Tests Decades - Best Spin Bowlers In 1990s Featured

Top Test Spin Bowler of the Decade (1990 – 1999)

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This Rating takes into account only the matches played in the 1990s. 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 1990s.

*Note: All Test Ratings are updated till 2024-06-09

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. 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 SK Warne AUS 146 351 200.00
1 SK Warne AUS 146 351 200.00
2 A Kumble IND 103 264 150.43
3 M Muralitharan SL 74 227 129.34
4 Mushtaq Ahmed PAK 73 172 98.01
5 PCR Tufnell ENG 68 119 67.81
6 Saqlain Mushtaq PAK 42 107 60.97
7 SLV Raju IND 49 92 52.42
8 DL Vettori NZ 47 91 51.85
9 PR Adams SA 47 86 49.00
10 PA Strang ZIM 32 57 32.48

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 SK Warne 146 9009 351 25.67 24.53 200.00
1 SK Warne 146 9009 351 25.67 24.53 200.00
2 M Muralitharan 74 6140 227 27.05 27.25 180.04
3 A Kumble 103 7341 264 27.81 28.15 174.32
4 PR Adams 47 2560 86 29.77 28.31 173.28
5 SLV Raju 49 2741 92 29.79 29.54 166.12
6 Mushtaq Ahmed 73 5152 172 29.95 29.58 165.86
7 Saqlain Mushtaq 42 3119 107 29.15 29.63 165.59
8 DL Vettori 47 3161 91 34.74 32.16 152.56
9 PCR Tufnell 68 4289 119 36.04 33.30 147.33
10 PA Strang 32 2154 57 37.79 36.32 135.10

Against Top Teams

RANK BOWLER INNS RUNS WKTS AVE R AVE RAT
TS SK Warne 105 6648 259 25.67 24.53 200.00
1 SK Warne 105 6648 259 25.67 24.53 200.00
2 Saqlain Mushtaq 20 1542 60 25.70 26.12 187.82
3 PR Adams 30 1633 55 29.69 28.24 173.74
4 M Muralitharan 43 4101 140 29.29 29.51 166.26
5 A Kumble 58 4048 138 29.33 29.69 165.26
6 Mushtaq Ahmed 51 3678 114 32.26 31.86 153.99
7 DL Vettori 27 1921 50 38.42 35.57 137.94
8 SLV Raju 25 1521 41 37.10 36.78 133.42
9 PCR Tufnell 43 2912 67 43.46 40.16 122.18
10 PA Strang 15 922 21 43.90 42.19 116.29

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 SK Warne 146 22575 351 64.32 61.03 300.00
1 SK Warne 146 22575 351 64.32 61.03 300.00
2 Mushtaq Ahmed 73 10792 172 62.74 61.07 299.82
3 PR Adams 47 5698 86 66.26 61.41 298.13
4 M Muralitharan 74 14882 227 65.56 64.89 282.18
5 Saqlain Mushtaq 42 6958 107 65.03 67.88 269.75
6 A Kumble 103 18203 264 68.95 68.02 269.19
7 DL Vettori 47 7485 91 82.25 75.50 242.51
8 SLV Raju 49 7392 92 80.35 78.44 233.44
9 PA Strang 32 4849 57 85.07 80.97 226.13
10 PCR Tufnell 68 10816 119 90.89 83.44 219.45

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 A Kumble 10/74 7/59 6/53 6/64 6/67 6/70 6/98 6.71 100.00
1 SK Warne 8/71 7/23 7/52 7/56 6/31 6/34 6/48 6.71 100.00
1 A Kumble 10/74 7/59 6/53 6/64 6/67 6/70 6/98 6.71 100.00
3 M Muralitharan 9/65 7/94 7/155 6/98 5/23 5/30 5/33 6.29 93.62
4 Mushtaq Ahmed 7/56 6/78 6/78 6/84 6/87 5/35 5/57 5.86 87.23
5 PCR Tufnell 7/47 7/66 6/25 5/61 5/94 4/27 4/61 5.43 80.85
6 Saqlain Mushtaq 6/46 5/32 5/54 5/89 5/93 5/94 5/94 5.14 76.60
7 SLV Raju 6/12 6/87 5/38 5/60 5/127 4/103 3/11 4.86 72.34
8 DL Vettori 6/64 6/127 5/84 4/46 4/83 4/88 4/97 4.71 70.21
9 PA Strang 5/106 5/123 5/212 4/54 4/66 4/77 3/54 4.29 63.83
10 PR Adams 6/55 4/31 4/63 4/63 4/64 3/30 3/36 4.00 59.57

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 SK Warne 200.00 400.00 300.00 100.00 1,000.00 500.00
2 A Kumble 150.43 339.58 269.19 100.00 859.20 429.60
3 M Muralitharan 129.34 346.30 282.18 93.62 851.44 425.72
4 Mushtaq Ahmed 98.01 319.85 299.82 87.23 804.91 402.45
5 Saqlain Mushtaq 60.97 353.41 269.75 76.60 760.72 380.36
6 PR Adams 49.00 347.02 298.13 59.57 753.73 376.86
7 SLV Raju 52.42 299.54 233.44 72.34 657.74 328.87
8 DL Vettori 51.85 290.50 242.51 70.21 655.07 327.54
9 PCR Tufnell 67.81 269.51 219.45 80.85 637.62 318.81
10 PA Strang 32.48 251.39 226.13 63.83 573.83 286.91

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 SK Warne 73 188 24.22 60.15 851.93 212.98
2 A Kumble 53 163 21.36 54.61 801.00 200.25
3 M Muralitharan 39 121 24.01 60.24 668.04 167.01
4 PCR Tufnell 19 47 25.96 60.64 626.06 156.52
5 SLV Raju 28 70 22.69 60.43 621.36 155.34
6 Saqlain Mushtaq 21 49 27.22 61.00 561.28 140.32
7 Mushtaq Ahmed 31 64 30.69 63.25 548.57 137.14
8 PR Adams 24 43 31.81 67.81 528.09 132.02
9 DL Vettori 22 40 35.25 83.25 498.08 124.52
10 PA Strang 17 25 39.96 98.60 396.16 99.04

Away From Home

Min Innings: 10

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 SK Warne 73 163 27.34 69.12 881.89 881.89
2 Mushtaq Ahmed 42 108 29.52 62.44 826.99 826.99
3 M Muralitharan 35 106 30.52 71.63 801.57 801.57
4 PR Adams 23 43 27.72 64.70 750.54 750.54
5 Saqlain Mushtaq 21 58 30.78 68.43 742.49 742.49
6 A Kumble 50 101 38.22 92.10 651.27 651.27
7 DL Vettori 25 51 34.33 81.47 616.01 616.01
8 PA Strang 15 32 36.09 74.50 565.75 565.75
9 PCR Tufnell 49 72 42.63 110.64 536.66 536.66
10 SLV Raju 21 22 52.41 143.73 390.46 390.46

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 SK Warne 19 39 33.77 68.15 814.24 203.56
2 DL Vettori 10 29 31.17 72.52 754.62 188.66
3 PR Adams 8 16 22.69 40.69 753.51 188.38
4 PA Strang 9 22 33.91 67.91 671.04 167.76
5 PCR Tufnell 4 7 59.43 103.86 500.00 125.00

Asians In Asia

Min Innings: 10

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 A Kumble 61 185 23.89 58.83 997.52 249.38
2 M Muralitharan 49 151 26.79 64.25 848.42 212.11
3 Saqlain Mushtaq 33 91 27.15 61.91 823.73 205.93
4 SLV Raju 30 72 23.74 63.08 794.28 198.57
5 Mushtaq Ahmed 40 84 31.55 63.74 734.56 183.64

Unfavourable Conditions Rating

Non Asians Outside Asia

Min Innings: 10

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 SK Warne 127 312 24.65 63.84 874.29 874.29
2 PR Adams 39 70 31.39 72.10 570.81 570.81
3 PCR Tufnell 64 112 34.58 90.08 552.59 552.59
4 DL Vettori 37 62 36.40 86.81 516.66 516.66
5 PA Strang 23 35 40.23 95.86 431.00 431.00

Asians Outside Asia

Min Innings: 5

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 Mushtaq Ahmed 33 88 28.43 61.80 974.32 974.32
2 M Muralitharan 25 76 27.55 68.17 937.95 937.95
3 A Kumble 42 79 36.97 92.66 783.46 783.46
4 Saqlain Mushtaq 9 16 40.50 82.75 505.70 505.70
5 SLV Raju 19 20 51.60 142.50 411.15 411.15

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 SK Warne 881.89 212.98 874.29 203.56 2,172.73 217.27
2 Mushtaq Ahmed 826.99 137.14 974.32 183.64 2,122.09 212.21
3 M Muralitharan 801.57 167.01 937.95 212.11 2,118.64 211.86
4 A Kumble 651.27 200.25 783.46 249.38 1,884.36 188.44
5 PR Adams 750.54 132.02 570.81 188.38 1,641.74 164.17
6 Saqlain Mushtaq 742.49 140.32 505.70 205.93 1,594.45 159.44
7 DL Vettori 616.01 124.52 516.66 188.66 1,445.85 144.59
8 PCR Tufnell 536.66 156.52 552.59 125.00 1,370.76 137.08
9 PA Strang 565.75 99.04 431.00 167.76 1,263.55 126.36
10 SLV Raju 390.46 155.34 411.15 198.57 1,155.52 115.55

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 SK Warne 20 70 15.56 47.89 948.80 189.76
2 A Kumble 20 69 19.75 52.33 819.01 163.80
3 M Muralitharan 20 75 19.59 53.47 818.14 163.63
4 SLV Raju 20 60 19.93 54.30 744.11 148.82
5 Mushtaq Ahmed 20 55 24.38 51.67 697.93 139.59
6 PCR Tufnell 19 47 25.96 60.64 651.91 130.38
7 Saqlain Mushtaq 20 49 26.14 58.41 609.99 122.00
8 DL Vettori 20 37 33.14 79.22 532.28 106.46
9 PR Adams 20 36 31.58 61.17 527.46 105.49
10 PA Strang 17 25 39.96 98.60 396.00 79.20

TOP FORM AWAY

Min Innings: 5

RANK BOWLER INNS WKTS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 Mushtaq Ahmed 20 71 24.45 55.13 971.41 777.13
2 M Muralitharan 20 66 24.42 62.41 945.40 756.32
3 SK Warne 20 51 24.18 59.02 841.95 673.56
4 Saqlain Mushtaq 20 56 29.55 66.16 798.78 639.03
5 DL Vettori 20 47 30.89 77.89 715.39 572.31
6 PR Adams 20 37 28.30 68.81 701.12 560.90
7 A Kumble 20 50 35.42 79.04 695.67 556.53
8 PCR Tufnell 20 39 35.31 84.36 660.69 528.55
9 PA Strang 15 32 36.09 74.50 611.83 489.46
10 SLV Raju 20 21 51.29 138.29 402.10 321.68

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 M Muralitharan 74 227 3.07 1,000.00 500.00
2 Saqlain Mushtaq 42 107 2.55 853.29 426.64
3 A Kumble 103 264 2.56 768.71 384.36
4 Mushtaq Ahmed 73 172 2.36 768.52 384.26
5 SK Warne 146 351 2.40 750.89 375.45
6 DL Vettori 47 91 1.94 612.32 306.16
7 SLV Raju 49 92 1.88 561.03 280.52
8 PR Adams 47 86 1.83 543.36 271.68
9 PCR Tufnell 68 119 1.75 528.96 264.48
10 PA Strang 32 57 1.78 496.08 248.04

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 M Muralitharan 74 27 36.49 854.16 854.16
2 SK Warne 146 44 30.14 845.03 845.03
3 Saqlain Mushtaq 42 13 30.95 821.17 821.17
4 A Kumble 103 32 31.07 712.09 712.09
5 Mushtaq Ahmed 73 16 21.92 590.36 590.36
6 PA Strang 32 7 21.88 556.08 556.08
7 PCR Tufnell 68 13 19.12 412.40 412.40
8 SLV Raju 49 10 20.41 389.40 389.40
9 DL Vettori 47 7 14.89 327.64 327.64
10 PR Adams 47 6 12.77 299.32 299.32

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 M Muralitharan 163.63 756.32 500.00 854.16 2,274.10 227.41
2 SK Warne 189.76 673.56 375.45 845.03 2,083.80 208.38
3 Saqlain Mushtaq 122.00 639.03 426.64 821.17 2,008.84 200.88
4 Mushtaq Ahmed 139.59 777.13 384.26 590.36 1,891.33 189.13
5 A Kumble 163.80 556.53 384.36 712.09 1,816.78 181.68
6 PA Strang 79.20 489.46 248.04 556.08 1,372.78 137.28
7 PCR Tufnell 130.38 528.55 264.48 412.40 1,335.81 133.58
8 DL Vettori 106.46 572.31 306.16 327.64 1,312.56 131.26
9 PR Adams 105.49 560.90 271.68 299.32 1,237.39 123.74
10 SLV Raju 148.82 321.68 280.52 389.40 1,140.41 114.04

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 SK Warne AUS 500.00 217.27 208.38 925.65
2 M Muralitharan SL 425.72 211.86 227.41 864.99
3 Mushtaq Ahmed PAK 402.45 212.21 189.13 803.80
4 A Kumble IND 429.60 188.44 181.68 799.72
5 Saqlain Mushtaq PAK 380.36 159.44 200.88 740.69
6 PR Adams SA 376.86 164.17 123.74 664.78
7 DL Vettori NZ 327.54 144.59 131.26 603.38
8 PCR Tufnell ENG 318.81 137.08 133.58 589.47
9 SLV Raju IND 328.87 115.55 114.04 558.46
10 PA Strang ZIM 286.91 126.36 137.28 550.55

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 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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