Top 5 bowlers with the most wickets in ODIs in 2025

Cricket’s 50-over calendar in 2025 produced a handful of bowlers who repeatedly delivered breakthroughs and game-changing spells. Across full-member and Associate fixtures, a mix of experienced internationals and lesser-known operators topped the wicket charts, often by exploiting form, conditions and clear bowling roles. Here are the five bowlers who finished 2025 with the most ODI wickets, and why each dominated the year.

1. Matt Henry (New Zealand) - 31 wickets

Matt Henry ended the year as the leading wicket-taker, using a potent new-ball plan and death-over craft to pile up 31 wickets in limited appearances. Henry’s strengths are clear: high-intensity new-ball bursts, the ability to shape the ball away and into right- and left-handers, and an economical rhythm that forces batters into mistakes. 

He picked up regular early strikes for New Zealand, and his knack for producing incisive spells, often with a perfect mix of seam movement and purposeful bounce, made him lethal in bilateral series and ICC fixtures alike. Henry’s year combined volume and quality with frequent multi-wicket hauls and a strike rate that left opponents scrambling for match-ups.

2. Bernard Scholtz (Namibia) - 30 wickets

Bernard Scholtz’s run to 30 wickets is the standout story for Associate cricket in 2025. Scholtz, a left-arm orthodox spinner, turned himself into a middle-overs wrecking ball with miserly economy, impeccable control and subtle variations that forced batters to take risks. 

His tally reflects both consistency across League and ICC fixtures and his ability to exploit middle-over pressure. For Namibia, Scholtz provided the kind of sustained control that full-member teams covet in building dot-ball pressure and converting it into regular breakthroughs. His season underlined how spin remains a weapon in the 50-over game, even against increasingly aggressive batting line-ups.

3. Adil Rashid (England) - 30 wickets

Adil Rashid finished level with Scholtz on wicket numbers but carried them in higher-profile fixtures. Rashid’s leg-spin has always been built on deception, flight and a sharp googly. In 2025, he added consistency to that arsenal. 

Operating chiefly in the middle overs, Rashid picked up wickets by tempting batters to drive and then exploiting misreads. He also delivered on big stages where England needed him to break partnerships, and his experience made him a go-to choice in crunch moments. Rashid’s numbers reflect both skill and the volume of England’s ODI schedule that kept him bowling in run-laden phases.

4. Jayden Seales (West Indies) - 27 wickets

Jayden Seales cemented his status as a frontline international strike bowler with 27 wickets in 2025. Seales blends movement, pace and clever use of angle, which is a combination that routinely unsettles top-order batters. 

Crucially for West Indies, he delivered early wickets with the new ball and followed up with tight, wicket-seeking spells in the middle. His 6/18 in one standout performance illustrated his match-winning ceiling, and the season as a whole showed a young bowler growing into responsibility and producing consistent returns across conditions.

5. Mitchell Santner (New Zealand) - 25 wickets

Mitchell Santner’s 25 wickets came from a different mould in control, subtle variation and the ability to build pressure over long spells as a left-arm finger-spinner. Santner often operated as the glue between New Zealand’s fast bowlers, tying down one end while the pacemen attacked. 

His economy and knack for picking the right ball to induce a false stroke made him highly effective in both bilateral and tournament cricket. Santner’s 2025 was a reminder that wicket-taking in ODIs still comes as much from intelligent containment as from outright aggression.

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