Leg Spin and swing bowling

Top Contributors
M

maxrm

New Member
Leg Spin and swing bowling

Play a lot of backyard cricket, and we use tennis balls. I usually bowl spin and can get a lot of turn both ways, particularly leg spin. But for some reason I've benn really struggling when bowling on a proper pitch. Ive benn ripping into them, my line and length has been good but I just havent been able to produce any spin? Oh and by the way I've been bowling finger-spinners.

Seeing as though Ive been struggling to produce much spin ive decided swing bowling might be good to look into. I can produce a tiny bit of swing when I have a good swinging ball but otherwise I struggle - any tips?

Cheers,
 
Re: Leg Spin and swing bowling

tennis balls turn really easily, they have a very grippy surface and are also extremely lightweight, which means they can change direction more easily.

a 5.5oz cricket ball with a smooth shiny material across about 90% of its surface means that unless you land it on the seam there is little chance of it turning. with a tennis ball this isnt the case.

what you need to do is practice with a cricket ball, if you cant do that in your back yard then go to your local playing fields, or even better your local cricket nets. learning with a tennis ball is fine, but continually practicing with tennis balls is never going to adjust your action to bowling with a real cricket ball. tennis balls are significantly easier to bowl spin with, especially on grass!
 
Re: Leg Spin and swing bowling

Jim2109;386042 said:
what you need to do is practice with a cricket ball, if you cant do that in your back yard then go to your local playing fields, or even better your local cricket nets.!
Click to expand...

Yes, you really have to get use to the size and feel of a cricket ball. I used tennis balls when I first started and as soon as I changed to a cricket ball I had trouble turning it simply because my body wasn't used to bowling a ball of that size.

The amusing thing is that one you learn to, cricket balls are actually much easier to "rip" out of the hand than tennis balls are(although because of the nature of the surface of the pitch and a cricket ball the may not turn as much), as they are bigger and fill your hand far more than a tennis ball. Cricket balls are much easier to get a purchase on with your fingers than tennis balls are; due to their lesser size and weight I've often found that tennis balls tend slip out of my hand. I actually spin it more consistently with a cricket ball than I do a tennis ball nowadays.
 
Re: Leg Spin and swing bowling

maxrm;386018 said:
Play a lot of backyard cricket, and we use tennis balls. I usually bowl spin and can get a lot of turn both ways, particularly leg spin. But for some reason I've benn really struggling when bowling on a proper pitch. Ive benn ripping into them, my line and length has been good but I just havent been able to produce any spin? Oh and by the way I've been bowling finger-spinners.

Seeing as though Ive been struggling to produce much spin ive decided swing bowling might be good to look into. I can produce a tiny bit of swing when I have a good swinging ball but otherwise I struggle - any tips?

Cheers,
Click to expand...


It's make your mind up time! You've got to choose 1 of the three options that you've mentioned here. My recommendation is that you opt for Legspin bowling, you'll possibly end up being the best bowler in your team taking the most wickets every season.
 
Re: Leg Spin and swing bowling

Woo!

Am the leading wicket-taker for my club bowling pace and just focusing on attacking the wickets. But at training have been practising my leggies and have finally worked out a good style and grip and the results are coming through at training. Let's see if I bring out the spin in my next game:D
 
Re: Leg Spin and swing bowling

Zimbabwe has becoming my 2nd favourite cricket team replacing Sri-Lanka. The recent series in against the Windies was pretty amazing if you like watching spinners in action, but the star of the whole thing was Ray Price with his agression and top notch bowling. Looking around the internet I found this article about him which is funny and sums the bloke up from what I've seen of him cricket with balls The hustling Ray Price - join sehwagology
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top