Top 10 South Africa Best Bowler of All Time (Updated 2025)

South Africa is one of the strongest teams in the cricketing world at the moment. They have proved their strength and courage by defeating Australia in the 2025 World Test Championship final. In that match, the Protea brigade surprised everyone not only with their batting but also with their bowling. They have shown that they can no longer be called ‘chokers’, and the team's bowling unit has contributed a lot to this success.
Not only in the present era, but the South African cricket team has produced some of the greatest bowlers throughout history. The batsmen of the opposing team were terrified by these bowlers. The South African team won many losing battles due to the charisma of these match-winning bowlers. From the heydays of Shaun Pollock and Allan Donald, passing through the enigmatic era of Dale Steyn and Makhaya Ntini to the modern pace spearhead of Lungi Ngidi and Kagiso Rabada, South Africa has always showcased world-class bowlers in their arsenal. Here, we will highlight both the best South African fast bowlers and the spin bowlers of all time. Here is the list of the top 10 best South African bowler 2025.

List of Top 10 South Africa Best Bowlers

South Africa has been known for producing some of the greatest fast bowlers over the years. Their brilliance has left the opposition batsmen reeling and terrified time and again. Let's take a look at the top 10 South Africa best bowler who have become legends in their country and the world. This list contains names like Allan Donald, Dale Steyn and Shaun Pollock. Pollock takes the pole position in the top 10 best South African bowler of all time.

Who is the Most Successful South African Bowler of All Time?

South Africa is a country that has produced great pace bowlers in every era. From the reigns of Shaun Pollock and Allan Donald, passing through the golden era of Dale Steyn and Makhaya Ntini to the modern pace spearhead of Lungi Ngidi and Kagiso Rabada, South Africa has always produced world-class bowlers. Shaun Pollock has been their best fast bowler of all time, followed by the likes of Dale Steyn, Makhaya Ntini, Allan Donald, and Kagiso Rabada. All the famous batsmen of the opposing team were terrified of all these pace bowlers. Here is the list of the top 5 best South African fast bowlers.

10. Lungi Ngidi | 229 Wickets

Lungi Ngidi is one of the young promising bowlers who is in the list of South Africa best bowler. He has become one of the frontline bowlers in the South African side across the three formats of the game. Young pacer Lungi Ngidi has good control over his line and length, where he troubles the batsmen with his consistent bowling. He can generate an extra bounce with his height and have good control over seam and swing. In his international career, he has played over 130+ matches across the three formats of the game, where he has taken more than 200+ wickets with an economy rate of 5.97 and an average of 24.49. He has taken a 4-wicket haul seven times and a 5-wicket haul five times. He has been one of South Africa best bowler who is making his spot in red-ball cricket after doing well in white-ball cricket.

9. Imran Tahir | 293 Wickets

Whenever the topic of South Africa best bowler crops up, Imran Tahir's name definitely makes the list. Imran Tahir, who made it into the list of the top 10 South Africa best bowler, altered the stance on spin bowling in South Africa and motivated the upcoming spinners. Tahir burst into the scene in 2011, and within a span of 8 years, before his retirement in 2019, Tahir made a name for himself as one of the best bowlers in South Africa with his masterful spin performances. In his whole career for the national team, Leg-spinner Imran Tahir grabbed 293 wickets at an average of 26.70. He highlighted the significance of spin bowling in limited-overs cricket and prevailed with an iconic stature due to his hard work and for the love and commitment to the game, which put him in South Africa best bowler list.

8. Keshav Maharaj | 299 Wickets

In the list of the top 10 South Africa best bowler​, Keshav Maharaj weaves his way up at the top of the chart. In recent years, left-arm orthodox spinner Keshav Maharaj has been an outstanding performer in Tests and ODIs, known for his commanding bowling and wicket-taking ability. After making his debut in 2016 against Australia at Perth for the Proteas, Keshav Maharaj quickly adapted to the team's tactical nuances and has calmly built a big name for accuracy, control, and the instinct of delivering on big occasions and critical junctures. In his 9-year-old international career, Maharaj has scalped 299 wickets so far and has gained recognition as the best bowler of South Africa in the spin category.

7. Morne Morkel | 544 Wickets

Morne Morkel had been one of the main bowlers of South Africa, who was known for his fiery bowling spells. The pacer used to bowl with great intent, where he could swing the ball in both ways and trouble the batsmen with his extra bounce. He used to bowl very economical spells along with the knack of taking wickets consistently. He was the star performer for the Proteas across the three formats of the game. He is currently serving as the bowling coach of the Indian cricket team. In his international career, he has played over 240+ matches across the three formats of the game, where he has taken more than 540+ wickets with an economy rate of 5.18 and an average of 26.10. He has taken a 4-wicket haul twenty-seven times and a 5-wicket haul ten times.

6. Kagiso Rabada | 575 Wickets

In the list of the top 10 best South African bowler, Kagiso Rabada is one of the leading name of the present generation of cricket, and is known for his pace, swing and accuracy, and is among South Africa's leading wicket-takers in cricket and is one of the top 10 best South African bowlers. Pacer Kagiso Rabada, who made his debut for South Africa in 2014, has become the best bowler in South Africa and has assisted its pace battery over the years. His bowling at the beginning of the innings and in the slog overs has repeatedly destroyed the opposition camp. Rabada has played 242 matches for the country across all formats and has taken 575 wickets. His blistering bowling in the World Test Championship ruined the Australian batting line-up and helped South Africa win the much-awaited trophy, and he is one of the best fast bowlers of South Africa.

5. Jacques Kallis | 577 Wickets

Jacques Kallis, who is one of the best all-rounders of all time, is also in the list of South Africa best bowler. He has one of the great assets for South Africa with all the departments of the game. He used to be very effective with his bowling in the middle overs, where he could take important wickets without leaking many runs. He has been one of the underrated players whose performance was overshadowed, but his stats have a lot to say. In his international career, he has played over 500+ matches across the three formats of the game, where he has taken more than 570+ wickets with an economy rate of 4.96 and an average of 30.73. He has taken a 4-wicket haul ten times and a 5-wicket haul seven times. No doubt, he is one of the best cricketers in the world.

4. Allan Donald | 602 Wickets

In the top 10 best bowler in South Africa, Alan Donald is one of the stars of South African cricket and was one of the Proteas' leading fast bowlers from 1991 to 2003. Allan Donald was known for his speed, precision and attacking bowling. He is also known by the nickname "White Lightning". Donald scalped 80 Test wickets in a single calendar year, which is the fourth highest ever. He took 5/29 at Eden Gardens on his 1991 debut against India, which is one of the highlights of his cricket career. He has played 236 matches for his country and has claimed 602 wickets with a meagre average of 3.30, which makes him one of South Africa best bowler.

3. Makhaya Ntini | 662 Wickets

Makhaya Ntini was a special pace bowler who was quite famous for his peculiar bowling action and brisk pace. The right-arm bowler played 283 matches for his country and took 662 wickets at an average of 34.37. Ntini took five wickets in 22 matches and scalped ten wickets in four matches. His solid performance made him an important member of the South African side. Ntini played for the Proteas national team from 1998 to 2011 and collected several accolades. He claimed the no. 2 spot in ICC Test bowling rankings and was named in ICC’s World Test XI in the 2006–07 season, which makes him one of South Africa best bowler

2. Dale Steyn | 699 Wickets

Dale Steyn is among South Africa best bowler of all time and makes his way in the top 10 South Africa best fast bowler. He made his debut for his country in 2004 and took 699 wickets in 265 matches, and became South Africa's second-highest wicket-taker. Steyn was famous for his knack for swinging the ball. He took five wickets in 29 matches and took 5 ten-wicket hauls. Sadly, he was unable to reach 700 wickets because he suffered multiple injuries towards the end of his cricket career. However, before bidding farewell to cricket, he made a place in the hearts of every cricket fan with his pace, swing, and aggression. He is also considered to be one of the best yorker bowler in the world.

1. Shaun Pollock | 829 Wickets

Shaun Pollock, the former Proteas captain, is not only one of South Africa best bowler but also a terrific all-rounder of his time. He made his debut against England on November 16 at 1995, at SuperSport Park and retired from cricket in 2008. Shaun Pollock bagged a total of 829 wickets in 423 matches in all formats of the game at an average of 22.73. His economy is 4.61, which can be termed quite outstanding. Shaun Pollock is the best bowler of South Africa ever, and he is also considered to be one of the best ODI bowlers. Apart from bowling, he scored 3,781 runs, which includes two centuries.

How We Ranked the Best Bowler in South Africa

This South Africa best bowler list 2025 Ranked keeps focus not just on the total number of like wickets taken by a particular bowler or the averages, but also on attributes like consistency across all the formats of the game of cricket, helping the team to win a match with stunning performances, performances in high-voltage games and can perform under any circumstance. These are some of the factors that affect the rankings of best bowlers of South Africa.

• Most Wickets: The number of wickets a bowler has taken in his entire career tells us how effective he has been for his team. Throughout his career, a bowler tries to take himself to the pedestal of the best of the best through his hard work and dedication, which makes him a legend in a true sense.
• Impact: The impact of a bowler firmly dictates how great that bowler is. Interestingly, the impact of a bowler cannot be rightly measured by any stats or records. How effective a bowler is in high-voltage matches and clutch moments underlines how much impact he has on the game of cricket.
• Consistency: How long a bowler has been serving the country with the ball determines how effective he is. It is not about bowling very well in a match, being like a 'one-match wonder'. Winning matches for the country over the years shows how consistent a bowler is. So this factor is quite important in choosing the top 10 Best South African bowlers 2025.