5 Bowlers with most wickets in Ashes history till 2026 ft. Mitchell Starc

Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Stuart Broad and Mitchell Starc feature in top-5 Ashes wicket-takers [Source: PictureSporting, HardCricketpix, Oam_16/X.com]

The Ashes 2025/26 series marked a legacy-defining series for Australia's left-arm quick Mitchell Starc, who looked in the peak of his powers in the absence of his strike partners Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood. 

Leading the bowling attack, he stepped up and picked a whopping 31 wickets to help his team clinch the series 4-1 while winning the Player of the Series award.

With this memorable series to his name, he joined a list of legends to have picked the most wickets in Ashes cricket history as he takes his tally past several greats in this series. At the end of the 2025/26 series, he has entered the top-5 and sits alongside two other legends with same number of wickets. Below is the top-5 list.

Bowlers with the most Ashes wickets

5. Ian Botham - 128 wickets

The England great who made his Test debut against Australia back in the home series of 1977 started his Ashes journey with 10 wickets in the 3-0 series win. He went on to help his team win the 1978/99 series down under with 23 wickets, followed by his third consecutive Ashes win in 1981, where he picked 34 wickets.

He further picked 18, 31, 9 and 3 wickets in the subsequent tour to accumulate 128 scalps at a bowling average of 28.04, with 7 five-fers to his name. He had a good record of 5/7 series wins vs the arch-rivals. Additionally, he also scored 1486 runs against them with three tons.

5. Mitchell Starc - 128 wickets

The left-hand bowler played his first Ashes away in England in 2013, when the hosts won the series 3-0 and he picked 11 wickets in the three Tests. 

While he missed the famous home series, when Mitchell Johnson breathed fire, he returned to the scene with 18 and 22 wickets in his next two series, followed by consistent performances, picking 4, 19 and 23 wickets in the next three series.

This time, he had to shoulder the responsibility of the bowling attack and he raised the bar with his memorable 31 wickets to equal Botham and Lillee in this epic list and helped Australia to a 4-1 win. As things stand, he averages 25.57 and has 6 five-fers and a 10-fer against England. He went past the likes of Nathan Lyon and James Anderson in this series.

5. Dennis Lillee - 128 wickets

Dennis Lillee made his Test debut against the arch-rivals in the middle of the 1971 and took a 5/84 in his first innings and 8 wickets in two matches of that series. Subsequently, upon becoming a key bowler, he took 10 and 23 wickets in 1977 and 1978/79 series.

His best series against the opposition came in 1981 in Ashes hosted by England, where he picked 39 wickets with the help of two five-fers. He once again breached the 30 wicket mark in 1985, picking 31 wickets in their 3-1 series loss.

By the end of his career, he got 128 wickets against England, averaging only 22.32 with 7 five-fers and two 10-fers.

4. Hugh Trumble - 141 wickets

The off-spin bowler who played for Australia from 1980 to 1904, Hugh Trumble faced England in 31 Tests in this duration and got all his career wickets against the same opposition.

His best figures of 8/65 were recorded in 1902 at the Oval when England won the match by 1 wicket. In total, he took 9 five-wicket hauls and three 10-fers against England and won 4/9 series.

His best campaign against the rivals came in 1901/02 at home, picking 28 wickets. He breached the 25 wicket mark once again in the subsequent series away from home.

3. Stuart Broad - 153 wickets

One of the modern-day greats with 604 Test wickets, Stuart Broad, brought his best whenever he faced Australia throughout his career. Having played his first Ashes series in 2009, his best performance came in Chester-le-Street, where he got 11/121 in the match-winning effort. He was also a part of the squad that last won a series in Australia in 2010/11.

So far, he is the only Englishman to have picked over 150 wickets in Ashes. He has 153 wickets in 40 Ashes games, averaging 28.96 and has 8 five-fers to his name.

2. Glenn McGrath - 157 wickets

Arguably one of the greatest fast bowlers ever, Glenn McGrath, replicated his international performances against the rivals England throughout his career. Since playing 2 Tests in 1994/95 series, where he got 6 wickets, he never looked back and got 36, 25 and 32 wickets in the next 3 campaigns, winning all the aforementioned series with the famous dominant Aussie team.

He further added 59 wickets to his tally in 2002/03, 2005 and 2006/07 to end with a tally of 157 scalps at an average of 20.92 and strike rate of 46.3 before he retired. He took 10 five-wicket hauls against England and only lost 1 Ashes series ever

1. Shane Warne - 195 wickets

As in every other bowling record, leg-spinner Shane Warne stand head and shoulders above the rest with an incredible 195 wickets in 36 Test matches to his name. 

While playing his first-ever series vs England, the leggie straightaway made a name for himself as he finished the 1993 tour of England with 34 wickets in 12 innings in their 4-1 win.

He consistently took over 20 wickets in most of his Ashes campaigns, while even breaching the 40-wicket mark in the iconic 2005 series. By the time Warne retired, he had won 7/8 Ashes series with 11 five-fers and four 10-fers to his name. This is also the record for a bowler having the most wickets against a single opponent.