bangladesh	2005/06	3	14	11	10
West Indies	v India	2006	5	17	11	10
India	v South Africa	2006/07	4	17	10	10
England	v India	2007	7	15	12	10
Sri Lanka	v Pakistan	2009	5	16	11	10
Bangladesh	v Zimbabwe	2009	5	14	10	10
Australia	v India	2009/10	6	17	12	10
Australia	v England	2010/11	7	19	12	10
New Zealand	v Zimbabwe	2011/12	3	14	10	10

Most wicket-takers in a multi-team ODI tournament

Team	Series	Season	Matches	Players	Bowlers	Wkt Takers
Australia	VB Series	2002/03	10	19	13	13
India	VB Series	2003/04	10	17	13	13
Sri Lanka	World Series	1995/96	10	17	14	12
Australia	Carlton & United Series	1997/98	11	19	13	12
Australia	Carlton & United Series	1998/99	12	17	14	12
Australia	Commonwealth Bank Series	2006/07	10	17	13	12
England	World Series Cup	1979/80	9	16	11	11
Sri Lanka	World Series	1989/90	8	16	12	11
Australia	Carlton & United Series	1996/97	8	16	13	11
Pakistan	Carlton & United Series	1996/97	10	15	11	11
West Indies	Carlton & United Series	1996/97	10	17	11	11
Sri Lanka	Carlton & United Series	1998/99	10	16	11	11
Australia	Carlton & United Series	1999/00	10	15	13	11
Australia	Carlton Series	2000/01	10	16	11	11
England	VB Series	2002/03	10	17	12	11
Kenya	ICC World Cricket League Championship	2011-2013	4	18	14	11
Australia	Commonwealth Bank Series	2011/12	11	17	12	11
India	Commonwealth Bank Series	2011/12	8	16	12	11