Statistical comparison: Shane Warne v Muttiah Muralitharan

We, as in cricket fans, have been extremely fortunate in that the game of cricket has seen a plethora of top-quality spinners over the years. Be it Bill O’Reilly and Richie Benaud from Australia, Anil Kumble and the famous spin quartet of the 1970s from India, or Abdul Qadir and Saqlain Mushtaq from Pakistan, the list of high-class spinners to have played cricket is nigh-on endless. While spin bowling may not give a layman the same excitement as a fast bowler running in at full throttle with the aim of knocking a batsman’s head off, a contest between a high quality spinner and a good player of spin bowling is a pure joy to behold.With that being the case, the question arises as to who is the greatest spin bowler of all-time? With there being such a vast variety of great spinners, these debates can often be futile. But, I think, it is safe to say that the debate about the greatest spin bowler ever eventually comes down to two individuals: Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan. While both were match-winners of the highest quality for their respective sides throughout the 1990s and 2000s and it is almost impossible to reach a conclusive decision on the greater spinner among the two without a tinge of subjectivity, let’s see if statistics can provide us a definitive answer. 

#1 Overall Test record

Whether one likes it or not, Warne’s enormous media profile because of him being from Australia and perennial doubt surrounding the legality of Murali’s action has always meant that the Australian has been on a slightly higher pedestal. However, the overall Test record of the two bowlers suggests that Murali was a tad superior to Warne.

While Warne took 708 wickets from 145 Tests for Australia, Murali had 800 scalps to his name, having played 12 Tests fewer. Murali also fares better in terms of number of runs conceded per wicket and frequency of wickets taken. Murali’s average and strike-rate were 22.72 and 55, respectively, in comparison to Warne’s average and strike-rate of 25.41 and 57.4.

Player	Matches	Wickets	Average	Strike-rate
Shane Warne	145	708	25.41	57.4
Muttiah Muralitharan	133	800	22.72	55