10 Best Bowling Average Of Ashes Series!! The Ashes Series is a popular Test cricket series played between England and Australia. It traditionally consisted of five Tests and is held every two years. The 2023 Ashes series will be played between June and July 2023.
Do you know which cricketer has the best bowling average at the Ashes Series?
In batting, the player with a higher average is considered to have played better. However, in bowing, it is the exact opposite. The player with less average is deemed to be a better bowler.
In general, having the best average is tricky and difficult. Nonetheless, several players have recorded the best bowling average in the Ashes Series, where only two countries compete.
In this article, we will look at 10 cricketers with the best bowling average in the Ashes series. Let us get into our list.
Quick Overview
Here is a quick highlight of the bowlers with the best bowling average of the Ashes Series.
| Player Name | Bowling Average |
| 10. George Ulyett | 18.25 |
| 9. Bob Massie | 17.78 |
| 8. Rodney Hogg | 17.00 |
| 7. Bobby Peel | 16.98 |
| 6. Charlie Turner | 16.53 |
| 5. John Iverson | 15.23 |
| 4. Billy Barnes | 14.40 |
| 3. J.J. Ferris | 14.25 |
| 2. Billy Bates | 13.25 |
| 1. George Lohmann | 13.01 |
10 Best Bowling Average Of Ashes Series
We have prepared our list with reference from ESPN Cricinfo.
10. George Ulyett
- Country: England
On number 10, we have George Ulyett, with a batting average of 18.25. Born on October 21, 181, he was popularly known as “Happy Jack” and fondly remembered for his good behavior and whistling.
Ulyett started playing cricket at age 16 in the local Pitsmoor club. His professional career began in Bradford in 1871. Similarly, he played in the first-ever Test match held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Australia.
Although Ulyette has one of the best bowling averages in the Ashes Series, he was best known for his aggressive batting ability. He was among the players who were part of the English cricket team during their golden era.
Ulyett was noted as a quick bowler who might have helped him be the Ashes Series’ best bowler. Likewise, he was also an influential fielder. He played 15 matches in the Series.
Sadly, Ulyett was 46 years old when he died of pneumonia on June 18, 1898.
9. Bob Massie
- Country: Australia
Bob Massie is a former cricketer and the ninth on our list with the best bowling average in Test Series. Currently 76 year-old, he has a bowling average of 17.78.
Massie was ten years old when he began playing cricket at the Bedford Park Youth Club. He made his debut in the 1965-66 season for Western Australia.
He is known for having one of the most startling debuts in Test history. Massie’s phenomenal devilish balling in the 1972 Test held at Lord’s helped defeat the English cricket team.
However, Massie’s rise to fame was quick so was his fall, and he only played five more Tests. Due to his poor health, he retired from the sport.
Despite this, Massie was able to record one of the best bowling averages in the Ashes Series. From 1972 to 1973, he played six Test matches and three ODIs.
8. Rodney Hogg
- Country: Australia
Rodney Hogg is a 73 year-old former South Australian and Australian cricketer considered one of the fastest bowlers in the Test Series.
Hogg began his career as a batsman for Northcote in 1967-68 and earned a reputation for being an aggressive bowler. Later in 1972-73, he began playing for the Victorian Colts.
In 1978-79 summer, Hogg made his Test match debut in the Ashes Series. It is also the match he is best remembered for. During the first six tests, he took 41 wickets and earned a reputation as a great bowler.
However, Hogg’s fame was short-lived as his career was short-lived due to injuries. Between 1978 to 1985, he managed to play 38 Test matches and 71 ODIs.
Similarly, he recorded the eight-best bowling average of 17 in the Ashes Series. After his retirement, Hogg worked as the Victorian team’s bowling coach.
7. Bobby Peel
- Country: England
Born on February 12, 1857, Bobby Peel is the seventh bowler on our list. He played first-class cricket for Yorkshire between 1883 and 1879.
In his career, Peel earned his reputation for being a great bowler and batter. Critics highly regarded his orthodox tactic at the time as a spinner. Similarly, he was the main spinner for Yorkshire.
Peel made his Test match debut in 1884 against Australia. In his career, he played 20 Test matches and took 101 wickets. He became the first English cricketer to take 100 wickets against Australia in the 1894-95 season.
Due to his incredible bowling skills, Wisden stated that Peel was often a match-winner in the game. He was a fast bowler who gave him the upper hand against opponent batters.
Even after retiring from his professional playing career, Peel continued playing cricket and worked locally as a coach. He passed away at the age of 84 on August 12, 1941.
6. Charlie Turner
- Country: Australia
With an average bowling of 16.53, we have former Australian cricketer Charlie Turner as number 6. He was born on November 16, 1862, and is regarded as one of the finest Australian bowlers.
At the beginning of his first-class cricket career, Turner was unsuccessful. Then he got his career breakthrough in 1886-87 and made his Test match debut against the English cricket team.
Similarly, Turner became the first Australian bowler to take 100 Test wickets. In 1887-88, he recorded 12 for 87 against England, the best Test bowling analysis at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Furthermore, he is the only bowler to take 50 wickets in their first six Test matches. Turner’s right-hand bowling made him one of the most successful Australian bowlers.
During his professional playing career, he played 17 Ashes test matches. Turner passed away at the age of 81 on January 1, 1944.
5. John Iverson
- Country: Australia
On number 5 of the best bowling average of the Test Series, we have John Iverson. He was born on July 27, 1915, and was known for being a bowler with a unique bent-finger grip.
Iverson played cricket since college, where he was already known to be a fast bowler. Later he played in the Victorian and Australian teams.
However, with the outbreak of the Second World War, he enlisted in the Australian army in 1939. During his time in the military, he developed an unorthodox method of spinning the ball, which was handy in his later cricket career.
Iverson made his Test match debut in 1950 against the English cricket team. Between 1950 and 1951, he played five Test matches against the English team.
Unfortunately, he was forced to retire early from the sport to take over his ailing father’s business. Iverson is considered an innovator that changed the outlook for spin bowling. He died at the age of 58 on October 23, 1973.
4. Billy Barnes
- Country: England
With a bowling average of 14.40, we have Billy Barnes at number 4 of the best bowling average of the Test Series. He was a professional cricketer for the Nottinghamshire Country Cricket Club.
Barnes was born on May 27, 1852, and started playing cricket professionally as a teenager. In 1872, he began playing first-class cricket for Nottingham. From 1875 to 1894, he played for the club.
In 1880, Barnes made his Test debut playing against Australia. Although he is one of the best bowlers of the Ashes Series, he was an all-rounder known for his batting ability.
Including 21 Test matches, Barnes played 459 first-class matches in his career. When he retired from the sport, he had scored 15,425 career runs at an average of 23.19 runs per completed innings.
Barnes was more of a batter than a bowler. Consequently, Wisden named him one of the Nine Great Batsmen in 1890. Sadly, he passed away at age 46 on March 24, 1899.
3. J.J. Ferris
- Country: Australia
On number 3, we have J.J. Ferris. Born on June 21, 1867, he was one of the few cricketers to play Test cricket for more than one country.
Ferris made his first-class debut in 1886-87 for New South Wales. He had a successful debut, taking seven wickets in the match. His skillful play gathered attention, and he was selected for the Test match.
In 1887, Ferris made his debut in the Test match between Australia and England. However, Australia lost the game to the English.
Ferris became best known for his ability to swing the balls both ways. He became one of the first Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1889. In 1890, he moved to England and started playing cricket for the English cricket team.
Ferris’s cricket career was also brief as he enlisted in the British Army after the Second Boer War broke out. He played eight Test matches in his career. He was 33 years old when he passed away on November 17, 1900.
2. Billy Bates
- Country: England
Billy Bates is the second-best bowler on our list, with a bowling average of 13.25. He was born on November 19, 1855.
Nicknamed “The Duke,” Bates became Rochdale’s professional cricketer in 1873. Four years after turning professional, he made his first-class debut for the Yorkshire.
In 1881, he made his Test match debut playing against Australia. Between 1881-82 and 1886-87, Bates played 15 Test matches for the English cricket team, all against Australia.
During the 1882-83 season, he was the first English cricketer in Test cricket to set several individual records for England. His 14 wickets at the game were the best by any Test bowler at the time.
Bates’s career ended suddenly after his eyes were impaired on an Australian tour in 1887-88. His Test record for most matches in a career without playing at home still stands to date.
1. George Lohmann
- Country: England
George Lohmann sets the best bowling average of the Ashes Series at 13.01 record. He was born on June 2, 1865, and is regarded as one of the greatest bowlers of all time.
Lohmann has the best bowling average, with more than fifteen wickets in cricket history. He made his first-class cricket debut with Surrey in 1884.
Similarly, he made his Test match debut against Australia in 1886. Lohmann became the first bowler in a Test match to take eight wickets the following year.
Aside from having the best average, Lohmann also has the record for the lowest strike rate in Test history. He is also the fastest test bowler to reach the 100-wicket club within 16 Test matches.
Lohmann passed away at age 36 on December 1, 1901. He was inducted into the 2016 ICC Cricket Hall of Fame posthumously.
Conclusion
The Ashes Series is one of the prestigious tournaments in cricket. It is popular among cricket fans and is watched worldwide.
The Series has seen many spectacular players over the years. But these individuals have forever engraved their names in the Ashes Series history as the cricketers with the best bowling average.
