Best Bowling Figures in BBL History: Malinga’s 6/7 Leads the Chart

Lasith Malinga’s 6 wickets for 7 runs is the best bowling performance in Big Bash League history — and more than thirteen years after he produced it, nobody has come close to beating it. The Sri Lankan fast bowler’s spell for Melbourne Stars against Perth Scorchers on 12 December 2012 remains the gold standard for T20 bowling: four overs, six wickets, seven runs, and a masterclass in yorker bowling that the league has never seen repeated.

These figures are correct through the end of BBL|15 in January 2026, before the BBL 2026-27 season begins on 12 December 2026. Behind Malinga’s record sits a collection of the greatest bowling performances the BBL has produced: the most economical bowlers, the biggest single-season hauls, the best debuts, and the hat-tricks that stopped matches in their tracks.

Best Bowling Figures in BBL History: The Record Spell

Lasith Malinga took 6/7 in four overs for Melbourne Stars against Perth Scorchers on 12 December 2012. It was only the second season of the BBL, and Malinga — already the most feared death bowler in world cricket — showed exactly why: a relentless diet of yorkers, slower balls and pinpoint accuracy that dismantled the Scorchers’ batting order one wicket at a time.

No bowler has taken six wickets in a BBL innings since. The record has survived the entire careers of the bowlers who lead the most wickets in BBL history chart — Sean Abbott (186 wickets), Ben Dwarshuis (164) and Andrew Tye (162) — none of whom has ever taken more than five wickets in a single BBL innings. Malinga’s 6/7 is, quite simply, in a class of its own.

Best Economy Rates in BBL History

Malinga’s greatness was not a one-off. He also owns the best economy rate in BBL history among bowlers with a substantial career, conceding just 5.40 runs per over across his 50 overs in the league between 2012 and 2014.

Rank	Bowler	Overs	Economy	Span
1	Lasith Malinga (Melbourne Stars)	50.0	5.40	2012–2014
2	Muttiah Muralitharan (Melbourne Renegades)	61.0	5.70	2012–2014
3	Usman Shinwari (Melbourne Renegades)	28.0	6.14	2018–2019
4	Mitchell Johnson (Perth Scorchers)	74.0	6.14	2016–2018
5	Mujeeb Ur Rahman (Brisbane Heat, Melbourne Renegades)	201.2	6.41	2018–2023

The list is a roll call of great spinners and fast bowlers from the league’s early years, when scores were lower and containment was king. Muralitharan, the greatest off-spinner of all time, sits second at 5.70. Mitchell Johnson, the former Australia fast bowler, sits fourth at 6.14 across 74 overs for Perth Scorchers. Mujeeb Ur Rahman’s fifth place is perhaps the most impressive of all: he maintained 6.41 across more than 200 overs, the largest workload on this list, bowling his mystery spin in the powerplay and through the middle overs.

Most Wickets in a Single BBL Season

The record for the most wickets in a single BBL season is shared: Daniel Sams took 30 wickets for Sydney Thunder in 2019–20, and Peter Siddle matched him with 30 for Adelaide Strikers in 2020–21. No bowler has ever taken more than 30 wickets in one BBL season, which shows how hard it is to sustain wicket-taking form across a full campaign.

Sams’ season was doubly remarkable because it began with the best bowling figures on BBL debut: he took 4/14 in four overs for Sydney Sixers against Sydney Thunder on 19 December 2017, announcing himself as one of the league’s great death bowlers. Siddle’s 30 wickets, meanwhile, came from relentless accuracy and swing with the new ball for the Strikers.

Hat-Tricks and the Most Expensive Spell

Ten hat-tricks have been taken in BBL history. Andrew Tye’s two lead the way — one for Perth Scorchers against Brisbane Heat in 2016–17 and another against Sydney Sixers in 2017–18 — and the list also includes Rashid Khan’s hat-trick for Adelaide Strikers against Sydney Sixers in 2019–20, Haris Rauf’s for Melbourne Stars against Sydney Thunder, and the very first BBL hat-trick, by Xavier Doherty for Hobart Hurricanes against Sydney Thunder in 2012–13. Cameron Boyce went one better in his famous spell for Melbourne Renegades against Sydney Thunder, taking four wickets in four balls.

At the other end of the scale, Liam Guthrie conceded 70 runs in a single innings for Brisbane Heat in 2021–22, the most expensive spell in BBL history — a reminder that the same league that produced Malinga’s 6/7 can also produce nights when nothing goes right for a bowler. The batters who inflict that kind of damage are the ones on the most runs in BBL history and most sixes in BBL history charts, led by Chris Lynn with 4,133 runs and 227 sixes.

What BBL|16 Could Change in the Bowling Records

Malinga’s 6/7 has survived thirteen years and more than 600 BBL matches, and it is the safest record in this article. The economy-rate list is equally safe: it is dominated by bowlers from the league’s early, lower-scoring years, and modern BBL scoring makes 5.40 across a career almost unthinkable now. The records most likely to move in BBL|16 are the season tally of 30 wickets — a big season from Sean Abbott, Ben Dwarshuis or Andrew Tye could finally break the shared record — and the hat-trick count, which has reached ten and grows by roughly one every season or two.

The bowlers most likely to threaten a five-wicket haul in BBL|16 are the men already leading the all-time wickets chart. Abbott, Dwarshuis, Tye and Behrendorff all bowl at the death, where wickets cluster, and all four are still active. But even for them, six wickets in four overs remains a distant dream: in fifteen seasons of the BBL, only one man has ever done it, and his name is Lasith Malinga.

For Indian fans following the new season, the BBL schedule 2026-27 shows when the league’s great bowlers play next — and the fastest centuries in BBL history and highest individual scores in BBL history charts show the innings they will be trying to prevent.

Best Bowling Figures in BBL History FAQs

What are the best bowling figures in BBL history?

Lasith Malinga’s 6/7 for Melbourne Stars against Perth Scorchers on 12 December 2012.

Who has the best economy rate in BBL history?

Lasith Malinga, at 5.40 runs per over across 50 overs between 2012 and 2014.

Who has taken the most wickets in a single BBL season?

Daniel Sams (30 for Sydney Thunder, 2019–20) and Peter Siddle (30 for Adelaide Strikers, 2020–21) share the record.

What are the best bowling figures on BBL debut?

Daniel Sams’ 4/14 for Sydney Sixers against Sydney Thunder on 19 December 2017.

How many hat-tricks have been taken in BBL history?

Ten, with Andrew Tye the only bowler to take two.