This Rating takes into account only the matches played in the 1980s. Brief explanation of the ratings is given before each section (Detailed Explanation). So, here are the Top 7 Spin bowlers in ODI cricket in the 1980s.

*Note: All ODI Ratings are updated till 2025-09-15

CONTENTS

3. PRIMARY CRITERIA

3.1. PROLIFIC

3.2. CONSISTENT

3.2.1. Against All Teams

3.2.2. Against Top Teams

3.3. ECONOMIC

3.3.1. Against All Teams

3.3.2. Against Top Teams

3.4. BEST BOWLING BY WKTS (NWT)

3.5. BEST BOWLING BY ECO (NWT)

3.6. PRIMARY RATING

4. CONDITIONS CRITERIA

4.1. HOME/AWAY

4.1.1. At Home

4.1.2. Away From Home

4.2. FAVOURABLE/UNFAVOURABLE CONDITIONS

4.2.1. Favourable Conditions Rating

4.2.1.1. Non Asians In Asia

4.2.1.2. Asians In Asia

4.2.2. Unfavourable Conditions Rating

4.2.2.1. Non Asians Outside Asia

4.2.2.2. Asians Outside Asia

4.3. CONDITIONS RATING

5. SECONDARY CRITERIA

5.1. WORLD CUP

5.2. IMPACT INNINGS

5.3. TOP FORM

5.4. SECONDARY RATING

6. DECADES RATING

7. NON WEAK TEAMS

8. TOP TEAMS

THE CRITERIA

CRITERIA	CONSTITUENTS
Primary	Wickets, Average, Economy, BBI (Wkts & Eco)
Conditions	Home, Away, In Asia, Outside Asia
Secondary	World Cup, Top Form, Impact Inns

The Trend Setter (TS)

TS is the player which does the best in a criteria. The rating of all other players are calculated taking the TS as the benchmark. Know All About TS. Here is an example:-

TS 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.

TT and NWT

Some sections consider performances only against the top teams (TT) and non weak teams (NWT). Here is some information:-

Win/Loss Ratio is used to determine TT and NWT.
They are calculated by decades.
A bowler's performace is counted in TT or NWT if it comes against that team in the specific decade.
Knock Out and Super Six matches of ODI World Cup are also counted.
TT & NWT may be found in the last section.

QUALIFICATION

Min Innings (TT)	15
Min Career Wkts	25

PRIMARY CRITERIA

The Primary Rating is divided into 5 main sections:-

CRITERIA	STAT	POINTS
Prolific	Wickets Taken	200.00
Consistent	Average	300.00
Economic	Strike Rate	300.00
Best Bowling	Top Inns (Wkts)	100.00
Economic Bowling	Top Inns (Eco)	100.00

PROLIFIC

Criteria: Points For Wickets Taken

RANK	BOWLER	NAT	INNS	WKTS	RAT
TS	Abdul Qadir	PAK	95	131	200.00
1	Abdul Qadir	PAK	95	131	200.00
2	RJ Shastri	IND	111	109	166.41
3	IVA Richards	WI	116	108	164.89
4	JE Emburey	ENG	58	75	114.50
5	Maninder Singh	IND	55	65	99.24
6	RA Harper	WI	62	55	83.97
7	VJ Marks	ENG	32	44	67.18

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 bowler has played.
Time Period in which he has been active

Criteria: Points For Relative Average

Min Qualification For TS
Min Wickets	50
Min Wickets (TT)	30

Against All Teams

RANK	BOWLER	INNS	RUNS	WKTS	AVE	R AVE	RAT
TS	Abdul Qadir	95	3273	131	24.98	26.80	150.00
1	Abdul Qadir	95	3273	131	24.98	26.80	150.00
2	VJ Marks	32	1135	44	25.80	27.75	144.88
3	JE Emburey	58	2226	75	29.68	28.38	141.68
4	Maninder Singh	55	1959	65	30.14	30.86	130.27
5	RJ Shastri	111	3867	109	35.48	34.61	116.15
6	IVA Richards	116	3837	108	35.53	34.72	115.80
7	RA Harper	62	2185	55	39.73	39.54	101.69

Against Top Teams

RANK	BOWLER	INNS	RUNS	WKTS	AVE	R AVE	RAT
TS	HA Gomes	31	876	39	22.46	23.27	150.00
1	JE Emburey	55	2140	73	29.32	27.55	126.70
2	Maninder Singh	43	1618	53	30.53	29.36	118.88
3	VJ Marks	29	1019	37	27.54	29.70	117.55
4	Abdul Qadir	77	2718	93	29.23	29.75	117.34
5	RJ Shastri	96	3405	94	36.22	34.17	102.18
6	IVA Richards	106	3510	95	36.95	35.86	97.34
7	RA Harper	58	2102	51	41.22	40.72	85.74

ECONOMIC

R ER

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

Criteria: Points For R ER

Min Qualification For TS
Min Balls	1000

Against All Teams

RANK	BOWLER	INNS	BLS	RUNS	ER	R ER	RAT
TS	VJ Marks	32	1838	1135	3.71	3.93	150.00
1	VJ Marks	32	1838	1135	3.71	3.93	150.00
2	RA Harper	62	3300	2185	3.97	3.94	149.74
3	Maninder Singh	55	3025	1959	3.89	4.11	143.70
4	Abdul Qadir	95	4882	3273	4.02	4.17	141.48
5	JE Emburey	58	3281	2226	4.07	4.28	137.98
6	RJ Shastri	111	5504	3867	4.22	4.28	137.81
7	IVA Richards	116	5124	3837	4.49	4.44	132.96

Against Top Teams

RANK	BOWLER	INNS	BLS	RUNS	ER	R ER	RAT
TS	VJ Marks	29	1664	1019	3.67	3.88	150.00
1	VJ Marks	29	1664	1019	3.67	3.88	150.00
2	RA Harper	58	3066	2102	4.11	4.05	143.62
3	Abdul Qadir	77	3997	2718	4.08	4.14	140.62
4	Maninder Singh	43	2395	1618	4.05	4.19	139.10
5	RJ Shastri	96	4848	3405	4.21	4.29	135.75
6	JE Emburey	55	3131	2140	4.10	4.30	135.46
7	IVA Richards	106	4632	3510	4.55	4.45	130.73

BEST BOWLING BY WKTS (NWT)

BBW

In this criteria, we have taken the top 5 bowling performances by Wkts of a bowler against Non Weak Teams in the 1980s. 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	Abdul Qadir	5/44	5/53	4/9	4/17	4/21	4.40	100.00
1	Abdul Qadir	5/44	5/53	4/9	4/17	4/21	4.40	100.00
2	IVA Richards	6/41	5/41	4/42	3/27	3/29	4.20	95.45
3	VJ Marks	5/20	5/39	3/30	3/35	3/50	3.80	86.36
4	JE Emburey	4/37	4/39	3/17	3/26	3/31	3.40	77.27
4	RJ Shastri	4/38	4/40	3/24	3/26	3/30	3.40	77.27
6	Maninder Singh	4/22	3/21	3/23	3/24	3/34	3.20	72.73
7	RA Harper	3/34	3/38	3/49	2/8	2/22	2.60	59.09

BEST BOWLING BY ECO (NWT)

BBE

In this criteria, we have taken the top 5 bowling performances by Economy of a bowler against Non Weak Teams. Best Bowling By Economy (BBE) is the Relative Economy of the bowler in the 5 Inns. Only 30+ Balls performaces are counted in this criteria.

Criteria: Points For Economy In Top 5 Inns

RANK	BOWLER	1	2	3	4	5	BBE	RAT
TS	Abdul Qadir	10.0/9	12.0/21	7.2/13	10.0/19	6.0/13	1.72	100.00
1	Abdul Qadir	10.0/9	12.0/21	7.2/13	10.0/19	6.0/13	1.72	100.00
2	RA Harper	9.0/8	10.0/15	10.0/18	10.0/22	9.0/21	1.74	98.82
3	RJ Shastri	9.3/14	10.0/17	10.0/17	7.0/13	5.0/10	1.74	98.71
4	JE Emburey	11.0/15	10.0/19	8.3/17	10.0/20	10.0/22	1.97	86.91
5	Maninder Singh	10.0/19	10.0/21	10.0/21	9.0/19	9.0/19	2.18	78.70
6	IVA Richards	10.0/23	6.3/16	8.0/20	10.0/26	9.0/24	2.47	69.31
7	VJ Marks	6.0/12	10.0/20	10.0/25	10.0/27	10.0/27	2.56	66.95

PRIMARY RATING

The total of the above five criteria comes out to be 1,000.00 points. The Primary Rating is the addition of the points a bowler scored in the five criteria. The Weightage of the Rating is 40%.

RANK	BOWLER	PRO	CON	ECO	BBW	BBE	RAT	PRI PTS
1	Abdul Qadir	200.00	267.34	282.10	100.00	100.00	949.44	379.78
2	RJ Shastri	166.41	218.33	273.56	77.27	98.71	834.29	333.71
3	JE Emburey	114.50	268.38	273.44	77.27	86.91	820.50	328.20
4	IVA Richards	164.89	213.14	263.69	95.45	69.31	806.48	322.59
5	VJ Marks	67.18	262.43	300.00	86.36	66.95	782.92	313.17
6	Maninder Singh	99.24	249.16	282.81	72.73	78.70	782.63	313.05
7	RA Harper	83.97	187.42	293.36	59.09	98.82	722.66	289.07

CONDITIONS CRITERIA

The Conditions Rating is calculated by applying the five criteria of Primary Rating to various conditions. If Innings are less than the Qualification than the Player gets 50% of the Points.

The four conditions criteria and thier weightage is as follows:-

CRITERIA	POINTS
Home	20.00
Away	80.00
Favourable Conditions	20.00
Unfavourable Conditions	80.00

HOME/AWAY

HM/AW RATING

Points to note:-

U.A.E. and India are considered as Home for Afghanistan.
U.A.E. is also considered as a second home for Pakistan.
All Home and Away stats of Pakistani and Afghani bowlers are calculated accordingly.

At Home

Min Innings Vs Top Teams: 5

RANK	BOWLER	INNS	WKTS	AVE	ECO	RAT	WTG
1	Abdul Qadir	45	57	25.51	3.79	874.72	17.49
2	RJ Shastri	46	51	33.65	4.56	776.54	15.53
3	Maninder Singh	32	38	32.61	4.01	740.26	14.81
4	RA Harper	10	12	27.33	3.81	696.96	13.94
5	VJ Marks	9	15	23.27	3.49	693.76	13.88
6	IVA Richards	13	17	27.35	4.08	667.33	13.35
7	JE Emburey	14	17	32.00	3.82	660.17	13.20

Away From Home

Min Innings Vs Top Teams: 10

RANK	BOWLER	INNS	WKTS	AVE	ECO	RAT	WTG
1	Abdul Qadir	50	74	24.58	4.23	876.82	70.15
2	IVA Richards	103	91	37.05	4.56	823.39	65.87
3	JE Emburey	44	58	29.00	4.16	823.26	65.86
4	RJ Shastri	65	58	37.09	3.98	792.08	63.37
5	Maninder Singh	23	27	26.67	3.69	761.34	60.91
6	VJ Marks	23	29	27.10	3.81	744.91	59.59
7	RA Harper	52	43	43.19	4.00	699.31	55.94

FAVOURABLE/UNFAVOURABLE CONDITIONS

FC/UC RATING

Points to note:-

Unfavourable Conditions (UC) is Outside Asia for Spinners and In Asia for Pacers.
Favourable Conditions (FC) are the opposite.

Favourable Conditions Rating

Non Asians In Asia

Min Innings Vs Top Teams: 5

RANK	BOWLER	INNS	WKTS	AVE	ECO	RAT	WTG
1	IVA Richards	34	31	33.42	4.61	899.83	18.00
2	JE Emburey	15	18	29.83	4.00	769.86	15.40
3	RA Harper	31	23	47.00	3.92	768.93	15.38
4	VJ Marks	6	7	31.29	4.38	562.32	11.25

Asians In Asia

Min Innings Vs Top Teams: 10

RANK	BOWLER	INNS	WKTS	AVE	ECO	RAT	WTG
1	Abdul Qadir	66	97	23.04	4.01	937.94	18.76
2	Maninder Singh	52	63	28.75	3.83	836.01	16.72
3	RJ Shastri	79	77	36.35	4.39	808.53	16.17

Unfavourable Conditions Rating

Non Asians Outside Asia

Min Innings Vs Top Teams: 10

RANK	BOWLER	INNS	WKTS	AVE	ECO	RAT	WTG
1	JE Emburey	43	57	29.63	4.09	873.05	69.84
2	VJ Marks	26	37	24.76	3.57	834.74	66.78
3	IVA Richards	82	77	36.38	4.45	833.55	66.68
4	RA Harper	31	32	34.50	4.03	749.08	59.93

Asians Outside Asia

Min Innings Vs Top Teams: 5

RANK	BOWLER	INNS	WKTS	AVE	ECO	RAT	WTG
1	Abdul Qadir	29	34	30.53	4.05	974.46	77.96
2	RJ Shastri	32	32	33.38	3.81	922.43	73.79
3	Maninder Singh	3	2	74.00	4.77	500.00	40.00

CONDITIONS RATING

The Conditions Rating is the addition of the points a bowler scored in the four criteria. The Weightage of the Rating is 20%.

RANK	BOWLER	AW	HM	UC	FC	CON PTS
1	Abdul Qadir	70.15	17.49	77.96	18.76	184.36
2	RJ Shastri	63.37	15.53	73.79	16.17	168.86
3	JE Emburey	65.86	13.20	69.84	15.40	164.31
4	IVA Richards	65.87	13.35	66.68	18.00	163.90
5	VJ Marks	59.59	13.88	66.78	11.25	151.49
6	RA Harper	55.94	13.94	59.93	15.38	145.19
7	Maninder Singh	60.91	14.81	40.00	16.72	132.43

SECONDARY CRITERIA

The Secondary Rating consists of three parts. If Innings are less than the Qualification than the Player gets 50% of the Points.

The three secondary criteria and thier weightage is as follows:-

CRITERIA	POINTS
World Cup	150.00
Impact Innings	150.00
Top Form	100.00

WORLD CUP

Min Innings Vs Top Teams: 3

RANK	BOWLER	INNS	WKTS	AVE	ECO	RAT	WTG
1	Abdul Qadir	13	24	21.08	3.73	909.33	136.40
2	VJ Marks	7	13	18.92	3.15	730.82	109.62
3	Maninder Singh	7	14	20.00	4.00	674.89	101.23
4	RJ Shastri	11	11	32.82	4.08	578.03	86.70
5	JE Emburey	8	6	49.17	3.73	469.80	70.47
6	RA Harper	6	4	51.50	3.43	458.30	68.75
7	IVA Richards	10	4	54.75	3.98	370.87	55.63

IMPACT INNINGS (II)

Impact Innings are those innings which have an impact either in terms of wickets or economy rate. Know All About II. These are the criteria for an inning to be included in II:-

A Bowler takes equal to or more wickets than 4.
A Bowler bowls more than 30 balls and has a low ER.
The required ER is calculated by the number of wickets taken.

IMPACT INNINGS

Min Innings Vs Top Teams: 20

RANK	BOWLER	INNS	II	II Perc	RAT	WTG
1	Abdul Qadir	95	34	35.79	862.71	129.41
2	Maninder Singh	55	21	38.18	816.49	122.47
3	JE Emburey	58	22	37.93	808.22	121.23
4	VJ Marks	32	13	40.63	743.28	111.49
5	RJ Shastri	111	31	27.93	688.74	103.31
6	RA Harper	62	17	27.42	654.15	98.12
7	IVA Richards	116	13	11.21	500.00	75.00

TOP FORM RATING

Points to note:-

Top Form is calculated by taking the best 50 consecutive innings of a bowler.
Only Inns against Non Weak Teams are considered in the rating.
Non Weak Teams may be found in the last section.

TOP FORM

Min Innings Vs Non Weak Teams: 10

RANK	BOWLER	INNS	WKTS	AVE	ECO	RAT	WTG
1	Abdul Qadir	50	76	22.92	3.86	941.07	94.11
2	JE Emburey	50	69	27.48	4.06	828.93	82.89
3	RJ Shastri	50	61	27.87	3.87	818.40	81.84
4	IVA Richards	50	56	28.21	4.42	776.02	77.60
5	Maninder Singh	50	61	29.38	3.85	774.55	77.45
6	VJ Marks	32	44	25.80	3.71	745.15	74.51
7	RA Harper	50	51	34.55	3.85	739.95	74.00

SECONDARY RATING

The Secondary Rating is the addition of the points a bowler scored in the three criteria. The Weightage of the Rating is 40%.

RANK	BOWLER	WC	II	TF	SEC RAT
1	Abdul Qadir	136.40	129.41	94.11	359.91
2	Maninder Singh	101.23	122.47	77.45	301.16
3	VJ Marks	109.62	111.49	74.51	295.63
4	JE Emburey	70.47	121.23	82.89	274.60
5	RJ Shastri	86.70	103.31	81.84	271.86
6	RA Harper	68.75	98.12	74.00	240.86
7	IVA Richards	55.63	75.00	77.60	208.23

DECADES RATING

DECADES Rating is the addition of the points of all the above criteria. The rating is out of 1,000 Pts.

RANK	BOWLER	NAT	PRI PTS	CON PTS	SEC PTS	FIN RAT
1	Abdul Qadir	PAK	379.78	184.36	359.91	924.04
2	RJ Shastri	IND	333.71	168.86	271.86	774.43
3	JE Emburey	ENG	328.20	164.31	274.60	767.10
4	VJ Marks	ENG	313.17	151.49	295.63	760.29
5	Maninder Singh	IND	313.05	132.43	301.16	746.65
6	IVA Richards	WI	322.59	163.90	208.23	694.72
7	RA Harper	WI	289.07	145.19	240.86	675.12

NON WEAK TEAMS

DECADE OF MAT	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
1970s	WI	ENG	AUS	NZ	PAK	SL	IND
1980s	WI	ENG	AUS	PAK	IND	NZ	SL	ZIM
1990s	SA	AUS	PAK	WI	IND	SL	ENG	NZ	ZIM
2000s	AUS	SA	SL	PAK	IND	NZ	ENG	WI	BAN
2010s	IND	SA	AUS	ENG	NZ	PAK	SL	BAN	WI
2020s	IND	NZ	SL	AUS	PAK	SA	BAN	ENG	WI	AFG