Leg Spin Mind Games

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Spin King23

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I was ready an article the other day and Shane Warne spoke about how he would talk to the batsman to put them under pressure and make them play how he wanted. Like he was saying that if the pitch was doing a bit he would say, "It's doing a bit today, I wouldn't want to be the batsman today."
This just got me wondering, what other things would you do and say to make the batter start to feel under pressure, without actually bowling the bal?
 
I dont do these things but having played my first season i know which teams sledge so i can do the samedi thing with them next season
 
We see it happen over and over and over again.

We come up against a team that likes to sledge, to intimidate, to cheat, to play dirty. This takes us back because we like to play fair and to keep things friendly respectful. They might beat us on that day, we shrug our shoulders and look forward to a friendlier game of cricket next week.

A few years later, that club has folded because all the players have left, because they are fed up with playing bad-tempered games of cricket.

There's only one team that loses when your players start to sledge the opposition: your own.

Our players know that if they sledge the batsman, that will be their last game for our club.
 
Great topic. It's a balancing act because you can "act up" in ways that are so obvious, none will believe you for a moment. Say, "It's ragging square today isn't it?" as a new batsman walks in with the score on 185-1 and you might get a laugh but none is fooled.

On the other hand, if a batter has struggled against you and you pop in a short leg to the new man, it might be enough to fool him early on.

Bishan Bedi was known to clap batsmen for hitting a six. As if that is exactly what he wanted and it was all part of his grand plan. The thing is, for Bedi it probably was because he knew an attacking player is more likely to get out. Body language is crucial.

That said, even the most dull of batsmen won't be fooled for long. Bluff is great in certain moments but it's only a small part of your armoury so I wouldn't over-think it. If you see a chance to do it, try it. If you never do, focus on ripping it and hitting the spot.
 
micoach said:
Great topic. It's a balancing act because you can "act up" in ways that are so obvious, none will believe you for a moment. Say, "It's ragging square today isn't it?" as a new batsman walks in with the score on 185-1 and you might get a laugh but none is fooled.

On the other hand, if a batter has struggled against you and you pop in a short leg to the new man, it might be enough to fool him early on.

Bishan Bedi was known to clap batsmen for hitting a six. As if that is exactly what he wanted and it was all part of his grand plan. The thing is, for Bedi it probably was because he knew an attacking player is more likely to get out. Body language is crucial.

That said, even the most dull of batsmen won't be fooled for long. Bluff is great in certain moments but it's only a small part of your armoury so I wouldn't over-think it. If you see a chance to do it, try it. If you never do, focus on ripping it and hitting the spot.
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Actually, good story from the last game of the season.

We won the toss and stuck them in, at drinks (20 overs) they were about 60-3, our spinner having just removed the remaining opener in the over before drinks. The number 5 coming in looked a bit young, maybe 17-18.

Our quickish 1st change bowler had just got through 5 overs and our plan was to take him off now and go with spin from both ends. But we sensed an opportunity against two newish batsmen. We crowded the bat to an extreme extent, with 2 slips, gully, short leg and leg gully, and kept our quick bowler on and told him to bang the first ball in short and fast.

Simply this field change shifted the atmosphere of the match; we were sending a message that we were going for them. The batsmen suddenly looked nervous and like they didn't want to be there. Within an over we had got rid of both the number 5 and number 6, and they went from 60-3 to 88 all out.

Ironically, we didn't get them with short stuff and none of the close fielders even got a sniff of a catch, both of them were bowled with full deliveries. But it was simply the increase in pressure from crowding round the bat that made them crack and their feet stopped moving - and I'd like to add that not a single word was said to either batsman.
 
As odd as it may sound, the only time I have been a bit rattled is when I was complimented on playing a delivery well. Not sure why it made me take notice of it, possibly because it is one of the more unexpected things to be said.
 
I like trying to make the batsmen think he is on top of me by continually dropping short and letting him cream me for fours. I haven't quite worked out where to go from there though.
 
Chino#21 said:
I've got to say, even as a leggy that loves using controversial tactics, that's a bit absurd to use in most situations! Unless you have an excellent flipper there isn't much you can do from there. If the batsman thinks he's on top of you he generally is.
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Looking at Angry Ranga's field setting elsewhere, I've got a feeling he might be pulling our legs?
 
Chino#21 said:
Yes I think that the fielding diagram defies all logic (is that field even lawfully correct and in the spirit of the game?) but if you have enough control and a flipper up your sleeve intentionally dropping the ball short might work. I'd never advise anyone to try it, though...
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I'll have another look now...
 
AngryRanga said:
I'll stop being annoying and sarcastic. In all seriousness, I like laughing when I get hit. I have absolutely no clue whether it does anything, but hopefully it lets the batsmen know that I do not even slightly care if he wants to swing his bat around.
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But with no-one on the off-side do they not try and hit you through the off-side?
 
TBH, unless you're incredibly confident with your ability to just destroy any batsman at a moment's notice, then you probably want to try to project an image of skill and competence to try and keep the batsman on the defensive.
Most slow bowlers main weapon is putting fear and uncertainty into the batsman: uncertainty as to what tricks you've got up your sleeve, and fear at getting out to a slow bowler and being laughed all the way back to the changing room.

I believe CLR James talks about this with a slow bowler who he played with - I can't remember the bloke's name. But every club has a bowler like it.
 
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