The Proteas lead the global standings with an average of 23.78, with Australia the next best at 24.34 and everyone else trailing further behind.
The Proteas sit clear of Australia in second place and India in third at 28.00, with the gap between South Africa and the rest of the field underlining just how dominant their seam attack has been over the past four years.
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The numbers reflect a period of genuine excellence for Proteas pace bowling. Kagiso Rabada has led the attack with consistent wicket-taking across home and away conditions, while Lungi Ngidi, Marco Jansen and Nandre Burger have all made significant contributions to build one of the deepest seam bowling units in world cricket.
Since 2022, only Ireland have a worse pace bowling average in Tests than Pakistan 👀 pic.twitter.com/OYqycpO0J1
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) May 18, 2026
South Africa’s pace dominance was perhaps best illustrated by their World Test Championship triumph in 2025, where their ability to take 20 wickets consistently proved the difference against the world’s best batting line-ups.
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At the other end of the table, Pakistan sit second from bottom with an average of 37.32 — a number that tells its own story about the decline of a bowling unit that once produced some of the most feared fast bowlers in the history of the game.
The contrast between the two sides is stark. South Africa have built a pace attack that wins Test matches. Pakistan are still searching for theirs.
Photo: Paul Harding/Gallo Images
