5 Greatest spinners of all time
Spinners play a very vital role in cricket. They usually bowl more on a deteriorating track on the last two days of a Test match and therefore, it can be safely concluded that spinners take the most vital part in finishing off matches. It is not a coincidence that the top 3 wicket takers in the history of Test cricket are all spinners.
There are mainly two types of spinners in cricket: off-spinners and leg-spinners. Off-spinners mainly use their fingers to spin a ball while the leg spinners use their wrists. It is, however, more difficult to bowl a leg-spin delivery than an off-spin one. However, off-spinners can be more effective in containing runs as they usually tend to have more control over their deliveries.
There have been many great spinners in the history of cricket and therefore, it was not an easy task to select the best five out of them.
Let us now take a look at the top 5 spinners of all time:
5. Derek Underwood:
Underwood was an English slow left-arm orthodox bowler, which means that he used to bowl off-spinners with his left arm. He was one of the most successful spinners in the 1960s and 1970s and ended up taking 297 wickets in 86 Test matches at an average of 25.83. Underwood also played in a World Cup for England, but as one-day cricket was not in vogue those days, he did not feature in much of it.
Underwood was unplayable on wet wickets and could generate a healthy turn and bounce. He also had a nice loop in his bowling and reasonable control on line and length. He played for Kent in county cricket and took 2465 wickets at 20.28 in his first-class career.
Underwood was reasonably successful in the sub-continent. But his bowling was more suited to the wet pitches of England. He took most of his wickets on his home turf and remained one of the most potent weapons for his side for more than a decade. Underwood also remains the most successful spinner England has produced.