Leg-side or Off-side attack strategies

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someblokecalleddave

someblokecalleddave

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Leg-side or Off-side attack strategies

My usual approach is one of bowling to the off-stump or thereabouts looking to find the edge of the bat. For some reason I'm having a terrible season this year and not taking virtually no wickets at all this year despite seemingly improved (Greater control over line and length).

Just now reflecting on the fact that I'm now working with a bigger turning leg-break I'm contemplating changing my strategy totally and maybe will bowl down the Leg-side coming round the wicket wide on the crease bowling into the legs.

What would you recommend in the way of fielding positions and how few fielders would you put on the off-side in an extreme case? Is it also the case that more batsmen are weaker on the legs than they are on the off-side?

I know that when I played at the weekend the WK who was also the captain was saying all the time 'Nothing down the legside'. If you're a wicket keeper and you keep to leg-spinners - what's your thoughts on the matter?
 
Re: Leg-side or Off-side attack strategies

provided you have control of your length then setting the field is pretty easy. its very hard to accommodate short balls though at the legs.

deep backward square leg covers off pull shots, sweeps, general slogs across the line of the ball

short square leg covers off the single if the batsman just tries to tuck the ball off his pads

short fine leg covers off the single for the same as above. it also covers leg byes if the ball goes straight on (which are common), and if the wicket keeper misses the ball (also common)

mid wicket is a useful fielding position to cover, but its difficult to decide on whether mid wicket should be deep to cover the batsman smashing the ball, or short to stop the single. personally i stop the single, if the batsman is slogging me over mid wicket off of good deliveries then he will probably get himself out shortly after.

mid-on is a matter of preference, i like to leave the straight option open to encourage batsmen to get forward and drive. i hate batsmen playing me off the back foot. if a batsman is solid on the drive then you may have to cover off the straight shots though.

then on the off side the only positions you really need are point, cover, and i like to have a short mid-off too.

if youre turning the ball very big then its worth having someone out deep between point and cover.

slip and gully are also technically off side fielders (there to catch off the edge rather than to stop runs though)

choose any 11 of the above.

it must be stressed though that if you arent turning the ball frequently that the leg side line isnt as effective (its just negative). if every ball goes straight then batsmen find it easy to adapt. once it starts turning most club batsmen struggle off their pads. length is key though.

P.S. Wicket keepers saying "nothing down the leg side" makes perfect sense. you dont want the ball to go down the leg side, if its going leg side then its likely not turning. if it goes leg side having pitched well outside then thats not so bad. but you dont want to be Paul Harris, sending full deliveries down leg side just so the batsman cant smash them. it has to be an aggressive tactic, so the ball has to be turning!
 
Re: Leg-side or Off-side attack strategies

someblokecalleddave;404730 said:
What would typically characterise a good RH legside batsman do think, what should I look out for?
Click to expand...

leg side runs :D

most players are fairly comfortable tucking the ball off their pads, its just a natural reaction. but thats why you have fielders there to stop them scoring runs off of it, and also to take catches if they flick the ball upwards (which happens a lot if youre getting additional bounce off the wicket). they can also find the leading edge, or miss the bat completely and bring LBW into the equation (but not if you land it outside leg stump, this would only happen from over the wicket).

so the only real way to tell if a player is too good off their legs to use this method to is to gauge their scoring areas. if they arent scoring then plug away. if theyre scoring runs freely and are able to adjust their areas around your field then theyre obviously strong. players who use their feet very well are also a danger (think Kevin Pietersen, he can manoeuvre himself well outside leg stump and come down the pitch, and play his flamingo drive through mid-on).

generally good and confident leg side players would be pulling out the sweep shot, and executing it well. but the sweep shot is dangerous and i wouldnt see a player that was sweeping as a threat, id just keep bowling there and wait for a mistake! mix the variations up a bit as well to catch them out, bounce is key.

i had a player sweep me twice on Sunday (to my poor bowling, on a good day id have got him out fairly easily with the shots he was playing), both off balls that went straight. he scored a 4 and a 2 i think. then he tried it a 3rd time but the ball span back in nicely, and he completely missed it and it hit his pad, and wasnt far away from creeping past it towards the stumps and only just missed his glove which could have spooned it up for the keeper.

at club level i dont think anyone is especially strong off their pads. so its always worth trying the leg side line and seeing what happens. ive only faced a few players that were really dominant on the leg side, and one of them was a southern premier league batsman!! the other was an opening bat for a 5th tier club league side, who scores 50+ pretty much every week, and more often than not finishes the innings not out!! he also plays from well back in his crease, about as far back as you can get without standing on the stumps. 99% of batsmen hate the leg side line. provided your length is right, drop it short and youll get destroyed!
 
Re: Leg-side or Off-side attack strategies

"Length is mandatory, line is optional" I've heard. So as long as you are bowling on a good length, you'd be successful in one or the other way wherever you may bowl. But when looking to get wickets, I'd say you'd have to be attacking the line of stumps when the ball reaches the batsmen.(otherwise it'd be easy for him to let it go).

So, line for leggies may vary from off and outside ( to those suffering from googly syndrome or those bowling leg rollers) to and middle, off and middle ( bowling leg rollers or small leg breaks) to middle and leg, outside leg for those bowling big leg breaks.

As for the field : Right now I have this field setting: for RHB:
Cover, short extra cover, point, slip/gully(finer at start of a spell and wider as I get more purchase ), square leg, short midwicket, long off, long on(or mid on if I am particularly adventurous or if the batsman is so bad) and square-ish deep midwicket.

Having protection straight on the boundary gives the leeway to pitch the ball up. If the batsman is only trying to pick off singles by driving straight, it is alright because he is being forced to drive and any misjudgment in flight will give you a chance without a big penalty to create that chance.
Position of the guy in deep on leg side boundary is very important as he is usually there to protect the boundary from bad balls. A pull will go squarer if batsmen pulls it from within line of his body and go straighter if he is fetching it from outside line of his body. But a deep midwicket is the favourite region for all sloggers. So, it makes sense to keep one fielder there and try and bowl from leg stump and turn it big so that batsman can't get behind the line.

For an LHB, the field is short midwicket, short fine leg, slip, point, cover, long off, long on,deep midwicket, deep square leg. Force the batsmen to play against spin if he wants more runs, turn from way outside off sharply into the stumps.
 
Re: Leg-side or Off-side attack strategies

im favouring a more conventional field this week. i tried my unorthodox field last week and it failed miserably because i wasnt consistent enough. so this week im going to cover myself a bit more, assuming i get the opportunity to set it myself.

ignoring lefties as i havent devised a field for them yet (i leave it to the captain and review it as i go), my field for a RHB will be...

deep point (3/4)
cover
slip
mid-off
short mid-on
deep mid wicket (cow corner)
deep backward square leg
short square leg
short fine leg

batsmen never hit me through point for singles, the only time it goes there is off a cut, and that is usually hit hard based on me pitching short and slightly wide. i dont mind a single there so long as im covering the boundary. a deeper position also gives time to run and cover the ball towards 3rd man if it beats the slip. cover is fairly important and weve got one amazing fielder that can pretty much intercept anything in that region with athleticism, even if its going for 4.

short square leg and short fine leg cover my leg side line against straight balls and batsmen tucking the ball off their pads. they also become catching positions for extra bounce and turn, or batsmen getting brave and trying to sweep.

cow corner is the site of the majority of slog shots, so it covers me against long hops. short mid on is there to handle anything that gets spooned up, or any uppish straight drives. mid-off is the same but further back to also chase down boundary shots.

we will see how it fares. it all hinges on me bowling consistently though. if im spraying the ball around like i have been then no field placing will save me.
 
Re: Leg-side or Off-side attack strategies

a slip?! I'm a left arm orthodox and i've not been graced with a slip in years! admittedly, most of the people in my team wouldn't have a clue about being a slipper, myself excluded, but still, i'd like one just for show! haha i've not got the greatest control yet, but i like to bowl on and around off stump, maybe once in a while drifting to off and middle or middle, hoping to turn away and beat the bat/find the edge/take off peg out the ground. i can also bowl the other one, but i'm a bit iffy about trying it, but i'd be bowling that on the off peg. also, if one or two don't turn, and they're on the off peg, then i'm in business!
 
Re: Leg-side or Off-side attack strategies

At the moment (in England) I am bowling left arm orthodox (I bowl seamers at home) and my field is as follows:

Deep Gully - just inside the circle saving one.
Deep Point
Cover
Short Cover
Mid Off
Mid On
Mid Wicket
Sq Leg/Deep Sq Leg (Depending on my length consistency)
Short fine Leg/45.

This is the field I start with bowling an off stump line.

I am not the only only slow left armer in my team and we generally bowl in tandem putting the squeeze on anywhere between the 25th to 50th overs. The other slow left armer tends to bowl with a flatter trajectory and has an impeccable line and length, having point up inside the circle saving the single. I tend to bowl more aggressively, trying to deceive the batsman in flight. I allso tend to turn the ball more than he does. I don't mind getting hit over the top and actually encourage the bats to try it, whereas my partner in crime tends to send mid off and on back.

Depending on how aggressive you want to be, is where you set your field. Shrek's comment "Length is mandatory, line is optional" is very good advice. I tend to have a line of anywhere from middle to outside off stump depending on the batsman. If I find a flaw in his technique, I will try to exploit it. For example, with a batsman who has poor balance, I will attack the stumps more and try for an LBW and move my short cover to short mid wicket, as he most likely will not be very sound through mid wicket/sq leg and may offer a catch. I will also move my mid wicket squarer and move sq leg to behind square. It sounds like when you mentioned bowling around the wicket your trying something different. Just keep communicating with your WK/Captain what your trying to do.

I think as a spinner you have to think on your feet and keep the batsman guessing. Some wickets will naturally offer more turn than others, if thats the case, bring in more catchers around the wicket. Flight it up, vary the line and test him in all facets of his stroke range. If a wicket offers little turn, aim to keep a strict line and length, bowl a little flatter and try to frustrate the batsman to play a false shot or lose his cool and get out. After an over you will know if your going to get turn or not.
 
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