Greatest leg spinners by Test nation

Australia: Shane Warne/Clarrie Grimmet
England: Ian Peebles/Walter Robins
Pakistan: Abdul Qadir
India: Chandrasekhar/Kumble
South Africa: Paul Adams
New Zealand: ????
Sri Lanka: Somachandra De Silva/Ajantha Mendis
West Indies: Dinanath Ramnarine


A brief apology to Ian Salisbury who unfortunately did not make the cut - based on reasons beyond me.

Australia: Bill O'Reilly
England: Tich Freeman
Pakistan: Abdul Qadir
India: Fergie Gupte
South Africa: Aubrey Faulkner/Bert Vogler
New Zealand: Jack Alabaster
Sri Lanka: Somachandra De Silva
West Indies: Dinanath Ramnarine/Wilf Ferguson
Zimbabwe: Paul Strang

Tich Freeman was about 5 foot 2 wasn't he?

A foot shorter than O'Reilly by my calculations.


They don't make them like that anymore...

It took a judicious breeding combined with a heavy culling program but there are now no short people in the human population.

Oh you.


I'm not sure if we've discussed this, but are the stocks of legspinners healthy in the countries which regularly produced spinners of this kind? (The Indias, Australias, Pakistans)

Seems not a lot has change in regards to countries which don't necessarily produce leggys by the bagful - England, SAF, NZ & WI.

What is going on?

Great Leg Spinners:

Shane Warne
The Rest.

West Indies: David Holford (at least he could bat, and he was very close to greatness)
New Zealand: Clarrie Grimmett

Windies: Rawl Lewis
NZ: Brooke Walker
Eng: Ian Salisbury
Aust: Bryce McGain

Youngest and Greatest Leg Spinners

Australia: Cameron White
England: Adil Rashid/William Beer
India: Piyush Chawla
Pakistan: Danish Kaneria
South Africa: JP Duminy
West Indies: Gavin Wallace

England: Bernard James Tindal Bosanquet

Merlin wrote:England: Bernard James Tindal Bosanquet

Local lad?

DJ_Smerk wrote:

Merlin wrote:England: Bernard James Tindal Bosanquet

Local lad?

Local'ish .... Eton; Oxford; Middlesex CCC; England.
Invented the googly ... which of course you already knew about... right?!

DJ_Smerk wrote:Youngest and Greatest Leg Spinners

Australia: Cameron White
England: Adil Rashid/William Beer
India: Piyush Chawla
Pakistan: Danish Kaneria
South Africa: JP Duminy
West Indies: Gavin Wallace

Thought he was an offie but could be wrong.

Merlin wrote:

DJ_Smerk wrote:

Merlin wrote:England: Bernard James Tindal Bosanquet

Local lad?

Local'ish .... Eton; Oxford; Middlesex CCC; England.
Invented the googly ... which of course you already knew about... right?!

Experience holds you above me in that regard, Merls.

Red wrote:

DJ_Smerk wrote:Youngest and Greatest Leg Spinners

Australia: Cameron White
England: Adil Rashid/William Beer
India: Piyush Chawla
Pakistan: Danish Kaneria
South Africa: JP Duminy
West Indies: Gavin Wallace

Thought he was an offie but could be wrong.

Strange but true, Red. I always had him down for bowling leggies because he was more effective than Harris. Now I realise that a lot of people can bowl with more venom and guile than Paul Harris.

So Australia has the 3 greatest leg spinners ever with a 4th and 5th in Benaud and Mailey possibly in the top 10.

Benaud isn't Top 5 IMO.

.

I think he does make the Top 10 though.

Misread your post.

Top ten, yes, but only just IMO.

For England, Doug Wright, who succeeded 'Tich' Freeman at Kent and took 7 hat-tricks in his career, the fc record for any bowler and made 34 appearances for England between 1938 and 1951 taking 108 wickets, which I think is the most in terms of both appearances and wickets for any England leg-spinner.

Freeman is the only bowler to take 300 wickets in a season with 304 in 1928 and only falling two short of equalling the feat 5 years later. His appearances at Test level were limited to 12 games between 1924-29 yet nevertheless he took 66 wickets with a best of 7/71 against South Africa at Old Trafford (followed by 5-100 in the 2nd innings) in 1929 when he replaced the injured England captain (and also legspinner), J.C.White.

The best for India, and the best I ever saw on a turning wicket, and probably the best before Warne, was B.S.Chandrasekhar who took 242 wickets in 58 matches between 1964 and 1979. An honourable mention should be made for Bruce Dooland who only appeared in 3 Tests for Australia immediately after the end of WWII (the four-man pace attack of Lindwall, Miller, Toshack and Johnston only allowed for one spinner and Bradman preferred the off-sin of Ian Johnson) but took 770 wickets in 5 seasons for Notts between 1953 and 1957 on the flattest of flat tops at Trent Bridge becoming one of Wisden's 5 Cricketers of the Year for his efforts in the 1954 season when he took 196 fc wickets (his wicket tally never went below 141 in each of his 5 seasons at The Bridge).

Finally Eric Hollies ...b.Bradman 0?

Allan D wrote:For England, Doug Wright, who succeeded 'Tich' Freeman at Kent and took 7 hat-tricks in his career, the fc record for any bowler and made 34 appearances for England between 1938 and 1951 taking 108 wickets, which I think is the most in terms of both appearances and wickets for any England leg-spinner.

Freeman is the only bowler to take 300 wickets in a season with 304 in 1928 and only falling two short of equalling the feat 5 years later. His appearances at Test level were limited to 12 games between 1924-29 yet nevertheless he took 66 wickets with a best of 7/71 against South Africa at Old Trafford (followed by 5-100 in the 2nd innings) in 1929 when he replaced the injured England captain (and also legspinner), J.C.White.

The best for India, and the best I ever saw on a turning wicket, and probably the best before Warne, was B.S.Chandrasekhar who took 242 wickets in 58 matches between 1964 and 1979. An honourable mention should be made for Bruce Dooland who only appeared in 3 Tests for Australia immediately after the end of WWII (the four-man pace attack of Lindwall, Miller, Toshack and Johnston only allowed for one spinner and Bradman preferred the off-sin of Ian Johnson) but took 770 wickets in 5 seasons for Notts between 1953 and 1957 on the flattest of flat tops at Trent Bridge becoming one of Wisden's 5 Cricketers of the Year for his efforts in the 1954 season when he took 196 fc wickets (his wicket tally never went below 141 in each of his 5 seasons at The Bridge).

Finally Eric Hollies ...b.Bradman 0?

When did Bradman bowl Hollies?

Another very good Aussie legspinner who's often forgotten is Colin McCool.

He was one of many players to have their best years stolen by WWII.

He also averaged mid-30s with the bat, making him a valuable all-rounder.

JGK wrote:So Australia has the 3 greatest leg spinners ever with a 4th and 5th in Benaud and Mailey possibly in the top 10.

Aye, quite remarkable that a country with traditionally hard and fast wickets not noted for turn has produced so many world class leggies.

And let's not forget the mystery leggie/offies of Iverson and Gleeson. Maybe not Greats but certainly had brief times in the sun. Boycott had no farkin idea whcih way Gleeson was spinning them.

Where do O'Keefe , Jenner , Sleep , Holland , Hohns , Mann McGain and McIntyre rate in the all time leg spinner department?

Clearly not greats by any stretch, but O'Keeffe and Jenner played a key role in the 73 tour of the Windies (when Max Walker and Jeff Hammond starred after DKL broke down). Skull came back with a remodelled action and was useful in 76/77.

Dutchy Holland won at least 2 Test matches for us, one against the might of the Windies at the SCG. And Cracker played an important part behind the 89 Ashes juggernaut of Alderman and Lawson.

Sounda bowled us to victory in T5 of the lamentable 86/87 Ashes debacle in Aus.

Mann, McIntyre and McGain were simply sh!thouse.