Top 5 English Spin Bowlers In Tests In South Africa

All Test Ratings on the website are from 01/01/1950 onwards (Know Why). They are updated till 2026-02-05. Brief explanation of the ratings is given before each section and at the end (Detailed Explanation). Here are the Top 5 Spin bowlers from England in South Africa in Test cricket.

CONTENTS

6. BEST BOWLING (WKTS)

7. TEAM VEN OPP RATING

8. BRIEF EXPLANATION

8.1. Dynamic Nature

8.2. Trend Setter (TS)

8.3. Abbreviations

TVO RATING

This rating considers performances of players from specific teams in particular nations or against particular oppositions.

Team (T)	ENG
Venue (V)	SA
Oposition (O)	ALL

THE CRITERIA

The TVO Rating is divided into 4 main sections:-

CRITERIA	STAT	POINTS
Prolific	Wickets Taken	300.00
Consistent	Average	250.00
Attacking	Strike Rate	250.00
Best Bowling	Top Bowling Performances	200.00

QUALIFICATION

Min Innings	5
Min Wkts	10

PROLIFIC

Criteria: Points For Wickets Taken

RANK	BOWLER	NAT	INNS	WKTS	RAT
TS	GP Swann	ENG	7	21	300.00
1	GP Swann	ENG	7	21	300.00
2	FJ Titmus	ENG	10	18	257.14
3	DA Allen	ENG	7	17	242.86
4	AF Giles	ENG	9	11	157.14
5	MM Ali	ENG	6	10	142.86

CONSISTENT

R Ave

Relative Average (R Ave) is a more accurate type of average. Know How It Is Calculated. Briefly it takes into account:-

Strength of Opposition.
Venues at which a player has played.
Time Period in which a bowler has been active

Criteria: Points For Relative Average

Min Qualification For TS
Min Wickets	10

RANK	BOWLER	INNS	RUNS	WKTS	AVE	R AVE	RAT
TS	GP Swann	7	659	21	31.38	27.84	250.00
1	GP Swann	7	659	21	31.38	27.84	250.00
2	AF Giles	9	449	11	40.82	32.17	216.38
3	DA Allen	7	458	17	26.94	33.83	205.71
4	MM Ali	6	485	10	48.50	40.71	170.96
5	FJ Titmus	10	694	18	38.56	46.30	150.31

ATTACKING

R SR

Relative Strike Rate (R SR) for bowlers is calculated using the same method as R Ave with average being replaced with SR.

Criteria: Points For R SR or Balls/Wkt

Min Qualification For TS
Min Wickets	10

RANK	BOWLER	INNS	BLS	WKTS	SR	R SR	RAT
TS	GP Swann	7	1262	21	60.10	63.60	250.00
1	GP Swann	7	1262	21	60.10	63.60	250.00
2	AF Giles	9	839	11	76.27	67.92	234.11
3	DA Allen	7	1535	17	90.29	90.65	175.39
4	MM Ali	6	966	10	96.60	97.22	163.55
5	FJ Titmus	10	1855	18	103.06	101.89	156.05

BEST BOWLING (WKTS)

BBW

In this criteria, we have taken the top 5 bowling performances by Wkts of a bowler. Best Bowling By Wickets (BBW) is simply the total wickets taken in the 5 innings divided by 5.

Criteria: Points For Wkts Taken In Top 5 Inns

RANK	BOWLER	1	2	3	4	5	BBW	RAT
TS	GP Swann	5/54	5/110	4/110	3/127	2/74	3.80	200.00
1	GP Swann	5/54	5/110	4/110	3/127	2/74	3.80	200.00
2	DA Allen	5/41	4/87	3/80	2/79	2/99	3.20	168.42
3	FJ Titmus	5/66	4/73	2/87	2/133	1/20	2.80	147.37
4	MM Ali	4/69	3/47	2/104	1/50		2.00	105.26
5	AF Giles	3/105	2/39	2/69	1/12	1/24	1.80	94.74

TEAM VEN OPP RATING

The TEAM VEN OPP (TVO) Rating is the addition of the points of all the above criteria. The rating is out of 1,000.

RANK	BOWLER	PRO	CON	ATT	BBW	TVO RAT
1	GP Swann	300.00	250.00	250.00	200.00	1,000.00
2	DA Allen	242.86	205.71	175.39	168.42	792.37
3	FJ Titmus	257.14	150.31	156.05	147.37	710.88
4	AF Giles	157.14	216.38	234.11	94.74	702.36
5	MM Ali	142.86	170.96	163.55	105.26	582.63

BRIEF EXPLANATION

Dynamic Nature

Most of our ratings are dynamic, and as new matches are played, the rating of earlier bowlers may change if current bowlers set new benchmarks.

Trend Setter (TS)

TS is the player who does the best in a criteria.
The rating of all other players are calculated taking the TS as the benchmark. Example:-
TS Bowling Ave: 25.00; Player X Ave: 30.00; Section Points: 300.00
TS Points: 300.00 (Max)
Player X Points: TS Ave/Ave X 300 = 25.00/30.00 X 300 = 250.00.
Ratings of all sections are calculated similarly with Ave being replaced by the Criteria Stat.
Know All About the Trend Setter