when to use wrist spin variations? (any batsmen feel free to share your thoughts too)
ive been practising quite hard lately on my wrist spin bowling, progress is up and down as i continue to reinvent my action over and over. i started out with a one step run up and a weak follow through and got that working well, albeit with a very slow delivery. i added a step and put more effort into the follow through, got that sort of working, now ive got a proper run up, a good follow through, and the ball comes out at a good speed with good flight. but its super inconsistent. however ive managed to acquire some variations in the process!
so ive got my stock leg break, its 50% overspin, 50% leg spin. i try to pitch it up to encourage the batsman to drive, it generally turns quite small with additional bounce, occasionally it will rip, occasionally it will stay lower. this is obviously the ball i try to use most of the time.
ive got a big leg break, that is suffering with my new action, im working hard on getting it back as consistent as it was before. i nail it maybe 1 in 20 attempts, 5/20 just go wrong, the others are just below par. when it works it rips, its not impossible for the ball to turn from 3 feet outside leg stump and come back to hit the stumps on a concrete wicket. but this doesnt happen often! normally its more like 1-2 feet of turn, but it stays lower than my stock delivery due to less over spin, and less dip in flight. this is obviously just thrown in to mix things up a bit with my stock leg break.
now onto the variations that i am less sure of when to use...
top spinner - 70-100% overspin with 30-0% leg spin. occasionally il get it with about 10% off spin as well, so its a very small turning wrong'un. when i nail it it dips like mad and then bounces violently (i got one to bounce up to chin height!! normally its more like waist height and slightly higher) and picks up pace off the pitch. when i dont get it quite right it has minimal flight and tends to skid on a bit, but still with quite a lot of bounce. obviously the flight if i pitch it up will encourage a drive on length, but the violent dip will then drop it shorter and possibly force the batsman into playing the wrong shot and maybe edging it, or scooping it up? what sort of characteristics do you look for in the way a batsman is playing or the shots he is favouring to use this delivery? when batsmen are driving i favour the leg break, is the top spinner best employed on batsmen that like to get onto the back foot deep in their crease, as it could surprise them and maybe get a glove or a bat handle on it and loop up for a catch?
slider - 70-100% backspin with 30-0% leg spin, this is my favourite delivery by far in terms of how well i bowl it and what it does, but it needs to remain a rare variation to keep its surprise element. its also probably much easier to read out of the hand as its a very different action. its basically a leg break turned 90 degrees so that the ball comes out from under the hand, palm skywards, turning back towards my face. this one seems to defy physics, as back spun deliveries are supposed to stay in the air longer, but i find it actually dips!! it also drifts like crazy, the fact i have to use the wrist and arm action to help impart the spin means this spins more violently than any of my other deliveries, and i get genuine drift from it towards the leg side (without wind assistance). when it hits the pitch it does one of 2 things - it either skids on incredibly low, sometimes straight, sometimes with small to large amounts of leg break (maybe the ball does this off of the seam?), or it grips the pitch, almost comes backwards and sits up, and again either goes straight, or leg breaks, but after the bounce, it sits up, and then dips again violently!! like it can land 2 feet in front of the stumps, clear the stumps, and land a foot behind them, its insane to watch!! this one im fairly stumped on when would be best to use it, any thoughts? i dont really have a reliable flipper yet, so this is my main backspinning delivery.
then ive got a slider that i bowl with a scrambled seam, its a cross between a slider and a zooter i guess, ive decided to call it a Scooter lol. it kinda does that as well, it scoots on staying low, or if it lands on the seam it can go literally anywhere, usually with a violent direction change, and staying very low. this is kind of a surprise ball, i have little control over what it does laterally, it just skids low. maybe if a batsman is able to read my slider this one could be a surprise ball
if anyone has any thoughts on when to use which types of deliveries, even though i know it very much depends on what is happening during a match, but try to generalise.
for example, if i have the following types of batsmen, which variations tend to be most effective...
1. aggressive batsman that likes to get on the front foot and drive. fairly heavy footed, commits to the front foot early and just plants the front foot and is then stuck there, regardless of what the ball does
2. same as number 1, but more fleet of foot, and uses their feet better to get to the pitch of the ball more effectively
3. balanced batsman with good footwork, can scuttle forwards onto the front foot, or shift their weight back again (think Michael Clarke of Australia).
4. batsman that likes to play across the front of their pads, especially with sweep shots
5. defensive batsman that doesnt like to commit to anything, and just tries to kill every ball and plays on merit
6. super aggressive batsman that lacks technique and tries to hit everything for a boundary, with no regard to losing their wicket.
7. batsman with minimal talent (maybe a tail ender) who doesnt read anything at all, but always seems to get lucky with edges missing the stumps or dropping short of catches, but stays in for a while despite their complete lack of technique, and frustrates you because of this.
my thoughts would be...
1. bowl pitched up leg breaks, keep drawing the forward shots, accept that some may get hit away for runs, and just vary the amount of leg spin and hope that one finds the edge. maybe throw in a VERY occasional wrong'un (a delivery that i dont yet have) and hope to find the gate and hit the stumps. i cant see a slider being too effective unless it finds the inside edge, or maybe it would open them up for LBW, although their front leg would be well forwards.
2. i have no idea how to bowl at this type of batsman, especially if they have good technique and seem to be able to play every delivery by killing it at the pitch, or reading the spin and hitting with it for runs. maybe drop the occasional one shorter?
3. as with 2, i dont know how to bowl at this type of batsman. dropping anything short just gets played off the back foot. i bowl at a strong back-foot player in the nets each week and he hits anything that isnt pitched right up for what would be easy boundaries. if i pitch it up it causes him problems however, but in this example the batsman would also be good on the front foot.
4. lots of leg breaks, with the occasional straight delivery, toppers and sliders would give good variation either way and stop them from just playing the straight ones on merit?
5. keep pitching it up and force them into forward shots, and hope they edge a leg break, maybe throw in an occasional straight delivery looking for LBW or finding an inside edge onto the stumps?
6. this one id think is obvious, and just to stick to leg breaks because sooner or later theyll hit one wrong and either get caught or inside edge it at the stumps?
7. as with 6, but with additional patience and try not to get frustrated?
this has been a long post, but it might prove very useful for other spin bowlers, not just leggies either. hopefully some experienced spinners and even some batsmen will have opinions. i know batsmen dont like to share their weaknesses lol, but any that could share their style of batting as well as their weakness against leg spinners would be hugely appreciated! im finding these variations (but still working harder on my leg breaks than anything else) and have no idea when to use them, so im hoping this can shed some light on it. Philpotts "the art of wrist spin bowling" book gives some examples, but isnt as complete as id like it to be and doesnt really answer my questions.
ive been practising quite hard lately on my wrist spin bowling, progress is up and down as i continue to reinvent my action over and over. i started out with a one step run up and a weak follow through and got that working well, albeit with a very slow delivery. i added a step and put more effort into the follow through, got that sort of working, now ive got a proper run up, a good follow through, and the ball comes out at a good speed with good flight. but its super inconsistent. however ive managed to acquire some variations in the process!
so ive got my stock leg break, its 50% overspin, 50% leg spin. i try to pitch it up to encourage the batsman to drive, it generally turns quite small with additional bounce, occasionally it will rip, occasionally it will stay lower. this is obviously the ball i try to use most of the time.
ive got a big leg break, that is suffering with my new action, im working hard on getting it back as consistent as it was before. i nail it maybe 1 in 20 attempts, 5/20 just go wrong, the others are just below par. when it works it rips, its not impossible for the ball to turn from 3 feet outside leg stump and come back to hit the stumps on a concrete wicket. but this doesnt happen often! normally its more like 1-2 feet of turn, but it stays lower than my stock delivery due to less over spin, and less dip in flight. this is obviously just thrown in to mix things up a bit with my stock leg break.
now onto the variations that i am less sure of when to use...
top spinner - 70-100% overspin with 30-0% leg spin. occasionally il get it with about 10% off spin as well, so its a very small turning wrong'un. when i nail it it dips like mad and then bounces violently (i got one to bounce up to chin height!! normally its more like waist height and slightly higher) and picks up pace off the pitch. when i dont get it quite right it has minimal flight and tends to skid on a bit, but still with quite a lot of bounce. obviously the flight if i pitch it up will encourage a drive on length, but the violent dip will then drop it shorter and possibly force the batsman into playing the wrong shot and maybe edging it, or scooping it up? what sort of characteristics do you look for in the way a batsman is playing or the shots he is favouring to use this delivery? when batsmen are driving i favour the leg break, is the top spinner best employed on batsmen that like to get onto the back foot deep in their crease, as it could surprise them and maybe get a glove or a bat handle on it and loop up for a catch?
slider - 70-100% backspin with 30-0% leg spin, this is my favourite delivery by far in terms of how well i bowl it and what it does, but it needs to remain a rare variation to keep its surprise element. its also probably much easier to read out of the hand as its a very different action. its basically a leg break turned 90 degrees so that the ball comes out from under the hand, palm skywards, turning back towards my face. this one seems to defy physics, as back spun deliveries are supposed to stay in the air longer, but i find it actually dips!! it also drifts like crazy, the fact i have to use the wrist and arm action to help impart the spin means this spins more violently than any of my other deliveries, and i get genuine drift from it towards the leg side (without wind assistance). when it hits the pitch it does one of 2 things - it either skids on incredibly low, sometimes straight, sometimes with small to large amounts of leg break (maybe the ball does this off of the seam?), or it grips the pitch, almost comes backwards and sits up, and again either goes straight, or leg breaks, but after the bounce, it sits up, and then dips again violently!! like it can land 2 feet in front of the stumps, clear the stumps, and land a foot behind them, its insane to watch!! this one im fairly stumped on when would be best to use it, any thoughts? i dont really have a reliable flipper yet, so this is my main backspinning delivery.
then ive got a slider that i bowl with a scrambled seam, its a cross between a slider and a zooter i guess, ive decided to call it a Scooter lol. it kinda does that as well, it scoots on staying low, or if it lands on the seam it can go literally anywhere, usually with a violent direction change, and staying very low. this is kind of a surprise ball, i have little control over what it does laterally, it just skids low. maybe if a batsman is able to read my slider this one could be a surprise ball
if anyone has any thoughts on when to use which types of deliveries, even though i know it very much depends on what is happening during a match, but try to generalise.
for example, if i have the following types of batsmen, which variations tend to be most effective...
1. aggressive batsman that likes to get on the front foot and drive. fairly heavy footed, commits to the front foot early and just plants the front foot and is then stuck there, regardless of what the ball does
2. same as number 1, but more fleet of foot, and uses their feet better to get to the pitch of the ball more effectively
3. balanced batsman with good footwork, can scuttle forwards onto the front foot, or shift their weight back again (think Michael Clarke of Australia).
4. batsman that likes to play across the front of their pads, especially with sweep shots
5. defensive batsman that doesnt like to commit to anything, and just tries to kill every ball and plays on merit
6. super aggressive batsman that lacks technique and tries to hit everything for a boundary, with no regard to losing their wicket.
7. batsman with minimal talent (maybe a tail ender) who doesnt read anything at all, but always seems to get lucky with edges missing the stumps or dropping short of catches, but stays in for a while despite their complete lack of technique, and frustrates you because of this.
my thoughts would be...
1. bowl pitched up leg breaks, keep drawing the forward shots, accept that some may get hit away for runs, and just vary the amount of leg spin and hope that one finds the edge. maybe throw in a VERY occasional wrong'un (a delivery that i dont yet have) and hope to find the gate and hit the stumps. i cant see a slider being too effective unless it finds the inside edge, or maybe it would open them up for LBW, although their front leg would be well forwards.
2. i have no idea how to bowl at this type of batsman, especially if they have good technique and seem to be able to play every delivery by killing it at the pitch, or reading the spin and hitting with it for runs. maybe drop the occasional one shorter?
3. as with 2, i dont know how to bowl at this type of batsman. dropping anything short just gets played off the back foot. i bowl at a strong back-foot player in the nets each week and he hits anything that isnt pitched right up for what would be easy boundaries. if i pitch it up it causes him problems however, but in this example the batsman would also be good on the front foot.
4. lots of leg breaks, with the occasional straight delivery, toppers and sliders would give good variation either way and stop them from just playing the straight ones on merit?
5. keep pitching it up and force them into forward shots, and hope they edge a leg break, maybe throw in an occasional straight delivery looking for LBW or finding an inside edge onto the stumps?
6. this one id think is obvious, and just to stick to leg breaks because sooner or later theyll hit one wrong and either get caught or inside edge it at the stumps?
7. as with 6, but with additional patience and try not to get frustrated?
this has been a long post, but it might prove very useful for other spin bowlers, not just leggies either. hopefully some experienced spinners and even some batsmen will have opinions. i know batsmen dont like to share their weaknesses lol, but any that could share their style of batting as well as their weakness against leg spinners would be hugely appreciated! im finding these variations (but still working harder on my leg breaks than anything else) and have no idea when to use them, so im hoping this can shed some light on it. Philpotts "the art of wrist spin bowling" book gives some examples, but isnt as complete as id like it to be and doesnt really answer my questions.
If your control isn't sound in your variations as you suggested with your toppie, that is a good thing in a way, because if you don't know what its gonna do, I doubt the batsman will! I think you have it about right with the amount of variations, because what club cricketers tend to do is if they have too much variety, they try and bowl everything in a very short space of time.