Australia’s legendary bowling quartet of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, and Nathan Lyon created history on Sunday (October 11) in the first Test of the three-match series against South Africa, which is currently taking place at the Kingsmead Stadium in Durban.
The legendary bowling attack was at its best as the visitors managed to take a massive 106-run first-innings lead.
The hosts were bowled out for 284 after Australia posted 290 in their first innings. Skipper Cummins was the pick of the bowlers with three wickets to his name, while Starc, Hazlewood, and Lyon got two wickets each.
Cummins, Starc, Hazlewood, Lyon Create History
Throughout the course of the innings, the quartet completed 600 wickets while playing together. Overall, the quartet has been in the playing XI for Australia 38 times and taken 606 wickets. They are the first bowling quartet in history to achieve the feat. No one else has even managed to take 500 wickets together.
Most Wickets By A Bowling Quartet in Test Cricket History
| Players | Wickets | Team | Matches Played Together |
| Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon | 606 | Australia | 38 |
| James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali | 433 | England | 34 |
| Curtly Ambrose, Ian Bishop, Carl Hooper, Courtney Andrew Walsh | 377 | West Indies | 30 |
| Lindsay Johnson, William Johnston, Raymond Lindwall, Keith Miller | 358 | Australia | 27 |
| Andrew Flintoff, Matthew Hoggard, Steve Harmison, Ashley Giles | 357 | England | 24 |
The three pacers and sole spinner have also been equal contributors in their record-breaking partnership. Over the 38 matches they have played together, Cummins has 158 wickets while Starc has taken 155 scalps. Meanwhile, Hazlewood has contributed with 150 wickets while Lyon has 139 dismissals.
The previous best Australian partnership was by Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne, Jason Gillespie, and Brett Lee, who took 265 wickets in the 16 matches they played together.
Meanwhile, no Indian quartet has taken more than 206 wickets while playing together. The record belongs to Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Ravindra Jadeja. The only other Indian bowling attack (four players) with more than 200 wickets together is Mohammed Shami, Umesh, Ashwin, and Jadeja, with 201 scalps.