Tests - Best Spin Bowlers Present Era Featured

Top Test Spin Bowlers of The Present Era

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This Rating takes into account only the matches played in the last 25 years. Only bowlers active till at least 2023 are considered in this rating. Brief explanation of the ratings is given before each section (Detailed Explanation). So, here are the Top 10 Spin bowlers in Test Cricket in the last 25 years.

*Note: All Test Ratings are updated till 2023-08-09

CONTENTS
1. THE CRITERIA
2. QUALIFICATION
3. PRIMARY CRITERIA
3.1. PROLIFIC
3.2. CONSISTENT
3.2.1. Against All Teams
3.2.2. Against Top Teams
3.3. ATTACKING
3.4. BEST BOWLING (WKTS)
3.5. 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. TOP FORM AT HOME
5.2. TOP FORM AWAY
5.3. TOP 7 VICTIMS
5.4. SECONDARY RATING
6. PRESENT ERA RATING
7. TOP TEAMS
7.1. Top Teams In Asia
7.2. Top Teams Outside Asia

THE CRITERIA

CRITERIA CONSTITUENTS
Primary Wickets, Average, Strike Rate, Top Inns
Conditions Home, Away, In Asia, Outside Asia
Secondary Top Form Home, Top Form Away, Top 7 Batsmen
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.
Top Teams (TT)

Some sections consider performances only against the top teams. Here is some information about the Top Teams:-

  • Win/Loss Ratio is used to determine top teams.
  • The top teams are calculated by decades.
  • Further, they are divided into In Asia and Outside Asia.
  • A bowler’s performace is counted in TT if it comes in the specific condition and in the specific decade.

QUALIFICATION

Min Innings 25
Min Wickets (TS AVE SR) 50

PRIMARY CRITERIA

PROLIFIC

Criteria: Points For Wickets Taken

RANK BOWLER NAT INNS WKTS RAT
TS NM Lyon AUS 228 496 200.00
1 NM Lyon AUS 228 496 200.00
2 R Ashwin IND 178 489 197.18
3 RA Jadeja IND 128 275 110.89
4 Shakib Al Hasan BAN 111 233 93.95
5 MM Ali ENG 119 204 82.26
6 Taijul Islam BAN 74 177 71.37
7 KA Maharaj SA 83 158 63.71
8 Mehedi Hasan Miraz BAN 67 151 60.89
9 MJ Leach ENG 59 124 50.00
10 AY Patel NZ 25 48 19.35

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

Against All Teams

RANK BOWLER INNS RUNS WKTS AVE R AVE RAT
TS R Ashwin 178 11569 489 23.66 24.34 200.00
1 R Ashwin 178 11569 489 23.66 24.34 200.00
2 RA Jadeja 128 6620 275 24.07 25.09 193.96
3 KA Maharaj 83 5055 158 31.99 25.83 188.40
4 NM Lyon 228 15379 496 31.01 27.60 176.36
5 AY Patel 25 1510 48 31.46 29.84 163.11
6 MJ Leach 59 4239 124 34.19 31.81 152.99
7 Shakib Al Hasan 111 7238 233 31.06 32.20 151.16
8 Taijul Islam 74 5694 177 32.17 33.32 146.08
9 MM Ali 119 7612 204 37.31 34.06 142.91
10 Mehedi Hasan Miraz 67 5050 151 33.44 34.36 141.65

Against Top Teams

RANK BOWLER INNS RUNS WKTS AVE R AVE RAT
TS RA Jadeja 96 5401 216 25.00 26.06 200.00
1 RA Jadeja 96 5401 216 25.00 26.06 200.00
2 R Ashwin 126 8461 329 25.72 26.45 197.06
3 AY Patel 22 1429 48 29.77 28.24 184.60
4 NM Lyon 183 12440 388 32.06 28.54 182.66
5 KA Maharaj 56 3964 106 37.40 30.20 172.63
6 MJ Leach 47 3394 99 34.28 31.90 163.39
7 MM Ali 82 5683 151 37.64 34.35 151.75
8 Shakib Al Hasan 60 4515 122 37.01 38.36 135.90
9 Taijul Islam 35 2896 73 39.67 41.09 126.87
10 Mehedi Hasan Miraz 38 3265 77 42.40 43.56 119.66

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

RANK BOWLER INNS BALLS WKTS SR R SR RAT
TS KA Maharaj 83 9575 158 60.60 60.68 300.00
1 KA Maharaj 83 9575 158 60.60 60.68 300.00
2 R Ashwin 178 25108 489 51.35 61.22 297.34
3 NM Lyon 228 31422 496 63.35 68.49 265.78
4 MM Ali 119 12610 204 61.81 69.40 262.32
5 AY Patel 25 2999 48 62.48 70.20 259.31
6 RA Jadeja 128 16354 275 59.47 71.60 254.24
7 MJ Leach 59 8374 124 67.53 75.31 241.71
8 Shakib Al Hasan 111 14775 233 63.41 75.72 240.42
9 Mehedi Hasan Miraz 67 9710 151 64.30 75.91 239.82
10 Taijul Islam 74 11417 177 64.50 78.44 232.08

BEST BOWLING (WKTS)

BBW

In this criteria, we have taken the top 7 bowling performances by Wkts of a bowler. Best Bowling By Wickets (BBW) is simply the total wickets taken in the 7 innings divided by 7.

Criteria: Points For Wkts Taken In Top 7 Inns

RANK BOWLER 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 AVE WT RAT
TS NM Lyon 8/50 8/64 7/94 7/94 7/152 6/49 6/60 7.00 100.00
1 NM Lyon 8/50 8/64 7/94 7/94 7/152 6/49 6/60 7.00 100.00
2 R Ashwin 7/59 7/66 7/71 7/83 7/103 7/145 6/31 6.86 97.96
3 KA Maharaj 9/129 7/32 7/40 6/40 5/36 5/59 5/94 6.29 89.80
3 Taijul Islam 8/39 7/116 6/33 6/108 6/135 6/163 5/58 6.29 89.80
5 Shakib Al Hasan 7/36 6/33 6/59 6/82 6/99 5/44 5/62 5.86 83.67
5 RA Jadeja 7/42 7/48 6/63 6/138 5/21 5/30 5/41 5.86 83.67
7 Mehedi Hasan Miraz 7/58 6/77 6/80 6/82 5/38 5/59 5/63 5.71 81.63
8 MM Ali 6/53 6/67 5/57 5/63 5/69 4/36 4/39 5.00 71.43
9 MJ Leach 5/66 5/83 5/100 5/122 5/157 4/49 4/54 4.71 67.35
10 AY Patel 10/119 5/59 5/89 4/106 3/42 3/88 2/25 4.57 65.31

PRIMARY RATING

The total of the above four criteria comes out to be 1,000.00 points. The Primary Rating is the addition of the points a bowler scored in the four criteria. The Weightage of the Rating is half of the PRESENT ERA Rating, i.e. 500 pts.

RANK BOWLER PRO CON ATT BBW RAT PRI PTS
1 R Ashwin 197.18 397.06 297.34 97.96 989.53 494.77
2 NM Lyon 200.00 359.02 265.78 100.00 924.80 462.40
3 RA Jadeja 110.89 393.96 254.24 83.67 842.76 421.38
4 KA Maharaj 63.71 361.03 300.00 89.80 814.54 407.27
5 MM Ali 82.26 294.66 262.32 71.43 710.67 355.33
6 Shakib Al Hasan 93.95 287.06 240.42 83.67 705.11 352.55
7 AY Patel 19.35 347.71 259.31 65.31 691.69 345.84
8 MJ Leach 50.00 316.37 241.71 67.35 675.43 337.71
9 Taijul Islam 71.37 272.94 232.08 89.80 666.19 333.09
10 Mehedi Hasan Miraz 60.89 261.31 239.82 81.63 643.64 321.82

CONDITIONS CRITERIA

The Conditions

The Conditions Ratings are calculated by applying the four criteria of the Primary Rating to diffirent conditions. Unfavourable Conditions (UC) is Outside Asia for spin bowlers and In Asia for pacers. Favourable Conditions (FC) is the opposite. If Innings are less than the Qualification than the Player gets 50% of the Points. Here are those conditions and their weightage:-

  • HOME – 250 PTS
  • AWAY – 1,000 PTS
  • FC – 250 PTS
  • UC – 1,000 PTS

HOME/AWAY

At Home

Min Innings: 10

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 R Ashwin 107 337 20.88 46.64 911.36 227.84
2 RA Jadeja 79 194 20.46 53.87 807.75 201.94
3 NM Lyon 116 238 31.46 65.43 800.56 200.14
4 KA Maharaj 45 72 31.36 57.39 732.08 183.02
5 MM Ali 69 113 34.91 55.52 686.24 171.56
6 Mehedi Hasan Miraz 35 89 24.40 51.26 675.47 168.87
7 Taijul Islam 54 139 28.15 59.68 640.72 160.18
8 Shakib Al Hasan 74 159 30.77 62.24 632.11 158.03
9 MJ Leach 20 32 32.53 62.78 618.09 154.52
10 AY Patel 5 0 INF INF 500.00 125.00

Away From Home

Min Innings: 10

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 NM Lyon 112 258 30.59 61.43 938.00 938.00
2 R Ashwin 71 152 29.83 61.78 901.16 901.16
3 KA Maharaj 38 86 32.52 63.29 818.00 818.00
4 AY Patel 20 48 29.25 56.35 775.32 775.32
5 Shakib Al Hasan 37 74 31.70 65.93 728.23 728.23
6 RA Jadeja 49 81 32.73 72.89 720.46 720.46
7 MJ Leach 39 92 34.76 69.18 710.18 710.18
8 MM Ali 50 91 40.30 69.63 662.72 662.72
9 Taijul Islam 20 38 46.87 82.16 571.34 571.34
10 Mehedi Hasan Miraz 32 62 46.42 83.03 547.38 547.38

FAVOURABLE/UNFAVOURABLE CONDITIONS

Favourable Conditions Rating

Non Asians In Asia

Min Innings: 5

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 NM Lyon 52 140 30.81 61.84 945.90 236.47
2 AY Patel 17 44 30.07 58.07 700.70 175.17
3 MJ Leach 23 61 31.57 58.23 675.67 168.92
4 MM Ali 26 56 35.82 59.50 651.62 162.91
5 KA Maharaj 11 32 37.94 67.94 605.19 151.30

Asians In Asia

Min Innings: 10

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 R Ashwin 125 387 21.18 46.39 938.86 234.72
2 RA Jadeja 83 207 20.98 53.62 809.10 202.27
3 Mehedi Hasan Miraz 45 106 30.09 58.38 630.65 157.66
4 Shakib Al Hasan 81 170 32.12 64.41 626.68 156.67
5 Taijul Islam 64 155 31.18 64.25 625.46 156.37

Unfavourable Conditions Rating

Non Asians Outside Asia

Min Innings: 10

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 NM Lyon 176 356 31.08 63.95 939.15 939.15
2 KA Maharaj 72 126 30.48 58.74 852.83 852.83
3 MM Ali 93 148 37.88 62.69 726.68 726.68
4 MJ Leach 36 63 36.71 76.54 648.27 648.27
5 AY Patel 8 4 46.75 111.00 500.00 500.00

Asians Outside Asia

Min Innings: 5

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 R Ashwin 53 102 33.07 70.16 987.55 987.55
2 Shakib Al Hasan 30 63 28.21 60.73 874.99 874.99
3 RA Jadeja 45 68 33.49 77.26 770.08 770.08
4 Mehedi Hasan Miraz 22 45 41.33 78.27 660.08 660.08
5 Taijul Islam 10 22 39.14 66.27 654.61 654.61

CONDITIONS RATING

The total of the above four criteria comes out to be 2,500.00 points. The Conditions Rating is the addition of the points a bowler scored in the four criteria. The Weightage of the Rating is one-fourth of the PRESENT ERA Rating, i.e. 250 pts.

RANK BOWLER AWAY HOME UC FC TOT CON PTS
1 R Ashwin 901.16 227.84 987.55 234.72 2,351.27 235.13
2 NM Lyon 938.00 200.14 939.15 236.47 2,313.77 231.38
3 KA Maharaj 818.00 183.02 852.83 151.30 2,005.15 200.52
4 Shakib Al Hasan 728.23 158.03 874.99 156.67 1,917.91 191.79
5 RA Jadeja 720.46 201.94 770.08 202.27 1,894.75 189.48
6 MM Ali 662.72 171.56 726.68 162.91 1,723.86 172.39
7 MJ Leach 710.18 154.52 648.27 168.92 1,681.89 168.19
8 AY Patel 775.32 125.00 500.00 175.17 1,575.49 157.55
9 Taijul Islam 571.34 160.18 654.61 156.37 1,542.50 154.25
10 Mehedi Hasan Miraz 547.38 168.87 660.08 157.66 1,533.99 153.40

SECONDARY CRITERIA

Top Form And Top 7 Victims

The Secondary Rating consists of three parts. Top Form is calculated by taking the best 30 consecutive innings of a bowler such that his overall points are maximum. Top Form is calculated seperately for Home and Away innings. Top 7 Victims are defined as the wickets taken by the bowler against the top 7 batsmen by batting order against Top Teams. 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:-

  • TOP FORM AT HOME – 500 PTS
  • TOP FORM AWAY – 1,000 PTS
  • TOP 7 VICTIMS – 1,000 PTS

TOP FORM AT HOME

Min Innings: 5

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 R Ashwin 30 113 18.06 41.08 977.76 488.88
2 RA Jadeja 30 86 19.41 52.16 830.35 415.17
3 NM Lyon 30 72 24.60 56.19 819.91 409.95
4 Taijul Islam 30 85 24.75 53.29 773.78 386.89
5 Mehedi Hasan Miraz 30 79 24.76 50.09 762.99 381.49
6 Shakib Al Hasan 30 77 27.16 50.71 738.26 369.13
7 MM Ali 30 60 28.00 46.13 736.74 368.37
8 KA Maharaj 30 48 33.90 61.88 707.29 353.65
9 MJ Leach 20 32 32.53 62.78 569.08 284.54
10 AY Patel 5 0 INF INF 73.75 36.88

TOP FORM AWAY

Min Innings: 5

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 R Ashwin 30 78 23.35 44.86 953.57 953.57
2 NM Lyon 30 84 23.39 46.52 951.14 951.14
3 KA Maharaj 30 79 29.08 56.97 864.83 864.83
4 Shakib Al Hasan 30 66 30.64 61.58 747.29 747.29
5 MJ Leach 30 72 33.53 68.28 706.26 706.26
6 AY Patel 20 48 29.25 56.35 688.19 688.19
7 RA Jadeja 30 54 29.04 60.46 684.84 684.84
8 MM Ali 30 53 41.04 71.36 607.21 607.21
9 Mehedi Hasan Miraz 30 60 44.93 80.93 606.13 606.13
10 Taijul Islam 20 38 46.87 82.16 536.49 536.49

TOP 7 VICTIMS

Min Innings: 25

RANK BOWLER INNS T7 WKTS PERC WT/IN T7 RAT WTG
1 NM Lyon 228 265 53.43 1.16 830.98 830.98
2 AY Patel 25 34 70.83 1.36 825.66 825.66
3 R Ashwin 178 223 45.60 1.25 752.38 752.38
4 RA Jadeja 128 153 55.64 1.20 709.10 709.10
5 MJ Leach 59 69 55.65 1.17 706.99 706.99
6 KA Maharaj 83 73 46.20 0.88 639.62 639.62
7 MM Ali 119 100 49.02 0.84 547.48 547.48
8 Mehedi Hasan Miraz 67 62 41.06 0.93 510.23 510.23
9 Shakib Al Hasan 111 89 38.20 0.80 480.67 480.67
10 Taijul Islam 74 50 28.25 0.68 407.72 407.72

SECONDARY RATING

The total of the above three criteria comes out to be 2,500.00 points. The Conditions Rating is the addition of the points a bowler scored in the three criteria. The Weightage of the Rating is one-fourth of the PRESENT ERA Rating, i.e. 250 pts.

RANK BOWLER TF HM TF AW T7 WKTS TOT SEC RAT
1 R Ashwin 488.88 953.57 752.38 2,194.83 219.48
2 NM Lyon 409.95 951.14 830.98 2,192.07 219.21
3 KA Maharaj 353.65 864.83 639.62 1,858.10 185.81
4 RA Jadeja 415.17 684.84 709.10 1,809.12 180.91
5 MJ Leach 284.54 706.26 706.99 1,697.78 169.78
6 Shakib Al Hasan 369.13 747.29 480.67 1,597.08 159.71
7 AY Patel 36.88 688.19 825.66 1,550.72 155.07
8 MM Ali 368.37 607.21 547.48 1,523.06 152.31
9 Mehedi Hasan Miraz 381.49 606.13 510.23 1,497.85 149.79
10 Taijul Islam 386.89 536.49 407.72 1,331.10 133.11

PRESENT ERA RATING

PRESENT ERA Rating is the addition of the points of all the above criteria. The rating is out of 1,000 Pts. Half the points are for Primary Criteria; one-fourth for Conditions; and one-fourth for Secondary Criteria.

RANK BOWLER NAT PRI RAT CON RAT SEC RAT FIN RAT
1 R Ashwin IND 494.77 235.13 219.48 949.38
2 NM Lyon AUS 462.40 231.38 219.21 912.98
3 KA Maharaj SA 407.27 200.52 185.81 793.59
4 RA Jadeja IND 421.38 189.48 180.91 791.77
5 Shakib Al Hasan BAN 352.55 191.79 159.71 704.05
6 MM Ali ENG 355.33 172.39 152.31 680.03
7 MJ Leach ENG 337.71 168.19 169.78 675.68
8 AY Patel NZ 345.84 157.55 155.07 658.47
9 Mehedi Hasan Miraz BAN 321.82 153.40 149.79 625.01
10 Taijul Islam BAN 333.09 154.25 133.11 620.45

TOP TEAMS

Top Teams In Asia

DECADE OF MAT 1 2 3 4 5 6
1950s AUS WI PAK IND ENG
1960s WI AUS PAK IND ENG SA
1970s PAK ENG IND WI SA AUS
1980s PAK WI ENG NZ AUS
1990s IND PAK SA AUS WI
2000s AUS SL IND PAK SA ENG
2010s IND PAK SL ENG SA AUS
2020s IND ENG PAK AUS NZ

Top Teams Outside Asia

DECADE OF MAT 1 2 3 4 5
1950s AUS ENG WI SA PAK
1960s ENG AUS WI SA NZ
1970s SA ENG WI AUS IND
1980s WI NZ AUS ENG PAK
1990s AUS SA WI PAK ENG
2000s AUS SA ENG IND NZ
2010s SA AUS ENG NZ IND
2020s AUS NZ SA ENG IND

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