It is hard to predict how long Warne will be able to enjoy his apex position as Murali will be gearing himself to grab his world record once again, but right now Warne is Test cricket's new bowling king.
Wouldn't it be interesting to see how the world record of being the leading wicket-taker in Test cricket has changed hands over the years. The following table shows the progress of wicket aggregate records in Test cricket. The date column shows when the new record was set and the last column shows the target set by the record holder when he was overtaken by the next player on the list.
| Wkts | Bowler | Date | Match | Venue | Test No. | Target |
| 8 | A.Shaw | 19-03-1877 | Eng v Aus | Melbourne | 1 | 9 |
| 9 | T.K.Kendall | 31-03-1877 | Aus v Eng | Melbourne | 2 | 15 |
| 15 | F.R.Spofforth | 04-01-1879 | Aus v Eng | Melbourne | 3 | 18 |
| 18 | G.E.Palmer | 20-02-1879 | Aus v Eng | Sydney | 6 | 29 |
| 29 | F.R.Spofforth | 29-08-1882 | Aus v Eng | The Oval | 9 | 33 |
| 33 | G.E.Palmer | 01-01-1883 | Aus v Eng | Melbourne | 10 | 46 |
| 46 | F.R.Spofforth | 29-01-1883 | Aus v Eng | Sydney | 12 | 58 |
| 58 | G.E.Palmer | 22-07-1884 | Aus v Eng | Lord's | 15 | 70 |
| 70 | F.R.Spofforth | 24-02-1885 | Aus v Eng | Sydney | 19 | 95 |
| 95 | J.Briggs | 12-01-1895 | Eng v Aus | Adelaide | 44 | 101 |
| 101 | C.T.B.Turner | 04-02-1895 | Aus v Eng | Sydney | 45 | 102 |
| 102 | J.Briggs | 02-03-1895 | Eng v Aus | Melbourne | 46 | 104 |
| 104 | G.A.Lohmann | 21-03-1896 | Eng v SA | Cape Town | 49 | 113 |
| 113 | J.Briggs | 14-01-1898 | Eng v Aus | Adelaide | 55 | 119 |
| 119 | H.Trumble | 02-01-1904 | Aus v Eng | Melbourne | 79 | 142 |
| 142 | S.F.Barnes | 13-12-1913 | Eng v SA | Durban | 130 | 190 |
| 190 | C.V.Grimmett | 04-01-1936 | Aus v SA | Cape Town | 249 | 217 |
| 217 | A.V.Bedser | 24-07-1953 | Eng v Aus | Leeds | 375 | 237 |
| 237 | J.B.Statham | 26-01-1963 | Eng v Aus | Adelaide | 538 | 243 |
| 243 | F.S.Trueman | 15-03-1963 | Eng v NZ | Christchurch | 542 | 308 |
| 308 | L.R.Gibbs | 31-01-1976 | WI v Aus | Melbourne | 770 | 310 |
| 310 | D.K.Lillee | 27-12-1981 | Aus v WI | Melbourne | 915 | 356 |
| 356 | I.T.Botham | 21-08-1986 | Eng v NZ | The Oval | 1051 | 374 |
| 374 | R.J.Hadlee | 12-11-1988 | NZ v Ind | Bangalore | 1107 | 432 |
| 432 | Kapil Dev | 08-02-1994 | Ind v SL | Ahmedabad | 1247 | 435 |
| 435 | C.A.Walsh | 27-03-2000 | WI v Zim | Kingston | 1492 | 520 |
| 520 | M.Muralitharan | 08-05-2004 | SL v Zim | Harare | 1698 | 533 |
| 533 | SK Warne | 15-10-2004 | Aus v Ind | Chennai | 1714 | ??? |
