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Australia’s Bowling Quartet of Cummins, Hazlewood, Lyon, and Starc Reaches Historic 600 Test Wickets

Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, and Nathan Lyon have become the first four-man bowling unit in Test cricket history to claim over 600 wickets together. Their combined haul reached 602 during a match in Durban against South Africa.

Historic Milestone in Their 38 Tests Together

This Australian attack has rarely received the full recognition they deserve despite their record-breaking feat. The 602 wickets were taken across 38 Tests, establishing a new benchmark for bowling quartets worldwide.

For comparison, England's Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Stuart Broad, and Ben Stokes took 433 wickets in 34 Tests, while South Africa’s Jacques Kallis, Makhaya Ntini, Nicky Boje, and Shaun Pollock ended with 341 wickets in 29 Tests. The legendary Australian combination of Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne, Jason Gillespie, and Brett Lee took 284 wickets over just 16 Tests.

  • Quartet: Cummins, Hazlewood, Lyon, Starc
  • Nation: Australia
  • Tests Together: 38
  • Combined Wickets: 602
  • England (Ali, Anderson, Broad, Stokes): 34 Tests, 433 wickets
  • England (Root, Anderson, Broad, Stokes): 38 Tests, 374 wickets
  • South Africa (Kallis, Ntini, Boje, Pollock): 29 Tests, 341 wickets
  • Australia (McGrath, Warne, Gillespie, Lee): 16 Tests, 284 wickets
  • Australia (Hazlewood, Starc, Marsh, Lyon): 26 Tests, 308 wickets
  • West Indies (Walsh, Ambrose, Hooper, Bishop): 25 Tests, 297 wickets

Balanced Contributions from Each Bowler

The workload among these four is remarkably even. Pat Cummins leads with 158 wickets, followed closely by Mitchell Starc with 155, Josh Hazlewood with 150, and Nathan Lyon with 139. This breaks down to roughly 26%, 26%, 25%, and 23% of the total wickets respectively.

The diversity in their bowling styles adds to their effectiveness. Cummins delivers fast, aggressive pace targeting the off stump. Starc swings the ball from the left arm and can unleash devastating yorkers. Hazlewood maintains a precise seam length that frustrates batsmen, while Lyon brings bounce and overspin as the off-spinner. This variety keeps batsmen under constant pressure.

During the first innings at Kingsmead, South Africa was dismissed for 284 runs in 78 overs. The quartet accounted for nine of the ten wickets: Cummins took 3 for 54, Starc 2 for 63, Hazlewood 2 for 54, and Lyon 2 for 58. Lyon bowled 22 overs, controlling the run rate to 2.63 and building pressure.

Other wickets fell to Beau Webster, but the pattern showed the quartet’s dominance throughout the batting order.

  • Bowler: Pat Cummins
  • Role / Skill: Right-arm fast (Captain / Enforcer)
  • Wickets in 38 Tests Together: 158
  • Share of Quartet Wickets: 26.2%
  • Bowler: Mitchell Starc
  • Role / Skill: Left-arm fast (Swing / Lethal Yorker)
  • Wickets in 38 Tests Together: 155
  • Share of Quartet Wickets: 25.7%
  • Bowler: Josh Hazlewood
  • Role / Skill: Right-arm fast-medium (Metronomic seam)
  • Wickets in 38 Tests Together: 150
  • Share of Quartet Wickets: 24.9%
  • Bowler: Nathan Lyon
  • Role / Skill: Right-arm off-spinner (Bounce and Over-spin)
  • Wickets in 38 Tests Together: 139
  • Share of Quartet Wickets: 23.1%
  • Total Combined Wickets: 602
  • Share of Quartet Wickets: 100%

Impact on Australia's Win Rate When All Four Play

Despite assumptions that this quartet has played continuously for years, they have appeared together in only 38 of Australia's 154 Tests since Lyon debuted in 2011—about 25% of matches. Injuries and strategic team changes often prevent all four from playing simultaneously.

When all four take the field, Australia’s win rate rises to 62.2%, with losses dropping to 27%. Draws fall significantly from 17.1% to 10.8%, indicating the quartet's ability to bowl opponents out efficiently in almost any conditions. Without all four present, Australia wins about 53.8% of Tests but loses more often and draws more frequently.

Individual Career Records in Test Cricket

  • Player: Pat Cummins
  • Role: Right-arm fast (Captain)
  • Test Debut: Nov 2011 vs South Africa (Johannesburg)
  • Matches: 73*
  • Innings Bowled: 137
  • Wickets: 325
  • Bowling Average: 21.88
  • Economy Rate: 2.89
  • Strike Rate: 45.4
  • Best Innings Bowling: 6/23 vs Sri Lanka (2019)
  • Best Match Bowling: 10/62 vs West Indies (2019)
  • Five-Wicket Hauls: 14
  • Ten-Wicket Matches: 2
  • Player: Mitchell Starc
  • Role: Left-arm fast
  • Test Debut: Dec 2011 vs New Zealand (Brisbane)
  • Matches: 98*
  • Innings Bowled: 188
  • Wickets: 445
  • Bowling Average: 26.16
  • Economy Rate: 3.43
  • Strike Rate: 45.7
  • Best Innings Bowling: 7/58 vs Sri Lanka (2016)
  • Best Match Bowling: 11/94 vs Sri Lanka (2016)
  • Five-Wicket Hauls: 19
  • Ten-Wicket Matches: 4
  • Player: Josh Hazlewood
  • Role: Right-arm fast-medium
  • Test Debut: Dec 2014 vs India (Brisbane)
  • Matches: 76*
  • Innings Bowled: 143
  • Wickets: 295
  • Bowling Average: 24.22
  • Economy Rate: 2.78
  • Strike Rate: 52.3
  • Best Innings Bowling: 6/67 vs India (2017)
  • Best Match Bowling: 9/79 vs West Indies (2024)
  • Five-Wicket Hauls: 12
  • Ten-Wicket Matches: 0
  • Player: Nathan Lyon
  • Role: Right-arm off-spinner
  • Test Debut: Aug 2011 vs Sri Lanka (Galle)
  • Matches: 136*
  • Innings Bowled: 253
  • Wickets: 571
  • Bowling Average: 30.21
  • Economy Rate: 2.95
  • Strike Rate: 61.5
  • Best Innings Bowling: 8/50 vs India (2017)
  • Best Match Bowling: 13/154 vs Bangladesh (2017)
  • Five-Wicket Hauls: 24
  • Ten-Wicket Matches: 5

Although the quartet is no longer young, each member continues to perform at a level few rivals can match. Australia should manage their workload carefully to keep them effective because the team clearly performs best when all four are available. The 600-wicket milestone might soon be just a starting point for this remarkable group.

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