5 best players of spin from England

The oldest cricketing nation in the world has produced some of the world's best batsmen over the course of its history and many of them have gone on to become excellent all-around players.

Although England is known as a country of seam bowlers as far as bowlers are concerned, it has also produced plenty of world-class spinners and hence the batsmen often play spinners at the domestic level.

That being said, the number of really top class English players of spin have not been as many as one would have expected and it is a rather small group. So, here is a look at the English batsmen, who were absolute masters of handling the spinning ball.

#5 Marcus Trescothick

The former England opener could have gone on to become one of the best of all time but mental health issues took their toll on him and he had to retire prematurely. However, for as long as he played, Marcus Trescothick was a regular for England and the left-handed opener was without a doubt, one of the best players of spin in the side.

The Somerset batsman had the complete game that one wishes a player to have against spin. He had the defensive technique, he could come down the track to smother the turn, sweep or slog sweep and in addition to that, he could cut if the ball was marginally short.

His record in the sub-continent is ample proof of his prowess against spin. He averaged 40.81 in 17 games that included tours to Sri Lanka, Pakistan, India and Bangladesh, over a period of around 5 years.

Trescothick made 3 centuries and 7 fifties. Other than the series in Bangladesh in which he averaged more than 68, the tour to India in 2001-02 was another high point (average 48).

#4 Ian Bell

He batted at a number of positions for England throughout his illustrious career that lasted around 11 years from 2004 to 2015 and during that time, right-handed batsman Ian Bell proved to be one of the team's most dependable batsmen.

Due to his comfort against both pace and spin, he eventually became a middle-order batsman and remained one of the team's best players of spin bowling.

Bell was extremely quick with his feet and he was primarily an attacking batsman, which made it possible for him to unsettle the opposition spinners.

Although his average of 42.33 in the sub-continent is boosted by his exploits against Bangladesh in 2009-10 (average of 130.50), it must be kept in mind that he also negotiated Shane Warne well in the Ashes in both England and Australia.

On his last tour of India in 2012-13, Bell averaged 43 and made a superb century.

#3 Kevin Pietersen

Now, consider his well-documented struggles against left-arm off spin many would think that former England star Kevin Pietersen was perhaps an ordinary player of spin bowling but nothing could be farther from the truth.

He was a supremely attacking batsman and had everything going for him as far as playing spin bowling was concerned. He could use his feet, rock back on to his back foot, play the cut, sweep and the slog sweep.

All this made him a very tough batsman to bowl and if anyone watches his match-turning 186 (off 233 balls) at Mumbai back in 2012 against India's three-pronged spin attack, they would realise that he is an extraordinary player of spin.

It is arguably the greatest innings ever played by a visiting batsman in India. Eventually, his problems against left-arm spin also went away and an average of 45.63 in the sub-continent is enough proof of his prowess as a batsman against spin.

#2 David Gower

He is regarded as one of the greatest English batsmen to have played the game and what made David Gower so very unique was the nonchalant way in which he went about his job. It was all graceful strokes and superb footwork.

Having scored more than 8000 runs for England in Test cricket, there is no doubt that Gower remains one of the most prolific batsmen in the country's history and his run-scoring was not uninhibited when he played against some of the leading spinners of his time. His record in the sub-continent is exemplary.

The left-hander made 2 centuries and 8 fifties in 16 Test matches and averaged 56.90, the highest among the batsmen listed here.

The tour of Pakistan in 1983-84 remains his finest performance since he made 2 centuries and 2 fifties in 3 Tests and averaged a stunning 112.25 in the series. There have been a few better players of spin in English cricket.

#1 Alastair Cook

He is among the greatest batsmen that England has ever produced and certainly among the greatest opening batsmen to have ever played the game. As an opening batsman, Alastair Cook is peerless and a superb batsman against the moving ball.

He is equally good against spin bowling and what is often incredible to fathom is that his range of strokes against spin bowling is pretty limited. Cook uses the sweep, perhaps a steer to the leg side, the cut and the drive.

His game does not have the big sixes or the expansive charge down the wicket. Yet, he has proven to be effective against the best spinners in the world.

He has scored the highest runs among English batsmen in the sub-continent and although the last tour to India was one to forget, the one before that was a resounding success. He averages 52.52 in the sub-continent and has scored as many as 8 centuries and 8 half-centuries over the course of 22 Test matches.

Back in 2012-13, he cemented his place as one of England's greatest players against spin by scoring 3 hundreds against India at an average of a barely believable 80.28.