The words “English” and “spinners” have often been preceded by “a lack of” or succeeded by “face extinction.” Throughout modern decades, there has been a steady reduction of quality English tweakers - although Graeme Swann’s recent progression has breathed fresh optimism. Due to the introduction of covered pitches which tamed the spinner’s influence, many of the most successful English exponents are those who trundled through the crease prior to the 1970s.
Noticeable omissions from the subsequent list, John Emburey and Ashley Giles, were relied upon by their respective eras, but their longevity or doggedness does not disguise their lofty bowling averages. Pitches may have become less spinner-friendly over time, but the aforementioned failed to replicate the statistics of their contemporaneous spin opponents, such as Abdul Qadir and Shane Warne respectively. It is a difficult proposition to select a definitive order of Top Ten English twirlers, but Sport.co.uk has given it a crack:
1. Derek Underwood (Test span: 1966-82)
The only spinner in England’s top twelve highest Test match wicket-takers, “Deadly” Derek was the youngest player in history to take 100 first-class wickets in his first domestic season. To label him a slow bowler would be misleading, as he delivered the ball at pace. He was at his best in the late sixties and early seventies before pitches were covered, but this modification failed to thwart him. Underwood’s finest hour brought England one of the most emphatic victories in 1968, when he took four wickets in 27 deliveries - his final scalp clinching a 226-run win against Australia with six minutes remaining.
86 matches, 297 wickets @ 25.83
2. Jim Laker (1948-59)
In 1956, Laker produced the most astonishing Test match bowling figures in history, when he claimed 19 Australian wickets for 90 runs - 9 for 37 in the first innings and 10 for 53 in the second - a statistic that remains unrivalled. His right-arm off-breaks complimented the left-arm wrist spin of Tony Lock - his Surrey and England spin twin. Australia were more acclimatised to wrist spin, as their pitches aided the additional turn that complimented the art. Laker’s accurate off-breaks sanctioned a very close, aggressive field and his Old Trafford exploits remain one of the greatest individual feats in British sporting history.
46 matches, 193 wickets @ 21.24
3. Tony Lock (1952-1968)
The other half of the Laker/Lock partnership took 100 wickets for the first time in 1951, but the subsequent Wisden pleaded for Lock to impart with more spin. The Surrey man duly obliged, transforming himself into a vicious turner of the ball, with a low trajectory and a sprightly release, elevating him to international recognition. Although not quite the same threat overseas, Lock achieved a match return of 11 for 48 from 37.4 overs during the Oval Test against West Indies in 1957, and in the soggy summer of 1958 he claimed 34 wickets at just 7.47 apiece, ruthlessly destroying a weak New Zealand outfit.
49 matches, 174 wickets @ 25.58
4. Hedley Verity (1931-39)
Accumulating 1,956 wickets at 14.87 runs apiece in ten years of first-class cricket, Verity flexed by far the best average of his time and stands alongside his illustrious predecessors in the Yorkshire attack: Edmund Peate, Robert Peel and Wilfred Rhodes. An adaptable bowler who delivered the ball at a decent pace, Verity was one of the more successful bowlers against the great Don Bradman - he got him out cheaply in both innings of the 1934 Lord’s Test. At just 38, he died of wounds as a prisoner of war in Italy in 1943.
40 matches, 144 wickets @ 24.37 runs
5. Fred Titmus (1955-75)
Competing against two other top-class off-spinners in Ray Illingworth and David Allen, Titmus managed to conjure up 53 Test caps over 19 years and played county cricket in five decades, between 1949 and 1982. Those who produce such longevity often cannot sustain prestigious statistics - he averaged a fair 32 - but his enduring efforts were applauded when he carried on despite a horrific boating accident that cost him four toes. His best innings figures were 7 for 79 against Australia at Sydney in 1963. He also possessed an intelligent, practical mind which made him a good judge of a player.
53 matches, 153 wickets @ 32.22
6. Johnny Wardle (1948-57)
Capable of delivering both orthodox left-arm spin and unorthodox wrist-spin (with a perplexing googly – the ‘chinaman’), he was somewhat unfortunate that his career coincided with the great Tony Lock. Wardle claimed 7 for 36 at Cape Town during the tied 1956-57 series in South Africa, concluding with 26 wickets in four Tests at a mere 13.81. His overall tour statistics were 90 wickets at a dozen runs apiece and Jim Laker remarked some years later that Wardle had produced the best displays of spin bowling he had ever seen.
28 matches, 102 wickets @ 20.39
7. Bobby Peel (1884-96)
A fine all-round cricketer, Peel had remarkable success against Australia, against whom he played for England twenty times. At the Oval in 1884, Peel achieved six for 67 in the fourth innings and in the rubber match of that tour, he stole seven wickets and scored 73 with the bat. Like Rhodes and Verity, he was another quality Yorkshire slow left-hander, and regularly took 100 wickets for his county. For England, he formed a useful spin partnership with Johnny Briggs and if you eliminate those who have taken less than a century of Test scalps, he has the best average for an English spinner.
20 matches, 101 wickets @ 16.98
8. Johnny Briggs (1884-99)
Given his chance at Lancashire in 1889 as an energetic, lissom fielder, Briggs eventually blossomed into one of the finest spinners of his day. In 1885 he headed the bowling averages for his county, with 79 wickets at just 10 and a half runs apiece. Briggs had an economic action and enticed batsmen to drive on the off-side. The popular Lancashire lad shot to recognition as a bowler for England against Australia at Lord's in 1886, when he claimed 5 for 29. Despite suffering from a form of epilepsy - an ailment that caused his death at 39 - he and Peel span England to victory over Australia at Sydney in 1894.
33 matches, 118 wickets @ 17.75
9. Wilfred Rhodes (1899-1930)
When Rhodes opened the batting alongside Jack Hobbs with every England innings by prescriptive right, he temporarily imprisoned his bowling. After war struck and spin options were left depleted, Yorkshire reinstated his twirlers in 1919 - he headed the bowling averages with 164 wickets at 14.42. Not a big turner of the ball, he prevailed by length, variations of flight and merciless accuracy. He was a very slow bowler with an efficient action - hence at 49 years of age, he was worth a return to the England side for his final Ashes encounter. Rhodes was Yorkshire cricket personified and his all-round abilities instated him as one of the greats.
58 matches, 127 wickets @ 26.96
10. Graeme Swann (1998- )
Just when finger spin was going out of fashion, Swann has proven that traditional off-spin can prevail with flight, drift and subtle turn. Despite being renowned as a publicity-seeker, Swann’s cricket is doing the majority of the talking. The selection of this tweaker in this assortment ahead of longer servants like Emburey, Giles or Phil Edmonds may divide opinion, but he is currently ranked the fifth best bowler in the world and his exploits in the 2009 Ashes series and the recent tour of South Africa elevate him to the inside edge of this list. He has the canny knack of taking a wicket in his first over and has given England a new dimension.
16 matches, 69 wickets @ 30.69