Tests - Best Spin Bowlers In Top Form

Top 15 Test Spin Bowlers In Top Form

by

Kindly switch to Landscape Mode for better viewing experience

All Test Ratings on the website are from 01/01/1950 onwards (Know Why). They are updated till 2026-02-05. Brief explanation of the ratings is given before each section and at the end (Detailed Explanation). Here are the Top 15 Spin bowlers in their Top Form in Test cricket.

CONTENTS
1. THE CRITERIA
2. QUALIFICATION
3. PROLIFIC
4. CONSISTENT
4.1. Against Top Teams
5. ATTACKING
5.1. Against Top Teams
6. BEST BOWLING (WKTS)
6.1. Against Top Teams
7. TOP FORM RATING
8. BRIEF EXPLANATION
8.1. Dynamic Nature
8.2. Trend Setter (TS)
8.3. Top Teams (TT)
8.4. Abbreviations
TF RATING

Points to note about TOP FORM Rating:-

  • TF is calculated by taking the best 50 consecutive innings of a bowler.
  • The inns are taken such that his points are maximum.
  • Only innings against Top Teams are considered.

THE CRITERIA

The TF Rating is divided into 4 main sections:-

CRITERIA STAT POINTS
Prolific Wickets Taken 300.00
Consistent Average 250.00
Attacking Strike Rate 250.00
Best Bowling Top Bowling Performances 200.00

QUALIFICATION

Min Innings 20
Min Career Wkts 50

PROLIFIC

Criteria: Points For Wickets Taken

RANK BOWLER NAT FP LP INNS WKTS RAT
TS M Muralitharan SL 2001-03-07 2006-08-04 50 183 300.00
1 M Muralitharan SL 2001-03-07 2006-08-04 50 183 300.00
2 SK Warne AUS 2002-02-22 2005-09-08 50 172 281.97
3 A Kumble IND 1998-03-06 2004-11-20 50 157 257.38
4 HMRKB Herath SL 2011-06-03 2014-08-14 50 144 236.07
5 RA Jadeja IND 2013-03-02 2018-09-07 50 135 221.31
6 BS Chandrasekhar IND 1967-06-08 1978-01-28 50 128 209.84
6 Saeed Ajmal PAK 2009-07-04 2014-08-14 50 128 209.84
8 LR Gibbs WI 1959-03-06 1968-12-26 50 127 208.20
8 R Ashwin IND 2019-10-10 2024-03-07 50 127 208.20
10 Harbhajan Singh IND 1999-02-16 2007-11-30 50 125 204.92
11 GP Swann ENG 2009-08-20 2013-07-18 50 123 201.64
12 BS Bedi IND 1971-04-13 1978-10-27 50 122 200.00
12 NM Lyon AUS 2019-09-04 2024-03-08 50 122 200.00
14 R Benaud AUS 1955-04-26 1962-11-30 50 116 190.16
14 EAS Prasanna IND 1967-06-22 1977-12-02 50 116 190.16

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 60

Against Top Teams

RANK BOWLER INNS RUNS WKTS AVE R AVE RAT
TS SK Warne 50 3646 172 21.20 20.22 250.00
1 SK Warne 50 3646 172 21.20 20.22 250.00
2 R Ashwin 50 2610 127 20.55 21.52 234.90
3 M Muralitharan 50 3991 183 21.81 22.71 222.56
4 RA Jadeja 50 2947 135 21.83 22.80 221.69
5 NM Lyon 50 3130 122 25.66 22.91 220.64
6 LR Gibbs 50 3174 127 24.99 24.94 202.65
7 HMRKB Herath 50 3913 144 27.17 26.61 189.93
8 BS Chandrasekhar 50 3544 128 27.69 26.73 189.09
9 A Kumble 50 4248 157 27.06 26.90 187.88
10 GP Swann 50 3714 123 30.20 27.23 185.63
11 R Benaud 50 3100 116 26.72 27.66 182.74
12 Saeed Ajmal 50 3866 128 30.20 28.13 179.68
13 BS Bedi 50 3611 122 29.60 29.61 170.74
14 EAS Prasanna 50 3415 116 29.44 29.92 168.95
15 Harbhajan Singh 50 3778 125 30.22 30.17 167.56

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 60

Against Top Teams

RANK BOWLER INNS BLS WKTS SR R SR RAT
TS SK Warne 50 7404 172 43.05 41.07 250.00
1 SK Warne 50 7404 172 43.05 41.07 250.00
2 BS Chandrasekhar 50 7844 128 61.28 53.67 191.31
3 R Ashwin 50 5743 127 45.22 54.23 189.35
4 M Muralitharan 50 9683 183 52.91 56.03 183.26
5 A Kumble 50 8764 157 55.82 57.06 179.96
6 NM Lyon 50 7049 122 57.78 61.56 166.79
7 Harbhajan Singh 50 7735 125 61.88 66.08 155.39
8 LR Gibbs 50 9846 127 77.53 66.27 154.95
9 RA Jadeja 50 7465 135 55.30 66.45 154.53
10 EAS Prasanna 50 8458 116 72.91 66.52 154.36
11 R Benaud 50 8903 116 76.75 67.14 152.93
12 GP Swann 50 7716 123 62.73 67.22 152.76
13 HMRKB Herath 50 8932 144 62.03 68.92 148.98
14 BS Bedi 50 9433 122 77.32 69.87 146.96
15 Saeed Ajmal 50 8835 128 69.02 72.71 141.21

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

Against Top Teams

RANK BOWLER 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 BBW RAT
TS A Kumble 10/74 8/141 7/48 7/115 6/70 6/72 6/81 7.14 200.00
1 A Kumble 10/74 8/141 7/48 7/115 6/70 6/72 6/81 7.14 200.00
2 M Muralitharan 8/70 8/87 7/46 7/97 7/100 6/59 6/86 7.00 196.00
3 Harbhajan Singh 8/84 7/87 7/123 7/133 6/73 6/78 6/152 6.71 188.00
4 HMRKB Herath 9/127 7/157 6/48 6/74 6/97 6/133 5/40 6.43 180.00
5 BS Chandrasekhar 8/79 6/38 6/52 6/52 6/76 6/90 5/50 6.14 172.00
6 SK Warne 7/94 6/46 6/122 6/124 6/125 6/161 5/39 6.00 168.00
7 LR Gibbs 6/29 6/39 6/60 6/98 5/37 5/59 5/66 5.57 156.00
7 Saeed Ajmal 7/55 6/96 6/151 5/68 5/82 5/146 5/166 5.57 156.00
7 RA Jadeja 7/48 6/63 6/138 5/21 5/30 5/58 5/124 5.57 156.00
10 GP Swann 6/82 6/106 6/106 5/44 5/54 5/91 5/110 5.43 152.00
10 NM Lyon 8/64 6/65 5/50 5/67 5/68 5/83 4/41 5.43 152.00
12 EAS Prasanna 6/74 6/104 6/141 5/42 5/70 5/121 4/16 5.29 148.00
12 BS Bedi 6/71 6/226 5/55 5/63 5/89 5/105 5/110 5.29 148.00
12 R Ashwin 6/61 6/91 5/37 5/43 5/47 5/51 5/77 5.29 148.00
15 R Benaud 6/70 6/115 5/83 5/91 5/93 5/96 4/15 5.14 144.00

TOP FORM RATING

The TOP FORM (TF) Rating is the addition of the points of all the above criteria. The rating is out of 1,000.

RANK BOWLER PRO CON ATT BBW TF RAT
1 SK Warne 281.97 250.00 250.00 168.00 949.97
2 M Muralitharan 300.00 222.56 183.26 196.00 901.82
3 A Kumble 257.38 187.88 179.96 200.00 825.22
4 R Ashwin 208.20 234.90 189.35 148.00 780.45
5 BS Chandrasekhar 209.84 189.09 191.31 172.00 762.24
6 HMRKB Herath 236.07 189.93 148.98 180.00 754.97
7 RA Jadeja 221.31 221.69 154.53 156.00 753.53
8 NM Lyon 200.00 220.64 166.79 152.00 739.43
9 LR Gibbs 208.20 202.65 154.95 156.00 721.80
10 Harbhajan Singh 204.92 167.56 155.39 188.00 715.87
11 GP Swann 201.64 185.63 152.76 152.00 692.03
12 Saeed Ajmal 209.84 179.68 141.21 156.00 686.73
13 R Benaud 190.16 182.74 152.93 144.00 669.83
14 BS Bedi 200.00 170.74 146.96 148.00 665.70
15 EAS Prasanna 190.16 168.95 154.36 148.00 661.48

BRIEF EXPLANATION

Dynamic Nature

Most of our ratings are dynamic, and as new matches are played, the rating of earlier bowlers may change if current bowlers set new benchmarks.

Trend Setter (TS)

  1. TS is the player who does the best in a criteria.
  2. The rating of all other players are calculated taking the TS as the benchmark. Example:-
  3. TS Bowling Ave: 25.00; Player X Ave: 30.00; Section Points: 300.00
  4. TS Points: 300.00 (Max)
  5. Player X Points: TS Ave/Ave X 300 = 25.00/30.00 X 300 = 250.00.
  6. Ratings of all sections are calculated similarly with Ave being replaced by the Criteria Stat.
  7. Know All About the Trend Setter
    8. .

Top Teams (TT)

  1. An opposition is counted as a TT considering its Win/Loss (WL) Ratios in last 7 years.
  2. Home, Away, In Asia, Outside Asia and Overall WL Ratio is considered.
  3. The WL Ratio should be more than a certain value overall or in specific condition.

Abbreviations

  1. AVE - Average or Runs/Wkt
  2. BLS - Balls
  3. ER - Economy Rate or Runs/Over
  4. FF, 5WH - Five Fors or 5 Wkt Hauls
  5. FP - First Played by Year
  6. INF - Infinite
  7. INNS - Innings
  8. LP - Last Played by Year
  9. MDNS - Maidens
  10. MP - Middle Played or (FP+LP)/2
  11. NA - Not Applicable
  12. NI - Not In Top
  13. NK - Not Known
  14. NO, * - Not Out
  15. NQ - Not Qualified
  16. OPP - Opposition
  17. OVRS - Overs
  18. SR - Strike Rate or Balls/Wkts
  19. TS - Trend Setter
  20. TT - Top Teams
  21. WKTS - Wickets Taken

Leave a Comment