Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Three)

[sadspinner]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Three)

hi to all bigcricket members ihere i hav uploaded another video of my bowling where it has gone horribly wrong
as u will see i cannot pitch the ball in one place not even one ball is proper
even if i do bowl properly its a googly
i hate to say this but i think i have got the googly syndrome again
also in my previous video titled "me bowling legspin pt 2"


my action was different than it is in this video
i liked my previous action now i think i have lost it Plss help
my coach told me i worry a lot thats the reason i hav spoilt my bowling and the action

here are links to the new videos
YouTube - me bowling legspin 4

YouTube - legspin bowling 3.wmv

I do not have access to you tube here at work, so I cannot really comment. I am sure Jim dissected your mechanics to the bone. Yesterday, I had a bowl and started bowling junk. I shortened my run up, and hey presto accuracy improved. I put it down to the fact that having a long run up induces me into thinking where I will be planting my front leg, what my leading arm is doing, how cocked my wrist is, whether I am pivoting etc, etc. So, the lesson I learnt is 5 small shuffling steps and bowl. i have less time to think negatively about what I am doing, and consequently it is easier to find rhythm.

The best way to see how the ball is spinning is bowling it against a wall overarm as Macca had suggested, really simple and a real pearl if you ask me. If i remember well you had a rather long run up, so maybe the negative thoughts above may be getting to you. I would give a shorter run up a try.

 

[macca]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Three)

hi to all bigcricket members ihere i hav uploaded another video of my bowling where it has gone horribly wrong
as u will see i cannot pitch the ball in one place not even one ball is proper
even if i do bowl properly its a googly
i hate to say this but i think i have got the googly syndrome again
also in my previous video titled "me bowling legspin pt 2"


my action was different than it is in this video
i liked my previous action now i think i have lost it Plss help
my coach told me i worry a lot thats the reason i hav spoilt my bowling and the action

here are links to the new videos
YouTube - me bowling legspin 4

YouTube - legspin bowling 3.wmv

They were not all rubbish, a few good ones in there for sure. You just have to bowl those ones every ball. You have shortened and slowed your run up.

Working with what you have got maybe you should experiment with your angle of approach to the bowling crease and how you are thrusting your front leg sideways as you brace yourself to bowl.

 

[someblokecalleddave]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Three)

hi to all bigcricket members ihere i hav uploaded another video of my bowling where it has gone horribly wrong
as u will see i cannot pitch the ball in one place not even one ball is proper
even if i do bowl properly its a googly
i hate to say this but i think i have got the googly syndrome again
also in my previous video titled "me bowling legspin pt 2"


my action was different than it is in this video
i liked my previous action now i think i have lost it Plss help
my coach told me i worry a lot thats the reason i hav spoilt my bowling and the action

here are links to the new videos
YouTube - me bowling legspin 4

YouTube - legspin bowling 3.wmv

I think I may have the answer....... But, overall as Jim says your technique and action look pretty sound and the footage shot from the stump end demonstrates that you're able to get the ball to turn, so there's an awful lot more positives than there are negatives. It may be in part due to the fact that you are really over-concerned with rushing the whole process and causing yourself to not be relaxed. I've got a mate who bowls lovely leg breaks - big turning - round the back of the leg types, in the nets on a mat. Come match day if he bowls a wide he loses his composure and it goes from bad to worse and he ends up bowling a pile of rubbish because he's not relaxed.

But - what about this...... Looking at these videos it appears to me that you've grown a lot since that first couple of video's? If that's the case this may be the answer, so many boys of your age are good leggies and then they have a growth spurt. This growth spurt affects their bowling massively - I think I recall I've read something before about, as well as general physical body growth the bones in your ears when you're a youth grow at a very different rate to the rest of your body and this affects your balance and sometimes your hearing. Youths are reknown for being clumsy and hard of hearing and it's this ear bone growing thing that may be putting you all off balance? Anyone else heard that theory?

Growing up and tripping over http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/body/articles/lifecycle/teenagers/growth.shtml

'Many teenagers shoot up so fast that their brains cannot keep up. As their height increases, their centre of gravity lifts. This happens so quickly that the brain does not get a chance to calculate the new rules for balancing. Clumsiness is often unavoidable'.

I'm still looking for the ears thing..........

 

[The Edge Of Willow]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Three)

hi to all bigcricket members ihere i hav uploaded another video of my bowling where it has gone horribly wrong
as u will see i cannot pitch the ball in one place not even one ball is proper
even if i do bowl properly its a googly
i hate to say this but i think i have got the googly syndrome again
also in my previous video titled "me bowling legspin pt 2"


my action was different than it is in this video
i liked my previous action now i think i have lost it Plss help
my coach told me i worry a lot thats the reason i hav spoilt my bowling and the action

here are links to the new videos
YouTube - me bowling legspin 4

YouTube - legspin bowling 3.wmv

Much what the other have said.

In addition, I have a feeling that the ones that don't really turn are the result of something going wrong with the release action. The quality and speed of the video means I can't tell the axis of rotation on the ball of the ones that didn't turn, so I can't tell if it is a problem with the position of your wrist or a problem with the strength and timing of your wrist action. You could probably tell this pretty easily as simply noticing the axis of rotation on the ball will give you the answer.

I have had quite a few problems a result of the second, particularly when I try and bowl faster(and I know it isn't a result of bowling faster, as when I got the release right, I ripped the quicker one just as much as my slower ones on the same pitch).

 

[scooter22]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Three)

hey guys, just a quick few questions and an update on my progress.

First the questions. When bowling the topspinner should the seam be upright or scrambled? and also back to the thread (wrist spin bowling part 2), it was mentioned that to get one that skids on the seam should be scrambled, well it has just made the ball spin more. I am still looking for something like a flipper...

An update on my progress. I was elevated to seconds for this week and next. We bowled first. I was quite nervous in my opening spell and dragged quite a few down. but my second and third overs were very good. I started to settle down and ended up with 1/20 off my first 5 overs (i could only bowl five in a row because of juniors rules). i ended up coming back at the end and picked up 4/10 off my second spell of 5 overs. So overall i had 5/30 off 10, even though i probably didnt deserve it. I found it difficult to get much turn with the bigger ball and therefore was just looping them and getting a bit of bounce.

 

[Spiderlounge]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Three)

So overall i had 5/30 off 10, even though i probably didnt deserve it.

You might as well take the credit lad - there'll be plenty of days when you deserve 5 and get none!

 

[scooter22]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Three)

You might as well take the credit lad - there'll be plenty of days when you deserve 5 and get none!

yea i did that the next day when we bowled and i got 5 overs 0/12 when i deserved at least 3/12

 

[The Edge Of Willow]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Three)

I had a really good net session today. Made some really promising progress on my flight(not tossing the ball to high) and improving my pace. The really nice thing was that I hardly mistimed the release of any of the quicker ones and so there wasn't the lack of turn that sometimes happens when when I bowl at increased pace. My turn was actually amongst the best of all time. I managed to clean bowl a batsmen around his legs. The ball drifted a bit and pitched about on the crease-line several inches to the leg-side of the batsmen's legs and ripped back to hit leg stump.

it was mentioned that to get one that skids on the seam should be scrambled, well it has just made the ball spin more.

Well, it should be more skiddy provided that it doesn't hit the seam. It may be that while the seam was scrambled, the ball still landed on it when pitching, causing the ball to spin instead of skid. Also, what condition is your ball in? If it is really worn it may that the rough surface of the ball is gripping.

 

[Spiderlounge]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Three)

hi to all bigcricket members ihere i hav uploaded another video of my bowling where it has gone horribly wrong
as u will see i cannot pitch the ball in one place not even one ball is proper
even if i do bowl properly its a googly
i hate to say this but i think i have got the googly syndrome again
also in my previous video titled "me bowling legspin pt 2"


my action was different than it is in this video
i liked my previous action now i think i have lost it Plss help
my coach told me i worry a lot thats the reason i hav spoilt my bowling and the action
here are links to the new videos
YouTube - me bowling legspin 4
YouTube - legspin bowling 3.wmv

Hi LegspinIsMyLife, I'm not qualified to give you any technical advice as I can't bowl anywhere near as well as you yet, but from watching the videos and reading your entries here I think your biggest problem is in your head. You seem to beat yourself up over any ball that doesn't come out of your hand perfectly, and if a ball lands in a way that would have been extremely tricky for a batsman I get the feeling that rather than saying to yourself "that'd be a wicket ball" you'd probably think "Yeah but I wanted it to land a foot to the left". Ultimately I haven't seen a video of you bowling yet where you actually seemed to be enjoying yourself much. I think maybe you just need to spend a few hours away from your coach bowling just for the feel of it without worrying about accuracy or flight or whatever, and just try to enjoy it. There are very few people on earth who are better at something when their frustration increases.

One point thought - might it be better if you had some stumps to aim at? I know it's silly but in one of your earlier videos you had stumps and bowled pretty well, recently you've had no stumps...

Here's a couple of links to an interview with Terry Jenner where he talks about Shane Warne and leg spin in general:
Terry Jenner on spin - Part One | Cricket Features | Global | Cricinfo.com
Terry Jenner on spin - Part Two | Cricket Features | Global | Cricinfo.com

 

[Jim2109]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Three)

Here's a couple of links to an interview with Terry Jenner where he talks about Shane Warne and leg spin in general:
Terry Jenner on spin - Part One | Cricket Features | Global | Cricinfo.com
Terry Jenner on spin - Part Two | Cricket Features | Global | Cricinfo.com

excellent article, id not seen it before.

firstly, its like Jenner is talking about my own cricketing life in parts of it. about spinners not being allowed to spin the ball for fear of going for runs and consequently being removed from the attack. in my own case my lack of accuracy has never helped things, but ive bowled spells where i could have had 5-for, but instead ive gone for 7+ runs per over for no wicket and been taken off after 3 or 4 overs. 3 overs just isnt long enough to find any kind of rhythm, whilst the pace bowlers will get 6-8 overs even if they show no signs of taking a wicket. its easy to be economical when youre bowling straight on a good length at 60-70mph. but ultimately it doesnt win matches, wickets do.

i like how he spoke about starting an over/spell cautiously, ending it cautiously, and utilising the middle deliveries to take wickets and threaten the batsman. i seriously need to drill this mentality into my brain over the pre-season. i need to start my spells with caution, look to bowl line and length because ultimately the batsman wont attack the first couple of balls. they always want a couple to eye you up. then if they dont feel threatened they almost always attack the 3rd!! when ive taken wickets in matches, but especially in the nets, theyve almost always come off of the first delivery a batsman has tried to smash. which is usually ball 2-4 of the first over lol. it takes me a couple of sighters to find some spin as well, which usually coincides nicely.

then he says about the importance of not going for a boundary off the last ball of the over. this happened to me in the last game i played. i wasnt bowling badly at all, probably the best ive ever bowled to a batsman. i was getting picked off at least once per over on the odd bad ball i threw up. but i got hit for boundaries off 2 of the last 3 balls of my 3rd over, and that was it, the captain took me off, because all he looked at was the boundaries and not the almost-wickets prior to them. the frustrating part is that i reckon 2 more overs and id have had a wicket, and we were only ever going to lose the game without wickets anyway, and had i avoided those 2 boundaries id have got to stay on. they needed about 30 runs off 20 overs with 7 wickets in hand, and the economical medium pacer that replaced me was never likely to get a wicket, in fact he went for more runs than i did for 2 overs, and we lost anyway lol.

my favourite part of the whole article was Jenners reference to Bishan Bedi saying that stumpings were his favourite dismissal, because the ball has to beat the batsman in the air AND off the pitch. he also says that most coaches nowadays would disapprove of such a statement, but i also love stumpings. nothing makes a batsman look more stupid, and thats my primary aim

 

[macca]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Three)

hey guys, just a quick few questions and an update on my progress.

First the questions. When bowling the topspinner should the seam be upright or scrambled? and also back to the thread (wrist spin bowling part 2), it was mentioned that to get one that skids on the seam should be scrambled, well it has just made the ball spin more. I am still looking for something like a flipper...

.

Good bowling mate. You must be on concrete then if the bounce is bugging you?

The true, ideal topspinner lands on the seam and bounces extra. It usually does not take off as much if it hits non seam( you are after a low bouncing ball anyway). The flipper should land with the same seam posi but opposite spin to topspinner and bounce less.

You are looking for another low bouncing ball other than flipper you need the slider. Produce the backspin by wrist rotation of your legbreak. You can get lower bounce by releasing the ball like a seamer, which is easy in theory but hard to disguise.

 

[someblokecalleddave]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Three)

Here's a couple of links to an interview with Terry Jenner where he talks about Shane Warne and leg spin in general:
Terry Jenner on spin - Part One | Cricket Features | Global | Cricinfo.com
Terry Jenner on spin - Part Two | Cricket Features | Global | Cricinfo.com

Nice one spider, I'll bung these in my blog - I hadn't seen them either.

 

[someblokecalleddave]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Three)

excellent article, id not seen it before.

firstly, its like Jenner is talking about my own cricketing life in parts of it. about spinners not being allowed to spin the ball for fear of going for runs and consequently being removed from the attack. in my own case my lack of accuracy has never helped things, but ive bowled spells where i could have had 5-for, but instead ive gone for 7+ runs per over for no wicket and been taken off after 3 or 4 overs. 3 overs just isnt long enough to find any kind of rhythm, whilst the pace bowlers will get 6-8 overs even if they show no signs of taking a wicket. its easy to be economical when youre bowling straight on a good length at 60-70mph. but ultimately it doesnt win matches, wickets do.

i like how he spoke about starting an over/spell cautiously, ending it cautiously, and utilising the middle deliveries to take wickets and threaten the batsman. i seriously need to drill this mentality into my brain over the pre-season. i need to start my spells with caution, look to bowl line and length because ultimately the batsman wont attack the first couple of balls. they always want a couple to eye you up. then if they dont feel threatened they almost always attack the 3rd!! when ive taken wickets in matches, but especially in the nets, theyve almost always come off of the first delivery a batsman has tried to smash. which is usually ball 2-4 of the first over lol. it takes me a couple of sighters to find some spin as well, which usually coincides nicely.

then he says about the importance of not going for a boundary off the last ball of the over. this happened to me in the last game i played. i wasnt bowling badly at all, probably the best ive ever bowled to a batsman. i was getting picked off at least once per over on the odd bad ball i threw up. but i got hit for boundaries off 2 of the last 3 balls of my 3rd over, and that was it, the captain took me off, because all he looked at was the boundaries and not the almost-wickets prior to them. the frustrating part is that i reckon 2 more overs and id have had a wicket, and we were only ever going to lose the game without wickets anyway, and had i avoided those 2 boundaries id have got to stay on. they needed about 30 runs off 20 overs with 7 wickets in hand, and the economical medium pacer that replaced me was never likely to get a wicket, in fact he went for more runs than i did for 2 overs, and we lost anyway lol.

my favourite part of the whole article was Jenners reference to Bishan Bedi saying that stumpings were his favourite dismissal, because the ball has to beat the batsman in the air AND off the pitch. he also says that most coaches nowadays would disapprove of such a statement, but i also love stumpings. nothing makes a batsman look more stupid, and thats my primary aim

The advice about putting a fast ball through to end the over is clever, because as he says like a lot of things in life people tend to remember you on the basis of what you did last thing, so finishing with a four or a six isn't going to do you any favours. I'm going to try and remember that one myself.

 

[someblokecalleddave]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Three)

Spiderlounge - how's your practice going, where do you go to practice?

 

[scooter22]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Three)

Well, it should be more skiddy provided that it doesn't hit the seam. It may be that while the seam was scrambled, the ball still landed on it when pitching, causing the ball to spin instead of skid. Also, what condition is your ball in? If it is really worn it may that the rough surface of the ball is gripping.

It was more skiddy, it just turned a lot. I did the ball 3-4 times and it did the same thing every time. Spin a lot and stay low. And my ball is wrecked, it is really worn, so maybe the rough surface is gripping.

 

[Jim2109]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Three)

It was more skiddy, it just turned a lot. I did the ball 3-4 times and it did the same thing every time. Spin a lot and stay low. And my ball is wrecked, it is really worn, so maybe the rough surface is gripping.

sounds like it. if you bowl it on a grass wicket it will probably skid through straight, if youre bowling it in nets then maybe not. also you need to make sure the seam is completely scrambled. if it is still rotating about an axis close to the seam then enough seam will land to create big turn. just look at a Muralitharan delivery close up, his seam position is awful but it usually still turns big, because its scrambled around the seam. you need the ball to land on a smooth face.

 

[Spiderlounge]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Three)

Spiderlounge - how's your practice going, where do you go to practice?

I'm afraid I'm not doing any actual bowling practice as my left shoulder's still a bit fragile and feels like it needs more rest. I'm just tossing the ball up at home, getting my wrist nice and flexible and getting my third finger involved. So far so good, probably getting twice the revs I was getting a couple of weeks ago and with more control and better seam position. That said I accidentally dropped a spinning ball onto the floor the other day, and the spin when it bounced directed it straight into a large cup of hot chocolate, leaving an attractive mooncrater-shaped stain on the carpet...

As for where I practice my back yard's probably no good as it's not quite big enough and also totally uneven. The cricket club's less than ten minutes' walk from my house so once the season starts and they put their outdoor nets up that should be ideal. We've got our first indoor nets this Sunday so while batting's my main target for practice before the season starts if there's an net going unused I might have a go then.

 

[someblokecalleddave]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Three)

I'm afraid I'm not doing any actual bowling practice as my left shoulder's still a bit fragile and feels like it needs more rest. I'm just tossing the ball up at home, getting my wrist nice and flexible and getting my third finger involved. So far so good, probably getting twice the revs I was getting a couple of weeks ago and with more control and better seam position. That said I accidentally dropped a spinning ball onto the floor the other day, and the spin when it bounced directed it straight into a large cup of hot chocolate, leaving an attractive mooncrater-shaped stain on the carpet...

As for where I practice my back yard's probably no good as it's not quite big enough and also totally uneven. The cricket club's less than ten minutes' walk from my house so once the season starts and they put their outdoor nets up that should be ideal. We've got our first indoor nets this Sunday so while batting's my main target for practice before the season starts if there's an net going unused I might have a go then.

So, are you a LH wrist spinner AKA a Chinaman?
Yeah you want to rest that shoulder I reckon maybe in the short term stop flicking the ball for a week or two and see if it eases up? What happened to your shoulder?

Just checked your blog out http://pencilcricket.blogspot.com/2010/01/trip-to-physio.html so it sounds like you've got some stuff to work out there? It sounds like it's not just your shoulder and that it's like my foot situation in that the pain is a result of more deep rooted problems e.g. a badly twisted ankle back in 1979 and a severe achilles tear in 2002. Both these older problems have meant that more of my weight distribution is taken by my right foot/leg and as a result the left leg is weak with tight muscles and then when it comes to it bieng stressed e.g. juming off a wall 2 years ago the weak leg couldn't do it's job and the result is this plantis faciitis which I'm suffering from. I'm considering doing the physio thing as well and seeing what the real deal is. £45 doesn't sound too bad. Let's hop you recover in time for the season?

 

[Jim2109]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Three)

following the first net session of the season on Monday i decided i needed to get a few proper cricket balls. the net surfaces consist of a rubbery foamy sheet that is really skiddy, but quite realistic for bounce. its a good representation of a pitch for fast bowling, but doesnt respond the same for slower deliveries. a lot of my deliveries skidded on despite good seam position in flight, and im convinced the balls im using are the issue!

ive got half a dozen GM cheap balls that are super hard with really shiny laquer that never wears off! i reckon you could bowl 200 overs at Shahid Afridi and theyd still be shiny, they also have a really flat seam that doesnt bite. ive got a few cheap Gray Nicholls Hurricane balls that are really small oval-shaped 2 pieces with a big protruding seam and shiny plasticky surfaces that are hard to bowl with. and a few random balls that arent very good either. my white Readers ball is good but its white, so nobody wants to face that. and my Slazenger County is worn out, the leather has gone hard and its severely oval shaped now.

some of the kids at nets were bowling with brand new Kookaburra balls, which i wish i could afford a dozen of! but for nets i only need 1 ball, so i decided to get a selection of match balls that we actually used in matches last season.

i got a Kookaburra Gold Crown, Duke Century, and Slazenger County Match. and the difference in quality is night and day, despite the price tag only being £3 higher than the cheap balls ive got. the seams are just right, not too pokey out but not too flat, and not lacquered over the top of like the cheaper balls!! the leather is pitted rather than smooth, like proper leather used for shoes rather than the plastic type leather cheap balls are made from. they are also all about the same size.

im hoping that bowling with some proper balls will give me the improvement that i anticipate. i reckon 60% or more of my inconsistency in turn is down to the balls i use. when i bowl with my Slazenger (even in its current state) it almost always turns, probably 95% of the time. whilst the other balls turn maybe 20% of the time, even when im bowling them back to back.

i will find out at my next net session on Monday. im also going to the opticians this week because im really short sighted and have been for 15+ years. its never really bothered me before that i cant see that far, but in the nets on Monday when i was batting i was really struggling to pick the ball up out of the bowlers hand. but most importantly this is going to help me massively when im bowling because il be able to see the seam in flight all the way down the pitch!! and also see the pitch much more clearly.

there is potential for a huge improvement in my bowling come this weeks session. ive analysed my performance last week in my head, i think ive pinpointed everything i was doing wrong, and the batsmen wont know what hit them i reckon im closing in on another epiphany moment, i had a couple last season where i just made huge leaps forwards in my bowling. if i can hook everything up now and combine the occasional huge turn, with occasional huge drift, with occasional accuracy then it bodes well for the summer.

 

[someblokecalleddave]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Three)

following the first net session of the season on Monday i decided i needed to get a few proper cricket balls. the net surfaces consist of a rubbery foamy sheet that is really skiddy, but quite realistic for bounce. its a good representation of a pitch for fast bowling, but doesnt respond the same for slower deliveries. a lot of my deliveries skidded on despite good seam position in flight, and im convinced the balls im using are the issue!

ive got half a dozen GM cheap balls that are super hard with really shiny laquer that never wears off! i reckon you could bowl 200 overs at Shahid Afridi and theyd still be shiny, they also have a really flat seam that doesnt bite. ive got a few cheap Gray Nicholls Hurricane balls that are really small oval-shaped 2 pieces with a big protruding seam and shiny plasticky surfaces that are hard to bowl with. and a few random balls that arent very good either. my white Readers ball is good but its white, so nobody wants to face that. and my Slazenger County is worn out, the leather has gone hard and its severely oval shaped now.

some of the kids at nets were bowling with brand new Kookaburra balls, which i wish i could afford a dozen of! but for nets i only need 1 ball, so i decided to get a selection of match balls that we actually used in matches last season.

i got a Kookaburra Gold Crown, Duke Century, and Slazenger County Match. and the difference in quality is night and day, despite the price tag only being £3 higher than the cheap balls ive got. the seams are just right, not too pokey out but not too flat, and not lacquered over the top of like the cheaper balls!! the leather is pitted rather than smooth, like proper leather used for shoes rather than the plastic type leather cheap balls are made from. they are also all about the same size.

im hoping that bowling with some proper balls will give me the improvement that i anticipate. i reckon 60% or more of my inconsistency in turn is down to the balls i use. when i bowl with my Slazenger (even in its current state) it almost always turns, probably 95% of the time. whilst the other balls turn maybe 20% of the time, even when im bowling them back to back.

i will find out at my next net session on Monday. im also going to the opticians this week because im really short sighted and have been for 15+ years. its never really bothered me before that i cant see that far, but in the nets on Monday when i was batting i was really struggling to pick the ball up out of the bowlers hand. but most importantly this is going to help me massively when im bowling because il be able to see the seam in flight all the way down the pitch!! and also see the pitch much more clearly.

there is potential for a huge improvement in my bowling come this weeks session. ive analysed my performance last week in my head, i think ive pinpointed everything i was doing wrong, and the batsmen wont know what hit them i reckon im closing in on another epiphany moment, i had a couple last season where i just made huge leaps forwards in my bowling. if i can hook everything up now and combine the occasional huge turn, with occasional huge drift, with occasional accuracy then it bodes well for the summer.

It sounds as though you've got one or two glitches to overcome and you're going to be there. If you're getting drift and can bowl the 90 degree leg break at will all you're going to need is that accuracy element and that's it you're sorted, sounds like you're going to be formidable.

With your rubbish balls - do what I do - either bowl em on concrete or take a rasp to em and rough em up, that's what I do with the crap 'Davidson' brand. But they wont be any good in the nets as they're rock hard and potential bat breakers.