Former Sri Lankan Test spinner becomes fourth player to take 1,000 first-class wickets
Pushpakumara also has one of the best strike rates among bowlers who have taken 1,000 wickets. When he reached the milestone, he was 11th on the all-time list. All bowlers with better strike rates than him played before the First World War.
Former Test cricketer Malinda Pushpakumara reached a major milestone in domestic cricket by taking 1,000 wickets in First-class cricket. He is now the fourth Sri Lankan to achieve this record and the third active player to do so. Pushpakumara is 38 years old and last played for Sri Lanka in 2018.
He reached the milestone while playing for Badureliya Sports Club against Moors Sports Club in the Sri Lanka Major League three-day tournament. With this achievement, he joined an elite group of Sri Lankan bowlers that includes Muthiah Muralidharan (1,374 wickets), Rangana Herath (1,080 wickets), and Dinuka Hettiarachchi (1,001 wickets).
Pushpakumara also has one of the best strike rates among bowlers who have taken 1,000 wickets. When he reached the milestone, he was 11th on the all-time list. All bowlers with better strike rates than him played before the First World War.
Pushpakumara third active player to reach the milestone
Coming into the match, the 38-year-old Malinda Pushpakumara had 998 wickets. He finished the match with figures of 7/137 and took his total to 1,005 wickets. He became the 218th player to reach 1,000 wickets in first-class (red-ball) cricket, but he is only the third active player to achieve this milestone.
The other two active players to reach this mark are Simon Harmer of South Africa and James Anderson of England. Harmer achieved the feat last year, while Anderson reached it in 2021. Among active players, the next closest after Pushpakumara is Australia spinner Nathan Lyon, who has 860 wickets in first-class cricket.
Pushpakumara’s international career
Pushpakumara has played four Test matches and two ODIs for Sri Lanka. He made his Test debut against India in August 2017 and picked up five wickets across the two innings he bowled against them. He also played two Test matches against England and took nine wickets in four innings. His last Test appearance came in November 2018 against England.
In ODIs, Pushpakumara played two matches, both against India, in August and September 2017. Although his international career was short, he has been a consistent performer in domestic cricket.
1,000 first-class wickets at sub-40 strike rate
Below are the bowlers with 1,000 or more first-class wickets and a strike rate under 40. Numbers are updated until Pushpakumara reached the milestone.
| Bowler | Wickets | Average | SR | 5wI | 10wM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| William Lillywhite | 1576 | 10.36 | 9.7 | 155 | 55 |
| William Hillyer | 1482 | 10.91 | 15.0 | 149 | 54 |
| Alfred Mynn | 1038 | 10.33 | 16.1 | 93 | 34 |
| James Dean | 1144 | 13.8 | 20.8 | 86 | 18 |
| John Wisden | 1109 | 10.32 | 21.8 | 111 | 39 |
| James Grundy | 1137 | 12.81 | 32.2 | 84 | 24 |
| Arthur Mold | 1673 | 15.54 | 37.2 | 152 | 56 |
| Tom Richardson | 2104 | 18.43 | 37.5 | 200 | 72 |
| Bill Lockwood | 1376 | 18.34 | 37.9 | 121 | 29 |
| Tom Emmett | 1572 | 13.55 | 38.3 | 122 | 29 |
| Malinda Pushpakumara | 1000 | 20.06 | 38.3 | 86 | 28 |
| George Lohmann | 1841 | 13.73 | 39.1 | 176 | 57 |
| Schofield Haigh | 2012 | 15.94 | 39.2 | 135 | 30 |
| Cecil Parkin | 1048 | 17.58 | 39.4 | 93 | 27 |
| Sammy Woods | 1040 | 20.82 | 39.6 | 77 | 21 |
Pushpakumara also holds one of the best first-class bowling records on Sri Lankan soil. In the 2018/19 season, he became only the second bowler, after Pramodya Wickramasinghe, to take all ten wickets in an innings in Sri Lanka.
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