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 (Detailed Explanation) and at the end. So, here are the Top 7 Kiwi Spin bowlers in Test Cricket since 1950.

CONTENTS

3. PRIMARY CRITERIA

3.1. PROLIFIC

3.2. CONSISTENT

3.2.1. Against All Teams

3.2.2. Against Top Teams

3.3. ATTACKING

3.3.1. Against All Teams

3.3.2. Against Top Teams

3.4. BEST BOWLING (WKTS)

3.4.1. Against All Teams

3.4.2. Against Top Teams

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

4.2.2. Unfavourable Conditions Rating

4.2.2.1. Non Asians Outside Asia

4.3. CONDITIONS RATING

5. SECONDARY CRITERIA

5.1. WKTS/INN

5.2. TOP FORM

5.3. IMPACT INNINGS

5.4. SECONDARY RATING

6. OVERALL RATING

6.1. BRIEF EXPLANATION

6.1.1. Dynamic Nature

6.1.2. Trend Setter (TS)

6.1.3. Top Teams (TT)

6.1.4. Abbreviations

Nations Filter

The Nations Rating filters the OVERALL Rating to show players only from New Zealand.

The Rating of the players from New Zealand remains the same as in the original OVERALL Rating.
Thus the Trend Setter can be from any nation and is not necessarily from New Zealand.

THE CRITERIA

CRITERIA	CONSTITUENTS
Primary	Wickets, Average, Strike Rate, Top Inns
Conditions	Home, Away, In Asia, Outside Asia
Secondary	Wkts Per Inn, Top Form, Impact Inns

QUALIFICATION

Min Innings (TT)	25
Min Career Wkts	50

PRIMARY CRITERIA

CRITERIA	STAT	POINTS
Prolific	Wickets Taken	250.00
Consistent	Average	300.00
Attacking	Strike Rate	300.00
Best Bowling	Top Bowling Performances	150.00

PROLIFIC

The Eras

The time period from 1950 to present is divided into eras for this section. This is because less cricket was played earlier. To make it fair for earlier players they are compared with players of the same period with a slight reduction in points. Know More About Eras.

Era 1	MP before 1976
Era 2	MP between 1975 And 1996
Era 3	MP between 1995 And 2016
Era 4	MP greater than 2015

Criteria: Points For Wickets Taken

RANK	ERA 1	NAT	FP	LP	MP	INNS	WKTS	RAT
TS	LR Gibbs	WI	1958	1976	1967	148	309	220.00
1	HJ Howarth	NZ	1969	1977	1973	50	86	61.23

RANK	ERA 2	NAT	FP	LP	MP	INNS	WKTS	RAT
TS	Abdul Qadir	PAK	1977	1990	1983.5	111	236	210.00
1	JG Bracewell	NZ	1980	1990	1985	67	102	90.76
2	DN Patel	NZ	1987	1997	1992	53	75	66.74
3	SL Boock	NZ	1978	1989	1983.5	48	74	65.85

RANK	ERA 3	NAT	FP	LP	MP	INNS	WKTS	RAT
TS	M Muralitharan	SL	1992	2010	2001	230	800	250.00
1	DL Vettori	NZ	1997	2014	2005.5	187	362	113.13

RANK	ERA 4	NAT	FP	LP	MP	INNS	WKTS	RAT
TS	NM Lyon	AUS	2011	2025	2018	262	567	240.00
1	AY Patel	NZ	2018	2025	2021.5	39	91	38.52
2	MJ Santner	NZ	2015	2025	2020	54	78	33.02

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	75
Min Wickets (TT)	60

Against All Teams

RANK	BOWLER	INNS	RUNS	WKTS	AVE	R AVE	RAT
TS	M Muralitharan	230	18180	800	22.73	23.67	120.00
1	AY Patel	39	2623	91	28.82	27.90	101.80
2	MJ Santner	54	2603	78	33.37	30.40	93.42
3	JG Bracewell	67	3653	102	35.81	30.95	91.75
4	DL Vettori	187	12441	362	34.37	31.91	88.99
5	SL Boock	48	2564	74	34.65	32.05	88.61
6	HJ Howarth	50	3178	86	36.95	34.67	81.91
7	DN Patel	53	3154	75	42.05	35.35	80.35

Against Top Teams

RANK	BOWLER	INNS	RUNS	WKTS	AVE	R AVE	RAT
TS	SK Warne	168	11491	451	25.48	23.55	180.00
1	AY Patel	27	1786	63	28.35	26.57	159.51
2	MJ Santner	31	1664	48	34.67	29.11	145.63
3	SL Boock	36	2016	58	34.76	29.71	142.70
4	HJ Howarth	39	2520	64	39.38	35.74	118.61
5	JG Bracewell	40	2045	47	43.51	36.54	115.99
6	DL Vettori	112	8262	189	43.71	36.97	114.66
7	DN Patel	32	1840	34	54.12	40.55	104.54

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	75
Min Wickets (TT)	60

Against All Teams

RANK	BOWLER	INNS	BLS	WKTS	SR	R SR	RAT
TS	SK Warne	273	40704	708	57.49	54.86	120.00
1	AY Patel	39	5020	91	55.16	65.24	100.89
2	JG Bracewell	67	8403	102	82.38	67.72	97.21
3	DN Patel	53	6594	75	87.92	72.28	91.07
4	MJ Santner	54	5551	78	71.17	78.09	84.29
5	DL Vettori	187	28814	362	79.60	79.02	83.30
6	SL Boock	48	6598	74	89.16	79.46	82.85
7	HJ Howarth	50	8833	86	102.71	84.38	78.01

Against Top Teams

RANK	BOWLER	INNS	BLS	WKTS	SR	R SR	RAT
TS	SK Warne	168	25511	451	56.57	53.94	180.00
1	AY Patel	27	3204	63	50.86	59.43	163.38
2	MJ Santner	31	3343	48	69.65	71.72	135.37
3	SL Boock	36	5059	58	87.22	72.64	133.65
4	JG Bracewell	40	4517	47	96.11	77.01	126.07
5	DN Patel	32	3552	34	104.47	78.77	123.26
6	HJ Howarth	39	6893	64	107.70	87.03	111.56
7	DL Vettori	112	17902	189	94.72	88.61	109.57

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 All Teams

RANK	BOWLER	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	BBW	RAT
TS	M Muralitharan	9/51	9/65	8/46	8/70	8/87	7/46	7/84	8.00	50.00
1	DL Vettori	7/87	7/130	6/28	6/56	6/64	6/70	6/87	6.29	39.29
2	AY Patel	10/119	6/57	6/57	6/90	5/59	5/89	5/103	6.14	38.39
3	JG Bracewell	6/32	6/51	6/85	5/75	4/38	4/61	4/74	5.00	31.25
4	SL Boock	7/87	5/28	5/67	5/117	4/83	3/25	3/32	4.57	28.57
4	DN Patel	6/50	6/113	5/93	4/36	4/87	4/96	3/62	4.57	28.57
6	HJ Howarth	5/34	5/80	4/46	4/66	4/85	4/99	4/144	4.29	26.79
6	MJ Santner	7/53	6/104	4/27	4/85	3/7	3/34	3/51	4.29	26.79

Against Top Teams

RANK	BOWLER	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	BBW	RAT
TS	A Kumble	10/74	8/141	7/48	7/63	7/115	6/53	6/70	7.29	100.00
1	DL Vettori	7/87	6/87	6/127	5/62	5/66	5/69	5/106	5.57	76.47
2	AY Patel	10/119	6/57	5/59	5/89	5/103	4/106	3/42	5.43	74.51
3	SL Boock	7/87	5/67	5/117	4/83	3/25	3/76	3/103	4.29	58.82
4	MJ Santner	7/53	6/104	4/85	3/7	3/34	3/53	3/59	4.14	56.86
5	HJ Howarth	5/80	4/46	4/85	4/144	3/35	3/42	3/70	3.71	50.98
6	JG Bracewell	6/85	4/108	3/29	3/44	3/91	2/16	2/47	3.29	45.10
7	DN Patel	5/93	4/36	4/87	3/112	2/65	2/81	2/131	3.14	43.14

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 40%.

RANK	BOWLER	PRO	CON	ATT	BBW	RAT	PRI PTS
1	AY Patel	38.52	261.31	100.89	112.90	677.00	270.80
2	DL Vettori	113.13	203.65	83.30	115.76	625.40	250.16
3	SL Boock	65.85	231.31	82.85	87.39	601.05	240.42
4	JG Bracewell	90.76	207.74	97.21	76.35	598.13	239.25
5	MJ Santner	33.02	239.05	84.29	83.65	575.38	230.15
6	DN Patel	66.74	184.89	91.07	71.71	537.67	215.07
7	HJ Howarth	61.23	200.52	78.01	77.77	529.08	211.63

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. Click on the Ratings to see how they were calculated.

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

CRITERIA	POINTS
Home	30.00
Away	120.00
Favourable Conditions	30.00
Unfavourable Conditions	120.00

HOME/AWAY

HM/AW 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 Vs Top Teams: 10

RANK	BOWLER	INNS	WKTS	AVE	SR	RAT	WTG
1	MJ Santner	22	32	25.97	64.66	518.54	15.56
2	JG Bracewell	20	38	29.39	75.84	500.00	15.00
2	AY Patel	7	6	40.33	122.00	500.00	15.00
4	SL Boock	23	35	35.60	90.97	478.68	14.36
5	DN Patel	33	49	40.22	86.02	478.22	14.35
6	DL Vettori	98	159	37.11	84.91	472.30	14.17
7	HJ Howarth	21	29	47.97	120.90	344.55	10.34

Away From Home

Min Innings Vs Top Teams: 10

RANK	BOWLER	INNS	WKTS	AVE	SR	RAT	WTG
1	AY Patel	32	85	28.01	50.45	693.75	83.25
2	DL Vettori	89	203	32.22	75.43	648.90	77.87
3	JG Bracewell	47	64	39.63	86.27	620.35	74.44
4	SL Boock	25	39	33.79	87.54	587.30	70.48
5	HJ Howarth	29	57	31.35	93.46	563.65	67.64
6	MJ Santner	32	46	38.52	75.70	515.42	61.85
7	DN Patel	20	26	45.50	91.50	440.44	52.85

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 Vs All Teams: 7

RANK	BOWLER	INNS	WKTS	AVE	SR	RAT	WTG
1	DL Vettori	34	98	28.87	68.74	745.13	22.35
2	SL Boock	12	28	24.57	63.04	731.84	21.96
3	AY Patel	29	81	28.40	51.09	726.62	21.80
4	HJ Howarth	11	28	19.32	58.04	706.44	21.19
5	MJ Santner	15	30	35.43	66.63	496.39	14.89
6	JG Bracewell	14	18	44.61	86.94	495.25	14.86
7	DN Patel	7	4	58.00	129.25	304.57	9.14

Unfavourable Conditions Rating

Non Asians Outside Asia

Min Innings Vs Top Teams: 15

RANK	BOWLER	INNS	WKTS	AVE	SR	RAT	WTG
1	JG Bracewell	53	84	33.93	81.40	674.97	81.00
2	DL Vettori	153	264	36.41	83.63	630.52	75.66
3	DN Patel	46	71	41.15	85.59	604.58	72.55
4	SL Boock	36	46	40.78	105.07	543.86	65.26
5	MJ Santner	39	48	32.08	74.00	540.95	64.91
6	AY Patel	10	10	32.30	88.20	500.00	60.00
7	HJ Howarth	39	58	45.47	124.28	462.12	55.45

CONDITIONS RATING

The Conditions Rating is the addition of the points a bowler scored in the four criteria. The Weightage of the Rating is 30%.

RANK	BOWLER	AWAY	HOME	UC	FC	CON PTS
1	DL Vettori	648.90	118.08	630.52	186.28	190.05
2	JG Bracewell	620.35	125.00	674.97	123.81	185.30
3	AY Patel	693.75	125.00	500.00	181.65	180.05
4	SL Boock	587.30	119.67	543.86	182.96	172.05
5	MJ Santner	515.42	129.63	540.95	124.10	157.21
6	HJ Howarth	563.65	86.14	462.12	176.61	154.62
7	DN Patel	440.44	119.55	604.58	76.14	148.89

SECONDARY CRITERIA

The Secondary Rating consists of three parts. If Innings are less than the Qualification than the Player gets 50% of the Points. Click on the Rating Titles to see how they were calculated.

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

CRITERIA	POINTS
Wickets Per Inn	50.00
Top Form	100.00
Impact Innings	150.00

WKTS/INN

WPI RATING

Points to note about WPI Rating:-

It gives points for three criteria.
The number of wkts per inn overall and aganst Top Teams.
The number of bowled victims per inn.
The number of top 7 batsmen dismissed per inn.

Min Innings Vs Top Teams: 25

RANK	BOWLER	INNS	WKTS	W/I	RAT	WTG
1	AY Patel	39	91	2.33	664.92	33.25
2	SL Boock	48	74	1.54	483.80	24.19
3	HJ Howarth	50	86	1.72	476.61	23.83
4	DL Vettori	187	362	1.94	467.26	23.36
5	JG Bracewell	67	102	1.52	420.88	21.04
6	MJ Santner	54	78	1.44	396.43	19.82
7	DN Patel	53	75	1.42	349.97	17.50

TOP FORM

TF RATING

Points to note about TF 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.

Min Innings Vs Top Teams: 20

RANK	BOWLER	INNS	WKTS	AVE	SR	RAT	WTG
1	AY Patel	27	63	28.35	50.86	610.22	61.02
2	DL Vettori	50	99	39.19	83.34	581.29	58.13
3	SL Boock	36	58	34.76	87.22	504.40	50.44
4	MJ Santner	31	48	34.67	69.65	489.12	48.91
5	HJ Howarth	39	64	39.38	107.70	461.78	46.18
6	JG Bracewell	40	47	43.51	96.11	433.44	43.34
7	DN Patel	32	34	54.12	104.47	374.43	37.44

IMPACT INNINGS

II RATING

Impact Innings (II) 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 equal to or more wickets than 2 at a good AVE or SR.
The required AVE or SR is increases as the number of wickets taken increases.

Min Innings Vs Top Teams: 25

RANK	BOWLER	INNS	II	II Perc	RAT	WTG
1	DL Vettori	187	62	33.16	524.27	78.64
2	AY Patel	39	16	41.03	500.00	75.00
3	MJ Santner	54	19	35.19	467.64	70.15
4	HJ Howarth	50	15	30.00	458.92	68.84
5	JG Bracewell	67	20	29.85	449.92	67.49
6	SL Boock	48	12	25.00	358.32	53.75
7	DN Patel	53	13	24.53	311.15	46.67

SECONDARY RATING

The Secondary Rating is the addition of the points a bowler scored in the three criteria. The Weightage of the Rating is 30%.

RANK	BOWLER	TF	WPI	II	SEC RAT
1	AY Patel	61.02	33.25	75.00	169.27
2	DL Vettori	58.13	23.36	78.64	160.13
3	MJ Santner	48.91	19.82	70.15	138.88
4	HJ Howarth	46.18	23.83	68.84	138.85
5	JG Bracewell	43.34	21.04	67.49	131.88
6	SL Boock	50.44	24.19	53.75	128.38
7	DN Patel	37.44	17.50	46.67	101.61

OVERALL RATING

OVERALL Rating is the addition of the points of all the above criteria. The rating is out of 1,000 Pts.

RANK	OV RANK	BOWLER	NAT	PRI RAT	CON RAT	SEC RAT	FIN RAT
1	29	AY Patel	NZ	270.80	180.05	169.27	620.12
2	34	DL Vettori	NZ	250.16	190.05	160.13	600.35
3	50	JG Bracewell	NZ	239.25	185.30	131.88	556.42
4	54	SL Boock	NZ	240.42	172.05	128.38	540.85
5	59	MJ Santner	NZ	230.15	157.21	138.88	526.24
6	66	HJ Howarth	NZ	211.63	154.62	138.85	505.10
7	78	DN Patel	NZ	215.07	148.89	101.61	465.57

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)

TS is the player who does the best in a criteria.
The rating of all other players are calculated taking the TS as the benchmark. Example:-
TS Bowling 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.
Know All About the Trend Setter

Top Teams (TT)

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