Flipper Variations

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someblokecalleddave

someblokecalleddave

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I've eventually got round to reading some more of Amol Rajans book 'The Twirlymen' and he's got loads of stuff on the Flippers. Recently the 'Flying Saucer' variation seems to be getting loads of mentions here and there and interestingly Rajan seems to have high-lighted it as the 'Bog Standard' way of bowling the Flipper which I thought was rather unusual. Another thing is that in 'Getting Wickets' (1930 Clarried Grimmett) Grimmett describes the Flippers in the same way that Philpott describes all of the Wrist Spin variations in terms of 'Going Round the Loop', but he (As far as I recall) never describes the 'Flying Saucer' variation. So where did this come from or is this Benuads invention?
 
Everyone seems to describe the flipper differently. I've always thought the whole point of it was that it was a quick backspinning delivery. That's how Warne bowls it and thats how I've always bowled it. I can't actually remember seeing footage of anyone bowling it apart from Warne.

Who else in the last 10 years bowled a flipper?
 
SLA said:
Everyone seems to describe the flipper differently. I've always thought the whole point of it was that it was a quick backspinning delivery. That's how Warne bowls it and thats how I've always bowled it. I can't actually remember seeing footage of anyone bowling it apart from Warne.

Who else in the last 10 years bowled a flipper?
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Loads of em, but whether that's a part of the whole bluff/psychological thing I'm not 100%. Like you, till I started reading Grimmetts books I always thought a Flipper was the seam-up back spinner that you see Warne and Jenner demonstrating on Youtube etc. But if you search Flipper on Youtube you'll probably come across the Pakistani Wrist Spinner Danish Kaneria demonstrating his take on it and it is at odds with everyone elses descriptions. As far as I'm aware Grimmetts descriptions in 'Getting Wickets' lay down the template for 4 of the variations including the back-spinner that you and I both probably bowl. But the Flying saucer is definitely a useful and interesting variation, which if it conforms to the usual Magnus affect forces should swerve into the RH if bowled on the Off-stump?

Contenders for having a Flipper..............

Anil Kumble, Brad Hogg, The new South African bloke who's name escpaes me at the moment, he tried to bowl one a couple of days ago, it was awful - school boy bad, but he did try it and it looked like the 'Out of the front of the hand version' (Off-spin).
 
SLA said:
Everyone seems to describe the flipper differently. I've always thought the whole point of it was that it was a quick backspinning delivery. That's how Warne bowls it and thats how I've always bowled it. I can't actually remember seeing footage of anyone bowling it apart from Warne.

Who else in the last 10 years bowled a flipper?
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The point of the Flipper is that the spin is imparted differently - e.g. between the fore-finger and the thumb or a combination of the fingers and the thumb. Grimmett in his book 'Getting Wickets' explains very explicitly that the 'Flipper click' used in conjunction with rotating the wrist in the same way that the conventional wrist spin variations are executed, can produce a Top-Spinner, an Off-Spinner, back-spinner and Leg-Spinner, all by using the same click method, but angling the wrist differently. Grimmett in fact didn't go a bundle on the back-spinner and he never bothererd with it - can't remember why - might have been it was too obvious a variation or that his Orthodox Back-Spinner was a better ball. Grimmett is seems was far more interested in the Top-Spinning Flipper and the Off-Spinning Flippers which it seems he used in first class cricket.

Imran Tahir a couple of days ago appeared to attempt to bowl either the Top or Off-Spinning Flipper and screwed it up, but it was definitely a Flipper with the use of the Finger and Thumb.
 
someblokecalleddave said:
Imran Tahir a couple of days ago appeared to attempt to bowl either the Top or Off-Spinning Flipper and screwed it up, but it was definitely a Flipper with the use of the Finger and Thumb.
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Forgot about him. I read somewhere he took 3 years to learn it. Bit of help from warne as well.
 
macca said:
Forgot about him. I read somewhere he took 3 years to learn it. Bit of help from warne as well.
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Three years? Why on earth did it take him that long - 2 -3 weeks max if you already bowl the conventional back-spinner. But if you're talking Flipper virgin - then you're looking at 3 or 4 months maybe. This is just Wrist Spinners just trying to shroud the art in mystery.
 
someblokecalleddave said:
Three years? Why on earth did it take him that long - 2 -3 weeks max.
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Probably because someone told him it would take that long. I know you picked it up quickly and can get great revs with your finger click and warne took only a few weeks after jack potter showed him but i suppose some people it takes longer.

getting it reliable and good enough for 1st class would take months at least.
 
No no Dave, as in someone asked who bowled a flipper, and I mentioned Danish! Too right Macca, he's class, would have had about 150 more wickets if he didn't have teflon behind the stumps and a bunch of morons in the field...
 
More questions are thrown up than answered by Rajans book. He catergorically states that Warnes Flipper is the flying saucer variety and that Benaud was known more for his upright seam type - the conventional back-spinning type albeit with the seam pointed towards gully rather than straight on. The other thing is he then describes the swerve that you get from that action and seam alignment as 'Drift' whereas I thought with that set up its more likely to be 'Swing' than drift?

I seem to recall somewhere at least once I've seen warne describe the Flipper in terms of it being the Flying saucer/equator type, but for most of his demos he opts for the upright seam doesn't he or am I going mad?
 
Working with the Flying saucer flipper recently, seems to be working well as a variation. I've not nailed it yet, but it does look promising. Although I have to say that I'm not 100% sure that it comes out in the way that it is intended to, but it turns off the wicket like a Leg Break and stalls like a back-spinnng flipper which kind of suggests that maybe I'm getting it wrong. I'm not fussed though as it's working for me (In the nets at least). I've not bowled any Flippers now regularly for a couple of seasons, but I'm looking to go into this season with at least the back-spinner. I'll work with this flying saucer variant as well over the coming weeks and consider using it in one of the early games if it continues to impress me.
 
someblokecalleddave said:
Working with the Flying saucer flipper recently, seems to be working well as a variation. I've not nailed it yet, but it does look promising. Although I have to say that I'm not 100% sure that it comes out in the way that it is intended to, but it turns off the wicket like a Leg Break and stalls like a back-spinnng flipper which kind of suggests that maybe I'm getting it wrong. I'm not fussed though as it's working for me (In the nets at least). I've not bowled any Flippers now regularly for a couple of seasons, but I'm looking to go into this season with at least the back-spinner. I'll work with this flying saucer variant as well over the coming weeks and consider using it in one of the early games if it continues to impress me.
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Dave
The flipper I am currently using is the flying saucer flipper. It is much easier than the backspinning flipper, probably not as effective but it's great to use as an occasional ball since I'm still working on the backspinning version. My flying saucer is more akin to an off spinners undercutter, but still difficult to pick because it doesn't look like an off spinner at all. I'm let handed, with a vertical bowling arm and I bowl the flying saucer ball the wrong way around ( well I think so:confused: ) so it rotates from left to right. It drifts into the batsman even though I don't really try to spin it very hard, and it's just a bit slower than my stock ball. I know the flipper is supposed to be faster, but I'm only 14 and my shoulder isn't strong enough to bowl this ball a lot faster. The idea is that it looks a bit like a leg break but it skids through and keeps low. If I bowl it with the conventional grip it lands perfectly on the glance of the ball and instead of moving away it moves into the batsman slightly and keeps very low. But the great thing about it is that if I bowl it so it spins with a scrambled seam it lands on the seam and turns away! I'm not considering using this as my permanent variation, but my backspinning flipper lacks accuracy. The backspinning flipper that I bowl comes out with a lot of side spin, about 45 degrees of it, so it swings away from the batsman and skids on. I'm just not able to get enough backspin on it so it keeps low.
 
Jacques,

Yeah I used the Flipper in the nets last season, didn't get it working in matches that much if at all, but in the nets I found that a slow flipper with some backs-spin on it was very affective as the bats were looking for the usual over-spin and the slow flipper just dies when it pitches and I got a lot of bats caught out of their ground. Might have a look again in the coming season. A slow flipper has potential I reckon.
 
someblokecalleddave said:
Jacques,

Yeah I used the Flipper in the nets last season, didn't get it working in matches that much if at all, but in the nets I found that a slow flipper with some backs-spin on it was very affective as the bats were looking for the usual over-spin and the slow flipper just dies when it pitches and I got a lot of bats caught out of their ground. Might have a look again in the coming season. A slow flipper has potential I reckon.
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My flipper is also just a net-delivery that I bowl to impress team selectors:D (the backspinning version) I have only gotten one wicket with it in the month that I've been bowling it! I bowled it from over the wickets and it swung away from outside leg, skidding into the batsman's pads and ricocheting into his stumps! The rest of them bounced twice or were knee high full tosses:rolleyes: However, my leg break was also this inaccurate when I bowled it for the first time. So I'm not going to abandon the flipper at all.
 
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