Dissecting Jacob Duffy's record-breaking run in 2025 (international cricket)
What's the story
New Zealand pacer Jacob Duffy has broken a 40-year-old record set by the legendary Sir Richard Hadlee. He has now become the Kiwi bowler with the most international wickets in a calendar year. The achievement came after Duffy's stellar performance in the third and final Test against the West Indies in Mount Maunganui. The pacer claimed nine wickets in the match as NZ sealed the series 2-0. On this note, let's dissect Duffy's record-breaking numbers in international cricket in 2025.
Record broken
Duffy surpasses Hadlee's record for most wickets in a year
Duffy's five-wicket haul in the final Test took his tally to 81 wickets in 2025, breaking Hadlee's previous record of 79 set in 1985. He achieved this feat in just 39 innings at an impressive average of 17.11. Meanwhile, Hadlee had reached his mark in 29 innings with an average of 18.51. "I saw that list of most wickets in a calendar year at lunchtime, and there were some amazing names on it," Duffy said after the game.
Series win
Duffy's impressive run in red-ball cricket
Duffy made his Test debut in August this year, against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo. He has since taken a total of 25 wickets in four red-ball matches at 16.28. Notably, he claimed fifers in each of the three Tests of the aforementioned NZ-WI series to win the Player Of The Series award. His tally of 23 wickets is the most for a NZ bowler in a home Test series. He clocked an average of 15.43 in the three-match affair.
ODIs and T20Is
Run in white-ball cricket
Duffy was also a formidable force in the limited-overs formats in 2025. He took 21 wickets in 11 ODIs at 21.47 and an impressive 35 wickets in 21 T20Is at 15.08. Notably, his T20I average is the best average among full-member team pacers with at least 20 wickets in the format in 2025. His economy in the format was 7.47 as he tallied three four-wicket hauls.
Information
More records for Duffy
Notably, Duffy became the first Kiwi bowler to claim over 30 T20I wickets in a calendar year. Coming to his Test performance, the pacer clocked the fourth-best average among NZ bowlers with at least 25 wickets in a calendar year (16.28).
Feats
Here are his other feats this year
Duffy bowled across 39 international innings 2025, and went wicket-less on just five occasions. Only two of these five innings saw him bowl more than four overs. There were 13 instances of him taking at least three wickets in an innings. As per ESPNcricinfo, Duffy's average of 17.11 in 2025 is the third-best for an NZ bowler with 50-plus international wickets in a calendar year. He is only behind Hadlee (12.88 in 1984) and Matt Henry (16.87 in 2025).