Jacob Duffy Breaks Hadlee’s Record with 81 Wickets in 2025

At Mount Maunganui today, New Zealand pacer Jacob Duffy delivered a masterclass, claiming five wickets to dismantle the West Indies batting line-up. The 31-year-old fast bowler has now taken five-wicket hauls in all three innings of this three-match series, cementing his place in cricketing history. In doing so, Duffy surpassed the legendary Sir Richard Hadlee to set a new record for the most wickets in a calendar year for New Zealand.

In 2025, across all formats, Duffy has amassed an astonishing 81 wickets in 36 matches. By comparison, Hadlee took 79 wickets in 23 matches in 1985.

Breaking down Duffy’s performances this year:

Hadlee, in contrast, claimed 64 wickets in 10 Tests and 15 wickets in 13 ODIs in 1985.

While Duffy has set a New Zealand record, he remains behind some of the game’s all-time greats globally. A total of 80 bowlers have taken 81 or more wickets in a single calendar year, with Duffy sharing 72nd place alongside eight others.

The all-time world record for the most wickets in a calendar year belongs to Muttiah Muralitharan, who took 136 wickets in 45 matches for Sri Lanka in 2001, including 80 in 12 Tests and 56 in 33 ODIs. Muralitharan had surpassed Shane Warne, the Australian leg-spin legend, who took 120 wickets in 1994.

In 2025, Duffy was also the highest wicket-taker in international cricket, ahead of his New Zealand teammate Matt Henry and Zimbabwe’s Blessing Muzarabani, both of whom took 65 wickets.