Mental Side Of Spin Bowling

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legspinbowler

legspinbowler

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Would love to have a thread dedicated to the mental side of things. Specifically tactics and psychology.

What tactics do you use?

I bowl to a line where the batsman should play with the spin but also have more fielders on that side. This tempts the batsman to play across the line and against the spin.

How do you get in the batsman's head? What do you chirp about?

What helps you to mentally prepare for the game? How do you get the ideal amount of arousal?

Do you have a perspective that helps you get unconditional confidence?

Some things to think about ;)
 
legspinbowler said:
Would love to have a thread dedicated to the mental side of things. Specifically tactics and psychology.

What tactics do you use?

I bowl to a line where the batsman should play with the spin but also have more fielders on that side. This tempts the batsman to play across the line and against the spin.

How do you get in the batsman's head? What do you chirp about?

What helps you to mentally prepare for the game? How do you get the ideal amount of arousal?

Do you have a perspective that helps you get unconditional confidence?

Some things to think about ;)
Click to expand...

Since I tend to annoy everyone and post everywhere I may as well post here as well :D

1. Tactics - Always depends on the situation and the needs of the team, usually though I start with semi-defensive field until I get my rhythm. When into it I always have a slip, a player in close on the offside (under the helmet or one pitch over) and everyone else being dictated by the conditions and game situation.

2. Chirp - Never, anger made my bowling worse when I was younger plus I'm not playing first grade anymore so I don't see the need. If anything I chill the tempo of the game to make the batsman lazy.

3. Mental preparation - I've never really got fired up for games, bowling's my time when all is well with the world and that's the way it is. I have greater issues when I'm not bowling (boredom)

4. Mantra - Posted this elsewhere "everything and anything the batsman does is an angle for you to get a wicket", the game doesn't stop so your planning shouldn't either.
 
AS A SPINNER WE SHOULD NOT BOWL THE SAME OFF SPINS OR THE LEGGIES.WE SHOULD CONFUSE THE BATSMEN WITH BOTH LEG AND OFF SPINS.I THINK AS A SPINNER WE SHOULD GO WITH THE GOOGLY AND CARROM BALL
 
Darth Spin said:
My mentality will be don't worry when I get it wrong, let the batsman worry when it comes out right.
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Hahah I like it! Do you change anything once its coming out right regularly enough?

shashivardhan said:
AS A SPINNER WE SHOULD NOT BOWL THE SAME OFF SPINS OR THE LEGGIES.WE SHOULD CONFUSE THE BATSMEN WITH BOTH LEG AND OFF SPINS.I THINK AS A SPINNER WE SHOULD GO WITH THE GOOGLY AND CARROM BALL
Click to expand...

Probably more suited to the shorter formats don't you think?
 
legspinbowler said:
Hahah I like it! Do you change anything once its coming out right regularly enough?



Probably more suited to the shorter formats don't you think?
Click to expand...

I've only bowled leg spin in one match so far, so the opportunity hasn't arisen. The nuts and bolts of competitive play, match situations, mental fortitude - it will all be new territory for me. I'll be happy if I can take my best bowling from the nets to the middle and once that starts happening I'll start thinking more about the game holistically. For now I just need to make sure I bowl well.
 
If you're talking about psychology, I think it's a very important aspect of spin bowling. I think it's been said on here before, but wrist - spinners in particular are 'Outsiders' to some extent, Grimmett being the classic example. I think cricket is seen through a very 'Bat-centric' point of view primarily, with bowling seen as a very much secondary aspect of the game, it may be simply down to the fact that everyone in the team has to bat and the bowlers are a minority. Even then, when you think in terms of bowling the batsman and the layman primarily think in terms of the big brute trying to take your nuts or head off with a fast ball. The spinner, especially the wrist spinner is an obscure species looked upon with derision by batsmen and with suspicion by the captain who has little knowledge of the art and guile. Their minds are fuzzed and bogged down by memories of the wrist spinner in his early career - dragging the ball down, bowling it off the edge of the cut wicket, being hit for 4's and 6's and going for loads of runs. It takes a special or masochistic mentality to go through all of that derision and pain to come out of the other side with a positive demeanour. Grimmetts story is one to take on board and remember, a man over-looked and marginalised, who kept fighting and believing in himself, a man that was seen to be odd and introverted, miserable even, never larking about and taking things lightly. Grimmett for me is the epitome of the wrist spinner, on taking wickets, there would be no histrionics, no roaring or charging around, he'd sit down pull a bit of grass from the ground and put it in his mouth and chew it waiting for the next victim. Quiet and assured, a man with an air of (Perceived) arrogance and assuredness that used to annoy his team mates let alone the opposition! Grimmett the wrist spinner was an outsider a true individual, with aspects of the obsessive and the non-conformist about him, but a man that in his capacity of spin bowler seems to have been mentally very strong.
 
If you're talking about psychology, I think it's a very important aspect of spin bowling. I think it's been said on here before, but wrist - spinners in particular are 'Outsiders' to some extent, Grimmett being the classic example. I think cricket is seen through a very 'Bat-centric' point of view primarily, with bowling seen as a very much secondary aspect of the game, it may be simply down to the fact that everyone in the team has to bat and the bowlers are a minority. Even then, when you think in terms of bowling the batsman and the layman primarily think in terms of the big brute trying to take your nuts or head off with a fast ball. The spinner, especially the wrist spinner is an obscure species looked upon with derision by batsmen and with suspicion by the captain who has little knowledge of the art and guile. Their minds are fuzzed and bogged down by memories of the wrist spinner in his early career - dragging the ball down, bowling it off the edge of the cut wicket, being hit for 4's and 6's and going for loads of runs. It takes a special or masochistic mentality to go through all of that derision and pain to come out of the other side with a positive demeanour. Grimmetts story is one to take on board and remember, a man over-looked and marginalised, who kept fighting and believing in himself, a man that was seen to be odd and introverted, miserable even, never larking about and taking things lightly. Grimmett for me is the epitome of the wrist spinner, on taking wickets, there would be no histrionics, no roaring or charging around, he'd sit down pull a bit of grass from the ground and put it in his mouth and chew it waiting for the next victim. Quiet and assured, a man with an air of (Perceived) arrogance and assuredness that used to annoy his team mates let alone the opposition! Grimmett the wrist spinner was an outsider a true individual, with aspects of the obsessive and the non-conformist about him, but a man that in his capacity of spin bowler seems to have been mentally very strong.
 
Excellent and thought provoking stuff from Dave as always [/brown nose]. Gotta love your Grims obsession, Dave.

Well my mantra worked well tonight. There was nothing I could do about the 11-0 from the first over, apart from bowl 4-3 in the second. Maybe that's the secret, lads? Just bowl a crappy first over and lull them into a false sense of security, hustler stylee...
 
You are a shark and they are a pathetic surfer marooned at sea. Circle them. Stare at their stumps. Rev the ball from hand to hand, at least three times, before you deliver it. Exhale. Where are they going to go? They are hopelessly outnumbered. There's nowhere to swim, except into more sea. You are Jaws. You've already taken a bite out of their ill-equipped fluorescent surfboard and you're going back for some more.
 
legspinbowler said:
Great article Dave. Like to share some specific plans/tactics and mindset of Grimmett?
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I think from what I know Grimmett was more or a purist when it came down to it, although he's credited for describing the Flipper variations in terms of conventional bowling, the technique and their variety/potential was already established as the 'Click' technique was a used by several under-arm bowlers, he seems to have rarely put them in place in his spells. Bradman tells stories of facing him and being subjected to the over-spinning variation. But I think Grimmett bowled subtle variations of the leg break in a classic style - his stock ball almost all the time, varying the length, flight and speed, getting the batsman to believe he had Grimmetts measure. Then Grimmett was spring the trap - a ball that barely turned or the big leg break, but always an incredible threat because he was able to bowl the ball exactly where he wanted and we're talking the size of a hankerchief, the bloke was a wrist spinning genius. Darths shark analogy sounds like a Grimmett attack!
 
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