Wrist Spin Bowling (part Five)

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someblokecalleddave said:
Happy December 21st! Shortest day of the winter here in the UK, so tomorrow at long last we're heading back towards summer! Start to start training again!
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It is a bit grim when it starts going dark before 4pm! On the plus side, the weather is so mild that outdoor netting isn't a problem at all. There were games last "summer" when it was about 14 or 15 degrees and that's about the temp we're expecting tomorrow!
 
Cleanprophet said:
It is a bit grim when it starts going dark before 4pm! On the plus side, the weather is so mild that outdoor netting isn't a problem at all. There were games last "summer" when it was about 14 or 15 degrees and that's about the temp we're expecting tomorrow!
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I know, we were in Cornwall in August for nearly 3 weeks and most of the days were only 3-5 degrees warmer than they are at the moment. I reckon we may be in for a 1963 or 1947 style cold snap, there's plenty of wet weather coming in off the Atlantic, all it needs is for the cold to come in from the East which is unusual, but if we're having unusual weather why not a couple of months of easterly winds bumping into huge low depressions off of the Atlantic? El Nino years tend to have more snow than normal as I recall.
 
someblokecalleddave said:
I know, we were in Cornwall in August for nearly 3 weeks and most of the days were only 3-5 degrees warmer than they are at the moment. I reckon we may be in for a 1963 or 1947 style cold snap, there's plenty of wet weather coming in off the Atlantic, all it needs is for the cold to come in from the East which is unusual, but if we're having unusual weather why not a couple of months of easterly winds bumping into huge low depressions off of the Atlantic? El Nino years tend to have more snow than normal as I recall.
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The colder weather does seem to come around in Jan-Feb-Mar these days. Yeah, when it comes in from the East, then you have really cold stuff. I remember about 5 or so years ago, we had plenty of snow and then it froze and stuck around for over a week. We could be in for a repeat of that. No outdoor netting when the snow arrives. That's for sure.
 
Happy Christmas!!
xmas-smiley-010.gif
 
I've noticed that whenever I go down to the nets and just bowl at the stumps by myself I bowl rather poorly; not much spin, and all over the place, but when I am bowling to a batsman whether it's in the nets or during a match all of a sudden I seem to be able to land the ball on a spot consistently and spin it a lot. Anyone else notice this?
 
eiglow_ said:
I've noticed that whenever I go down to the nets and just bowl at the stumps by myself I bowl rather poorly; not much spin, and all over the place, but when I am bowling to a batsman whether it's in the nets or during a match all of a sudden I seem to be able to land the ball on a spot consistently and spin it a lot. Anyone else notice this?
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Yes, why? Because I unconsciously use the batsman as part of my targetting, you probably do the same.

If you are going to the nets by yourself the only way to get around this is to bowl with purpose. Don't arse around, you're there to spin the ball hard and hit a target.
 
eiglow_ said:
I've noticed that whenever I go down to the nets and just bowl at the stumps by myself I bowl rather poorly; not much spin, and all over the place, but when I am bowling to a batsman whether it's in the nets or during a match all of a sudden I seem to be able to land the ball on a spot consistently and spin it a lot. Anyone else notice this?
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Consistency in any situation is something I'm always looking for and rarely achieving in any situation, come and goes in phases.:confused:
 
First post of 2016 in one of the longest threads you will see on this forum.

I've had a little think and look at my action and come up with something I'm going to try. I've had this issue for some time with my bowling arm moving back straight (towards where the umpire would stand). As the arm then moves into the delivery position, it moves on a line that is towards legside. As a result, as the wrist flicks open, it tends to open in a position that looks like a topspinner/googly. Really, all that is happening is that the wrist is being forced open (often too early) and the ball is slipping out. The faster the arm movement, the greater the force on the wrist and the more likely that the balls slips out of the hand.

That arm needs to move back towards mid-on and then move on a straight plane towards off-stump or just outside off-stump. That or, as you see with some legspinners, move from off to just outside off (in other words, in the same direction of the wrist flick).

What I think is happening is that I am landing too side-on and so my bowling shoulder is pointing toward the umpire. In that instance, the bowling arm will move on that same line and problems will ensue. Watching lots of legspinners in the last few days, I've noticed that despite that backfoot landing square, their hips and shoulders are more towards square leg and even leg gully. My hips/shoulder are more towards midwicket, leaving my bowling shoulder in a bad position. So, I'm going to work on jumping into the crease with my chest more towards square leg/leg gully. That should ensure that my bowling arm movement is much more how it should be.

I had a little go at this yesterday (about 6 or 7 trys of it) and it definitely seemed to be working. Although, that instinct to hit the crease with my hips and chest very side on will have to be trained out of my action. Most legspinners have the problem of not being side on enough. Somehow, I've managed to find myself in the group who get too side on!
 
Interesting article here from a few weeks ago about James Muirhead. Not being in Australia, I had no idea what was going on with him. Last time I saw him bowl his legspin, he was bowling very impressively and was probably the top legspinner in Australia. Then, suddenly, no sign of him and no mention of him. This article explains where's he's been and goes to show how difficult it can be to make it as a pro cricketer and even more so as a pro wrist spinner. As the article says, stubborness is usually more of a factor in success than skill:

http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/943987.html
 
Been doing some more work on my bowling action. One thing I've been working on in the last week is the movement of the bowling arm as it swings down to past my thigh. I tended to have the arm too far away from my body and it meant the arm was more likely then to swing back behind me. So, I've worked on having that arm much tighter to the body to ensure that the arm then swings back on the correct line. It seems to be working and I think the action looks much more natural and rhythmical. I filmed the action from front on for a change and it struck me how similar the whole action looks to Warne's in the Warne slow motion video:



 
Are there ways off getting less bounce while still bowling with overspin? I have missed out on a few wickets with balls that turned and bounced a fair bit, because they just bounce over the stumps. Perhaps I should try bowling cross-seam, sometimes causing it to skid. It will only skid if I bowl fast enough though, with the pitches I usually play on, and when I try to bowl faster and flatter, I tend to drag it down short and it will generally go down the leg side. (Big turn isn't always a good thing.)

Also, I will be moving into U-15s next season. I hope I won't have to play on any hard wickets, they are so annoying. Yes they grip and turn and bounce, but they are simply too narrow for me. As I said I tend to spin the ball a bit, and I like bowling on wider pitches because it gives me more room to bowl to right handers. I am ok with bowling on narrow pitches to left handers because all I have to do is land it at their feet, spin it away, and hope the keeper can hang onto it, but there aren't many left-handers in junior level. Something I could try is bowling googlies as my stock delivery to right handers on narrow pitches, like a finger spinner, however, I will really have to improve my accuracy with my googly. I only usually bowl my googly as a surprise delivery to let the batsman know I'm not messing around. Another thing I am tempted to try is switching to finger spin for a few balls if there is a right hander slogging me on the legside and I can't seem to land my googly, but this is a wrist spin thread ;)

By the way, I'm pretty happy with my action at the moment even though it's not identical to Shane Warne's. :D

EDIT: No, I won't get googly syndrome. If I feel like it's coming on, I'll just bowl off breaks instead of googlies.
 
Cleanprophet said:
Interesting article here from a few weeks ago about James Muirhead. Not being in Australia, I had no idea what was going on with him. Last time I saw him bowl his legspin, he was bowling very impressively and was probably the top legspinner in Australia. Then, suddenly, no sign of him and no mention of him. This article explains where's he's been and goes to show how difficult it can be to make it as a pro cricketer and even more so as a pro wrist spinner. As the article says, stubborness is usually more of a factor in success than skill:

http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/943987.html
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A great article to read for any aspiring spinners, not just leggies.
 
When I talk about dragging it short and going down the leg-side, it usually looks like this:



Obviously minus the take from the keeper, considering the level I'm playing at. :rolleyes:
 
It's a question of using that turn and bounce. To be honest, you should be desperate for hard pitches that bounce plenty. Just get it nice and full. One thing you can't do is drop it short because it will just sit up to be hit or it will turn down legside.
 
eiglow_ said:
Are there ways off getting less bounce while still bowling with overspin? I have missed out on a few wickets with balls that turned and bounced a fair bit, because they just bounce over the stumps. Perhaps I should try bowling cross-seam, sometimes causing it to skid. It will only skid if I bowl fast enough though, with the pitches I usually play on, and when I try to bowl faster and flatter, I tend to drag it down short and it will generally go down the leg side. (Big turn isn't always a good thing.)

Also, I will be moving into U-15s next season. I hope I won't have to play on any hard wickets, they are so annoying. Yes they grip and turn and bounce, but they are simply too narrow for me. As I said I tend to spin the ball a bit, and I like bowling on wider pitches because it gives me more room to bowl to right handers. I am ok with bowling on narrow pitches to left handers because all I have to do is land it at their feet, spin it away, and hope the keeper can hang onto it, but there aren't many left-handers in junior level. Something I could try is bowling googlies as my stock delivery to right handers on narrow pitches, like a finger spinner, however, I will really have to improve my accuracy with my googly. I only usually bowl my googly as a surprise delivery to let the batsman know I'm not messing around. Another thing I am tempted to try is switching to finger spin for a few balls if there is a right hander slogging me on the legside and I can't seem to land my googly, but this is a wrist spin thread ;)

By the way, I'm pretty happy with my action at the moment even though it's not identical to Shane Warne's. :D

EDIT: No, I won't get googly syndrome. If I feel like it's coming on, I'll just bowl off breaks instead of googlies.
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Just don't rip as hard, which will mean you'll have to bowl a bit faster and flatter as you wont get the dip and bounce with the reduction in over-spin. It's a tricky one I reckon. I like the idea of you bowling with finger spin as a variation - something that Rashid does and he ups the pace when he does it as well.
 
I like this...

"Sellers chose to bowl leg spin, the high art of cricket, and what was impossible for most came naturally for him. Bowling leg spin requires bravery, resilience and toughness – Richie Benaud wrote about his “bleeding ring finger” at the end of each practice. Ian Chappell says “you have to be a bit kooky to bowl the stuff.” Leg spinners need to be thick-skinned, something Sellers knows well. “You can’t lose your temper or you’re gone. Keep calm and logically work through it,” he says".

I love this...
"luring batsmen out of their crease like mermaids singing sailors to their doom".

From - http://www.theguardian.com/sport/bl...rex-sellers-the-indian-australian-leg-spinner
 
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