Top 10 Best Yorker Bowler in the World 2025 - Updated

Cricket has evolved into a game over the years. It has seen some massive changes in recent times. Nowadays, the batters seem to dominate the scene with amazing stroke play and hitting skills. Despite the game being shifted towards the batters, bowlers also seem to find their best ways to pick wickets. The best weapon in the pacers' armoury is the yorker delivery; it has been the most efficient delivery method, even in the contemporary game. This stock delivery has defined the careers of the pacers and created some amazing moments across generations of cricket. In this article, we find out the best yorker bowler in the world.

Ranking Factors

To rank the best yorker bowlers in cricket history is not just about statistics. We have considered three factors: Economy in death overs, Yorker accuracy, and Average speed of the bowler. These three factors are the key essentials to determine the best yorker bowler in the world.

• Economy in death overs: The economy rate in death overs is a key factor for the bowlers, especially the pacers, as the batters unleash their stroke play with long-range hitting and variety of shots. Maintaining an economy rate around 7 or below in these overs is exceptional for the bowlers.
• Yorker accuracy: The yorker is a delivery that separates the elite bowlers from the rest of the pacers. Some of the bowlers have delivered some accurate and toe-crushing yorkers. The bowlers need to be careful, as if the yorkers do not fall in the right place, then the batters will smack them for a boundary.
• Average speed: For a pacer, speed has always been a weapon that has given them both positive and negative results. But yorkers at a speed of 140km/h have been an excellent weapon for the pacers. This creates problems with the ball coming at a speed with toe-crushing yorkers.

Best Yorker Bowler in Cricket History List

The yorker has been the most difficult delivery for the pacers to bowl. But considered the ultimate weapon for a fast bowler. There have been numerous bowlers in world cricket who have mastered in bowling yorker deliveries, and with consistency, they have delivered as well. Below we have listed the best yorker bowler in cricket history.

*Yorker Accuracy is completely based on our prediction, as there has been no information available on the very ranking factor.

Top 10 Best Yorker Bowler in Cricket

The yorker is one of the most difficult deliveries to master in cricket, and many bowlers devote their entire careers to perfecting it. However, at the international level, some of the best fast bowlers have consistently produced amazing yorkers. From the great Waqar Younis to Jasprit Bumrah, they have mastered the yorkers in their era. Now let's find out the top 10 best yorker bowler in cricket.

10. Shaun Tait (Australia)

Shaun Tait is a bowler with a sling action and a fearsome pace. The Aussie pacer’s career had the most success in one-day internationals. Tait had a shortened season due to injuries. His raw pace and ability to swing the ball were exceptional. He has been one of the fastest bowlers that world cricket has ever seen. Tait could have been one of the finest bowlers if his injury-ridden career had not taken place.

However, during his prime days, he had trouble with some of the best batters in world cricket. He was nicknamed the "Wild Thing" and is remembered as one of the best yorker bowlers in cricket history. He has picked a total of 95 international wickets. Tait remains an iconic cricketer for the Aussies for his lethal yorkers and aggressive approach. This also makes him rank 10th in the best yorker bowler in the world.

9. Andrew Flintoff (England)

Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff was one of the handsome men's cricketers. The charismatic all-rounder has been exceptional, especially on the biggest occasions. With a mixture of aggression, precision, and control that made him one of the best yorker bowler in the world. He had a towering height and, with a bustling run‑up, Flintoff generated sharp pace and spongy bounce.

He made life uncomfortable for batters across formats. But his spell against Jacques Kallis in 2008 at Edgbaston was one of the finest bowling spells of his career; he toyed with him before dismissing him with a super outswing yorker. He has been a match winner for the English Lions in the traditional format of the game. This ranks him 9th in the best yorker bowlers list.

8. Dale Steyn (South Africa)

Dale Steyn, one of the most fearsome fast bowlers in world cricket. His ability to swing the ball both ways with a speed of over 140km/h has been exceptional. He had a mix of aggression and control with his line and length. His electrifying run‑up and lethal outswingers, Steyn had a special ability to adapt and dominate across all formats of the game and in every condition.

Steyn had troubled some of the greatest batters across formats with his lethal spells. His legendary spell during the IPL 2011 against Rohit Sharma, where the former India skipper failed to touch the ball in a T20 game. This was a rare sight, and his lethal swinging yorkers have been among the best in the world. This is the reason he ranks among the best yorker bowler in the world.

7. Brett Lee (Australia)

Brett Lee is one of the finest bowlers for Australia across formats. He had a long career of 13 years as a fast bowler, which was sensational. He made his debut against India in 1999 and was a member of the mighty Aussie side, which created nightmares for opponents from the 2000s to the 2010s. The Aussie great was a part of Australia's best side and bowling attack as well.

He has a record for the second-fastest Australian ODI player to take 100 wickets. However, the pacer was known for his pace and the ability to swing the ball over 145km/h, which made him more lethal than others. His swinging yorkers with a lethal pace made him crucial during the death overs, and this is the reason he ranks among the top 10 best yorker bowler in the world.

6. Shoaib Akhtar (Pakistan)

Shoaib Akhtar has been the fastest bowler in cricketing history. He, with long hair and slingy action, created terror among the batters with his speed. He was known to be one of the fiercest bowlers in world cricket. He had a long career of 14 years playing in international cricket, despite all the injuries and bans he had in his career.

The ‘Rawalpindi Express’ has the record for bowling the fastest delivery in world cricket. He could swing the ball over 150km/h, and this made him lethal. Shoaib Akhtar has troubled some of the legendary batters in world cricket. He also had a lethal yorker in his bag, with sheer pace; his yorkers were nearly impossible to play, and even broke the strumps as well. This is the reason he ranks among the best yorker bowler in the world.

5. Shane Bond (New Zealand)

Shane Bond is among the finest bowlers in New Zealand history. As fast bowling was on the verge of its golden era, he became one of the deadliest pace merchants due to his clever blend of speed, swing, and deadly yorkers. Though beset with injuries throughout his career, Bond had carved out a reputation as one of the best yorker bowlers by taking on batsmen across different formats and conditions during the early 2000s.

Bond, bowling above 150 km/h, coupled with speed precision, developed as a lethal weapon in the death overs when batsmen attempted to quicken the scoring rate. He has picked 259 wickets across all formats for the Kiwis. Bond has been a true legend of New Zealand cricket because of the unique mix of raw pace, precision, and ruthless aggression. This is why he ranks among the best yorker bowler in the world.

4. Mitchell Starc (Australia)

Mitchell Starc has been Australia's best fast bowler over the years. He has been Australia's best test bowler, known for his exceptional pace, lethal swing, and amazing inswing yorkers. He is currently the leading wicket-taker among active cricketers in the ICC Men’s ODI World Cup and third among all-time. He is seven wickets away from surpassing the great Glenn McGrath.

Starc has been performing exceptionally in the IPL as well. He creates an angle that makes problems for some of the greatest batters to deal with, and he remains a threat with both the new ball and the old ball. Starc's ability to swing the ball both ways, especially the inswinging deliveries for the right-handers, has been exceptional. His inswing yorkers are lethal, and the delivery for which he has been famous in the death overs. This is the reason he ranks as the best yorker bowler in the world.

3. Waqar Younis (Pakistan)

Waqar Younis has been one of the finest pacers for Pakistan. The one who introduced the concept of reverse swing and was a part of the squad that finished as runners-up at the 1999 Cricket World Cup. Younis holds the record for being the youngest Pakistani Test captain and the fourth youngest Test captain in history. He was exceptional in the death overs for the Men in Green.

Younis' skill was his ability to reverse-swing a cricket ball at high speed. Throughout his career, he picked 373 test wickets and 416 one-day international wickets. He, with his bowling partner Wasim Akram, formed one of the world's most feared bowling attacks. His reverse swinging yorkers during the death overs were clinical, which is why he ranks in the top three of the best yorker bowler in the world.

2. Lasith Malinga (Sri Lanka)

Lasith Malinga was a specialist death bowler who captained Sri Lanka's national cricket team to victory in the 2014 T20 World Cup. He was nicknamed "Slinga Malinga" because of his unique round-arm movement, also known as a sling action. Malinga's unorthodox action and dipping slower ball yorkers are known as his stock deliveries, from which he has gained immense success.

Malinga is recognised for his ability to take wickets on successive balls, frequently by throwing in-swinging yorkers. He is the only bowler in the world to have two World Cup hat-tricks. He ranks among the finest bowlers in the white-ball format of the game. He kept knocking over stumps with his pinpoint full-length deliveries. The Sri Lankan cricketer has been ranked among the list of best yorker bowler in the world.

1. Jasprit Bumrah (India)

Jasprit Bumrah has been the best fast bowler across formats of this generation. He has risen as one of the best Test bowlers and has been exceptional. The Indian speedster won the ICC Men's Test Cricketer of the Year title after taking 71 wickets in 13 Tests at an average of 14.92, leading the global rankings. He continues to impress with his polished swing bowling to a level that makes him one of the finest bowlers of this era.

Jasprit Bumrah came into cricket with formerly known for his lethal pace and precision. But slowly, he became more accurate during his time in the Mumbai Indians, where he worked with one of the finest bowlers, Lasith Malinga, and now Bumrah has been better than him in delivering the yorkers across formats of the game. This is why he is the best yorker bowler in cricket history and the best yorker bowler in the world 2025.

Who delivers toe-crushing yorkers?

In the world of cricket, the ability to bowl a yorker is tough, and only a handful of bowlers have truly mastered this challenging craft. At the top of this elite list are legendary pacers like Waqar Younis and Brett Lee, who revolutionized the use of the yorker in the late 1990s to 2000s. In modern days, bowlers like Lasith Malinga and Jasprit Bumrah have taken the art to new heights. But at the moment, Jasprit Bumrah has the best toe-crushing yorker.