A 92-year old record, and Murali's mastery

Watching Muttiah Muralitharan obliterate the opposition has become such a run-of-the-mill occurrence that you sit up and notice only if another Sri Lankan denies him a five-for. With 56 five-wicket hauls and 18 ten-fors Murali already has a heap of milestones and in the recent Test series against South Africa, he added another bauble to his treasury. His 22 wickets that spurred Sri Lanka to a 2-0 win were the most for a bowler in a two-Test series.

Murali's 17 wickets against Zimbabwe in 1997-98 and West Indies in 2005 also rank among the top-20 performances in two-Test series. He has five entries in the top-20 for most wickets in a three-Test series and his 16-wicket demolition of England at The Oval in 1998 is the most for a one-off Test. Murali - or Sri Lanka for that matter - has never played in a series of more than three Tests or you'd expect him to dominate those tables as well.

Even Murali hasn't been able to beat George Lohmann's 35 wickets in three Tests against South Africa in 1895-96. Lohmann took 15 for 45, 12 for 71 and 8 for 87 in England's 3-0 win and in the process became the fastest to reach 100 Test wickets in just his 16th Test, a record that still stands.

Most wickets in a 3-Test series

Player	Mat	Balls	Runs	Wkts	BBI	Ave	5	10	Series	Season
GA Lohmann (Eng)	3	520	203	35	9/28	5.80	4	2	v SAf	1895/96
SF Barnes (Eng)	3	768	282	34	8/29	8.29	5	3	v SAf	1912
RJ Hadlee (NZ)	3	1017	401	33	9/52	12.15	5	2	v Aust	1985/86
Harbhajan Singh (India)	3	1071	545	32	8/84	17.03	4	2	v Aust	2000/01
Abdul Qadir (Pak)	3	1408	437	30	9/56	14.56	3	2	v Eng	1987/88
M Muralitharan (SL)	3	1219	294	30	9/51	9.80	2	1	v Zimb	2001/02
Waqar Younis (Pak)	3	868	315	29	7/76	10.86	3	2	v NZ	1990/91
M Muralitharan (SL)	3	1255	649	28	6/59	23.17	4	1	v Aust	2003/04
SK Warne (Aust)	3	744	342	27	7/94	12.66	2	1	v Pak	2002/03
Waqar Younis (Pak)	3	784	373	27	7/91	13.81	4	1	v Zimb	1993/94

That nobody has taken more wickets than Alf Valentine in a four-Test series is rather surprising given the mighty fast bowlers and wily spinners who were to follow him. The 1950 tour of England was Valentine's debut series and in his first match at Old Trafford, he took 11 for 204 - the second and last West Indian to take ten wickets on debut . Valentine finished the series with 33 wickets and Sonny Ramadhin, his spin partner, was second with 26.

Most wickets in a 4-Test series

Player	Mat	Balls	Runs	Wkts	BBI	Ave	5	10	Series	Season
AL Valentine (WI)	4	2535	674	33	8/104	20.42	2	2	v Eng	1950
GD McGrath (Aust)	4	1198	508	30	5/28	16.93	4	1	v WI	1998/99
FS Trueman (Eng)	4	718	386	29	8/31	13.31	2	0	v India	1952
M Ntini (SAf)	4	1121	620	29	5/49	21.37	3	0	v WI	2003/04
MD Marshall (WI)	4	1021	486	27	7/80	18.00	1	1	v NZ	1984/85
A Kumble (India)	4	1185	685	27	7/48	25.37	3	1	v Aust	2004/05
S Ramadhin (WI)	4	2267	604	26	6/86	23.23	3	1	v Eng	1950
MJ Procter (SAf)	4	858	353	26	6/73	13.57	1	0	v Aust	1969/70
CA Walsh (WI)	4	823	437	26	5/54	16.80	2	0	v India	1987/88
CA Walsh (WI)	4	1249	543	26	5/39	20.88	1	0	v Aust	1998/99

Sydney Barnes's 92-year old record for the most wickets in a series, 49 in four Tests, came in his final appearence before the first World War on England's tour of South Africa. In the second Test at Johannesburg, Barnes took 17 for 159 to improve on Johnny Briggs' 15 for 28 - also against South Africa - for the best figures in a Test. Wisden reported that Barnes "refused to play in the fifth match because he contended the South Africans had not carried out their promise of special reward if he took part in the tour". Jim Laker went on to beat the record for best Test figures in 1956 but even his bounty in that series against Australia fell three short of Barnes' series record.

Most wickets in a 5-Test series

Player	Mat	Balls	Runs	Wkts	BBI	Ave	5	10	Series	Season
SF Barnes (Eng)	4	1356	536	49	9/103	10.93	7	3	v SAf	1913/14
JC Laker (Eng)	5	1703	442	46	10/53	9.60	4	2	v Aust	1956
CV Grimmett (Aust)	5	2077	642	44	7/40	14.59	5	3	v SAf	1935/36
SK Warne (Aust)	5	1517	797	40	6/46	19.92	3	2	v Eng	2005
AV Bedser (Eng)	5	1591	682	39	7/44	17.48	5	1	v Aust	1953
MW Tate (Eng)	5	2528	881	38	6/99	23.18	5	1	v Aust	1924/25
WJ Whitty (Aust)	5	1395	632	37	6/17	17.08	2	0	v SAf	1910/11
HJ Tayfield (SAf)	5	2280	636	37	9/113	17.18	4	1	v Eng	1956/57
AEE Vogler (SAf)	5	1349	783	36	7/94	21.75	4	1	v Eng	1909/10
AA Mailey (Aust)	5	1465	946	36	9/121	26.27	4	2	v Eng	1920/21

Shane Warne is the only spinner to feature among the top-20 bowlers with most wickets in an ODI series. His 22 wickets in the World Series in 1993-94 and 20 wickets in the 1999 World Cup are ranked eighth and 18th in a list dominated by Australian fast bowlers with Glenn McGrath's 27 wickets in the 1998-99 Carlton and United series on top.

Most wickets in a multi-team ODI tournament

Player	Mat	Wkts	BBI	Ave	5	Series	Season
GD McGrath (Aust)	11	27	5/40	15.62	1	Carlton & United Series	1998/99
DK Lillee (Aust)	14	25	4/32	14.64	0	World Series Cup	1980/81
J Garner (WI)	14	24	4/45	15.54	0	World Series Cup	1981/82
MA Holding (WI)	12	23	4/26	17.86	0	World Series Cup	1983/84
WPUJC Vaas (SL)	10	23	6/25	14.39	1	ICC World Cup	2002/03
GS Chappell (Aust)	14	22	5/15	17.04	1	World Series Cup	1980/81
RM Hogg (Aust)	13	22	4/33	21.86	0	World Series Cup	1983/84
SK Warne (Aust)	10	22	4/19	13.68	0	World Series	1993/94
B Lee (Aust)	10	22	5/42	17.90	1	ICC World Cup	2002/03
CEL Ambrose (WI)	10	21	5/17	15.90	2	World Series	1988/89

Follow up to last week's column: We received a lot of feedback saying that Sunil Gavaskar's 774 runs against West Indies in 1970-71 should have put him on top of the list for most runs in a four-Test series. However, that series comprised five Tests - Gavaskar didn't play the first - but even if it was to be judged that way, Viv Richards takes first place for scoring 829 runs in four Tests (he too missed one) against England in 1976.