GUIDE TO SPIN BOWLING FROM JAMSHA CHANAWALA
INTRODUCTION provides you with a definitive guide to the problems world class batsmen face when confronted with the vagaries of spin. We show you four variations of the leg-break bowler's armoury, plus the regular off-break and the slow left-arm delivery. The best spinners in the world have five or six different types of ball they can produce at will.
GOOGLY The leg-spinner's "wrong' un" - with the wrist bent right round so that the ball will be released out of the back of the hand. Although the action of the fingers and the wrist is the same, the ball starts spinning the "wrong way" - from off to leg. A brilliant ball if delivered correctly, and can make a total fool of batsmen.
leg_spinner This is the most conventional and most natural ball bowled by the right-arm wrist-spinner. The ball is gripped across the seam, and as it is bowled the wrist helps the fingers spin the ball from leg to off. The ball is released out of the front of the hand. A good rhythm is necessary to land the ball in the right spot.
flipper Used to great effect by the world’s best spinner, Shane Warne, in the mid-1990s, this is the hardest variation for the leg-break bowler to get right. The ball is "squeezed" between the thumb and fingers in such a way that it spins backwards and skids on low and fast with under-spin after hitting the pitch.
top_spinner The easiest variation for the apprentice leg-spinner to master. The position of the wrist changes, pointing to the side. The ball is gripped in the same way, but this time fingers and wrist spin the ball in a straight line towards the batsman. The result is a ball which goes straight on, but bounces more, with overspin.
off_break The most orthodox type of spin - and unless bowled with flight and ingenuity, it is not difficult for high quality batsman to play. The fingers are used to rotate the ball as much as possible from outside off stump in towards the right-hander. Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan is the best off-spinner in world cricket.
left_arm A left-arm spinner usually bowls a mirror version of the right-arm off-breaker's stock delivery. Once again the fingers are used to get the ball spinning in the air but the ball bounces from leg to off for the right-hander, and can therefore pose more problems. England’s number one spinner, Ashley Giles, is a slow left-armer.
The grip therefore is important in getting the ball to spin in the way that wrist spinners do. A good wrist spinner is able to impart so much spin on the ball that, as it flies through the air it hums. The basic grip is referred to by Shane Warne as the 2 fingers up, 2 fingers down technique as seen here below.
Dependent on the size of your hands in relation to the ball size, your own grip may not match this image. Indeed the idea of the 2 up 2 down finger configuration is a template for a basic starting point. Many people bowl with slightly different looking grips, but in a roundabout manner they are normally modelled on this version. Again all of the master Wrist Spinners say that there is no regulation grip and that if people grip the ball in a slightly idiosyncratic manner and still get the ball to produce a good leg break you shouldn't mess with their technique. But if you're starting out this image above will serve as a good starting point.<br><br>Most of the advice with regards the grip and how hard you should grip it is standard in that you shouldn't grip the ball hard. The logic behind this advice is that when you bowl your Leg Break well, the whole action is usually performed in a flowing fluid motion where all of your 'Levers' work in tandem with each other to bowl the ball. Tension within the bowling action at
posted by chanawalasportacademy @ 05:00
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