Cricket
Who is the Best Left-Arm Wrist Spinner in Test History? A Ranking
Test cricket celebrates the achievements of spin bowlers, who have plenty of variations in their armoury. While fans will be familiar with more conventional techniques such as leg spin , left-arm wrist spinning or ‘Chinaman’ bowling as it is also known, is one of the rare bowling styles in cricket. The ball will sharply turn from the leg side to the offside for a right-handed batsman, presenting plenty of danger. Batters must be patient and wary of the ball’s flight before charging down the ground and trying to knock a delivery back over the bowler’s head.
Kuldeep Yadav /Getty Images
However, several bowlers refined this art, most notably Paul Adams, Kuldeep Yadav, and Michael Bevan. But who is the top left-arm unorthodox spin bowler in Test history? Our detailed approach blended raw data with expert opinions to reach a concrete conclusion on this fascinating topic.
SB Market Index: How We Evaluate the Best Left-Arm Wrist Spinners
This evaluation of the greatest Chinaman bowlers in history combined a statistical analysis of their Test careers with expert and media perception to provide a comprehensive ranking of this rare breed of bowler. Fusing these elements created the ‘SB Market Index’, a custom-built rating system where the results were fair and devoid of bias.
Industry Insights
A curated analysis from the top 10 cricketing and sports media sources measures how prominently each of these bowlers is featured in discussions of the “greatest” or “most notable” left-arm wrist spinners in Test history.
| Source Name | Paul Adams | Kuldeep Yadav | ‘Chuck’ Fleetwood-Smith | Lakshan Sandakan | Lindsay Kane | Inshan Ali | Michael Bevan |
| ESPNcricinfo – “The Unorthodox XI” | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Wisden – “A History of the Chinaman Bowler” | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Cricbuzz – “Analyzing Cricket’s Rarest Art” | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Sky Sports – “Bowlers Who Broke the Mould” | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| The Guardian – “The Frog in a Blender” | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cricket.com.au – “Australia’s Unorthodox Greats” | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Reddit r/Cricket – “Best Chinaman Bowler” Poll | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Sportskeeda – “5 Most Famous Chinaman Bowlers” | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| The Cricketer – “The Mystery Spinners” | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| talkSPORT -“Cricket’s Most Unique Actions” | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total Mentions | 9 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 6 |
SB Score
| Player | Wickets | Matches | Average | SB Score |
| Kuldeep Yadav | 56 | 13 | 22.16 | 0.871 |
| Lindsay Kline | 34 | 13 | 22.82 | 0.672 |
| Michael Bevan | 29 | 18 | 24.24 | 0.598 |
| Paul Adams | 134 | 45 | 32.87 | 1.000 |
| Lakshan Sandakan | 37 | 11 | 34.48 | 0.560 |
| ‘Chuck’ Fleetwood-Smith | 42 | 10 | 37.38 | 0.551 |
| Inshan Ali | 34 | 12 | 47.67 | 0.407 |
This score is calculated based on two key career metrics: Bowling Average (60% weightage, inverted score) and Total Wickets (40% weightage).
SB Market Index
| Rank | Player | SB Score | Industry Insights | SB Market Index |
| 1 | Paul Adams | 1.000 | 9 | 7.400 |
| 2 | Kuldeep Yadav | 0.871 | 7 | 5.774 |
| 3 | ‘Chuck’ Fleetwood-Smith | 0.551 | 6 | 4.910 |
| 4 | Michael Bevan | 0.598 | 6 | 4.919 |
| 5 | Lindsay Kline | 0.672 | 3 | 2.534 |
| 6 | Inshan Ali | 0.407 | 2 | 1.681 |
| 7 | Lakshan Sandakan | 0.560 | 0 | 0.112 |
Paul Adams: The Unforgettable Pioneer
One of the best left-arm wrist spinners in Test cricket, Paul Adams’ bowling action was unfortunately likened to a “frog in a blender”. Adams didn’t know much about the art of Chinaman bowling when he was first discovered, but he continually troubled the best Test batsmen of the 1990s.
While injuries at time hampered him, no South African left-arm spinner took more Test wickets than Adams (134). His unusual technique yielded dividends, and his high wicket volume was backed up by a strong ‘SB Score’ and near-perfect ‘Industry Insights’ mark.
The Modern Standard: Kuldeep Yadav
A bright spark in the modern era, Kuldeep Yadav’s Test record proved he was one of the best in the business, constantly fooling top batsmen with his variation. A top India Test bowler, Yadav could turn the ball both ways, and his sublime bowling average, surpassed everyone else on our list.
His high ‘SB Score’ combined with his solid ‘Industry Insights’ placed him second, and his dedication to refining the art of Chinaman bowling was evident.
The Historical Greats: Fleetwood-Smith and Bevan
A history of left-arm wrist-spin can’t be discussed without mentioning two Australian spin maestros. The Aussies are renowned for producing amazing leg spinners, such as Shane Warne and Nathan Lyon, but others paved the way.
Michael Bevan’s bowling stats proved to be handy; he produced some more magical moments in the ‘Baggy Green’, and he was involved in some of the greatest matches in cricket history. Although he bucked the trend, his contributions were reflected by his decent ‘Industry Insights’ rating.
Meanwhile, ‘Chuck’ Fleetwood-Smith was among the other unorthodox bowlers who ranked highly. His change in style to Chinaman bowling was forced by a bad break to his right hand, but he often tormented teams and he came to the fore in the Ashes series in the 1930s. Like Bevan, he returned a solid ‘Industry Insights’ rating, conveying the admiration shown towards him by the experts.
Conclusion on Cricket’s Rarest Art Form
In summary, our in-depth model, which aligned stats with expert opinions, crowned Paul Adams as the finest left-arm wrist spinner, and his highly unusual technique won him plenty of fans.
However, Test cricket’s best spinners were out-of-the-box thinkers, and they were always searching for new ways to make batsmen feel uncomfortable at the crease. Chinaman bowling, as strange as it might seem, was a unique skill that confused top batsmen and made them look ordinary. The bowlers we have discussed on this page constantly backed themselves, and their feats are still widely talked about.
Charles Perrin is a highly experienced sports betting content writer with over six years of working with some of the leading sportsbooks in the UK, including bet365 and William Hill.