Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Two)

[someblokecalleddave]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Two)

With the videos on the other thread - Yeah I reckon you've set a pretty decent standard there for me to supercede! But I reckon they could be bettered even by yourself. Jim with respect I'm not that particularly interested with seeing the end result, I know you bowl sliders and Leg Breaks and you yourself know when you're bowling well and not so well. What I'm looking for is the technical details of the release, the position of the wrist at release and evidence of the Big Flick which I'm becoming ever sceptical about even exists in most peoples bowling. I want to to see where the wrist is and how it leaves the fingers and most importantly the wrist flicking and the ball snapping out of the fingers like a whiplash and the ball then coming out of the hand with the seam spinning 90 degrees to the direction of flight. Not that I can do any of this myself in the way that I want it demonstrated. With regards the potential of myself getting a camera I'm working on getting the college to get two of them for the students/courses and it looks pretty likely at the minute so I may be able to shoot dual angle images if it comes together. But yeah you've definitely raised the bar with your shots. As Macca says if we can get this right between us all we're going to have one hell of an on-line resource!!

How have you set up a trigger on the actual camera - Gaffer Tape sounds very crude or did you have an assistant?

 

[Jim2109]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Two)

With the videos on the other thread - Yeah I reckon you've set a pretty decent standard there for me to supercede! But I reckon they could be bettered even by yourself. Jim with respect I'm not that particularly interested with seeing the end result, I know you bowl sliders and Leg Breaks and you yourself know when you're bowling well and not so well. What I'm looking for is the technical details of the release, the position of the wrist at release and evidence of the Big Flick which I'm becoming ever sceptical about even exists in most peoples bowling. I want to to see where the wrist is and how it leaves the fingers and most importantly the wrist flicking and the ball snapping out of the fingers like a whiplash and the ball then coming out of the hand with the seam spinning 90 degrees to the direction of flight. Not that I can do any of this myself in the way that I want it demonstrated. With regards the potential of myself getting a camera I'm working on getting the college to get two of them for the students/courses and it looks pretty likely at the minute so I may be able to shoot dual angle images if it comes together. But yeah you've definitely raised the bar with your shots. As Macca says if we can get this right between us all we're going to have one hell of an on-line resource!!

the videos could definitely be more useful in the community sense if they were technical orientated. personally i just enjoy watching the ball drift and turn, thats what keeps me interested in bowling lol. i can watch the ball when im actually bowling, but its nice to have a record of it. if i wasnt getting any turn then id probably be a seamer lol. and since this was the first time using the camera in this way i got kind of hung up on seeing how much drift and turn i could get. what kind of a spin bowler would i be without that ego?

i definitely want to get some better shots from a technique standpoint because ultimately thats what this camera is most useful for. i can see the ball, i cant see myself. next week the weather is possibly going to be ok, so i might get some better videos then.

having viedo'd yourself Dave, you may be able to relate to this, but when you were bowling blind did you have a mental image of what your action looked like? and when you then saw it on screen were you completely shocked by what your action really looked like?

i was! i pictured myself as being stood almost upright, very little bend in my back, with a very round arm action, and minimal follow through and rotation. it turns out im bent over quite a bit with a very upright arm, a big follow through and massive rotation lol. i literally never pictured myself like that. although a little clumsy by comparison and much less smooth, i think my action does resemble Warne in many ways, so i guess ive developed it reasonably well, my intention has always been to try and copy Warnes technique as much as possible without going against my natural "flow".

things id like to change in my action are to add some control to my leading arm prior to delivery. it just flails around, ive tried raising it skyward and that transfers too much weight backwards, my current method is trying to emulate Warne, but i bring it out from my face horizontal whereas Warne moves his arm in an upward circular motion, which has to be more efficient!

i think i need to step across with my front foot less, thats got to be compensation for a flaw somewhere else, but i do kind of like how side on it gets me, and i transfer through the full body rotation to facing side on the opposite way.

i dont like the fact that my arm is facing the wrong way at the beginning of the delivery, and i also dont like how my fingers release the ball. il have a play with that. its hard to tell if that is the way i always bowl, or if that was because i had bowled a lot yesterday. one thing this does highlight however is that there IS a "big flick" of sorts. its not really at the actual point of release though. watch my wrist JUST before my hand takes its final aiming position and releases the ball. the wrist rotates around and into the finger flick. THIS is what i believe Philpott is referring to. in my case at least. when im bowling i feel the flick, i was a little surprised on camera that it isnt more evident and more sideways, thats how it feels when im not looking at it.

on the other hand, things i do like about my action are where my arms end up and the fact that my whole action flows through in a very circular over-and-around the shoulder manner.

How have you set up a trigger on the actual camera - Gaffer Tape sounds very crude or did you have an assistant?

my camera doesnt have an electronic trigger function so far as i know, Sony sells a "remote", but its wired, and the wire is only about 2 metres long, plus its about £40 to buy. ideally i wanted something wireless with a remote, but i decided it would be easier to make something wired with a really long cable.

what ive made is a footswitch with a long cable that connects to a door lock solenoid from a car which is powered by a normal 9V PP3 battery. the solenoid is bolted to a metal bracket i made which is bolted to the tripod. i simply tweak the solenoid positioning so that it is inline with the "record" button on the back of my camcorder and position it so that when the solenoid pushes the rod out, the rod hits the button. then when the footswitch gets pressed it pops the solenoid rod out, which presses record. it then has to be manually reset to go again. its pretty basic really. the gaffer tape was just a joke, although it does hold the battery box to the solenoid so that it doesnt dangle by the wires lol.

 

[macca]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Two)

First training for u/12 today. I told my kid as we approached the ground that these batsmen waiting in the nets were, as grimmett said, "guinea pigs in their cages" all ready to be subjects of our experimentation.

Being only 11 we have a basic thing going. Pitch em well up straight down the guts on the stumps. Leggies and toppies. Dont bowl everything, you are surrounded by variation in a bowling line at the nets so we are not showing the slider or least of all his flipper, which is surprisingly good for how little we muck around with it. Wronguns? yeah maybe , couple of lefties there so why not.

I know he is my son but my kid was by far the best bowler. This is the way we always start the season 'cause we train all year and play indoor cricket and baseball. Usually in a few weeks a few kids will catch up or even better him as they overcome rustiness but everyone else was wildy innacurate. My guy got easily the most outs. All manner of dismissals including 3 c&b ( topsin man).

One kid he worked over was interesting. Very keen to get forward,too keen. He was starting to skip before the bowler let go, fatal. His footwork was quick and long but he came straight down and not always across so a widish legbreak had him stumped. But the interesting thing was my young bloke bowled him as well with a topspinner that was on purpose and planned. That is a good sign.

 

[Jim2109]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Two)

First training for u/12 today. I told my kid as we approached the ground that these batsmen waiting in the nets were, as grimmett said, "guinea pigs in their cages" all ready to be subjects of our experimentation.

Being only 11 we have a basic thing going. Pitch em well up straight down the guts on the stumps. Leggies and toppies. Dont bowl everything, you are surrounded by variation in a bowling line at the nets so we are not showing the slider or least of all his flipper, which is surprisingly good for how little we muck around with it. Wronguns? yeah maybe , couple of lefties there so why not.

I know he is my son but my kid was by far the best bowler. This is the way we always start the season 'cause we train all year and play indoor cricket and baseball. Usually in a few weeks a few kids will catch up or even better him as they overcome rustiness but everyone else was wildy innacurate. My guy got easily the most outs. All manner of dismissals including 3 c&b ( topsin man).

One kid he worked over was interesting. Very keen to get forward,too keen. He was starting to skip before the bowler let go, fatal. His footwork was quick and long but he came straight down and not always across so a widish legbreak had him stumped. But the interesting thing was my young bloke bowled him as well with a topspinner that was on purpose and planned. That is a good sign.

sounds like young English batsmen should be scared of the second-coming of Warne at this rate!!!! has he bowled at any adults yet? that may not necessarily be a good idea, or something you want to encourage in any way so early in his career, but i was just curious if he causes adults batsmen the same problems as young'uns? i find that kids can be harder to bowl at, bowling at adults in the net is often far more productive. i think leg spin punishes good batting technique because the ball is able to do the unexpected. the straighter the bat, the more chance of finding the edge, or a glove, or a gap through to the stumps, etc. against kids they tend to have flaws in their technique and i just find it harder to get the ball on the bat in ways they arent expecting. if it hits bat they generally smash it, otherwise they just get themselves in trouble for stumpings and clean bowled.

just curious if your youngster had found any such thing in the opposite of my situation.

 

[someblokecalleddave]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Two)

Sounds good Macca, I like the simplicity and keeping the variations in the bag. We're waiting for indoor league call up for my two lads, should be okay. My older son seems to have taken an interest in spinning the ball whereas the younger one seems to be more interested in bowling faster rather than spinning it. I'll just have to see how it goes.

 

[someblokecalleddave]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Two)

Jim watching my bowling in the early days is just embarrasing. With regards now the only thing that displeases me is a funny little skip/shuffle thing I do - which slows my bowling down I'm told. Like you I over rotate slightly and a lot of the time the ball arm doesn't come down passed the hip. I'm not sure whether I curtail my follow through, but I've got a sense that when I really try and spin the ball I kind of bend over in some way and feel a bit tense - but it works. I'll have to film myself again soon. But generally I'm okay with it.

My leading arm starts purposely high, but I'd like to have that unravelling rotational action that Swann has, but generally I'm happy with the leading arm. You say your leading arm means you feel like you're leaning back and transferring your weight. I have a faster delivery where for me this sense of leaning back transfers into a more dynamic explosion through the crease feeling as it seems to facilitate more momentum.

 

[macca]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Two)

sounds like young English batsmen should be scared of the second-coming of Warne at this rate!!!! has he bowled at any adults yet? that may not necessarily be a good idea, or something you want to encourage in any way so early in his career, but i was just curious if he causes adults batsmen the same problems as young'uns? i find that kids can be harder to bowl at, bowling at adults in the net is often far more productive. i think leg spin punishes good batting technique because the ball is able to do the unexpected. the straighter the bat, the more chance of finding the edge, or a glove, or a gap through to the stumps, etc. against kids they tend to have flaws in their technique and i just find it harder to get the ball on the bat in ways they arent expecting. if it hits bat they generally smash it, otherwise they just get themselves in trouble for stumpings and clean bowled.

just curious if your youngster had found any such thing in the opposite of my situation.

I suppose the only adult he bowls to is me. Imagine Peter Philpott at that same age was bowling at adults in grade cricket in Sydney and getting a shitload of wickets! By fifteen he was in the firsts playing alongside and against test players in Sydney Grade cricket. Unbloodybelievable isn't it?

I know what you mean. We get a bit of mismatch, where he is bowling to kids who cant bat and nothing much happens just a swing and a miss and the ball may jump the stumps and it is not good cricket but as soon as some kid who knows what he is doing with the bat comes out we get good cricket. Shotmaking and dismissals which is what legspin bowling versus batting footwork is famous for.

The best thing for the bowler confronting orthodox batting is he can predict shots and set fields. We know Grimmett bowled with a mid on almost straight on often almost behind him as he ran in to bowl because he bowled middle stump line to orthodox batting. Grimmett was rarely if ever too wide down leg so he hardly had anyone behind square leg. He rarely went too wide of off stump , unless on purpose, so he did not usually place anyone at point. These field placings of Grimmett also were approved by his captain for many years at club, state and national level, Don Bradman who sketched his own diagrams illustrating grimmetts and oreillys field placings in his opus " the art of cricket"

 

[macca]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Two)

Sounds good Macca, I like the simplicity and keeping the variations in the bag.

Part of the reason is his slider/seamer only works surrounded by his topspinning legbreaks but in a bowling line of mainly seamers we suspect it has little potency in itself, at least early on but it may make an appearance later on when his team mates think they are familiar with his flight. The flipper is definately off limits as far as i am concerned but they may not stop him.

We buy a new ball often so he is used to bowling with a relatively shiny ball to get used to match conditions and he asks the coach if he can bowl into the wind if possible.

 

[Shadow Sunny]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Two)

im a 13 year old learning to bowl leg spin a bowl it with a warne-esque action my leg break has kind of disapperd actully before i couldn't do a wrong'un but i could turn a leg break now i seem to have topspinner/googly syndrome i had a club match the other day even with me pivoting on my front foot and flicking the ball across the seam the leg spin was there but much less pronounced. i don't know the degrees of rotation but i know that i always vertically point the seam to f.leg. some help to turn the leg breaks again?

 

[someblokecalleddave]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Two)

Mate you've got to forget all the variations for this season and just focus on that Leg Break and getting that back. Concentrate on the position of your wrist and the palm of your hand as you release the ball. The veiny underside of your wrist must be facing the batsman as you release and if you've got the googly syndrome you might even have to bowl where your release feels as though you've twisted your wrist round so far you're almost bowling with a Karate chop kind of action at the point of release. As a quick fix and something to try - try the Turning the wrist round so that it feels like a karate chop - you might find this fixes it pretty quickly.

 

[macca]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Two)

im a 13 year old learning to bowl leg spin a bowl it with a warne-esque action my leg break has kind of disapperd actully before i couldn't do a wrong'un but i could turn a leg break now i seem to have topspinner/googly syndrome i had a club match the other day even with me pivoting on my front foot and flicking the ball across the seam the leg spin was there but much less pronounced. i don't know the degrees of rotation but i know that i always vertically point the seam to f.leg. some help to turn the leg breaks again?

But you do say you got it back, just it is less pronounced. So maybe you are back on track . There is lots of stuff on wrongun syndrome all through this thread and the first one. dave and others have given good advise on some ways to get over it.

 

[macca]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Two)

Planning on a big net session today.

We had a good session, mainly at the batsmans end ,going over our guinea pigs yesterday. Just going over some of his team mates stances and footwork etc.
I already mentioned the front foot merchant, twinkling footwork but a few technical faults. No doubt someone will point this out to him, we have a top coach I reckon this year.
actually he did not get to bowl to the two best batsmen in the team. One of them we have been bowling to for years and is very good off the back foot and if my bloke pitches a fraction too short. bang. But he is not as comfortable with the fuller deliveries into the blind spot. Thankyou mr drift. He does have one big lofted drive shot he sometimes connects but you could have him out most times with deep mid-on. All in all he plays my sons bowling as good as anyone because he has 4 years go at it.
The other good batsman we have to work over is good going forwards or back. He plays with a very straight bat. I asked him his name and told him he had talent. He was a very well mannered and polite kid.
His stance is one where he holds the bat with the bat facing square down the wicket and his backlift keeps it square. Now to do this you have that slightly unorthodox stance and grip that works for some batsman. I tried batting like that yesterday against my kids spin just to try and find the faults again. I played the line and not for spin and was done every time so you dont need big spin but faster and smaller spin against this guy I am guessing ?

 

[macca]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Two)

Jim watching my bowling in the early days is just embarrasing. With regards now the only thing that displeases me is a funny little skip/shuffle thing I do - .

Dont knock the skip. Clarrie Grimmett giddied himself up every ball with his famous skip. My kid added one to his run in for a while he reckons it made him faster somehow but he dropped after a while.

 

[someblokecalleddave]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Two)

That's interesting, but have you seen where my skip is?

YouTube - rotation analysis 001

 

[someblokecalleddave]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Two)

Planning on a big net session today.

We had a good session, mainly at the batsmans end ,going over our guinea pigs yesterday. Just going over some of his team mates stances and footwork etc.
I already mentioned the front foot merchant, twinkling footwork but a few technical faults. No doubt someone will point this out to him, we have a top coach I reckon this year.
actually he did not get to bowl to the two best batsmen in the team. One of them we have been bowling to for years and is very good off the back foot and if my bloke pitches a fraction too short. bang. But he is not as comfortable with the fuller deliveries into the blind spot. Thankyou mr drift. He does have one big lofted drive shot he sometimes connects but you could have him out most times with deep mid-on. All in all he plays my sons bowling as good as anyone because he has 4 years go at it.
The other good batsman we have to work over is good going forwards or back. He plays with a very straight bat. I asked him his name and told him he had talent. He was a very well mannered and polite kid.
His stance is one where he holds the bat with the bat facing square down the wicket and his backlift keeps it square. Now to do this you have that slightly unorthodox stance and grip that works for some batsman. I tried batting like that yesterday against my kids spin just to try and find the faults again. I played the line and not for spin and was done every time so you dont need big spin but faster and smaller spin against this guy I am guessing ?

I couldn't tell you Macca, this is a big weak area in my cricket. I can't tell where a batsman is weak or strong unless it's glaringly obvious. I was 'Talking' to the other Leggie in my team on the internet (Facebook) last night about why the old bloke we played with a couple of weeks ago (Who's disabled) bowled so well. The other Leggie had a whole list of things that I hadn't noticed. Some of it was observations about the batsmen and their strengths and weaknesses, one or two observations about the bowlers length and flight but even things such as the fact that he'd given himself the longest boundary behind him and was bowling trying to force the bats to drive straight or through the covers. So many observations and I'd noticed just one or two of them. But then he plays 3 times if not more matches than me so he's gaining the knowledge and he stays at the clubhouse with all the drinkers at the end of the game talking about it for hours whereas I have to drive and leave pretty sharpish and miss out on all that kind of chat which obviously helps you grow as a cricket theorist?

 

[Jim2109]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Two)

I couldn't tell you Macca, this is a big weak area in my cricket. I can't tell where a batsman is weak or strong unless it's glaringly obvious. I was 'Talking' to the other Leggie in my team on the internet (Facebook) last night about why the old bloke we played with a couple of weeks ago (Who's disabled) bowled so well. The other Leggie had a whole list of things that I hadn't noticed. Some of it was observations about the batsmen and their strengths and weaknesses, one or two observations about the bowlers length and flight but even things such as the fact that he'd given himself the longest boundary behind him and was bowling trying to force the bats to drive straight or through the covers. So many observations and I'd noticed just one or two of them. But then he plays 3 times if not more matches than me so he's gaining the knowledge and he stays at the clubhouse with all the drinkers at the end of the game talking about it for hours whereas I have to drive and leave pretty sharpish and miss out on all that kind of chat which obviously helps you grow as a cricket theorist?

i think this is something that warrants some thought. and a REALLY long post by me rambling on, but humour me anyway.... if i bowl at a batsman in the nets, and i often do so having never seen the guy bat (ive only been playing for my club for a month or so, and still hardly know anyone considering there are something like 100 players), i can generally figure out where to put the ball to cause them the most problems. im not so sure that i genuinely find their weakness, but i find a spot where they arent playing me convincingly. 9 times out of 10 that spot is about a foot outside leg stump on a driving length with overspun leg breaks for plenty of turn and bounce (bounce is VERY important, not least because it means the ball has dipped first, but because it confuses batsmen as to whether they should play front foot or back, even on shorter lengths), drift helps but isnt necessary. hence this is where i try to land every delivery when im getting it to turn, because it seems to cause most batsmen problems. if i then come across a batsman who plays me easily here i rethink.

so i think that is the first battle, finding a universal delivery that causes most batsmen issues. beyond that you could then expand it to having various preset scenarios, such as strong backfoot players, strong drivers, players lacking straight bat technique, etc. ultimately youd have a brain like Shane Warne and be able to analyse and plan out every possible scenario in an instant. but that doesnt come overnight. if ever.

my problem is that in the nets im bowling at someone for long periods, sometimes 30-60mins. i dont necessarily identify weaknesses inside the first few balls. in a match situation i get 8 overs at most, normally more like 3-5 (if i want to bowl more then i need an early wicket, and then regular wickets from there onwards for minimal runs, so its crucial to bowl well from the outset). im also starting cold, so my first over is more about finding some rhythm for as few runs as possible than figuring out a batsmans weaknesses. again though, i think if youve got a universal stock ball that you can land consistently then you will either cause problems straight away, or they will deal with you comfortably. if youre causing problems then plug away, if youre getting hit then you make an alteration accordingly. N.B. the first time you get smashed for a boundary (or even just more than a single) its fortunate for the batsman, maybe they took a risk and just happened to connect well, more luck than judgement maybe. the second time they play the same shot for runs in the same over theyve got you figured out, dont bowl that ball again that over unless youve got a definite plan to utilise it (e.g. a fielding change or a slight variation to trick the bat). i think failure to learn from that in limited over games only ever results in you ending your spell rather quickly and losing the captains faith. i did this against a leftie and failed to realise that despite bowling what i felt was a perfect line and length with oodles of turn he was dealing with it, so i kept plugging away and got hit for 17 in an over (and then got taken off, and actually havent been picked to play since!). it only takes a change in length of a yard or 2, or moving your line from maybe leg stump to off stump. but youve got to alter something else youre just going to get hit for runs every ball. the alternative method here is to take the Ajantha Mendis approach and bowl the full repertoire of variations in pretty much equal measures. Shane Warne and the other professionals and coaches will bang on about the importance of the stock leg break, which is all well and good when youve got 5 full days of test match to play in and can afford to build your spell over hours. at club level weve got maybe 5 mins. youve got to be tea-saucer accurate to get a wicket by building pressure (ONE loose ball goes for runs and your efforts are wasted), its easier to get a wicket IMHO by simply bamboozling the batsman. if you turn the ball as big as Warne though then the stock leg break will do this on its own. if you dont then i think variations at club level are more important than any professional/coach realises or states. im not sure that holding them back for a surprise is helpful either unless the batsmen are very good. just make sure youre trying to hit the stumps with every ball because swings and misses are no good, and thats most likely what youre going to get from weak batsmen lol.

another key aspect is to observe batsmen all the time from the field. i cant stand fielding on the boundary because it involves lots of running, and also hard throwing, and those are 2 things i dont want to do when im bowling later - tire myself out running, or over-exert my bowling arm! however the more important aspect is that i want to see the batsmen from a bowlers POV. so i almost always talk my way into fielding at mid-on or mid-off. if i cant get there then il volunteer at a silly position (nobody at club level fields here. im the only person ive ever seen field at silly point). mid-on/mid-off tend to be a non-critical fielding positions in club cricket since few players loft the ball straight and if the ball goes straight the running seems to be better anticipated, so important catching and run out opportunities are rare, its mostly just stopping the ball. thats only my observations though, in very few games. but it means the captain is never too fussed about an average fielder being in this position. i think as a spin bowler you need to try and establish yourself as a strong close fielder so that you can get in close to the batting.

anyway, from a good viewpoint you can then observe the batsmen and the shots they favour, even against seamers, and make some judgements. i cant yet do it very well, but im always thinking about it during matches and how i can improve my judgement. international bowlers get it so easy - theyve got hours of video to look at, they know the opposition, and in test matches theyve got an unlimited amount of time to bowl at their opponent. at club level we get just a few overs against blokes weve probably never played before and maybe never will again (and even if we do, what are the chances of remembering them!!). and all that just to add to potentially a badly prepared wicket, fielders incapable of taking easy catches, captains that dont know where to place the fielders in the first place, umpires that are simply opposition players and refuse to give LBW decisions even when they are clear as day (i get at least 2 per match, and they NEVER get given), and batsmen with such bad technique that they actually become MORE difficult to get out because they stand no chance of putting bat on ball and get their pad in the way when its at the stumps (see previous point). club cricket is a hard life for a leggie.

long post over, i reckon theres some discussion to be had on identifying weaknesses and formulating plans though. from a club-level point of view, this is somewhere that books/articles/interviews/masterclasses are very misleading. theyre made by pros, so far as i know none of us have gotten that far?

 

[someblokecalleddave]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Two)

Yeah good post I've mentioned it on here or my blog about the importance of getting a good fielding position and like you I prefer Mid off or on so that I can see what the bat is doing and as you say it's normally a case of stopping balls that are travelling along the ground. Grimmett also writes about getting the captain to put you in a position during your spell where you've not got to run around like a blue arse fly when you're fielding so that you're not huffing and puffing when you step up to do your stuff.

Yeah I'm not sure about using all your variations, in some way it may be a good strategy, I reckon if you've got three that you're able to use fairly well keeping it fairly simple with 2 or 3 has got to be the way to go. I disagree with the knowing the opposition, in my experience so far your club is likely to rotate the same opposition year on year as fixture organising is a potential nightmare so if you can just roll over the teams you had this season it's just going to be so much easier and they'd probably agree too. So I know tomorrow I may face a Left Hander who's wicket I'm after and have been now on 3 previous occasions (See my MPA blog) and I'm semi prepared for him and already have a plan 24 hours before he steps out onto the pitch and it's a plan that's been 3 months in the making since we last met. You could easily a la' Grimmett make notes about batsmen after the match and put plans into action the next time you meet.

With regards my own bowling I generally bowl on the off-stump looking to turn it away from the bat. I know now since talking to a bat in the last match after the game that I bowl too full, so tomorrow I'll be putting it in a bit shorter to see what happens and I'm hoping that the response will be loads of defensive blocks as previously with this team Wrist Spin Bowling: Runwell Commoners - The results if you look at my stats from the match you'll see the point when this B*****d lefty came in and destroyed my figures!

I usually have a look at what goes on if you put the ball down the Legside just to see if they are weak there, but I gotta say I don't intetionally look to see what the bounce is like, that just becomes apparent in the first over, I'm mostly interested in whether it turns or not and how agressive they are. If I can tick both those boxes I'm usually okay, but that's about the extent of my skills and scheming.

 

[Jim2109]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Two)

just to clarify, i dont personally go through the full repertoire of variations, its merely something ive been pondering lately. i also think that it would work better against top quality batsmen than it would against tail enders or players that lack technique. ive said before that i think players who keep the bat straight are easier targets for club level wrist spinners than wristy players, or players who dont really have a technique and just swing bat at ball in whatever way seems appropriate at the time (however i fit this category and almost always get out to leg spin lol, 2/3 so far. pretty shameful really, shows how good my understanding is of what im bowling from a batting perspective, theres work to be done!!).

i plan to have enough control of my variations by the time next season comes around to give it a try in a match though just to see what happens (at present it would be easy runs). on the other hand if i can get my leg breaks to turn consistently on wickets in the same way as i can in the nets then maybe the Shane Warne approach will be more rewarding. Ajantha Mendis thrives on the fact that his variations change by inches, not feet. i am gutted that the season is over, in the last 2 weeks ive made massive improvements that i want to test out, but didnt get to play last week, and im fairly sure there are no more matches scheduled this year.

 

[someblokecalleddave]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Two)

Yeah you'll be lucky to find any matches after this weekend. It'll all be indoors from now through till April. I'm just wondering what variations I'd use on a regular basis. I'm not a big fan of the back-spinning flipper as it strikes me as being just like a medium pacers ball, it works okay out of nowhere but in order to bowl it like that you have to practice it regularly and I reckon the time wasted bowling that variation would be better used bowling the Top-Spinning Flipper.

I normally put together a training plan over the winter and last years was to recover the Leg Break. I reckon this year the primary plan will be to suss out the Biggun. But a secondary plan will be to work on -

1. Getting the Wrong Un very accurate
2. Getting the Top-Spinner dipping well
3. Keeping the Top-Spinning Flipper on song

So it go into the new season with 4 variations that are all accurate and usable. I need to work on the slightly shorter length and that's where the dip needs to be improved as I want to maintain the little speed that I have so the best way to shorten my length will be to increase my control over my dip.

 

[macca]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Two)

We just had a 12 over session on our home pitch for the season. Concrete with a fairly old carpet that could be renewed anytime but at the moment it spins and bounces pretty good. On match day it may need a sweep but i wont be saying anything. The bits of grit wont hurt spin any will they? I was wondering if teasing the pile a bit with a stiff broom beforehand might help grip?

strong cross breeze today, we had 6 overs from each end, the wind blowing from off proved the best, making for tremendous, incredible almost, drift.

We were both surprised at how good his wrongun is coming out. Now my kid only bowls legbreaks and topspinners in matches so far but this year the wrongun is up there with his other two main deliveries and adds a new dimension to his bowling, today was his first ever spell where he threw in wronguns with his leg and top spinners over 22 yards with such ease and no apparent change of action.

This wrongun is just pass his topspinner on the loop so it spins only a few inches and does not drift like an offbreak but it is a wrongun none the less. Funny thing was we were not trying too hard to introduce a wrongun this year it just sort of happened. But he has been bowling wronguns on and off since he started bowling 4 years ago and lately we have been practising them over 10 yards a lot and lo and behold out one popped!