5 best players of spin from New Zealand

One of the teams that has always punched above their weight in international cricket is New Zealand and have become one of the more respected teams in the game.

That being said, they have also produced some of the leading batsmen in the world over the course of their cricketing history and many of them have proven to be exceptional players of spin bowling, despite the fact that New Zealand's domestic cricket circuit is dominated by seam bowlers.

Many of these batsmen have defied the odds and negated some of the world's best spinners on dust bowls to keep the team afloat. Here is a look at 5 of the finest that New Zealand have ever had.

#5 Ross Taylor

The former New Zealand captain is one of the best batsmen in the history of the country and over the past decade or so, Ross Taylor has become one of the most important batsmen in the batting line up.

The right-handed batsman is an unorthodox player, yet the way he plays spin helps him in getting on top of spinners on most occasions. His feet movement is excellent and in addition to that, he can play the sweep and the slog sweep.

Those two shots can seriously break a spinner's rhythm and he can play the cut as well if anything short comes around. Although Taylor did not have a good tour of India in 2016, he did perform well against the spinners in the sub-continent over the course of his career.

In 16 Test matches in total, he averages 34.25 and the 2012-13 tour of Sri Lanka is probably his high point when he scored 243 runs at an average of 60.75 in 2 Tests.

#4 Brendon McCullum

He started off as a wicketkeeper but over the years developed into one of New Zealand's best middle-order batsmen and eventually, Brendon McCullum ended his career as a specialist batsman.

As a middle-order batsman, he simply had to be good against spin and over the course of his 101 Test match career, McCullum proved that he was as good as some of the best batsmen New Zealand have had. He could use his feet superbly and in addition to that, he was an ultra-attacking batsman who took on the bowlers from the outset.

The savage cuts, the slog sweeps and cover drives often proved to be his weapons of choice when he was up against the spin bowlers. When it came to facing spinners in the sub-continent, he often proved excellent and averaged 39.27 in 15 Tests spread across 7 tours.

His finest series was the 2 game series in India back in 2010-11, when he made 370 runs in 3 Tests, that included a marathon 225. He recorded an average of 74 and a barely believable strike rate of 62.92.

#3 Bert Sutcliffe

He was one of the earliest greats of New Zealand cricket and Bert Sutcliffe will always remain one of the most important cricketers in the annals of the country's cricketing history. He had a long career that lasted 18 years from 1947 to 1965 and during that period, he turned out in 47 Test matches for his countries.

The left-hander had the defensive technique as well as the attacking instincts that are needed to be excellent against the turning ball and as a player of spin, he was the best in the side for many years. In 15 games on 4 tours to India and Pakistan, Sutcliffe scored at an average of 44.65.

However, it must be said that his average would have been higher had he fared better in Pakistan (averaged 13.50 &15.25 on his two tours).

The 1955-56 tour of India was his finest hour as he plundered 611 runs in 5 Tests at an average of 87.28 and slammed 2 hundreds, with the highest being 230 not out.

#2 John Reid

He was Sutcliffe's contemporary and emerged as New Zealand's leading batsman during the 1950s and the 1960s. John Reid was famous for being a relentless stroke-maker and it is often said that he could have been an ideal player for one day cricket.

The right-hander's attacking batsmanship also made him an outstanding player of spin bowling and he coupled it with a good technique. Unlike Sutcliffe, Reid scored runs in both India and Pakistan during the course of his career and in fact, made centuries in both countries in 4 tours.

In 15 Test matches, he scored at an average 44.80 and made 3 centuries, in addition to 6 half-centuries. Even in his last tour to the sub-continent in 1964-65, Redi made 296 runs against Pakistan in 3 Tests and averaged a brilliant 59.20. No doubt one of New Zealand's finest against spin.

#1 Stephen Fleming

The former New Zealand captain is often regarded as one of the finest leaders that the team has had and in addition to that, Stephen Fleming was also one of the team's leading batsmen for most of his 14 years long (1994-2008) career.

The left-hander was an elegant batsman, who was known for his excellent stroke-making and while he was dependable against pace bowling, he was on a different level when it came to playing spin. His record in the sub-continent is ample proof of his outstanding prowess against spin.

Fleming could use his feet or go back on to the foot or play the sweep and the cut to often dominate some of the game's best spinners. An average of 65.45 is one of the highest by any visiting batsman to the sub-continent and he did it consistently in 18 matches, spread across 8 tours to all the 4 Test playing nations in the area.

In fact, the highest score of his career, a superb 274 not out against Sri Lanka was made in the tour to the country back in 2003 and remains one of the finest innings played by a visiting batsman against high-quality spin.