Top 10 Spin Bowlers In ODI World Cups

Our One Day International (ODI) ratings take into account all matches from the first ODI match on January 5, 1971 till the below mentioned last update date. The Ratings are divided into 5 sections which take into account the number of wickets taken; the average of bowlers; their economy rate; their best performances by wickets and their top most economic spells. How the rating works is explained in highlighted sections. So, here are the Top 10 Spin bowlers in World Cup cricket

*Note: All ODI Ratings are updated till 2023-01-08

WORLD CUP Rating

This rating only includes stats of Spin bowlers in World Cup cricket. The rating is divided into sections to make it easy to understand how it is calculated. Before each section, its criteria is highlighted in bold. Our ratings are dynamic, and as new matches are played, the rating of earlier bowlers may change if current bowlers set new benchmarks.

Top Teams (TT)

Top Teams play an integral part in our ODI Rating. The Average (Con) and Economy (Eco) sections are divided into overall stats as well as stats against the top teams. Moreover, the best (BBW) and most economic (BBE) performances only include performances against the top teams. Here is how the Top Teams are calculated:-

  • Win/Loss Ratio is used to determine top teams.
  • The top teams are calculated by decades.
  • To be a top team, the team should be among the top teams of the decade overall.
  • A team is also included in top teams if it is a World Cup winner in that decade.
  • A bowler’s performace is counted in TT if he played against that team in that decade.
  • Knock Out and Super Six matches of ICC World Cup and Champions Trophy are also included in TT.
  • The Top Teams may be found in the last section of the rating.
The Trend Setter

The Trend Setter (TS) is the player which does the best in a criteria. The rating of all other players are calculated as percentage points of TS. Let’s taken an example to understand it:-

  • Let’s assume that Glenn McGrath has taken 500 wkts, which is the highest. This makes him the TS.
  • Another player, say Jason Gillespie, has taken 250 wkts.
  • If the rating is out of 250, McGrath will get the full points (pts), that is 250.
  • The points of Gillespie are calculated as His Wkts/McGrath’s Wkts*250. This comes out to be 125.
  • Thus the formula is (Wkts Taken/Wkts Taken By TS)*Max Points.
  • All ratings are calculated similarly with Wkts being replaced by the Criteria Stat.
  • Obviously, for average the formula is reverased as lower average is better for a bowler.
  • For Average, a bowler is eligible to be TS only if he has taken a minimum number of wickets.
  • For Economy, a bowler is eligible to be TS only if he has bowled a minimum number of balls.
  • If a bowler doesn’t fulfill the criteria of TS but has done better, he gets the max points but his stat is not taken as benchmark.
  • Lastly, it is to be noted that it is not necessary for a TS to be part of the rating as he might have topped in a criteria but not done well in others.

QUALIFICATION


Min Innings 5
Min Innings (TT) 5
Min Wickets (TS AVE) 20
Min Balls (TS ECO) 250
The Eras

The first criteria Prolific gives points for wkts taken. We have divided ODI cricket into 3 broad eras. This has been done to make it fair for players from earlier era, when less cricket was played, and also for current players, who are in the middle of their careers. Let’s take an example:-

  • Let’s assume Murlidharan has taken 500 wickets, which is the maximum and gives him 250 points.
  • Now, say Ravi Shastri in earlier times took 250 wkts, which was the max for his era.
  • If there are no eras, he would get 50% of the pts, that is 125.
  • Instead of that, we reduced 50 pts (according to %age) from the max to arrive at the figure of 200 pts for Shastri.
  • Now, everyone in his era is compared to Shastri and not Murlidharan.
  • So a player who has taken 50 Wkts in Shastri’s era will get (50/250)*200 pts or 40pts.
  • Eras are calculated by MP, which is the mean of the years a player: First Played (FP) and Last Played (LP).

PROLIFIC


Criteria: Points For Wickets Taken

Era 1 MP before 1991
Era 2 MP between 1990 and 2013
Era 3 MP greater than 2012
RANK ERA 1 NAT FP LP MP INNS WKTS RAT
TS Abdul Qadir PAK 1983 1993 1988 13 24 140.00
1 Abdul Qadir PAK 1983 1993 1988 13 24 140.00
2 RA Harper WI 1983 1996 1989.5 14 18 105.00
3 VJ Marks ENG 1980 1988 1984 7 13 75.83
RANK ERA 2 NAT FP LP MP INNS WKTS RAT
TS M Muralitharan SL 1993 2011 2002 39 68 200.00
1 M Muralitharan SL 1993 2011 2002 39 68 200.00
2 GB Hogg AUS 1996 2008 2002 20 34 100.00
3 SK Warne AUS 1993 2005 1999 17 32 94.12
4 A Kumble IND 1990 2007 1998.5 18 31 91.18
5 Mushtaq Ahmed PAK 1989 2003 1996 14 26 76.47
6 RJ Peterson SA 2002 2014 2008 10 16 47.06
RANK ERA 3 NAT FP LP MP INNS WKTS RAT
TS Imran Tahir SA 2011 2019 2015 21 40 160.00
1 Imran Tahir SA 2011 2019 2015 21 40 160.00
C Ave

The Comparative Average (C Ave) for bowlers is calculated by taken into account two factors:-

  • First is the average of batsmen in the decades the bowler played.
  • Second is the average of the opposition batsmen at Home, in Asia or outside Asia; whichever is applicable.
  • The average of the opposing team’s batsmen is also calculated by decades.
  • Higher C Ave suggest that more runs were scored by the batsmen in the above mentioned factors.
  • Thus it was difficult to get Wkts and the bowler will benefit from this.
  • Lower C Ave means the opposite.
R Ave

The Relative Average (R Ave) is calculated using the C Ave. Its formula is (Bowler Ave/C Ave)*A Constant Factor. This constant doesn’t affect the rating as it is the same for everone. If your C Ave is comparatively high, your R Ave will be low; which is better for bowlers. Broadly speaking, the following bowlers will benefit from this system:-

  • Bowlers who have played more in unfavourable conditions.
  • Asian fast bowlers and Non-Asian spin bowlers whereever applicable.
  • Bowlers who have played in an era where the batsmen dominated, like the present era
  • Bowlers who have played more against top opposition than weaker teams.

CONSISTENT


Criteria: Points For R Ave

Against All Teams

RANK BOWLER INNS RUNS WKTS AVE C AVE R AVE RAT
TS GB Hogg 20 654 34 19.24 37.17 19.41 150.00
1 RJ Peterson 10 320 16 20.00 38.79 19.33 150.00
2 GB Hogg 20 654 34 19.24 37.17 19.41 150.00
3 Imran Tahir 21 847 40 21.18 40.72 19.50 149.27
4 M Muralitharan 39 1335 68 19.63 37.66 19.55 148.89
5 SK Warne 17 624 32 19.50 36.75 19.90 146.28
6 VJ Marks 7 246 13 18.92 34.57 20.53 141.80
7 Mushtaq Ahmed 14 549 26 21.12 37.31 21.22 137.14
8 Abdul Qadir 13 506 24 21.08 36.45 21.69 134.20
9 A Kumble 18 708 31 22.84 37.14 23.06 126.22
10 RA Harper 14 488 18 27.11 37.38 27.20 107.02

Against Top Teams

RANK BOWLER INNS RUNS WKTS AVE C AVE R AVE RAT
TS Mushtaq Ahmed 11 472 23 20.52 37.31 20.63 150.00
1 RJ Peterson 6 196 11 17.82 38.79 17.23 150.00
2 VJ Marks 7 246 13 18.92 34.57 20.53 150.00
3 Mushtaq Ahmed 11 472 23 20.52 37.31 20.63 150.00
4 GB Hogg 16 582 28 20.79 37.17 20.97 147.56
5 Abdul Qadir 13 506 24 21.08 36.45 21.69 142.65
6 M Muralitharan 27 1032 46 22.43 37.66 22.34 138.50
7 SK Warne 13 508 23 22.09 36.75 22.54 137.28
8 Imran Tahir 14 587 20 29.35 40.72 27.03 114.47
9 A Kumble 14 577 19 30.37 37.14 30.66 100.91
10 RA Harper 12 443 14 31.64 37.38 31.75 97.47
C ER And R ER

The Comparative Economy Rate (C ER) and Relative Economy Rate (R ER) for bowlers is calculated using the same method as in C Ave and R Ave with average replaced with ER. Points to note are:-

  • Modern day bowlers benefit from R ER.
  • This is because scoring rates have increased with time and it has become more difficult to be economic.
  • Rest of the factors are the same as in R Ave

ECONOMIC


Criteria: Points For R ER

Against All Teams

RANK BOWLER INNS BLS RUNS ER C ER R ER RAT
TS VJ Marks 7 468 246 3.15 4.39 3.23 150.00
1 VJ Marks 7 468 246 3.15 4.39 3.23 150.00
2 RA Harper 14 792 488 3.70 4.47 3.72 130.28
3 M Muralitharan 39 2061 1335 3.89 4.67 3.74 129.56
4 SK Warne 17 977 624 3.83 4.55 3.79 127.92
5 Abdul Qadir 13 814 506 3.73 4.37 3.84 126.34
6 Imran Tahir 21 1151 847 4.42 5.06 3.93 123.48
7 RJ Peterson 10 444 320 4.32 4.95 3.93 123.43
8 GB Hogg 20 951 654 4.13 4.72 3.94 123.14
9 A Kumble 18 1039 708 4.09 4.57 4.03 120.45
10 Mushtaq Ahmed 14 810 549 4.07 4.52 4.05 119.71

Against Top Teams

RANK BOWLER INNS BLS RUNS ER C ER R ER RAT
TS VJ Marks 7 468 246 3.15 4.39 3.23 150.00
1 VJ Marks 7 468 246 3.15 4.39 3.23 150.00
2 Abdul Qadir 13 814 506 3.73 4.37 3.84 126.34
3 M Muralitharan 27 1507 1032 4.11 4.67 3.96 122.55
4 RJ Peterson 6 270 196 4.36 4.95 3.96 122.54
5 RA Harper 12 672 443 3.96 4.47 3.98 121.77
6 SK Warne 13 740 508 4.12 4.55 4.07 119.02
7 Imran Tahir 14 768 587 4.59 5.06 4.08 118.89
8 GB Hogg 16 813 582 4.30 4.72 4.10 118.29
9 A Kumble 14 806 577 4.30 4.57 4.23 114.65
10 Mushtaq Ahmed 11 648 472 4.37 4.52 4.35 111.39
BBW

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

BEST BOWLING (WKTS)


Criteria: Points For Wkts Taken In Top 5 Inns

RANK BOWLER 1 2 3 4 5 BBW RAT
TS Abdul Qadir 5/44 4/21 4/31 3/31 3/40 3.80 100.00
1 Abdul Qadir 5/44 4/21 4/31 3/31 3/40 3.80 100.00
2 M Muralitharan 4/25 4/28 4/31 3/25 3/32 3.60 94.74
3 SK Warne 4/29 4/33 4/36 3/11 2/33 3.40 89.47
4 GB Hogg 4/29 3/46 3/54 3/56 3/61 3.20 84.21
5 Imran Tahir 4/26 4/38 2/32 2/41 2/57 2.80 73.68
5 Mushtaq Ahmed 3/41 3/41 3/53 3/59 2/18 2.80 73.68
7 A Kumble 3/35 3/48 2/30 2/39 2/41 2.40 63.16
7 VJ Marks 5/39 2/18 2/39 2/45 1/33 2.40 63.16
9 RJ Peterson 4/12 3/22 2/52 1/39 1/49 2.20 57.89
10 RA Harper 4/47 2/34 1/28 1/29 1/30 1.80 47.37
BBE

In this criteria, we have taken the top 5 bowling performances by Economy of a bowler against top 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.

BEST BOWLING (ECO)


Criteria: Points For Economy In Top 5 Inns

RANK BOWLER 1 2 3 4 5 BBE RAT
TS AJ Traicos 10.0/16 12.0/24 12.0/27 12.0/28 10.0/28 2.19 100.00
1 SK Warne 10.0/11 10.0/28 10.0/29 10.0/30 10.0/33 2.59 84.39
2 M Muralitharan 10.0/25 10.0/26 10.0/28 10.0/29 10.0/31 2.68 81.69
3 Abdul Qadir 12.0/21 10.0/29 10.0/30 10.0/31 10.0/31 2.81 77.83
4 GB Hogg 10.0/24 10.0/28 10.0/30 10.0/31 10.0/35 2.82 77.42
5 RA Harper 10.0/15 10.0/28 10.0/29 10.0/33 9.0/34 2.86 76.58
6 VJ Marks 12.0/33 12.0/34 6.0/18 12.0/38 12.0/39 3.07 71.12
7 Imran Tahir 8.2/26 10.0/33 9.0/32 10.0/36 5.0/20 3.09 70.81
8 A Kumble 10.0/30 8.0/27 7.0/24 10.0/35 10.0/39 3.39 64.48
9 Mushtaq Ahmed 10.0/18 10.0/32 10.0/40 10.0/41 10.0/41 3.43 63.83
10 RJ Peterson 7.0/12 8.0/22 5.0/22 9.0/49 7.0/39 3.63 60.18
WC Rating

The WORLD CUP (WC) Rating is the addition of the points of all the above criteria. The rating is out of 1,000.

RATING


RANK BOWLER PRO CON C TT ECO E TT BBW BBE WC RAT
1 M Muralitharan 200.00 148.89 138.50 129.56 122.55 94.74 81.69 915.93
2 Abdul Qadir 140.00 134.20 142.65 126.34 126.34 100.00 77.83 847.37
3 Imran Tahir 160.00 149.27 114.47 123.48 118.89 73.68 70.81 810.61
4 VJ Marks 75.83 141.80 150.00 150.00 150.00 63.16 71.12 801.91
5 GB Hogg 100.00 150.00 147.56 123.14 118.29 84.21 77.42 800.61
6 SK Warne 94.12 146.28 137.28 127.92 119.02 89.47 84.39 798.48
7 Mushtaq Ahmed 76.47 137.14 150.00 119.71 111.39 73.68 63.83 732.22
8 RJ Peterson 47.06 150.00 150.00 123.43 122.54 57.89 60.18 711.10
9 RA Harper 105.00 107.02 97.47 130.28 121.77 47.37 76.58 685.48
10 A Kumble 91.18 126.22 100.91 120.45 114.65 63.16 64.48 681.04

TOP TEAMS


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


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