What would Englands best Spin Duo be? (Past and Present)

They have to have actually played Test Matches.

Underwood-Panesar

I'd take that Duo on tour of the Subcontinent anyday.

Underwood and Verity

Tuffers won more Ashes Tests for England then Monty ever has.

Take your pick from:

Laker, Verity, Rhodes, Freeman, Briggs, Underwood and probably quite a few others I haven't mentioned.

their last world class spinner was underwood, esp on a track that suited him

Currently, we don't have a test spin duo. I would play Monty and Swann in the SL series and see what happens.

Jim and 'deadly' Derek without question.

For me you would have to select two from these three - Hedley Verity, Jim Laker and Johnny Wardle.

Ian Salisbury and Min Patel.

Verity & Laker.

I'm tempted to say Blythe and Rhodes but incredibly, despite being contemporaries, they only played together 5 times for England and only once did they both take a wicket in the same innings.

If Sydney Barnes can be counted as a spinner (and why not?) then Barnes /Rhodes is a very strong contender.

Verity and Freeman should have been a permanent pairing in the early 30s but the selectors thought otherwise. This would probably be my favourite.

Pork Hunt Pete wrote:Verity & Laker.

Aye.

No votes for Giles and Such?

lardbucket wrote:No votes for Giles and Such?

Not when there are quality players like Min Patel and Eddie Hemmings to select!

Now you're just making things up. Hemmings - isn't that just another word for 'side of pork'?

And who can forget the legend that was Richard Dawson?

Basil wrote:

lardbucket wrote:No votes for Giles and Such?

Not when there are quality players like Min Patel and Eddie Hemmings to select!

I see your Patel and Hemmings and raise you Schofield and Watkinson.

... or Don Wilson, who holidayed here in 1970-71.

Or - sorry aboiut this, Basil - Norman Gifford, who made Jack Simmons look like a wily, flightful, demon spinner.

Fred Titmus, Pat Pocock, Robin Hobbs, John Mortimore, David Allen ... the list goes on.

Wasn't Fred Titmus supposed to be quite good?

F'kin hell, it's Fred Titmus...!

Watkinson ... good call. He didn't do too badly IIRC?

Then there was Birkenshaw, Cope (so close to achieving legendary status), and Nick Cook.

lardbucket wrote:... or Don Wilson, who holidayed here in 1970-71.

Or - sorry aboiut this, Basil - Norman Gifford, who made Jack Simmons look like a wily, flightful, demon spinner.

Fred Titmus, Pat Pocock, Robin Hobbs, John Mortimore, David Allen ... the list goes on.

Hard to credit that Gifford was occasionally picked ahead of Underwood.

We never complained.

Contrast Gifford (Old Trafford 1972) with Underwood (Headingley 1972, not to mention the Oval 1968) and you know all you need to know about Australians and their opinions on the two.

lardbucket wrote:We never complained.

Contrast Gifford (Old Trafford 1972) with Underwood (Headingley 1972, not to mention the Oval 1968) and you know all you need to know about Australians and their opinions on the two.

IIRC, the theory behind it was that Gifford was supposed to be a slower bowler and bigger spinner than Underwood - and so (in theory) likely to be more effective on flat wickets. Total b*llcks of course.