5 best players of spin from South Africa

South Africa may have had some of the world's leading spinners in a different era in their cricket history, but over the last 60 years or so, it has been firmly known as a country of fast bowlers. Naturally, most of their batsmen have not grown up playing against high-quality spin and it is often seen that they struggle against the turning ball. That being said, South Africa have still produced plenty of great batsmen and many of them have gone on to master the art of playing spinners over the course of their careers.

Here is a look at 5 of the best.

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#5 Graeme Smith

He is one of the most successful Captains in the history of Test cricket and during his long career, Graeme Smith also emerged as one of the game's greatest opening batsmen. The left-hander may not have the most classical of techniques but his own homegrown batting style proved to be extremely effective and he was particularly at home against spin.

Smith's batting was one of the big reasons why South Africa became one of the best sides in the world and became extremely hard to beat, even when they visited the sub-continent. He played 17 Test matches in the sub-continent and averaged 44.93.

Although Smith's average was boosted due to his show in Bangladesh, back in 2007-08 when he averaged over 100, he did well in Sri Lanka, Pakistan and India as well. There is no doubt that he is one of the better players of spin to have played for South Africa.

#4 AB de Villiers

He is among the finest batsmen to have played cricket for South Africa and is regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in modern cricket. There is hardly any weakness in his game that can be readily exploited by the opposition bowlers and that has made AB de Villiers one of the most feared batsmen in the world.

When he faces spin, his superior feet movement, soft hands and the ability to attack the best in the business, even if the wicket is a spin-friendly one, makins him a dangerous batsman indeed. His average of 43.14 in the sub-continent is higher than what has been recorded by many of the greats in the game and when the rest of the South African team struggled in India back in 2015, it was De Villiers who showed semblance of a fight by average 36.85.

However, his finest tour to the sub-continent was back in 2007-08 when he plundered 304 runs in three Tests in India and averaged 76. On the other hand, he had also taken on the might of Muralidharan and Co. in Sri Lanka in 2006 and averaged 54.25 in his first ever outing in the sub-continent.

#3 Hashim Amla

There have been very few top order batsmen who have been as consistent as South Africa's Hashim Amla over the past decade or so and the team's rise as one of the best in the world coincided with his ascent as one of the world's top batsmen. The right-hander is a superb all-round batsman and has demonstrated his ability to play top class spin bowling on difficult surfaces.

His soft hands, excellent feet movement and the vast array of strokes make him such a superb player of the turning ball. Although he did have a bit of a nightmare in his last tour to India back in 2015, Amla remains one of South Africa's finest in the sub-continent.

In 2009-10, he plundered 490 runs against India in a 3 Test series and was dismissed only once. He made three centuries in the tour and did well in Sri Lanka as well, back in 2014. He has an overall average of 47.56 in the sub-continent and made 5 centuries and 3 half-centuries so far.

#2 Gary Kirsten

He may be known more for having masterminded India's triumph in the 2011 World Cup but in his playing days, former South African batsman Gary Kirsten was one of the finest openers around and particularly good against spin bowling. One of Kirsten's most important attributes as a player of spin bowling was that he often allowed the ball to spin and then played his stroke, watching it all the way to the bat.

On the other hand, he had the cut and the sweep in his armoury as well, that made him a very difficult batsman to bowl to as far as spinners were concerned. He was consistently excellent against some of the leading spinners in the world and his record in the sub-continent is among the best by visiting batsmen.

Kirsten played 13 Tests in the sub-continent and never visited Bangladesh, which makes his average of 53.85 that much more significant. In addition to that, he made 4 centuries and 7 half-centuries in total during the course of 5 tours to India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

#1 Jacques Kallis

He is the finest batsman to have played cricket for South Africa and remains the country's most prolific run scorer across formats. Jacques Kallis debuted for South Africa back in 1995 and over the next 19 years, scored runs everywhere and unlike many of his teammates, he was a superb player of spin bowling.

His prowess against fast bowling is well known but he was an equally outstanding player of spin. Kallis' biggest strength was his defensive technique that could stonewall most things that spinners threw at him and when he wanted, he could also play strokes all around the wicket. He had all shots in his repertoire that often proved to be beguiling for even the most experienced of spin bowlers.

He is the team's most prolific batsman in the sub-continent with a total of 4051 runs and also holds the record for the highest average among South Africans. Kallis has an average of 55.58 in 21 Test matches and has made 6 centuries, in addition to 7 half-centuries.