Who is currently the best player against spin bowling?

[Inzy's Aloo]

It is safe to say that Brian Lara was the best against spin in recent years maybe even all-time, but who is the best of the current crop of batsman?

In the recently concluded test series between England & India this topic came to mind as I watched an intriuging battle between India's best batsman Rahul Dravid and the consensus number one spinner Greame Swann. It was an exemplary showing of how to play high class spin bowling. The way in which Dravid used his feet and the depth of his crease to negate the Swann was superb. Also how he played the ball late and managed to stay in control was impressive. Overall it was a lesson in how to play spin bowling at the highest level.

The other current players that come to my mind that you can regard as high class players of spin are Hashim Amla, Younus Khan, VVS Laxman, Sachin Tendulkar, Micheal Clarke and Kumar Sangakarra, but who would you regard as #1?

 

[velu]

Sehwag for me , but sometimes he will be over excited and gets out to mediocre spinners "afridi

 

[pakistanigoneaussie]

Michael Clarke or Ponting if he gets his groove back

 

[Bullet Drive]

Shoaib Malik, joke.. but he is good.. Salim Malik was good..

Younis, Misbah are good.. Dravid.

 

[CORNERED-TIGER]

Younus Khan very underrated batsman a superb player vs spin bowling

 

[ehtesham]

my hero

 

[pakistanigoneaussie]

Great players of spin Dominate spinners not just play them well, guys like misbah dravid and yk dont tend to dominate them

 

[Poison]

Sehwag is rubbish against spinners.

Probably a Sri Lankan, would normally say Sangakarra but he's been poor recently, will have to say Mahela, fantastic at playing the ball very late and picking the most fantastically small of gaps.

 

[Inzy's Aloo]

Shoaib Malik, joke.. but he is good.. Salim Malik was good..

Younis, Misbah are good.. Dravid.

In ODI's i'd say Malik is up there with the best in terms of best players against spin. His footwork and touch is very impressive against spin

 

[James]

Swann did pretty well against Sri Lanka, so not any of them.

I'm not sure if Dravid pwns spinners or just Swann, but Dravid is pure class against all bowling.

Pietersen has to be considered a very good batsman against spin. He averages 50+ against Warne and Australia in general, destroyed Murali in England (pioneering the switch-hit against his bowling!), and has answered the left-arm spin critics with a 220 in Adelaide and a superb season this year. I don't know why people use names like Amla and Misbah ahead of Pietersen.

Michael Hussey has also got to be a contender. Played Swann pretty well in England and dominated him in Australia, in a way that only Dravid has competed with. The Huss also launched Ajmal out of the stratosphere in THAT semi-final, when the odds were totally in Pakistan's favour.

 

[Zaz]

 

[ads101]

Bell. Currently. guy hardly gets troubled by spin at all.

http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/en...e=results;type=batting;view=dismissal_summary

 

[farsiddiqui]

Certainly not me. I hate playing against spinners. I'd much rather face a fast bowler on a seaming pitch.

Unless the spinner has no clue about line and length, I can never figure out what to do against them.

-------

YK and Dravid are two of the better players of spin currently.

 

[RightArm Fast]

Misbah isnt bad against spin either..

 

[talha3]

The best current pak batsman is misbah. The rest couldn't play bishoo at all, never mind swann.

 

[emclub]

Malik, YK, Afridi and Umar Akmal

 

[saeedhk]

Clarke and watto

 

[Bhaijaan]

Sehwag easily !

He owned Warne, he owned Murali, he owned Mendis, he owned Saqlain, he owned Macgill, he owned Swann, he owned Kaneria, he owned Vettori, he owned Afridi

 

[Fireworks11]

Michael Hussey is very good against spin, he's a tough nut to crack. When Kaneria did get the better of him, Kamran messed up. Atm, Hussey is very sound against turn.

 

[Hando]

Umar Akmals not bad

 

[s2k]

Sehwag is rubbish against spinners.

Probably a Sri Lankan, would normally say Sangakarra but he's been poor recently, will have to say Mahela, fantastic at playing the ball very late and picking the most fantastically small of gaps.

Tell that to Murali,Warne,Saqlain,Vettori,Kaneria,Mendis et all.........he doesnt play spin well.........he decimates them......

Why does Mahela avg so poorly in India...if he plays spin so well?

 

[Bhaijaan]

^
<iframe width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/2ifg82zAb9U" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Easily the biggest destroyer of spinners

 

[ExLegend]

I have to agree with this lance guy sehwag is one of the best against spin Misbah and Younis from our team

 

[Bhaijaan]

Afridi himself plays the spinners with a lot of ease. How will did he play Murali and Harbie, not aware of his performance against leggies though

 

[AlizeeFan]

Afridi himself plays the spinners with a lot of ease. How will did he play Murali and Harbie, not aware of his performance against leggies though

He is an underrated batsman against spin.

 

[Bhaijaan]

He is an underrated batsman against spin.

Very true, also i have seen Yusuf Pathan hitting them around at will.

 

[Black Zero]

tenth thread with similar topic...but yet to see some stats to back any claim...

 

[the Great Khan]

Dravid by a country mile..in our team yk and misbah..afridi in odi's isnt so bad..

Amla seems ok too..but dravid is just class..plays late, can adjust and even if he's not picking it can at least pick the singles cleverly..smart and simple..he can also attack when required..uses his concentration extremely well and plays like a chess player..

recent players for us , well inzi played em pretty well but was still prone to get out to them from time to time..moyo just hated playing against murali..yk on top form is good against them..

 

[AlizeeFan]

Very true, also i have seen Yusuf Pathan hitting them around at will.

Remember what Ganguly was saying that day. It's easier to play spinner if the batsman takes little risk even in test cricket.

 

[Bhaijaan]

@Great_Khan - Dravid best against spin?

 

[Black Zero]

Malik..best among current Pakistani players...not sure who is best in the world.

Worst...fawad...for sure

 

[iHammad]

<iframe width="420" height="345" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/dEGD8MCkTvg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[emclub]

^^^ what a terrible commentator is imran khan ruined such an exciting moment :lawry : lloyd ny

 

[cricfan967]

Shoaib Malik is very underrated in terms of playing spin.
His footwork against spin is brilliant.

 

[Poison]

He is an underrated batsman against spin.

If I remember correctly Afridi has only be out stumped ONCE in his illustrious ODI career

 

[Down2Earth]

younis khan is the best against spin, i can't think of a batsman better.

 

[amarali]

Dravid as well as Bell.

 

[malakian]

Kp

 

[James]

More evidence for Hussey today

 

[Bhaijaan]

Dravid also exhibited some class against spin bowling today

Three sixes in a row

 

[Justcrazy]

malik is the best player of spin bowling in Pakistan ATM.

Best in the world would be M. Jayawardhane.

 

[AZulfi]

It is safe to say that Brian Lara was the best against spin in recent years maybe even all-time, but who is the best of the current crop of batsman?

In the recently concluded test series between England & India this topic came to mind as I watched an intriuging battle between India's best batsman Rahul Dravid and the consensus number one spinner Greame Swann. It was an exemplary showing of how to play high class spin bowling. The way in which Dravid used his feet and the depth of his crease to negate the Swann was superb. Also how he played the ball late and managed to stay in control was impressive. Overall it was a lesson in how to play spin bowling at the highest level.

The other current players that come to my mind that you can regard as high class players of spin are Hashim Amla, Younus Khan, VVS Laxman, Sachin Tendulkar, Michael Clarke and Kumar Sangakarra, but who would you regard as #1?

Among Pak batsmen, Miandad was a high class player of spin bowling. Among more recent Pak batters, the two Y's played spin very well esp. Younis

Other batsmen (apart from the one's you've mentioned) that play spin well are Pietersen and Hussey

 

[MRSN]

Ian Bell

 

[Itachi]

Dravid.... Miles ahead from others.

 

[Saqs]

Clarke is probably the best player against spin from Australia since Lehman. Big call?

From the current Pakistani lineup, Umar Akmal is decent, Shoaib Malik and Younis Khan are very good against spin.

The best would probably have to be Mahela, Dravid or Amla.

 

[mate1]

A batsman who could play against a varoety of spin, gone are those days, the players of yesteryears like Miandad, Gavaskar, Chappell, who used to face spinners day in day out, as there were plenty of quality spinners in the opposition, and each type of variety available. Dravid vs Swann, is nowhere close to what the duels were in those days, Qadir, Qasim, Tauseef, Bedi, Chandershaker, Parsanna, Raghawan, and that is a rcipe for disaster for batsmen, and icing on the cake used to be turnign tracks or under-prepaered tracks.

That generation has gone and no one after that even including Lara can match them, Salim Malik was so proficient against spin, he used to murder them, thats why he easily played Warne when others of the newer geneartion found it difficult to play him,

 

[AZulfi]

This is how you play spinners, Footwork is the key

Miandad - 271 vs NZ @ Eden Park, Auckland, 1989

[utube]PePZGACmpvE[/utube]

Classic footwork against spinners rarely seen nowadays.

scorecard: http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/63502.html

 

[Atif]

Younis Khan is a class player of spin, can't really recall any matches where he has struggled with spin.

Tendulkar came to mind, but after what Ajmal did to him during the World Cup....

 

[Poison]

Younis Khan has struggled v spin a lot since about 2 years ago. Struggles to rotate.

 

[James]

Swann didn't get much chance to bowl to Tendulkar in the recent tests because the little fella kept getting out for 1 to our seamers, but the Nottinghamshire man was all over him at the Oval. Got him out in the first innings, and in the second had him stumped, LB, and edging constantly. No idea how he scored 90

 

[WakaWaka]

I saw a lot of Dravid in the winter.

Swann barely did anything to him, and he's the best spinner in the world.

 

[Saqs]

Swann didn't get much chance to bowl to Tendulkar in the recent tests because the little fella kept getting out for 1 to our seamers, but the Nottinghamshire man was all over him at the Oval. Got him out in the first innings, and in the second had him stumped, LB, and edging constantly. No idea how he scored 90

Welcome to how we felt about his 80-odd at Mohali.

Seems to play leg spin a lot more comfortably than off-spin. I think he has traditionally struggled against offspinners, especially the one that goes straight.

 

[Bhaijaan]

Tendu hasn't looked at all comfortable against off spinners but Dravid isn't known for combating spinners that good either.
Sehwag, VVS, Ganguly were finest against spin.

 

[Ashraful_Rox]

in Test (class)
32 from one Bandara over (odi) for fun

 

[Random Aussie]

Sehwag easily !

He owned Warne, he owned Murali, he owned Mendis, he owned Saqlain, he owned Macgill, he owned Swann, he owned Kaneria, he owned Vettori, he owned Afridi

Er Sehwag played all of 4 Tests against Warne, being dismissed by him 4 times. I swear some people just make things up on the fly.

 

[Harper]

Trott

 

[James]

Swann outthought Sehwag - leave a gap at cover and throw up an off-spinner. A good old village dismissal

 

[AlizeeFan]

Er Sehwag played all of 4 Tests against Warne, being dismissed by him 4 times. I swear some people just make things up on the fly.

Not 4, 3 times.

Warne to Sehwag

5 balls, 5 runs.

60 balls, 53 runs, out (155 runs)

16 balls, 9 runs, out. (58 runs off 94)

9 balls, 4 runs, out (76 runs off 82 balls).

4 balls, 7 runs.

 

[KingSwing]

Tinotenda Mbiri Kanayi Mawoyo

 

[velu]

Swann outthought Sehwag - leave a gap at cover and throw up an off-spinner. A good old village dismissal

only valid if shewag has thought anything when facing swann
honestly the ball was there to be driven thru covers but he missed

 

[Inzy's Aloo]

Sehwag easily !

He owned Warne, he owned Murali, he owned Mendis, he owned Saqlain, he owned Macgill, he owned Swann, he owned Kaneria, he owned Vettori, he owned Afridi

Are you seriously basing this on that one test in Multan 2004 where Saqlain was clearly past his prime?

 

[Ahsan_8]

Mike Hussey aka Mr. Krikut

 

[velu]

Are you seriously basing this on that one test in Multan 2004 where Saqlain was clearly past his prime?

thats the only match sehwag played against him
but sqalain was 27 or 28 at that time and probably pakisthan missed his best years considering we still play with Bhajji

 

[Inzy's Aloo]

thats the only match sehwag played against him
but sqalain was 27 or 28 at that time and probably pakisthan missed his best years considering we still play with Bhajji

Yeh one match and it gets termed as "owned", well on that basis Mohammad Amir "owned" Sachin Tendulkar (Amir dismissed him cheaply in the one match he bowled to him in the Champions Trophy 2009)

Saqlain was totally finished by then, his body just could not hold up to test cricket.

 

[Inzy's Aloo]

...bump

Top innings by Younus Khan proving why he is rated one of the best against spin bowling today. Solid defence and brilliant footwork mixed in with wonderful attacking strokes particularly the sweep shot. Overall it was a masterclass in how to play top class spin bowling.

 

[ninjafirstslip]

vvs at peak was very good...

 

[*sallu*]

Younis Khan is definitely up there. He has all the strokes and a very good balance to his game.

I rate him the best player of spin in close contention with AB and Hussey.

 

[ninjafirstslip]

oh forgot about the Hussey. The fact that he is a left hander who dominates spin is quite rare. Sehwag is also pretty good.

 

[Desire]

said it many times before on pakpassion. younis khan is by far the best player of spin in pak. even inzi had difficulties sometimes against kumble but YK is the best we have over the years. YK is the only guy who has frustrated both murlitharan and shane warne

 

[Inzy's Aloo]

said it many times before on pakpassion. younis khan is by far the best player of spin in pak. even inzi had difficulties sometimes against kumble but YK is the best we have over the years. YK is the only guy who has frustrated both murlitharan and shane warne

After Pakistan's tour of India in 2005 i remember Kumble had high praise for Younus, that was YK's coming of age tour.

 

[Bullet Drive]

Bell. Currently. guy hardly gets troubled by spin at all.

http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/en...e=results;type=batting;view=dismissal_summary

Sure you've changed your opinion....

 

[Savak]

Kallis

 

[fuzz_174]

Daren Bravo

 

[ads101]

Sure you've changed your opinion....

yup.

The guy's best prepared for spin, best array of stroke, good reactions, times the ball well. He should be able to play spin.

The guy struggles against mystery spin. If you can beat him mentally, he's gone.

Very sad really. Really thought the guy had improved. For the life of me I can't work out why this guy fails.

This guy averages around 50 without the mental strength of guys with similar averages. If he had a little mental strength about it, good knows what the guy could achieve. Really disappointed me especially last innings. Hiding away scared from ajmal is not the way to face him. Should have gone up to strauss and told him that he wanted to face ajmal. If anything strauss was threatening his own chances of staying in against ajmal (whom he was not playing great either), and if Strauss had got out protecting Bell it would have been awful.

As I think Vaughan puts it, he plays average spin extremely well. Mystery spin, Murali, Ajmal, Warne he's rubbish. Thing is other batsmen can claim it's mostly the conditions that are the problem. Bell's too well equipped in terms of strokes, easily the best footwork from the english batting team and has a natural game to do well in the subcontinent and turning conditions. It's the fact he just can't pick quality spinners like ajmal.

 

[James]

Bell will probably look good again in Sri Lanka. He's a player that produces big things against average bowlers, and can occasionally deliver against quality, particularly if the momentum is already with England.

There is however a reason that - in spite of the great stats - most England fans have hesitated to rate him as world-class, and always been wary of him. This series will have shown many fans around the world how fallible he can be.

OP: Dravid, Younus, Hussey

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

I expected Younis and Misbah to be our best players against the spinners this series so until today Younis has been a big disappointment against England. He showed up eventually though and today's innings was a master class in batting against slow bowling.

 

[ninjafirstslip]

I think nobody comes close to hussey. The man is just simply beast.

 

[Bhaijaan]

Before- Sehwag

Now- Still Sehwag

 

[kerala porotta]

Sehwag even on a track turning square he will be the daddy

 

[Justcrazy]

Ross Taylor