Image Credit: twitter.com/@cricketworldcup
First place on the list of bowlers with the best Test bowling average goes to the legendary English bowler George Lohmann. Lohmann played in 18 games and surrendered 1205 runs at a run economy of just 1.88. He also had a bowling average of 10.75 and a lifetime total of 112 wickets.
| Avg | Player | Matches | Wickets | Econ | Overs | Span |
| 14.81 | Mitchell Starc | 18 | 49 | 4.64 | 156.1 | 2015-2019 |
| 15.18 | Chris Old | 9 | 16 | 2.68 | 90.3 | 1975-1979 |
| 15.70 | Mohammed Shami | 11 | 31 | 5.06 | 96.1 | 2015-2019 |
| 16.12 | Nathan Bracken | 10 | 16 | 3.60 | 71.4 | 2007 |
| 16.25 | Geoff Allott | 9 | 20 | 3.70 | 87.4 | 1999 |
Mitchell Starc
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In a time when bats are becoming more prominent, boundaries are getting narrower, and hitters are getting cheekier, it would be foolish to ignore Starc’s bowling performance in March when he was named 2015 Cricket World Cup Player of the Tournament. Starc excelled in the details despite winning the championship by taking 22 wickets in just eight games. His average was a staggering 10.18, and his economy rate was 3.50. Starc’s strongest traits are his adaptability and dependability in various situations. He regularly exceeded 150 km/h at the World Cup, and his average pace each game was faster than Mitchell Johnson’s and Pat Cummins’.
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Chris Old
Chris Old, who was as good of a natural athlete as one could want to see, was plagued by ailments for the majority of his career, mostly to his legs and back. This is one of the paradoxes of postwar English cricket. The younger brother of English rugby union fly-half “Chilly” Old earned his Yorkshire debut at 17 as a 6′ 3″ fast bowler. But with time, he developed into a reliable and deadly fast-medium seamer renowned for accuracy, a strong late outswing, and a lethal lower-order left-hand hitter. Old was one of their unsung heroes when England defeated Australia at Headingley in 1981 to become the only team in the 20th century to win a Test after following. He entered the match when England was only 25 runs up and helped Ian Botham score 67 runs in less than an hour. After retiring, Old moved to Cornwall and ran a fish and chip shop there.
Mohammed Shami
Mohammed Shami was India’s best fast bowler at the 2015 World Cup in Australia, taking 77 of the team’s 80 possible wickets and assisting in the team’s advancement to the semifinals. It was later established that he had played through the competition and the four-month Test series against the hosts before it while dealing with a knee injury. The secret to his success is his ability to move the ball—both old and new—quickly and accurately.
There was a tonne of frustrating times as well. Early in 2016, Shami had high expectations of returning to the Indian team. Nevertheless, he could not take part in the Asia Cup in February or a limited-overs tour of Australia due to a hamstring ailment. He was selected for a 15-man World T20 team in March. However, he could not make the starting XI after taking a year off from playing international cricket.
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