Vote on your 10 greatest Test spinners of all time.

Guys

As part of our 'All Time Greatest' lists to be included in the 606v2 Honours Board section, can you all please provide a list of your 10 greatest spinners of all time. I will then average out the results and create an article on the honours board showing who the 606v2 members believe to be the 10 finest spinners to grace the game.

Thanks

Fists is this greatest test spinners?

And in order?

can i vote on this in the morning, cos i going offline now?

Hmm in no particular order and off the top of my head, so there'll be lots of guys I've forgotten:

1) Warne
2) Murali
3) O'Reilly
4) Laker
5) Underwood
6) Grimmett
7) Abdul Qadir
8) Bedi
9) Chandrasekhar
10) Gibbs

In a vague order, but I don't know much about pre-war players so I have probably missed some out:

Warne
Laker
Murali
Underwood
Kumble
Qadir
Bedi
O Reilly
Gibbs
Grimmett

In order

Murali
Warne
Underwood
Laker
Benaud
Gibbs
Bedi
O'Reilly
Kumble
Quadir

Dash, completely forgot about Benaud. Thought about Kumble, but for all his great skill his uneven record outside India counts against him IMO (averages over 40 in England, NZ, Pak and SL and 37 in Aus)

Kumble was in mine for sheer wickets, something which some of the earlier spinners don't have. Superb averages but not the wickets.

In the order in which they popped into my mind:

1) Warne
2) Murali
5) Laker
4) Underwood
6) Grimmett
3) O'Reilly
9) Saqlain Mustaq (best one-day spinner ever IMO and first one to bowl what he call the Dossra - although other finger spinners like Iversen have been mystery bowlers)
8) Bedi
7) Qadir
10) Benaud (just, mainly through Ausie bias)

It's tough on Gibbs (but actually was Gibbs better than say Swann? I mean Swann has had to deal with heavier bats, shorter boundaries etc.), Kumble (but ordinary record abroad), Verity (troubled the greatest more than most), and probably a few others. Where does someone like MacGill (better record than Qadir) fit in? Where will Swann fit in? It's a tough one...

Mad for Chelsea wrote:Dash, completely forgot about Benaud. Thought about Kumble, but for all his great skill his uneven record outside India counts against him IMO (averages over 40 in England, NZ, Pak and SL and 37 in Aus)

Kumble may have poor averages in ENG, NZ, PAK, SL and AUS but its not his fault. Look at the seam bowlers India had during Kumble's pomp. They rarely made inroads, so Kumble shouldered the burden. If he played for Pakistan his stats would've been even better.

1. Murali
2. Kumble
3. Warne
4. Saqlain
5. Bedi
6. Prasanna
7. O'Reilly
8. Grimmett
9. Laker
10. Qadir

Others like MacGill, Gibbs, Underwood, Benaud and Chandrasekhar are close but just miss out.

Mike Selig wrote:Where will Swann fit in? It's a tough one...

No where, come the SL series, he'll be pasted everywhere and retired off.

Considered Verity, but in the end decided that he didn't really take enough wickets to make an all-time top ten. Then noticed that he has the same number of wickets as O'Reilly (about 140) and O'Reilly simply has to be in there. And you're right Mike, Verity was one of the only bowlers (along with England's bodyline bunch) who made Bradman seem mortal.

Gibbs makes my list because he has a very fine record all around the world, and over 300 wickets which is not to be sniffed at. Didn't consider Saqlain as I thought we were talking tests and in tests he's not quite in the same league as the guys on the list IMO.

Jeez this is tough actually, I could change my mind pretty regularly about this one. Unlucky to miss out from my previous list are Verity, Benaud and Kumble. And others I've forgotten about obviously.

Yes, Test spinners.

I will leave this to run for a couple of days before working out our final order.

Cheers gents.

In order now.

1. Murali
2. SP Gupte
3. Prasanna
4. Chandrasekar
5. S. Ramadhin
6. C. Grimmett
7. Johnny Briggs
8. Aubrey Faulkner
9. Kumble
10. Lance Gibbs

I left out Underwood, Laker, Verity, and that chubby fella that is in everybody else's list. Too bad we can pick only 10.

Any reason you have left out Warne Leff? Because I cannot think of one...

Leff wrote:Not in any particular order:

1. Murali
2. S. Ramadhin
3. SP Gupte
4. C. Grimmett
5. Prasanna
6. Chandrasekar
7. Johnny Briggs
8. Aubrey Faulkner
9. Kumble
10. Lance Gibbs

I left out Underwood, Laker, Verity, and that chubby fella that is in everybody else's list. Too bad we can pick only 10.

no Warne or O'Reilly? No Underwood, Laker or Verity? Instead Ramadhin, Gupte and Faulkner? Strange list IMO. Any reasons for this?

Ramadhin and Valentine had that extraordinary series against England didn't they? But I seem to remember they weren't as effective second time around.

I think I'll stick to Saqlain for his influence on spin bowling as much as anything, but hadn't realised we were only doing test spinners.

Mad for Chelsea wrote:



Ramadhin, Gupte and Faulkner? Strange list IMO. Any reasons for this?

Ramadhin was a charismatic and mysterious bowler who could bowl both off- and leg-spin with deceptive action. Sobers said Gupte was the best spinner he ever faced. Faulkner had a fantastic strike rate.

I generally do not enjoy watching left-arm spinners as they tend to be the containing ones. Briggs must have been an exception with a strike rate of 45!

At a guess and in no order:

Murali
Warne
O'Reilly
Grimmett
Gibbs
Laker
Kumble
Verity
Bedi
Qadir

Hi Stella

It needs to be in your order for this to work mate. Can you edit? Cheers.

Can anyone who hasn't put them in order please edit so that they are in what you believe to be 1st best to 10th best. Thanks

Done

Thanks, just need the other folk to do it now.

1. Warne
2. Muralitharan
3. Qadir
4. Laker
5. O'Reilly
6. Kumble
7. Grimmett
8. Saqlain Musthaq
9. Gibbs
10. Bedi

1 Warne
2 Muralitharan
3 O'Reilly
4 Laker
5 Faulkner
6 Ironmonger
7 Ramadhin
8 Qadir
9 Gibbs
10 Benaud

Warne
O'Reilly
Murali
Laker
Qadir
Verity
Gibbs
Underwood
Grimmett
Benaud

1.Warne
2.Muralitharian
3.Gibbs
4.Underwood
5.Qadir
6.Vettori
7.Laker
8.Kumble
9.Harbajhan Singh ( i know he was poor in england, but look at his test record)
10.Benaud

Underwood in there twice, cf. Could you edit it, mate?

thats good he was

yh sorry mate.

Harby's Test record outside Asia is abysmal.

Anyways,your choice mate.

edited to have them in order

shankythebiggestengfan wrote:Harby's Test record outside Asia is abysmal.

Anyways,your choice mate.

dosent matter, you have to look at their overrall test record, and harbajhan has a very good test record!

This was that infamous test match in 1932 in which Bert Ironmonger ran through the Saffers who were just about learning to play test cricket. Grimmett was not even given a chance to bowl and O'Reilly had a few overs in the second inning!

http://www.howstat.com.au/cricket/Statistics/Matches/MatchScorecard.asp?MatchCode=0216

Are you not putting Warne in your list, Leff?

Fists of Fury wrote:Are you not putting Warne in your list, Leff?

Nope, I am OS 10.6.8.

im staggered that warne isnt in your top 10

cricketfan90 wrote:im staggered that warne isnt in your top 10

Sobers didn't think the bowler in question was among the greatest. Well, some of us have different views.

2nd highest wicket taker in test history...surely he has to be one of the greatest..

Warne is the greatest of all the bowlers, in my humble opinion, not just the spinners. But each to their own, I guess.

Has anybody mentioned Mushy?

Maybe not a top tenner but a superb leggie, IMO.

I considered him, he just missed out.

I loved Mushy. He'd be borderline top20 but there's just too much quality to put him in top 10 IMO.

he isnt top 10 to be honest.

Top 20 at best, didn't have him near my list.

Liam can you put yours in order please mate.

1. O'Reilly
2. Murali
3. Warne
4. Laker
5. Grimmett
6. Underwood
7. Tayfield
8. Verity
9. Benaud
10. Bedi

Edited and in order

Murilitharan
Warne
Kumble
O'Reilly
Bedi
Underwood
Qadir
Chandrashekhar
Laker
Gibbs

cricketfan90 wrote:1.Warne
2.Muralitharian
3.Gibbs
4.Underwood
5.Qadir
6.Vettori
7.Laker
8.Kumble
9.Harbajhan Singh ( i know he was poor in england, but look at his test record)
10.Benaud

His records nothing more than average. He only did well while Kumble was playing.