Captaining Spin/Spinning Tactics

[Boris]

Captaining Spin/Spinning Tactics

Thoughts on how a captain should go about setting fields for spinners, and the tactics involved in doing so.

It's one of those things that pop up regularly around the place and I feel could be built on. Dave in particular has some very good tactics here and there.

I will post up a couple of things to try after a few posts.

Any tactics you have used during your club games and in what way are your fields set?

 

[someblokecalleddave]

Re: Captaining Spin/Spinning Tactics

Thoughts on how a captain should go about setting fields for spinners, and the tactics involved in doing so.

It's one of those things that pop up regularly around the place and I feel could be built on. Dave in particular has some very good tactics here and there.

I will post up a couple of things to try after a few posts.

Any tactics you have used during your club games and in what way are your fields set?

The only thing I can ever recall suggesting was the tactic of bringing your best spinner in early e.g. first up in tandem with your pace bowler. The idea being that at club level the openers are not expecting to face spin right from the off and it disrupts their rythmn and they're having to face an attack that they would normally only encounter once really established much later in the game? I think it does require a decent spinner with some idea of what he's trying to do and an ability to bowl on a specific line and length. Over the off-season I've been watching Swanne and other spinners (Ray Price - Zimbabwe) and seen the value of moving around the crease and making full use of it - again to disrupt the sense that the batsman is beginning to get a feel for the bowling - using all the usual tactics you'd employ against the more versatile middle order batsman - but applying them to the openers who have in their mind that they've got a specific job to do and there you are as a spinner completely messing up their plans. Possibly worth considering if you trust your spinner?

 

[someblokecalleddave]

Re: Captaining Spin/Spinning Tactics

Field settings though are still a bit of a mystery to me. Up till last season the key things I'd noticed about the field settings my captain was setting was that they were pretty much standard for Leg-Spinners e.g. they were primarily off-side heavy. My biggest issue was putting the odd ball down the Leg-side and either the keeper missing it or the batsman putting it away down to fine leg. This year I've sussed out that it's important to watch the batsmen when everyone else is bowling at them in order to identify the weaker aspects to their game. I always imagined that this would be tricky but its not, it almost turns out that it's one thing or the other they're either good down the legside or through the off-side and you attack the weak aspect of their game. All these things though only really become possible once you've got control over your line and length and you're able to bowl into a very specific area.

So it looks as though I'm heading for a season this year where I may be setting my own fields?

 

[eddiesmith]

Re: Captaining Spin/Spinning Tactics

I try and set my own fields, being an off spinner they are aimed at protecting the leg side boundaries and singles on the off side

Fine leg is a tough one, I dont really want one, but its those balls down leg side that worry me as well, then again when the grounds were quick it didnt seem to matter if fine leg was there or not

I agree on the spinner opening up, have done it succesfully in the past but most captains arent willing to try anything different and then there are some not willing to bowl spinners at all

 

[Liz Ward]

Re: Captaining Spin/Spinning Tactics

I have to agree. I really do believe the bowler, whether spinner or not, should set their own field but it is more important for spinners, especially if the captain is clueless about the art... and they usually are .

Captains need to watch what is happening and to be honest, if the bowler ends up 'plugging' holes, it's too late for the bowler and the Captain needs to take over.

Spinning is a mind game and the spinner's job is to tease the batsman into doing something stupid, which they usually do end up doing. Unfortunately, unless the Captain can read the spinner's mind, he should leave well alone if the spinner knows what he is doing.

 

[someblokecalleddave]

Re: Captaining Spin/Spinning Tactics

Yeah I'm fortunate in that my club is full of Off-spinners and the captains that I play under are often spinners, my preferred captain being a left arm spinner with the most wickets in the club.

 

[Jim2109]

Re: Captaining Spin/Spinning Tactics

the best captains are the ones that let me set my own field and let me get crazy with it!!

the worse captains are ones that are obsessed with having men on the drive (even though i almost never get driven), and men covering all the boundaries. even worse is if you end up with the oldest guy in the team at slip, simply because hes too old to run (and also too old to catch anything that isnt straight at him).

my opinions on field settings are probably quite unorthodox, and most captains would think i was insane. i dont cover anything straight, whatsoever. any batsman that can drive me will get 4's all day long. i cover heavily on the leg side and not so much on the off side, because my natural line is on leg stump anyway. most people say "but you need to have mid-off and mid-on because you might get someone caught there". im a lot more likely to get someone caught at slip or gully though if they become obsessed with driving me because theres a gaping great hole for easy 4's!! no batsmen can drive me more than a couple of times before i get a ball to do something unexpected. its why i love bowling at high quality batsmen who play straight shots and dont use their feet too well. batsmen who get to the pitch or are strong on the sweep, cut and pull are the ones that i look to contain. but still leave the straight drive open, because when they cant score runs elsewhere theyll be forced to go down the ground. and they normally end up stumped trying a massive straight hit.

it needs more match testing though. in nets my field setting would be awesome, but batsmen are usually less aggressive in the real world.

 

[mas cambios]

Re: Captaining Spin/Spinning Tactics

I'd encourage the bowler to set their own fields, simply because they know they they are trying to achieve. I can advise and offer help but it's no good setting a leg side field if they are shooting everything to the off.

Apart from that I try to use my spinners as an attacking option. They can give a few runs away but I also want wickets. Bowl me 10 overs and take 4-45 and I'll be reasonably happy.

 

[someblokecalleddave]

Re: Captaining Spin/Spinning Tactics

10 overs? That'd be nice I'd be looking at some 5-fers at around 4 runs an over based on last years performance and that's without setting my own field and without the improvements and enhanced knowledge gained over the winter!!

 

[Boris]

Re: Captaining Spin/Spinning Tactics

An idea for the longer format of the game, or if you are on top in a one dayer.

For the leg spinner with good turn to left hander, preferably likes the off side drive:

Bowl over the wicket. Bat pad, slip and gully for close in field. Mid on, mid off, midwicket, sweeper on the circle or on the fence. Shortish cover and point/backward point as well. Obviously tweaked a bit depending on the game situation.

Good turning leg break used as stock ball. Land it on off stump, reasonably full, turning back to middle. This leaves straight and the legside to play into, try to limit any off side shots, but keep them wary of the slip, gully and short cover.

Work them over for a few overs targeting the bat pad. Make sure everything is turning into middle stump, but as long as that is happening then vary the amount of spin and pace. If you are lucky you might get a chip to mid off/cover if the batsman is playing for too much spin, but as long as you are targeting that bat pad then LBW is wide open as well, spinning down the line.

To make this more effective, though, patience is needed to throw up the wicket ball. Your batsman preferably likes the off side drives (work this out early) and is eager to put them away. You have just spent a few overs strangling them of those shots, targeting the straight on side. For your variation ball you want to throw something out wide on the off side, nice and full, like a skidder or preferably wrong un, and get him wanting to hit it. If landed well enough then you are always in for the edge to slip/gully or a uppish/mistimed drive to point/short cover. If you get it wrong it's going to the fence, but it's your variation ball used once every 2/3 overs or so. You want a surprise factor, either nice and flighted or pushed through fast and skidding.

Remember to use the same ball over and over again when bowling the 'stock' delivery, and don't chuck in the wrong un spinning onto the middle stump, it will spoil the surprise.

Even if you don't think you are accurate enough or whatnot for a plan like this, it gets you thinking. If you apply any plan to any batsman at least it stops you from 'just rolling the arm over'. You are looking to get them out the way you want to get them out, and it should improve every aspect of your bowling.