Spin bowling
Introduction
Inchoately described as ‘slow bowling’, spin has been a part of cricket for much of its history, yet it remains one of the most difficult concepts for any beginner of the sport to grasp. How is it possible for a bowler to be successful when dropping his pace by as much as 40 miles per hour? More incredible still, how can it be the case that the two most successful wicket takers in Test match history - Australia’s Shane Warne and Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan - are both spinners?
The answer is simple - cricket is as much a mental battle as a physical battle. In the contest between bat and ball, out-thinking your opponent is the key to victory and nowhere is this more evident than in the spinner’s efforts. By bowling the ball in such a way as to increase the number of revolutions while travelling through the air, the spin bowler is able to manipulate the direction, speed and bounce once it hits the pitch. The unpredictability of each delivery is what explains spin bowling’s incredible success over the years as well as its continued importance to any cricket side.
However, spin bowling is a diverse art-form. While such bowlers are all united by the fundamental principle of making the ball spin (hence the term ‘spinners’), the means to that end are many. Consequently, the range of deliveries and the number of skills required of a spin bowler are daunting. Before you even start out, you have to ask yourself a number of questions about the path you want to take, and it certainly won’t be easy. That said, if you stick to your task and develop your skills, you will be a remarkably effective part of any team you play in - just look at the statistics!
Types of Spins:
1. Leg spin
Popularised by the irrepressible Australian Shane Warne during the 1990s and 2000s, leg spin is considered by many as the most effective form of spin bowling due to the range of deliveries possible and the amount of spin that can be imparted on the ball. It is typically associated with right-handed wrist spin bowlers, with the delivery making for anti-clockwise rotations on the ball.
The threat of leg spin is made more acute by the adept practitioner’s ability to incorporate other elements in his delivery. For example, by using variations of flight - looping the ball into the air above the batsman’s initial line of sight to allow cross-breeze to come into play, which will also encourage a sharp dip due to the spin on the ball and will increase the level of deviation.
The leg spinner’s arsenal is composed of the following deliveries:
- Leg break - Otherwise known as the leg-spinner, this is the stock delivery of the leg spinner. The term leg break is easily explained - the ball spins away from the leg side and thus ‘breaks’ away from the leg. Problematic because the ball moves away from the body of the right-handed batsman (from leg-side to off-side), the line and length can also be varied by the spinner to apply extra pressure and utilise any assistance from the pitch. Delivered by gripping the ball across the seam and released from the front of the hand, with the fingers offering some extra spin.
- Googly - Known alternatively as the wrong’un or even the Bosie (referring to its creator, the Englishman Bernard Bosanquet), this delivery is key to the leg spinner because it allows him to change the deviation. As a result, the googly spins from the off-side to the leg-side, the opposite to the leg break. This is achieved by bending the wrist right around so that the ball is released from the back of the hand with clockwise spin. Another option is to bowl a conventional leg break but use the fingers to apply spin. It is used infrequently but the surprise factor makes it a vital wicket-taking delivery.
- Top-spinner - A great delivery to learn as a beginner because of its relative ease, the top-spinner goes straight onto the batsman without significant deviation but with extra bounce after a sharp drop. It is achieved by having the wrist position pointing to the side with the same grip as the leg break. At the point of delivery, your wrist should be facing the covers. The different wrist position means that the fingers and the wrist apply topspin directly at the batsman.
- Flipper - Much harder to get to grips with, and brilliantly used by Shane Warne in the earlier part of his career, the flipper is basically a backspin ball. Therefore, the ball drops slower with considerable pace, skidding on low after pitching and causing the batsman major problems. To deliver the flipper, the ball must be squeezed between the thumb and fingers in such a way that the ball is released underneath the hand with backspin.
- Slider - A real wicket-taker for Shane Warne in his twilight years, the slider is basically the opposite of a top-spinner. It has a fuller length and bounces a lot less than expected. The slider is achieved with the thumb facing the bowler, the ring finger providing a substantial part of the spin, and the ball being released from the front of the hand.
2. Off spin
The off spinner is a right-handed bowler who spins the ball from the off-side to the leg-side when facing a right-handed batsman (the opposite of a leg spinner). It is generally thought to be easier to play because flight is not much of a factor, there are fewer deliveries to consider, and less spin is applied to the ball. However, contradicting that sweeping statement is Muttiah Muralitharan, one of the greatest spinners of all-time and one of the most successful bowlers of all-time.
The off spinner’s arsenal is composed of the following deliveries:
- Off break - Much like the leg break necessarily breaks away from the leg-side, so the off break in turn breaks away from the off-side. It is the stock delivery of the off spinner and requires serious ingenuity to be more than a containing delivery, as the ball tends to go into the body of the right-handed batsman. The off break is delivered with the seam running across under all the fingers meaning, upon release, they apply considerable clockwise spin. Upon hitting the pitch it will then deviate into leg stump.
- Doosra - Otherwise known as ‘the other one’, the doosra is the off spinner’s answer to the leg spinner’s googly. It has been extremely effective in making off spin a more potent art by adding some variety, with the ball moving from the leg-side to the off-side against a right-handed batsman. It is delivered with the same action as the off-break but with the wrist flexed in such a way that the back of the hand faces the batsman. This wrist movement has caused major controversy, with Muttiah Muralitharan and India’s Harbhajan Singh both accused of ‘throwing’. Curiously though, its inventor, Pakistan’s Saqlain Mushtaq, has never had this accusation levelled at him.
- Top-spinner
- Arm ball - The off spinner’s slider, the arm ball moves straight on after pitching in the direction of the arm (hence the name). Alternatively, if the ball is swinging and the seam is upright, some out-swing may be seen. The arm ball is achieved by releasing the ball while rolling the fingers down the side. It is an essential surprise delivery for the off spinner, with New Zealand’s Daniel Vettori a particularly user.
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