5 best players of spin from South Africa

Second Test - India v South Africa: Day 2

South Africa may have had some of the world's leading spinners in a different era in their cricket history, but over the last 60 years or so, it has been firmly known as a country of fast bowlers. Naturally, most of their batsmen have not grown up playing against high-quality spin and it is often seen that they struggle against the turning ball. That being said, South Africa have still produced plenty of great batsmen and many of them have gone on to master the art of playing spinners over the course of their careers.

Here is a look at 5 of the best.

#5 Graeme Smith

He is one of the most successful Captains in the history of Test cricket and during his long career, Graeme Smith also emerged as one of the game's greatest opening batsmen. The left-hander may not have the most classical of techniques but his own homegrown batting style proved to be extremely effective and he was particularly at home against spin.

Smith's batting was one of the big reasons why South Africa became one of the best sides in the world and became extremely hard to beat, even when they visited the sub-continent. He played 17 Test matches in the sub-continent and averaged 44.93.

Although Smith's average was boosted due to his show in Bangladesh, back in 2007-08 when he averaged over 100, he did well in Sri Lanka, Pakistan and India as well. There is no doubt that he is one of the better players of spin to have played for South Africa.