Wrist Spin Bowling

[The Edge Of Willow]

Originally Posted by sadspinner

EOW, I cannot really believe you do not play the game seriously as you seem to grasp things very easily. It seems you have a very clear mind what leg spin is all about, and we appreciate your precious input.

Well I am serious. I just don't play in a team(yet). I've been interested in wrist spin for a couple of years now. I spent the entire first year trying to working out the correct wrist position to bowl even the smallest leg break, by the end of the year I had the over-spun leg break.Then the next thing I tried to learn was the side-spun leg break(the big leg break), I spent months only getting the an occasional one to come out a side-spinner.

It wasn't till Dave posted the "spin it back towards yourself" advice that I could consistently bowl the side-spinner.

The leg-break is about my only delivery. I've spent all my time on learning how to bowl it properly, even to the neglect of other parts of my action, such as my often mentioned follow through or the lack of energy through the crease. That is why I could tell what was going on so easily. I've had lots experience with the leg-break wrist position. If you had posted a picture of a wrong'un I probably wouldn't have been able to tell that much.

[macca]

On teaching kids how to bowl a flipper, it is strongly recommended not to ,according to coaches I have spoken to, up to a certain age. It has got to do with various injuries that are possible.

The delivery my son is working on is not the Dooland type flipper but another Grimmett backspinner using the thumbnail to impart the spin. My young bloke started practising it upside down against the wall. Then working out what it should look like at release, that helped determine a slight change in his grip.

There is no hurry, if it works he wont bowl it in a game for years anyway - I wont let him! We wont be neglecting our stock ball. We have a full size pitch in the backyard and we practise nearly every day.

[someblokecalleddave]

Originally Posted by gundalf7

On the subject of clubs encouraging seam over spin, I know of reports from friends who have attended games of one club in the north staffs area who actively discourage the bowling of spin and encourage the "proper" bowling style of seam.

Yeah this doesn't surprise me at all, that's the kind of mind set that'll ensure that Spin dies out slowly but surely.

[someblokecalleddave]

Originally Posted by The Edge Of Willow

Well I am serious. I just don't play in a team(yet). I've been interested in wrist spin for a couple of years now. I spent the entire first year trying to working out the correct wrist position to bowl even the smallest leg break, by the end of the year I had the over-spun leg break.Then the next thing I tried to learn was the side-spun leg break(the big leg break), I spent months only getting the an occasional one to come out a side-spinner.

It wasn't till Dave posted the "spin it back towards yourself" advice that I could consistently bowl the side-spinner.

The leg-break is about my only delivery. I've spent all my time on learning how to bowl it properly, even to the neglect of other parts of my action, such as my often mentioned follow through or the lack of energy through the crease. That is why I could tell what was going on so easily. I've had lots experience with the leg-break wrist position. If you had posted a picture of a wrong'un I probably wouldn't have been able to tell that much.

EOW, I'd stick with your leg break and work on all the other bits - follow through and energy as you come through the crease. If you can get all that together and you've already got a decent biggun and standard leg break it's only going to get better! Have you looked at the Beau Casson clip at the david freedman website on you tube? You've got to check it out - I was totally lost with my Leg Break until I saw that video and I reckon it was integral to me coming good with the leg break and an increase in speed with all of my bowling.

[someblokecalleddave]

Originally Posted by macca

On teaching kids how to bowl a flipper, it is strongly recommended not to ,according to coaches I have spoken to, up to a certain age. It has got to do with various injuries that are possible.

The delivery my son is working on is not the Dooland type flipper but another Grimmett backspinner using the thumbnail to impart the spin. My young bloke started practising it upside down against the wall. Then working out what it should look like at release, that helped determine a slight change in his grip.

There is no hurry, if it works he wont bowl it in a game for years anyway - I wont let him! We wont be neglecting our stock ball. We have a full size pitch in the backyard and we practise nearly every day.

Macca give us a post code or a street name so we can all ogle your wicket on Google earth and salivate with jealousy! That sounds great!

Tell us more about the Dooland flipper as well as this is something I've not come across before.

[macca]

Bruce Dooland showed Benaud the flipper. He was a South Austalian who played for Notts and once took 16 wickets for 83 runs in a match against Essex!

[macca]

Our backyard pitch isn't all that grand. Half turf, half concrete, no room for a keeper and partially covered by a carport, which fortunately doesn't interfere with flight. But it has 22 yards, permanent stumps and a bucket full of old six stitchers at the bowlers end.
Calling the delivery I was trying to describe the Dooland flipper was probably wrong but it is the highly developed flipper that Grimmett taught Dooland and Pepper. It is the one that "squeezes' out of the fingers and thumb and would take a long time to get right. The one we are working on is the prototype that Grimmett first started experimenting with where you "flip" the ball as if it were a coin only upside down.

[The Edge Of Willow]

Originally Posted by someblokecalleddave

EOW, I'd stick with your leg break and work on all the other bits - follow through and energy as you come through the crease. If you can get all that together and you've already got a decent biggun and standard leg break it's only going to get better! Have you looked at the Beau Casson clip at the david freedman website on you tube? You've got to check it out - I was totally lost with my Leg Break until I saw that video and I reckon it was integral to me coming good with the leg break and an increase in speed with all of my bowling.

That is exactly what I'm doing Dave. It is going quite well. I seem to be able to bowl further and faster every practice session. I haven't got up to 22 yards yet and the further I bowl from the more inconsistent it is, but I have improved significantly. The key was eliminating are rather nasty pause in my action just before I released.

[someblokecalleddave]

Macca as it happens I've got a pretty good set up here where we live. Our gardens 30' x 25' so barely big enough to swing a cat in, but within spitting distance almost of the house we've got a football field that's hardly ever used over the winter and through the summer it just sits there completely unused but it's cut every month or so. A couple of years ago I started practicing in the corner of the field but I've now taken the thing the whole hog and we establish a wicket in the middle of the field through the summer. So at this time of year when it rains and gets a bit soggy I drag a big old roller over there and smooth it out. Now we're into the first stages of spring I'm beginning to cut it every now and then preparing it gradually. Have a look at this link - I live in Fern Hill so you can see how close it is.


Basildon, Essex SS16 5UE, UK
Link: <http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=ss16+5ue&sll= 53.800651,-4.064941&sspn=10.989506,28.125&ie=UTF8&ll=51.5662, 0.426112&spn=0.001411,0.005472&t=h&z=18>

The people who lease the field have a small building on the site which they use as a boxing club and in the summer they come out and run round the field sometimes as a part of their training and no-ones ever said anything to us when we've been there playing cricket despite the fact that it's obviously us that cuts their grass clandestinely!

Here's us cutting it for the first time this year - Wrist Spin Bowling: First mowing of the year and the image at the top of the blog is from the end last year.

[sadspinner]

Originally Posted by macca

Calling the delivery I was trying to describe the Dooland flipper was probably wrong but it is the highly developed flipper that Grimmett taught Dooland and Pepper. It is the one that "squeezes' out of the fingers and thumb and would take a long time to get right. The one we are working on is the prototype that Grimmett first started experimenting with where you "flip" the ball as if it were a coin only upside down.

I think the Dooland "flipper' that was thought to Benaud with an apple on a train is what philpott calls the convential backspinner ie further round than the big leg break. It has the thumb pointing to the bowler(180 degrees to the topspinner). It is what jenner calls the slider (funnily enough warne's slider is actually a leg break without spin if you see the video with Nicholas, so the teacher ie jenner and the student ie warne both have a slider but seem to have different ways of bowling it). Grimmetts classic flipper, there seems to be a general consensus was developed by him and is the one bowled with the finger click. Some say it was his stock delivery, and everyone knows the story that he clicked his left fingers when delivering a leg break to fool the batsman. He even did it against Bradman(who apparently was a decent leg spinner), and bowled him with a leg break after the Don was taunting him.

Having said that, philpott states that every good leg spinner he knew had a different type of backspinner that they seem to have guarded religously, as he states that in Australia no top leg spinner could survive without one. So even philpott seems to be mystified by how the other backspinners were bowled.

I was sorry for MacGain even though I have a certain antipathy towards the Aussie team (no offence, but I do not like dominating teams).I think they should not give up on him just yet.

I am still dying to hear your verdict on the wings to fly dave.Hope you got it and found it handy.