Tests Decades - Best Spin Bowlers In 1980s Featured

Top Test Spin Bowler of the Decade (1980 – 1989)

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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 10 Spin bowlers in Test Cricket in the 1980s.

*Note: All Test Ratings are updated till 2024-10-02

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. WKTS/INN
5.4. IMPACT INNINGS
5.5. SECONDARY RATING
6. DECADES 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, Wkts/Inn, 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.
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

PRIMARY CRITERIA

CRITERIA STAT POINTS
Prolific Wickets Taken 200.00
Consistent Average 400.00
Attacking Strike Rate 300.00
Best Bowling Top Bowling Performances 100.00

PROLIFIC

Criteria: Points For Wickets Taken

RANK BOWLER NAT INNS WKTS RAT
TS Abdul Qadir PAK 94 216 200.00
1 Abdul Qadir PAK 94 216 200.00
2 RJ Shastri IND 109 141 130.56
3 Iqbal Qasim PAK 57 131 121.30
4 JE Emburey ENG 86 120 111.11
5 B Yardley AUS 33 89 82.41
6 JG Bracewell NZ 57 82 75.93
7 DR Doshi IND 36 74 68.52
8 SL Boock NZ 35 57 52.78
9 NGB Cook ENG 25 52 48.15
10 RA Harper WI 37 45 41.67

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 50

Against All Teams

RANK BOWLER INNS RUNS WKTS AVE R AVE RAT
TS Iqbal Qasim 57 3274 131 24.99 24.88 200.00
1 RA Harper 37 1252 45 27.82 22.52 200.00
2 Iqbal Qasim 57 3274 131 24.99 24.88 200.00
3 B Yardley 33 2549 89 28.64 24.99 199.12
4 NGB Cook 25 1689 52 32.48 29.47 168.85
5 Abdul Qadir 94 6980 216 32.31 30.38 163.82
6 SL Boock 35 2008 57 35.23 30.84 161.38
7 DR Doshi 36 2542 74 34.35 31.08 160.12
8 JG Bracewell 57 3057 82 37.28 32.82 151.65
9 JE Emburey 86 4759 120 39.66 33.84 147.06
10 RJ Shastri 109 5572 141 39.52 35.91 138.60

Against Top Teams

RANK BOWLER INNS RUNS WKTS AVE R AVE RAT
TS Iqbal Qasim 37 2210 95 23.26 23.16 200.00
1 RA Harper 34 1115 44 25.34 20.51 200.00
2 Iqbal Qasim 37 2210 95 23.26 23.16 200.00
3 B Yardley 27 2158 75 28.77 25.11 184.48
4 Abdul Qadir 66 5309 177 29.99 28.20 164.28
5 NGB Cook 25 1689 52 32.48 29.47 157.16
6 DR Doshi 34 2310 66 35.00 31.67 146.28
7 SL Boock 29 1751 46 38.07 33.32 139.02
8 JG Bracewell 45 2335 59 39.58 34.84 132.97
9 JE Emburey 73 4270 103 41.46 35.38 130.95
10 RJ Shastri 99 5188 130 39.91 36.26 127.75

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 50
RANK BOWLER INNS BALLS WKTS SR R SR RAT
TS B Yardley 33 5378 89 60.43 50.87 300.00
1 B Yardley 33 5378 89 60.43 50.87 300.00
2 RA Harper 37 3465 45 77.00 59.04 258.50
3 Abdul Qadir 94 15176 216 70.26 62.83 242.88
4 Iqbal Qasim 57 8810 131 67.25 63.68 239.67
5 NGB Cook 25 4174 52 80.27 69.30 220.22
6 SL Boock 35 4791 57 84.05 70.84 215.44
7 JG Bracewell 57 7027 82 85.70 71.10 214.64
8 DR Doshi 36 6503 74 87.88 73.58 207.42
9 JE Emburey 86 12896 120 107.47 86.37 176.69
10 RJ Shastri 109 14528 141 103.04 88.04 173.34

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 Abdul Qadir 9/56 7/96 7/142 6/16 6/160 5/44 5/74 6.43 100.00
1 Abdul Qadir 9/56 7/96 7/142 6/16 6/160 5/44 5/74 6.43 100.00
2 B Yardley 7/98 7/187 6/84 5/88 5/107 5/132 4/38 5.57 86.67
2 Iqbal Qasim 7/49 6/89 6/141 5/35 5/48 5/78 5/83 5.57 86.67
4 JE Emburey 7/78 6/33 5/78 5/80 5/82 5/124 4/43 5.29 82.22
5 JG Bracewell 6/32 6/51 5/75 4/61 4/74 4/77 4/108 4.71 73.33
5 DR Doshi 6/102 5/39 5/85 5/90 4/69 4/81 4/175 4.71 73.33
7 NGB Cook 6/65 5/18 5/35 5/63 4/87 3/87 3/90 4.43 68.89
8 RJ Shastri 5/75 5/125 4/11 4/43 4/45 4/69 4/71 4.29 66.67
8 SL Boock 7/87 5/28 5/117 4/83 3/25 3/32 3/76 4.29 66.67
10 RA Harper 6/57 4/43 4/56 3/10 3/47 3/50 2/9 3.57 55.56

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 DECADES Rating, i.e. 500 pts.

RANK BOWLER PRO CON ATT BBW RAT PRI PTS
1 Abdul Qadir 200.00 328.11 242.88 100.00 870.99 435.49
2 B Yardley 82.41 383.60 300.00 86.67 852.68 426.34
3 Iqbal Qasim 121.30 400.00 239.67 86.67 847.63 423.81
4 RA Harper 41.67 400.00 258.50 55.56 755.72 377.86
5 NGB Cook 48.15 326.01 220.22 68.89 663.27 331.63
6 DR Doshi 68.52 306.41 207.42 73.33 655.68 327.84
7 JG Bracewell 75.93 284.63 214.64 73.33 648.52 324.26
8 JE Emburey 111.11 278.00 176.69 82.22 648.03 324.01
9 RJ Shastri 130.56 266.35 173.34 66.67 636.92 318.46
10 SL Boock 52.78 300.39 215.44 66.67 635.28 317.64

CONDITIONS CRITERIA

The Conditions

The Conditions Ratings are calculated by applying the four criteria of the Primary Rating to diffirent 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 250.00
Away 1,000.00
Favourable Conditions 250.00
Unfavourable Conditions 1,000.00

HOME/AWAY

HOME/AWAY RATING

Points to note:-

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

At Home

Min Innings: 10

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 Abdul Qadir 55 150 26.11 59.16 932.61 233.15
2 B Yardley 24 67 27.81 60.78 881.37 220.34
3 Iqbal Qasim 40 99 23.28 63.35 814.64 203.66
4 RA Harper 12 16 25.63 79.50 728.17 182.04
5 DR Doshi 18 37 26.89 76.51 696.22 174.05
6 NGB Cook 13 27 31.63 74.26 634.26 158.57
7 JG Bracewell 15 30 30.70 79.80 625.36 156.34
8 JE Emburey 48 58 39.26 106.21 563.59 140.90
9 RJ Shastri 61 73 38.93 102.32 561.87 140.47
10 SL Boock 15 24 36.63 85.63 548.78 137.19

Away From Home

Min Innings: 10

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 RA Harper 25 29 29.03 75.62 839.82 839.82
2 Iqbal Qasim 17 32 30.28 79.31 834.65 834.65
3 JE Emburey 38 62 40.03 108.65 771.48 771.48
4 RJ Shastri 48 68 40.15 103.81 761.26 761.26
5 Abdul Qadir 39 66 46.41 95.48 749.36 749.36
6 SL Boock 20 33 34.21 82.91 732.36 732.36
7 JG Bracewell 42 52 41.08 89.10 722.40 722.40
8 NGB Cook 12 25 33.40 86.76 695.28 695.28
9 DR Doshi 18 37 41.81 99.24 661.53 661.53
10 B Yardley 9 22 31.18 59.36 500.00 500.00

FAVOURABLE/UNFAVOURABLE CONDITIONS

Favourable/Unfavourable Conditions 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: 5

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 SL Boock 12 28 24.57 63.04 982.61 245.65
2 NGB Cook 10 21 30.43 77.71 799.68 199.92
3 JE Emburey 10 19 29.53 84.32 769.69 192.42
4 JG Bracewell 14 18 44.61 86.94 620.55 155.14
5 B Yardley 5 9 41.67 69.33 481.76 120.44
6 RA Harper 7 3 68.67 197.67 244.29 61.07

Asians In Asia

Min Innings: 10

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 Abdul Qadir 63 159 27.25 60.85 985.04 246.26
2 Iqbal Qasim 51 117 24.91 66.84 900.02 225.01
3 DR Doshi 23 45 32.96 81.02 680.53 170.13
4 RJ Shastri 75 86 42.58 109.69 577.65 144.41

Unfavourable Conditions Rating

Non Asians Outside Asia

Min Innings: 10

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 B Yardley 28 80 27.18 59.43 908.65 908.65
2 RA Harper 30 42 24.90 68.38 830.80 830.80
3 JE Emburey 76 101 41.56 111.82 676.54 676.54
4 JG Bracewell 43 64 35.22 85.34 668.23 668.23
5 NGB Cook 15 31 33.87 82.00 589.38 589.38
6 SL Boock 23 29 45.52 104.34 485.40 485.40

Asians Outside Asia

Min Innings: 5

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 RJ Shastri 34 55 34.73 92.64 911.23 911.23
2 Abdul Qadir 31 57 46.44 96.51 867.99 867.99
3 DR Doshi 13 29 36.52 98.52 712.66 712.66
4 Iqbal Qasim 6 14 25.64 70.71 673.68 673.68

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 DECADES Rating, i.e. 250 pts.

RANK BOWLER AWAY HOME UC FC TOT CON PTS
1 Abdul Qadir 749.36 233.15 867.99 246.26 2,096.75 209.68
2 RJ Shastri 761.26 140.47 911.23 144.41 1,957.37 195.74
3 Iqbal Qasim 834.65 203.66 673.68 225.01 1,937.00 193.70
4 RA Harper 839.82 182.04 830.80 61.07 1,913.73 191.37
5 JE Emburey 771.48 140.90 676.54 192.42 1,781.34 178.13
6 B Yardley 500.00 220.34 908.65 120.44 1,749.43 174.94
7 DR Doshi 661.53 174.05 712.66 170.13 1,718.38 171.84
8 JG Bracewell 722.40 156.34 668.23 155.14 1,702.10 170.21
9 NGB Cook 695.28 158.57 589.38 199.92 1,643.15 164.32
10 SL Boock 732.36 137.19 485.40 245.65 1,600.60 160.06

SECONDARY CRITERIA

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

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

CRITERIA POINTS
Top Form Home 200.00
Top Form Away 800.00
Wkts Per Inn 500.00
Impact Innings 1,000.00
TOP FORM RATING

Points to note about Top Form Rating:-

  • Top Form is calculated by taking the best 20 consecutive innings of a bowler.
  • There are two TF Ratings used in our DECADES Rating: Home and Away.

TOP FORM AT HOME

Min Innings: 5

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 Abdul Qadir 20 73 19.37 49.63 925.44 185.09
2 B Yardley 20 60 25.33 56.80 860.80 172.16
3 Iqbal Qasim 20 54 22.96 62.48 731.37 146.27
4 DR Doshi 18 37 26.89 76.51 610.80 122.16
5 JE Emburey 20 36 29.89 81.17 581.81 116.36
6 JG Bracewell 15 30 30.70 79.80 574.81 114.96
7 RA Harper 12 16 25.63 79.50 570.51 114.10
8 NGB Cook 13 27 31.63 74.26 538.52 107.70
9 RJ Shastri 20 25 30.40 82.40 503.43 100.69
10 SL Boock 15 24 36.63 85.63 461.63 92.33

TOP FORM AWAY

Min Innings: 5

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 JE Emburey 20 44 29.66 77.02 902.56 722.05
2 RA Harper 20 26 22.15 60.35 815.73 652.59
3 Iqbal Qasim 17 32 30.28 79.31 740.37 592.30
4 Abdul Qadir 20 37 41.59 84.89 738.19 590.56
5 SL Boock 20 33 34.21 82.91 726.30 581.04
6 DR Doshi 18 37 41.81 99.24 692.73 554.18
7 JG Bracewell 20 31 35.65 83.03 660.28 528.22
8 RJ Shastri 20 29 35.28 99.21 656.38 525.10
9 B Yardley 9 22 31.18 59.36 641.24 512.99
10 NGB Cook 12 25 33.40 86.76 641.12 512.90

WKTS/INN

WKTS/INN RATING

Points to note:-

  • This rating gives points for wkts taken per inn.
  • All Teams, Top Teams and Top 7 Batsmen are the criteria used.

Min Innings: 25

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS WKTS/INN RAT WTG
1 B Yardley 33 89 2.70 1,000.00 500.00
2 Iqbal Qasim 57 131 2.30 916.35 458.18
3 Abdul Qadir 94 216 2.30 912.53 456.26
4 DR Doshi 36 74 2.06 766.38 383.19
5 NGB Cook 25 52 2.08 743.94 371.97
6 SL Boock 35 57 1.63 607.33 303.66
7 JE Emburey 86 120 1.40 539.53 269.76
8 JG Bracewell 57 82 1.44 515.44 257.72
9 RJ Shastri 109 141 1.29 496.81 248.41
10 RA Harper 37 45 1.22 474.40 237.20

IMPACT INNINGS

Impact Innings (II)

Impact Innings are those innings which have an impact either in terms of wickets or strike 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 5.
  • A Bowler equal to or more wickets than 3 at a good AVE or SR.
  • 1st and 2nd; and 3rd and 4th inns are clubbed together.
  • The AVE should be less than 80% of the AVE of the better innings or
  • The SR should be less than 80% of the SR of the better innings.

Min Innings: 25

RANK BOWLER INNS II II Perc RAT WTG
1 B Yardley 33 11 33.33 904.76 904.76
2 Abdul Qadir 94 21 22.34 808.48 808.48
3 NGB Cook 25 5 20.00 646.43 646.43
4 SL Boock 35 6 17.14 630.08 630.08
5 RJ Shastri 109 15 13.76 602.31 602.31
6 Iqbal Qasim 57 12 21.05 598.77 598.77
7 DR Doshi 36 6 16.67 502.92 502.92
8 JE Emburey 86 10 11.63 498.05 498.05
9 RA Harper 37 5 13.51 470.91 470.91
10 JG Bracewell 57 8 14.04 411.11 411.11

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 DECADES Rating, i.e. 250 pts.

RANK BOWLER TF HM TF AW WPI II TOT SEC RAT
1 B Yardley 172.16 512.99 500.00 904.76 2,089.91 208.99
2 Abdul Qadir 185.09 590.56 456.26 808.48 2,040.39 204.04
3 Iqbal Qasim 146.27 592.30 458.18 598.77 1,795.52 179.55
4 NGB Cook 107.70 512.90 371.97 646.43 1,639.00 163.90
5 SL Boock 92.33 581.04 303.66 630.08 1,607.11 160.71
6 JE Emburey 116.36 722.05 269.76 498.05 1,606.23 160.62
7 DR Doshi 122.16 554.18 383.19 502.92 1,562.45 156.24
8 RJ Shastri 100.69 525.10 248.41 602.31 1,476.50 147.65
9 RA Harper 114.10 652.59 237.20 470.91 1,474.80 147.48
10 JG Bracewell 114.96 528.22 257.72 411.11 1,312.01 131.20

DECADES RATING

DECADES 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 Abdul Qadir PAK 435.49 209.68 204.04 849.21
2 B Yardley AUS 426.34 174.94 208.99 810.27
3 Iqbal Qasim PAK 423.81 193.70 179.55 797.07
4 RA Harper WI 377.86 191.37 147.48 716.71
5 JE Emburey ENG 324.01 178.13 160.62 662.77
6 RJ Shastri IND 318.46 195.74 147.65 661.85
7 NGB Cook ENG 331.63 164.32 163.90 659.85
8 DR Doshi IND 327.84 171.84 156.24 655.92
9 SL Boock NZ 317.64 160.06 160.71 638.41
10 JG Bracewell NZ 324.26 170.21 131.20 625.67

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 SL PAK AUS ENG 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 ENG SA IND

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