Wrist Spin Bowling

[Basit770]

Hi guys, I practice once a week, at winter nets but once a week is no where near enough and i usually get discouraged there because i get smashed out the nest ball after ball after ball... thats y i havent been going for ages.

My garden is tiny and it is usually too cold to practice. The nearest park is quite far.

Where do you guys practice your bowling and for how long?

[someblokecalleddave]

Originally Posted by Basit770

Hi guys, I practice once a week, at winter nets but once a week is no where near enough and i usually get discouraged there because i get smashed out the nest ball after ball after ball... thats y i havent been going for ages.

My garden is tiny and it is usually too cold to practice. The nearest park is quite far.

Where do you guys practice your bowling and for how long?

Basit - where do you live?

I'm in the UK and yeah at the moment with the temp being below 10 degrees for the last month or so and for the next few weeks possibly colder - yeah it's not nice, but I've been out in 6 degrees and it's do-able. With regards where - anywhere, just as long as it's flat; playing fields, parks, playgrounds, skateparks, parking lots, out in the road, tennis courts, basket ball courts. With the concrete tarmac surfaces buy yourself some Hockey Balls with dimples, they're the same size and weight and have a similar bounce. Here's some places I practice -

http://thegooglysyndrome.blogspot.co.../09/diary.html (Scroll down to 15th November)

http://mpafirsteleven.blogspot.com/2...-practice.html (Sports centre 8.50 per hour).

http://mpafirsteleven.blogspot.com/2008/11/friday.html at night!

http://mpafirsteleven.blogspot.com/2...epressing.html

DIY fields - http://mpafirsteleven.blogspot.com/2...ll-summer.html

http://mpafirsteleven.blogspot.com/2...d-october.html another field

http://mpafirsteleven.blogspot.com/2...re-mowing.html

http://mpafirsteleven.blogspot.com/2...-is-ready.html

http://mpafirsteleven.blogspot.com/2...n-bowling.html

http://mpafirsteleven.blogspot.com/2...ays-to-go.html

The point I'm making is that where there's a will there's a way. One of the most productive practice sessions I ever had was outside my house in the road bowling back and forth to a mate. If you've got someone you can do that with anywhere there's a quiet bit of road is going to be fine - you just have to be sensible - school playgrounds, parks anywhere!

[someblokecalleddave]

Just updated one of my main blogs relating to the Googly syndrome

Wrist Spin Bowling

Have a look.

[leggielaw]

im finding it hard to practice atm aswell as when i get home from my lessons its to dark to bowl and genrally to cold, im gettin withdrawels... i hope summer hurries up lol

anyway on a brighter note i gt indoor nets wiv my club soon as a warm up till pitches are gd enough to play on without destroying the outfield. looking forward to that but i heard it doesnt turn much indoors??

and dave a 180 degree follow thru is for finger spinners nt leg spinners, i gt my follow thru from merely watchin other leg spinners lyk the warnes, kanerias etc..

im still gettin in enough practice nt to lose my stock legbreak which is good enough for now i spose

i read the part on ur blog of different variations of leg break and it is very true, because my stock ball is set i can bowl any type of legbreak i want from fast and flat from flighted and dipping it always keeps the batsmen guessing and could b more valuable then other variations i believe. except the googly which is my biggest wicket taker as i bowl it rarely (1 every 2 overs or so) n catches them off guard lol

does any1 else go to club nets indoors ...as i normally dnt go till may wen we use the pitches, as im still into the football season buh ive decided to put cricket first this year as football this year finishes early if u do let me no how much it turns and bounces with a real cricket ball .. would b appreciated

[Basit770]

LeggieLaw, I have indoor nets with my club and to be honest, I find them a waste of time. The matt we play on, doesent turn the ball at all but it depends what matt u play on. I just treat these sessions as "something to do sessions" and dont enjoy them particularly but i cannot wait for the summer.

I, like you am caught up in the football season but anyway, yh about the turn and bounce, it depends on what matt u bowl on. If its like mine, then you're screwed lol but just go along and enjoy it

[The Edge Of Willow]

Hello fellow Wrist Spinners. I've been an avid reader of this thread for several months. I decided, as I am thinking of playing cricket next year, that I should probably join the discussions.

I've been practising Wrist Spin in the backyard(first with tennis balls, then with a tape ball) for a few years now, with some degree of success, at first it was all top spinners; then I managed to get them to turn a little bit; finally in the first half of this year I started to spin it a reasonable amount with the half side-spin, half top-spin leg break.

Then I found Simply Cricket, and Dave kindly posted the "spin it back towards yourself" advice from the Art Of Wrist Spin Bowling, and I was bowling side-spinners a week later. Since I got a cricket ball for Christmas; I've been down the nets at the local oval a few times. I've got several major problems with my bowling.

1) I release the ball to early causing it to loop up too high.

2) I bowl too slowly; lack energy though the crease, and my follow through is atrocious a lot of the time.

3) I'm extremely inaccurate(I think my front arm position is a major factor in this: it tends to go all over the place, rather than pointing towards the target).

4) I cannot bowl a full pitch length.

On the upside I tend to get good turn, usually at least a foot; but I strongly suspect that the surface may be a major factor in this: the pitch area in the backyard is an uneven dust-bowl, and the one at the local nets is a concrete-matting surface; I have no idea how far I would turn it on a normal turf pitch.

I have hardly any variations, as I've basically only practised the leg break; I can bowl a top spinner, but that's about it really. Also, I have the opposite problem to Dave: I cannot bowl a wrong'un at all; whenever I try it comes out as a top spinner.

[leggielaw]

umm thanks Basit770 for the info on ur indoor nets :/ guess ill hav to decieve the batsmen in flight n dip rather than spin unless someone knows of which matt to use for a gd degree of spin ?

and

The Edge Of Willow, i rekon u shud make a video on a cricket pitch/ indoor nets n post on youtube so every1 at bigcricket can have a look and im sure every1 can point u in the right direction

also dont worry about the googly untill u have a stock leg break bowl tht u can bowl practically blind folded lol

[Basit770]

Hi guys, I never knew there were two types of leg spin until recently :O

Top spinner and side spinner?

What is the difference between the two and how do you bowl each one and are they variations?

Thnks

[someblokecalleddave]

Originally Posted by The Edge Of Willow

Hello fellow Wrist Spinners. I've been an avid reader of this thread for several months. I decided, as I am thinking of playing cricket next year, that I should probably join the discussions.

I've been practising Wrist Spin in the backyard(first with tennis balls, then with a tape ball) for a few years now, with some degree of success, at first it was all top spinners; then I managed to get them to turn a little bit; finally in the first half of this year I started to spin it a reasonable amount with the half side-spin, half top-spin leg break.

Then I found Simply Cricket, and Dave kindly posted the "spin it back towards yourself" advice from the Art Of Wrist Spin Bowling, and I was bowling side-spinners a week later. Since I got a cricket ball for Christmas; I've been down the nets at the local oval a few times. I've got several major problems with my bowling.

1) I release the ball to early causing it to loop up too high.

2) I bowl too slowly; lack energy though the crease, and my follow through is atrocious a lot of the time.

3) I'm extremely inaccurate(I think my front arm position is a major factor in this: it tends to go all over the place, rather than pointing towards the target).

4) I cannot bowl a full pitch length.

On the upside I tend to get good turn, usually at least a foot; but I strongly suspect that the surface may be a major factor in this: the pitch area in the backyard is an uneven dust-bowl, and the one at the local nets is a concrete-matting surface; I have no idea how far I would turn it on a normal turf pitch.

I have hardly any variations, as I've basically only practised the leg break; I can bowl a top spinner, but that's about it really. Also, I have the opposite problem to Dave: I cannot bowl a wrong'un at all; whenever I try it comes out as a top spinner.

EOW, Good to hear you've been looking in on us and better to hear you're joining in! There's a lot of points here to address, but here goes.....

I think regarding the overall sense of where you're at, you just need to strip things down to the basics. There's a bloke on here who chips in with some really useful advice (Simon AKA Simbaz) and he's got a lot more years of cricket under his belt and therefore he's pretty sound. His advice helped massively in turning my bowling around from being appalling to probably half decent and it was quite quick. My advice would be that if you can bowl the leg break with all the issues you've highlighted stick with the leg break and for this season don't worry about most of the variations. Ignore all the Shane Warne and Terry Jenner clips with all the variations keep it basic - stick with the Leg Break and now focus on being able to get the ball up the other end where you want it. You might have read my story about the old geezer who bowled 11 overs and bowled 6 or 7 maiden overs and reduced the run rate to almost 0 just by bowling straight and consistently - threatening to spin the ball but not actually producing much turn. Simbaz advised me simply to bowl line and length throughout the winter, and all I did was get myself a piece of hardboard 9" x 30" long and placed it just in front of the stumps at the point where I wanted the ball to land - Wrist Spin Bowling: More practice ideas - Leg Spin Bowling and then practiced for hours and hours till I could get the ball to land in that small zone (On the board). Because I couldn't bowl Leg Breaks I changed to bowling Top-spinners, but if you can bowl Leg Breaks stcik with that as that's the ball that'll get you wickets. Forget the amount of turn just stick to learning to get it on your target (Board).

If the length is an issue - start with a shorter wicket and do additional exercises that are going to help you build up shoulder and arm strength - YouTube - Rotational Push-ups another exercise is to use a short terra band and pull it/stretch behind your head slowly till your arms are fully extended. The best place to ask about this is in the fitness section of the website here.

1. Initially take it easy, don't try and get speed or spin, just practice on releasing the ball at that 10 oclock - 11 oclock position. I would recommend looking at this video clip again and again as you'll gradually pick up points and be able to build them into your technique. YouTube - David Freedman legspin coaching video

2. Again this'll come with an improvement in general technique. As I said take it easy, start with a shorter length wicket and build up your technique stage by stage. If you build up your strength with exercise and practice this should all come together.

3. With the wandering arm it's just a case of really concentrating and focussing on what you do. If you've not read Peter Philpotts book you really need to as he tells it like it with regards to the way you should practice and how much you should practice and how much effort you should put into practicing - with him and I've found this to be true - it has got to be total full on practice, total concentration, total commitment and total focus. Philpott says with regards to practice.....

"But the good conditions are not the most the most important at all. More important is that your approach to practice is serious, positive and purposeful. Spinning practice from hand to hand or against a wall is valuable practice. Bowling in the backyard, the street or school playground is valuable practice, whether there is a batsman or not. But in all these circumstances, regardless of the quality of conditions, you must do it seriously and properly" P.Philpott; Page 53; The Art of Wrist Spin Bowling; 2006:


Point 4. How old are you as that has some bearing on the length issue?

If you can see if you can record a video clip of your technique and upload to you tube and put a link to here. Try and shoot from the side including your follow through and from the front.

Hope that's helpful?

[someblokecalleddave]

Originally Posted by Basit770

Hi guys, I never knew there were two types of leg spin until recently :O

Top spinner and side spinner?

What is the difference between the two and how do you bowl each one and are they variations?

Thnks

Basit - there's shed loads of variations.

Normally and most importantly you have your Leg Break and that's usually described as a Big Leg Break and a standard/normal leg break.

The rest are variations that you shouldn't worry about until you've got total control of your Leg Break (Big and normal) line and length.

The Wrong Un (Googly) is similar - you should be able to do a big turning version and bog standard version.

Top Spinner again with more or less spin.
The Slider - Which is a total mystery to me and I can't talk about it as I've no knowledge of it.

The Flipper. This is my favourite as this variation seems to have so many potentially different ways to bowl it and it's seen as one of the most difficult - Richie Benuad says he did it for 4 years before he showed anyone it and used it.

That's the basic descriptions of the delivery but each one is then subject to variations - speed, length, flight/trajectory, dip and drift.

I reckon the description "Side spinner" refers to either a basic leg break or a Top spinner with a slight change in the angle so that starts to become a Leg Break. The complexity of Wrist spinning is potentially enormous.