Best players of spin bowling in test matches you have seen live

[Burgey]

Kim Hughes
AB
Ian Chappell
Clarke

All good players of spin, from am aussie POV.

 

[Austerlitz]

From a whole career perspective

1.Lara/Tendulkar
2.Azharuddin
3.Sidhu
4.ganguly
5.sehwag
6.salim malik
7.aravinda de silva
8.gambhir
9.laxman
10.dravid/thorpe

 

[Austerlitz]

Kim Hughes
AB
Ian Chappell
Clarke

All good players of spin, from am aussie POV.

Always thought clarke was very comfortable against spin but he hasn't scored as much against them as much he should have.

 

[TumTum]

I have always found Mahela to be the master against spin. followed closely by Tendulkar.

But it depends on the type of spin and method against it:
In general, Tests - Mahela
In general, ODIs - Tendulkar
Against SLA or Leg break bowlers - Ganguly
When spinners bowl short - Clarke
Attacking - Sehwag
Defending - Amla

 

[BoyBrumby]

Pleased Thorpey got a mention from Austerlitz. Best English player of spin I've seen. His performances v Murali in 00/01 were superhuman.

 

[Xuhaib]

Thorpe is a good call was awesome on the 00-01 tour to Pakistan played Saqlain with no issues.

 

[vcs]

Gilchrist was also among the better attacking players of spin. Played some destructive knocks in India, but was inconsistent with them.

 

[Flem274*]

Stephen Fleming against any spinner bar Warne was awesome. Had Murali's number in tests.

 

[Outswinger@Pace]

Since, it only about players that I've seen live, I wouldn't mention ATG players of spin like Gavaskar, Weekes, Sobers, Chappelli, Kanhai and Zaheer Abbas. I've read about and seen most of them in videos and they were exceptional.

Of the ones I saw, I'd rate Lara, Sehwag and Dravid right up there (in no particular order). Dravid getting his foot right out to a ripping Warne/MacGill leg-spinner and caressing it through the covers is the pinnacle of cricketing oomph for me!

On the next tier would be Damien Martyn, Laxman, Thorpe (magnificent against Murali and Saqlain in 2000/01), Tendulkar, Ganguly, Matthew Hayden, Mahela, Inzamam, Kallis and Younis Khan.

It's a pity that I never got to see Sidhu and Azhar live. Men who smacked Warne and Murali regularly over the top could not have been ordinary players.

 

[Borges]

Among the players I have seen, off the top of my head.

In the past: Sunil Gavaskar, Rohan Kanhai, Brian Lara, Ken Barrington, Zaheer Abbas, Andy Flower, Salim Malik, Allan Border, Javed Miandad

Among the current crop: Amla, Jayawardene, Gambhir, Dravid, Kallis, VVS, Tendulkar (ODIs), Thorpe (a bit too early perhaps?)

 

[abmk]

Since, it only about players that I've seen live, I wouldn't mention ATG players of spin like Gavaskar, Weekes, Sobers, Chappelli, Kanhai and Zaheer Abbas. I've read about and seen most of them in videos and they were exceptional.

Of the ones I saw, I'd rate Lara, Sehwag and Dravid right up there (in no particular order). Dravid getting his foot right out to a ripping Warne/MacGill leg-spinner and caressing it through the covers is the pinnacle of cricketing oomph for me!

On the next tier would be Damien Martyn, Laxman, Thorpe (magnificent against Murali and Saqlain in 2000/01), Tendulkar, Ganguly, Matthew Hayden, Mahela, Inzamam, Kallis and Younis Khan.

It's a pity that I never got to see Sidhu and Azhar live. Men who smacked Warne and Murali regularly over the top could not have been ordinary players.

don't see the point in placing dravid with sehwag/lara as far as playing spin is concerned. They both are by some distance better. So are Sachin, Younis, Ganguly, Mahela ( & Siddhu and Azhar )

 

[Spark]

Always thought clarke was very comfortable against spin but he hasn't scored as much against them as much he should have.

Out of form is out of form. In terms of ability vs. spin, right up there, but hasn't done justice to it in the last year or so.

 

[vcs]

don't see the point in placing dravid with sehwag/lara as far as playing spin is concerned. They both are by some distance better. So are Sachin, Younis, Ganguly, Mahela ( & Siddhu and Azhar )

Yeah, agree. Dravid is very good against spin like any great batsman, but surely those guys are a bit better.

 

[Mike5181]

Andy Flower, Brian Lara, Sachin Tendulkar

 

[Austerlitz]

Warne has troubled dravid on occasions,so have murali and saqlain.
@outswinger pace - -Sidhu was a different kind of player of spin,kind of like gambhir but a whole lot better at it.He messed around with the spinners head ,a disruption player.Basically forcing attacking spinners into self defense where they would become apprehensive of tossing the ball up.I remember him hitting 6-7 sixes off murali in a test match in lucknow en route to his 123.Ranatunga once said murali refused to bowl to sidhu without a long off and long on.
Azhar was a lot like laxman,similar wristy strokeplay with a massive big advantage that he was extremely good hitting sixes,so tossing the ball upto him was a probem for bowlers.Basically a laxman with the added ability to attack flighted deliveries in a savage manner.

 

[Xuhaib]

Shoaib Malik though a rubbish batsman overall but his spin play was top draw if cricket was only played with spinners he would have averaged 70.

 

[Blaze 18]

Among the players I have seen, off the top of my head.

In the past: Sunil Gavaskar, Rohan Kanhai, Brian Lara, Ken Barrington, Zaheer Abbas, Andy Flower, Salim Malik, Allan Border, Javed Miandad

Among the current crop: Amla, Jayawardene, Gambhir, Dravid, Kallis, VVS, Tendulkar (ODIs), Thorpe (a bit too early perhaps?)

Who?

 

[Howe_zat]

Who?

Seriously? Graeme Thorpe was England's best batsman in the 1990s and early 2000s. Classy left-hander, an an excellent player of spin.

 

[Blaze 18]

Seriously? Graeme Thorpe was England's best batsman in the 1990s and early 2000s. Classy left-hander, an an excellent player of spin.

I know who Graeme Thorpe is He said "Among the current crop", hence why I asked. Possibly meant Trott.

 

[ankitj]

Outswinger@Pace has a crush on Dravid

Of all the major Indian batsmen, Dravid was the only one whom Warne had reasonable success against. Definitely not a candidate for best player of spin among his contemporaries, though obviously not a goose either.