All Test Ratings on the website are from 01/01/1950 onwards (Know Why). 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. Brief explanation of the ratings is given before each section (Detailed Explanation). So, here are the Top 7 Kiwi Spin bowlers in Test Cricket since 1950.

*Note: All Test Ratings are updated till 2026-02-05

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

3.4. 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

4.2.2. Unfavourable Conditions Rating

4.2.2.1. Non Asians Outside Asia

4.3. CONDITIONS RATING

5. SECONDARY CRITERIA

5.1. TOP FORM AT HOME

5.2. TOP FORM AWAY

5.3. IMPACT INNINGS

5.4. SECONDARY RATING

6. OVERALL RATING

7. TOP TEAMS

7.1. Top Teams In Asia

7.2. Top Teams Outside Asia

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	Top Form Home, Top Form Away, 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 (TT)	30
Min Career Wkts	50

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

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 1991
Era 2	MP between 1990 And 2016
Era 3	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	140.00
1	JG Bracewell	NZ	1980	1990	1985	67	102	46.21
2	HJ Howarth	NZ	1969	1977	1973	50	86	38.96
3	SL Boock	NZ	1978	1989	1983.5	48	74	33.53

RANK	ERA 2	NAT	FP	LP	MP	INNS	WKTS	RAT
TS	M Muralitharan	SL	1992	2010	2001	230	800	200.00
1	DL Vettori	NZ	1997	2014	2005.5	187	362	90.50
2	DN Patel	NZ	1987	1997	1992	53	75	18.75
3	JS Patel	NZ	2006	2017	2011.5	42	65	16.25

RANK	ERA 3	NAT	FP	LP	MP	INNS	WKTS	RAT
TS	NM Lyon	AUS	2011	2025	2018	262	567	170.00
1	MJ Santner	NZ	2015	2025	2020	54	78	23.39

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	100

Against All Teams

RANK	BOWLER	INNS	RUNS	WKTS	AVE	R AVE	RAT
TS	M Muralitharan	230	18180	800	22.73	23.65	200.00
1	MJ Santner	54	2603	78	33.37	29.87	158.33
2	JG Bracewell	67	3653	102	35.81	30.00	157.63
3	SL Boock	48	2564	74	34.65	31.18	151.67
4	DL Vettori	187	12441	362	34.37	31.85	148.47
5	HJ Howarth	50	3178	86	36.95	34.84	135.76
6	DN Patel	53	3154	75	42.05	37.22	127.08
7	JS Patel	42	3078	65	47.35	42.89	110.25

Against Top Teams

RANK	BOWLER	INNS	RUNS	WKTS	AVE	R AVE	RAT
TS	SK Warne	211	14215	559	25.43	24.22	200.00
1	MJ Santner	31	1664	48	34.67	28.09	172.43
2	SL Boock	37	2069	59	35.07	29.83	162.41
3	JG Bracewell	52	2822	77	36.65	30.38	159.46
4	HJ Howarth	45	2738	76	36.03	34.92	138.72
5	DL Vettori	113	8277	194	42.66	36.88	131.35
6	JS Patel	33	2492	52	47.92	40.85	118.59
7	DN Patel	35	2071	38	54.50	46.92	103.24

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	100

RANK	BOWLER	INNS	BALLS	WKTS	SR	R SR	RAT
TS	SK Warne	273	40704	708	57.49	58.23	300.00
1	JG Bracewell	67	8403	102	82.38	66.51	262.67
2	MJ Santner	54	5551	78	71.17	76.43	228.55
3	SL Boock	48	6598	74	89.16	77.33	225.89
4	DN Patel	53	6594	75	87.92	78.96	221.25
5	DL Vettori	187	28814	362	79.60	81.33	214.80
6	HJ Howarth	50	8833	86	102.71	85.76	203.70
7	JS Patel	42	5833	65	89.74	94.43	184.99

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	M Muralitharan	9/51	9/65	8/46	8/70	8/87	7/46	7/84	8.00	100.00
1	DL Vettori	7/87	7/130	6/28	6/56	6/64	6/70	6/87	6.29	78.57
2	JG Bracewell	6/32	6/51	6/85	5/75	4/38	4/61	4/74	5.00	62.50
3	SL Boock	7/87	5/28	5/67	5/117	4/83	3/25	3/32	4.57	57.14
3	DN Patel	6/50	6/113	5/93	4/36	4/87	4/96	3/62	4.57	57.14
5	HJ Howarth	5/34	5/80	4/46	4/66	4/85	4/99	4/144	4.29	53.57
5	MJ Santner	7/53	6/104	4/27	4/85	3/7	3/34	3/51	4.29	53.57
7	JS Patel	5/110	4/78	4/100	3/55	3/68	3/107	3/117	3.57	44.64

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	JG Bracewell	46.21	317.09	262.67	62.50	688.48	275.39
2	DL Vettori	90.50	279.82	214.80	78.57	663.70	265.48
3	MJ Santner	23.39	330.76	228.55	53.57	636.27	254.51
4	SL Boock	33.53	314.09	225.89	57.14	630.65	252.26
5	HJ Howarth	38.96	274.48	203.70	53.57	570.72	228.29
6	DN Patel	18.75	230.31	221.25	57.14	527.46	210.98
7	JS Patel	16.25	228.85	184.99	44.64	474.73	189.89

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: 15

RANK	BOWLER	INNS	WKTS	AVE	SR	RAT	WTG
1	JG Bracewell	20	38	29.39	75.84	709.67	21.29
2	DL Vettori	98	159	37.11	84.91	568.74	17.06
3	SL Boock	23	35	35.60	90.97	558.52	16.76
4	DN Patel	33	49	40.22	86.02	514.09	15.42
5	JS Patel	17	29	40.76	86.45	500.00	15.00
5	MJ Santner	22	32	25.97	64.66	500.00	15.00
7	HJ Howarth	21	29	47.97	120.90	414.20	12.43

Away From Home

Min Innings Vs Top Teams: 15

RANK	BOWLER	INNS	WKTS	AVE	SR	RAT	WTG
1	DL Vettori	89	203	32.22	75.43	693.47	83.22
2	HJ Howarth	29	57	31.35	93.46	625.17	75.02
3	JG Bracewell	47	64	39.63	86.27	619.00	74.28
4	SL Boock	25	39	33.79	87.54	618.08	74.17
5	MJ Santner	32	46	38.52	75.70	573.91	68.87
6	DN Patel	20	26	45.50	91.50	452.70	54.32
7	JS Patel	25	36	52.67	92.39	416.70	50.00

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 Vs All Teams: 10

RANK	BOWLER	INNS	WKTS	AVE	SR	RAT	WTG
1	DL Vettori	34	98	28.87	68.74	724.96	21.75
2	HJ Howarth	11	28	19.32	58.04	712.98	21.39
3	SL Boock	12	28	24.57	63.04	687.65	20.63
4	MJ Santner	15	30	35.43	66.63	514.91	15.45
5	DN Patel	7	4	58.00	129.25	500.00	15.00
6	JG Bracewell	14	18	44.61	86.94	460.11	13.80
7	JS Patel	20	32	45.09	79.22	433.66	13.01

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	698.61	83.83
2	DL Vettori	153	264	36.41	83.63	646.26	77.55
3	MJ Santner	39	48	32.08	74.00	617.60	74.11
4	DN Patel	46	71	41.15	85.59	543.39	65.21
5	SL Boock	36	46	40.78	105.07	526.31	63.16
6	HJ Howarth	39	58	45.47	124.28	473.09	56.77
7	JS Patel	22	33	49.55	99.94	449.10	53.89

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	693.47	142.19	646.26	181.24	199.58
2	JG Bracewell	619.00	177.42	698.61	115.03	193.21
3	SL Boock	618.08	139.63	526.31	171.91	174.71
4	MJ Santner	573.91	125.00	617.60	128.73	173.43
5	HJ Howarth	625.17	103.55	473.09	178.24	165.61
6	DN Patel	452.70	128.52	543.39	125.00	149.95
7	JS Patel	416.70	125.00	449.10	108.42	131.91

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
Top Form Home	30.00
Top Form Away	120.00
Impact Innings	150.00

TF RATING

Points to note about Top Form Rating:-

Top Form (TF) is calculated by taking the best 30 consecutive innings of a bowler.
There are two TF Ratings used in our OVERALL Rating: Home and Away.

TOP FORM AT HOME

Min Innings Vs All Teams: 10

RANK	BOWLER	INNS	WKTS	AVE	SR	RAT	WTG
1	JG Bracewell	20	38	29.39	75.84	576.28	17.29
2	DL Vettori	30	60	29.42	70.40	573.82	17.21
3	MJ Santner	22	32	25.97	64.66	488.56	14.66
4	DN Patel	30	49	38.49	83.45	472.51	14.18
5	SL Boock	23	35	35.60	90.97	441.47	13.24
6	JS Patel	17	29	40.76	86.45	393.89	11.82
7	HJ Howarth	21	29	47.97	120.90	353.92	10.62

TOP FORM AWAY

Min Innings Vs All Teams: 10

RANK	BOWLER	INNS	WKTS	AVE	SR	RAT	WTG
1	DL Vettori	30	80	24.40	57.31	768.71	92.24
2	HJ Howarth	29	57	31.35	93.46	575.25	69.03
3	SL Boock	25	39	33.79	87.54	538.85	64.66
4	MJ Santner	30	45	38.09	75.11	532.36	63.88
5	JG Bracewell	30	45	40.40	91.07	506.58	60.79
6	DN Patel	20	26	45.50	91.50	449.33	53.92
7	JS Patel	25	36	52.67	92.39	390.59	46.87

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 2 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 Vs Top Teams: 30

RANK	BOWLER	INNS	II	II Perc	RAT	WTG
1	DL Vettori	187	57	30.48	485.26	72.79
2	MJ Santner	54	18	33.33	461.98	69.30
3	JS Patel	42	12	28.57	403.21	60.48
4	HJ Howarth	50	13	26.00	400.19	60.03
5	JG Bracewell	67	18	26.87	399.03	59.85
6	SL Boock	48	12	25.00	342.87	51.43
7	DN Patel	53	10	18.87	212.95	31.94

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 HM	TF AW	II	SEC RAT
1	DL Vettori	17.21	92.24	72.79	182.25
2	MJ Santner	14.66	63.88	69.30	147.84
3	HJ Howarth	10.62	69.03	60.03	139.68
4	JG Bracewell	17.29	60.79	59.85	137.93
5	SL Boock	13.24	64.66	51.43	129.34
6	JS Patel	11.82	46.87	60.48	119.17
7	DN Patel	14.18	53.92	31.94	100.04

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	30	DL Vettori	NZ	265.48	199.58	182.25	647.31
2	41	JG Bracewell	NZ	275.39	193.21	137.93	606.53
3	50	MJ Santner	NZ	254.51	173.43	147.84	575.78
4	52	SL Boock	NZ	252.26	174.71	129.34	556.31
5	61	HJ Howarth	NZ	228.29	165.61	139.68	533.57
6	79	DN Patel	NZ	210.98	149.95	100.04	460.98
7	81	JS Patel	NZ	189.89	131.91	119.17	440.97

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	IND	SL	PAK	SA	ENG
2010s	IND	PAK	SL	ENG	SA	AUS
2020s	IND	AUS	PAK	NZ	SA	ENG