Test cricket, the purest form of cricket. When we talk about Test Cricket we usually e think about the patience of of the batsmen and the quality of the medium pacer. And sometimes we left out the other specie of a game, spin bowling. We often use the lines, ‘spin to win’ . These lines are often used in the subcontinent . The Asian teams have produced lots of quality spinners.
In this post we are going to talk about 5 all time best spinners in test cricket.
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Shane Warne
Shane Warne undoubtedly best spinner of all time in Test cricket. Batsmen were always terrified of his bowling. He was Australia’s number one match winner for at least 20 years. Back in 2005, when Australia lost the Ashes series Warne picked up 40 wickets in the series which was 16 more than the second best.
He was a match winner for the best test side ever in the history of cricket. The Australian team of 1990s and 2000s unbeatable across the globe. The dominated the world cricket. He used to bowl for hours from one end. Shane Warne was a street smart bowler who tricked batsman easily.
At an average of 25 Shane Warne took 719 test wickets. After considering the Australian conditions and kind of wickets, these are good numbers. Excluding India and Westindies his average was below 28 in all the other countries that he played. By the end of his career he added 37 five wicket hauls and 10 ten wicket hauls.
Shane Warne is undoubtedly the number one spinner in everybody’s list.
Anil Kumble
Anil kumble won matches for Indian team single-handedly. Kumble played 132 test matches and took up 619 test wickets at an average of 29. He was fantastic bowler in the subcontinent conditions. He picked the 350 wickets atom awesome average of 24 on flat tracks. He had great success in West Indies ,Zimbabwe and South Africa. His average was 30 in all these countries. Kumble 15 wickets in Bangladesh with an average of 16.
Anil Kumble was not a big turner off the ball. He did not get help from the Wicket as Warne could. Not only taking wickets, he also maintain the run rate of the team when required. His overall economy is 2.7 which is a great number for a leg spinner.
Anil Kumble picked up 8 ten wicket hauls and 35 five wicket hauls in his career.
Muttiah Murlitharan
Murlitharan  was regarded as the heart of the Lankan bowling line up. He carried Srilankan bowling attack for almost two decades along with the great Chaminda Vaas. His bowling ensured that the Sri Lankan team would fight in the foreign conditions. The Sri Lankan team remained almost unbeaten at home just because of this man. He was a big turner off the ball which made it difficult for a batsman to play his shots.
Nowadays the doosra ball is banned but when he used to play he was lethal. The batsmen struggled to pick his doosras. Despite facing many controversies, he picked the 800 wickets ,which is most by any bowler in test match history. He bowled with an average of 22 to which is best among the spinners. He took 22 ten wicket hauls and 67 five wicket hauls which is next to impossible in this modern cricket.
Murlitharan struggle in India and Australia. His average was above 28 in both these countries but he was phenomenal in other countries.
Ravichandran Ashwin
In 78 test matches, Ravichandran Ashwin has picked up 409 wickets for Indian team. He has been India’s top spinner in the last decade considering the format. Ashwin has been phenomenal at home conditions with an bowling average of 22 and at a superb strike rate of 49. He has great average in West Indies ,Sri Lanka and Bangladesh with the bat as well.
Ashwin has mastered himself with multiple deliveries including slider and carrom ball over the span. Recently in the IPL has been seen bowling leg spin. His only criticism was that he was incapable of winning matches for the team outside the subcontinent.
But in the recently concluded border Gavaskar Trophy Ashwin was the match winner for the Indian team. He managed to keep Steve Smith quite for some time. He almost average 32 in England which is a great number assessing the conditions.
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Jim Laker
Jim Laker is one of the Best bowler ever seen in the cricket history. He played for England in international cricket and took them to many victories. Jim Laker was the first man on the planet to take all 10 wickets in a test match innings . He took 10 for 53 against Australia in the second innings of the fourth Test match, in 1956 Ashes series. He took 19 wickets in the match. Laker took 46 wickets in 5 test matches ,which is still a record in an Ashes series.
He played just 46 test matches for England and took 193 wickets with an excellent average of 21. Playing for Surry and Essex in the county he took 1944 wickets at an average of 18. He had great first class record to his name. He was included in the ICC Hall of Fame in 2009.