Top 5 Test bowlers with highest ICC rating points of all time

#1 Sydney Barnes - 932

Sydney Barnes could swing, seam and spin the ball at sharp pace

In a memorable career spanning from 1901 to 1914, Sydney Barnes was England's most potent weapon with the ball. Apart from possessing an innate ability to swing and cut the ball either way, he could also combine off-breaks with sizzling leg-breaks. Generating stifling pace from a short run-up, his assortment of seam and spin often left opposition batsmen gasping for breath.

Extra Cover: Sydney Barnes – Cricket’s original freelancer

According to retrospective rankings, Barnes ended 1911, 1912 and 1913 as the leading bowler in Test cricket. At the time of his retirement in February 1914, he is understood to have accumulated a whopping 932 rating points. A fledgling South African side bore the brunt of his carnage. From just seven Tests against them, the medium pacer grabbed 83 scalps at an unbelievable average of 9.85.