Adjusting To Left Handers

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TomBowler97

TomBowler97

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Wondering how my fellow leggies adjust to bowling to Lefties, as I have always had problems bowling the right line and length to them, after consistently bowling at a right hander. My main problem is that its mainly at their toes, or it's a good line and length for an easy dab around the corner or a sweep, there is a lack of left handers at my club to have a bowl at, so that makes it harder going into a match.

I have been told to take a step to my left for a better, wider angle. Also to come round the wicket, wide of the crease. Also, come through diagonally past the umpire. Just wondering what you guys do and any drills for bowling to lefties, or adjusting.

Thanks in advance,
Tom.
 
I tend to do the same thing you are describing, to a right hander at (just short of) the toes is great, to a lefty its legside.
End of the day, its all bowling: pick your spot, land it there. Just gotta get your mind trained to what that spot is for lefties.
I like to bowl without a batsman there and try to spin it back onto the off stump. How far you turn it determines how wide the spot is.
Definitely practise around the wicket, you want to be comfortable going either side (for lefties and righties).


*standard disclaimer: I'm a mere finger spinner, but the same principles apply
 
TomBowler97 said:
I have always had problems bowling the right line and length to them, after consistently bowling at a right hander.
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Are you sure both line and length?

I would say - a good length to a LH bat is the good length to a RH bat.

So if bowling at a LH bat is messing up your length, that's the main problem. In which case you would do well not to worry too much, you could even imagine there's a RH bat at the crease. It is possible to overanalyse. As Chino#21 said on the other thread, there's a mantra "line is optional, length is crucial". I like that!
 
Chino#21 said:
Sorry for this long answer but as a chinaman I have been forced to learn what works and what doesn't, so I should be able to explain exactly how you can become a real nuisance to the lefties.

The ideal spot to pitch the ball is on a length that forces the southpaw to cover drive more or less between cover and mid off, and if you are a big turner of the ball, you should try to force the square drive between cover and point. The types of dismissals you should be looking for are:
1) Bowled through the gate
2) Bat pad off the inside edge
3) LBW
4) Stumping (which can happen in a number of ways which I'll come back to later)
5) Caught on the boundary or inner ring

To achieve these dismissals you should aim to always pitch the ball as full as possible without bowling a half volley, or as short as possible while still making the batsman play forward. This is quite difficult at first but I'd imagine you'd want right-handers playing forward as well so it shouldn't be too much of an adjustment. However, against left-handers I cannot put enough emphasis on the fact that you should never pitch the ball short. The sooner you accept that anything short will be pulled through mid wicket every single time, the better. Pitch the ball 2-2.3 meters in front of the popping crease and as wide as you possibly can outside off while hitting the top of the off stump. Note: This is a guideline, you should take all the factors into consideration when choosing the right line and length to bowl.

Bowling from over the wickets is very effective, but bowling from around the wickets can be equally effective if you do it right. If you prefer bowling from over, try to drift the ball away from the stumps and onto the perfect length outside the off stump, and on occasion bowl more round-arm to inhibit drift and turn the ball as much as you can. Variations in drift can be confusing and get you a wicket.

If you prefer bowling from around, get wide on the crease and pitch everything outside off (it's very important that you don't bowl too straight) and as a variation, bowl from closer to the stumps and try to drift the ball a bit more. Taking a step to the left doesn't help much when you are bowling from around the wickets and can mess up your alignment.

Tactics for types of dismissal:
1) To set a left-hander up for a through the gate dismissal, bowl with lots of over spin and restrict his runs on the leg side by bowling wide outside off. Most lefties will get frustrated and struggle playing you through the off side if you set your field right. This tactic works very well if you can bowl a surprise googly after successful restriction. 4 Dot balls with leg breaks followed by a googly is, in itself, a potential wicket-taking series of deliveries, but after this you should take cover and/or extra cover and maybe even mid off out of the field and place them on the leg side. Bowl a very full, side-spinning leg break outside off. It should turn much more than your other leg breaks and the lazy left-hander, seeing a few bouncing leg breaks and a ripping googly, should play back and try to cut, get bowled between bat and pad like Warne did to Chanderpaul with a crazy turner from the rough once, or neglect to properly cover the ball (seeing that there's a massive gap for an easy 4 through the off side off non-turning leg breaks) and he will be quite surprised to find that his middle stump has been knocked over.
2) To get a bat pad dismissal you obviously need someone that is comfortable with fielding in this position. Set an off side field and bowl tempting deliveries outside off. After a sequence of this you should shift a few fielders on the leg side, maybe take out a slip and get a 45 or deep square leg. Make sure that mid-off is deep and there is an easy single with a push to the off side. Bowl a side spinning leg break a bit slower and on a good length. If he is trying to push it to the off side and it turns a bit more he might get an inside edge and it will carry to bat pad. If not, get a silly point as well and use the top spinner to make him nick it to that position after seeing some huge turn. Note: This requires a tremendous control over length, something that becomes increasingly important against any good batsman as you move up the levels in cricket.
3) The LBW will be a very common dismissal against left-handers if you can vary drift at will. Bowling from over the wickets, you should bowl without drift for a few deliveries, intermixing leg breaks with googlies. Set the leftie up by bowling leg breaks that turn in and googlies that turn away, but without any drift. If you then drift a leg break from leg stump to the same length outside off, and he hasn't done his homework on spin, you should be amused to see that he thinks drift will take the ball away from him off the pitch. Coupled with a wider crease position, slightly different approach or action, etc. most batsmen should expect the googly / slider. Bowling it with a scrambled seam can only enhance this.
3.1) As you've noticed, most of these tactics rely on pressure built up by a series of dot balls or deliveries outside the off stump that force the batsman to try and play against the spin or do something funny, this one is no different. 5 leg breaks, outside off, off side field, mostly overspin. Followed by the flipper or slider full on middle stump, the left-hander should see an easy flick for 4 runs through mid wicket (which you, quite conveniently, moved to long on) but he will allow for some turn in the shot and some of them will even leave the ball. There are a few ways that the LBW can happen here: The batsman will attempt the sweep shot, but the backspin will make the ball carry and slider underneath his bat. He will try to flick it and play right around the ball. Or he will try to drive the ball which requires him to play for some turn and the ball will go past his outside edge, onto the pad. Here you are relying on the backspin to upset his judgement of length, without this he might be able to defend it in time. (And obviously you should disguise it so that he can't pick it)
4) For a very skilled leg spinner: If you are experienced you know how to see the batsman coming down the track and pulling the ball back a little, or pushing it wider. Getting the stumping against left-handers is much the same as against the right-handers, only now you bowl the ball wider on the off side or, if you are feeling very lucky, sliding it down leg.
For less experienced leg spinners: The length that you need to bowl to prevent a batsman coming down the track all the time takes a while to master, but in time you'll figure it out. You can get a stumping off intentional wides, by drifting the ball past the outside edge, turning it through the gate or even by bowling the googly at the right moment. One way that I've found to get easy stumping with the googly is bowling it as slow and tempting as you possible can, and yet pitching it on a short-ish length. Just keep your eyes on the target, you should measure your strides when stepping and find the perfect length for this variation. Very few batsmen will be able to resist a slow, loopy delivery asking to be smashed into the stands. This works against right- and left-handers and you should practice it.
5) Most of the wickets that I get from catches on the boundary are lucky, but there is some skill to it in a way. Sometimes bowling the intentional full toss can work out. Don't try it in a game.

It's important to remember that you should not judge your bowling to left-handers in the nets. In nets every miss timed shot to the leg side looks impressive and they can play back comfortably to anything full because the bounce is so true and fast. On pitches it's an entirely different ball game. Do target practice and use the tactics that I've discussed and develop some tactics of your own.

Recap of most important tips: Don't pitch the ball short.
Build up as much pressure as you can.
Bowling to left-handers isn't a mere adjustment, it's something entirely different in itself.
Smile when you get them out, and smile even brighter when you get hit for six.

Useful videos of international leg spinners bowling to left-handers (or SLCs to right-handers):


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Blimey Chino! You need to get yourself a blog!!!! Or be a writer on my blog?
 
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