Off-spin Bowling With Small Hands And Fingers?

[Pete Sutcliffe]

I have just started to play cricket and played a couple of sunday friendlies last season and bowled some overs of what i thought to be off-spin. I did get some hammer but managed to bowl someone through the gate!! Never played at school and was never coached in bowling until last week. I had a session with a very good coach who showed me a basic technique required to bowl off-spin. We did not get onto spin itself- next week. I have pretty small hands though and was wondering if you can grip the ball a different way- perhaps with the seam pointing DOWN the wicket slightly towards leg-slip? There is no way i can spread two fingers widely ALONG the seam with my small digits. Then is it a case of a quick clockwise rotation while bowling against a braced left leg while pivotting? And the first finger doing most of the work pulling on the ball. Any help appreciated- thanks in advance.

 

[someblokecalleddave]

Are you aware that cricket balls do vary slightly in size? It may be the balls you're using are the larger types? I know that when I started I was using the larger types and these were turning up in most games, but I've noticed that over the last year or so the clubs I've played for have been using these smaller balls and amongst my collection of 50+ practice balls there's a dozen or so that are noticably smaller when you pick them up.

 

[Pete Sutcliffe]

Are you aware that cricket balls do vary slightly in size? It may be the balls you're using are the larger types? I know that when I started I was using the larger types and these were turning up in most games, but I've noticed that over the last year or so the clubs I've played for have been using these smaller balls and amongst my collection of 50+ practice balls there's a dozen or so that are noticably smaller when you pick them up.

I have noticed some balls have larger seams. I know this forum seems to be about wrist spin but i am trying to turn it the other way-is it a case of moving the hand primarily clockwise?

 

[chippyben]

I have just started to play cricket and played a couple of sunday friendlies last season and bowled some overs of what i thought to be off-spin. I did get some hammer but managed to bowl someone through the gate!! Never played at school and was never coached in bowling until last week. I had a session with a very good coach who showed me a basic technique required to bowl off-spin. We did not get onto spin itself- next week. I have pretty small hands though and was wondering if you can grip the ball a different way- perhaps with the seam pointing DOWN the wicket slightly towards leg-slip? There is no way i can spread two fingers widely ALONG the seam with my small digits. Then is it a case of a quick clockwise rotation while bowling against a braced left leg while pivotting? And the first finger doing most of the work pulling on the ball. Any help appreciated- thanks in advance.

What you have described there is an off cutter. It is bowled mainly by medium pace bowlers as it is easier to bowl at speed and because the seam is up it looks like an ordinary delivery. It is often used as a slower ball as the arm comes down at normal speed but because all the force doesnt go behind the ball it comes out slower. I bowl them quite a lot when bowling pace. They are a bit of hit and miss though in how much they turn, if at all.
That is because the seam is scrambled and it is luck if it lands on the seam. Ideally it wants to land on the seam to turn the most.
I think you would be better off persisting with a more conventional grip even if you cant spread your fingers as far as recommended. I bowl leg spin and dont have my fingers spread as wide as recommended. I have always found it uncomfortable and to be honest doesnt really make a difference. Having said that my knowledge on the mechanics of off spin is poor and it may be more important in off spin.
Bowling off spin conventionally though means the ball should land on the seam most of the time and also help to get drift.

 

[someblokecalleddave]

I have noticed some balls have larger seams. I know this forum seems to be about wrist spin but i am trying to turn it the other way-is it a case of moving the hand primarily clockwise?

Yeah It'd be good to have some finger spinners on here, a few have tried to get threads going, there's a good piece on here written by one bloke, who's name I can't remember - but it's on here still in one of the threads. You'd imagine with finger spin being so popular, there'd be the potential for loads of discussion, but it does take one or two people to run with it and put in some time generarting some interest and commenting and answering questions.

 

[The Edge Of Willow]

I'm primarily a leg spinner, but I have more than dabbled in off-spin. I have smallish hands. It is a bit hard to judge whether my experiences would be of help to you, as I don't know if your hands are smaller than mine or not, but I found that I could get increase the width of my grip as I practiced(this was probably helped by that I was using a tape ball that had too much tape on it, and so was oversized when compared to a cricket ball, as I didn't have a cricket ball at that time, a little while after I start learning to bowl it properly. By the time I used a cricket ball, I think I was used to only just hanging onto the ball to a degree).
I just tested how wide my grip can go and I can get my fingers wide enough to hold the ball down the centre, that is to say that if you were to look at my hand from front on and draw a line between the two points what the tip of my index finger and middle finger lie on the ball, there would be about half the ball above the line and half below. This is a little bit wider than my usual grip though and I think I would need to practice somewhat if it was going to work as well as my usual grip. It can be a bit tricky because sometimes, as if you try and go for the widest grip possible, you can sometimes end up with a situation where you can't transfer the energy of to the ball properly because it just slips when you wrench your hand clockwise to impart the spin.

 

[Pete Sutcliffe]

I'm primarily a leg spinner, but I have more than dabbled in off-spin. I have smallish hands. It is a bit hard to judge whether my experiences would be of help to you, as I don't know if your hands are smaller than mine or not, but I found that I could get increase the width of my grip as I practiced(this was probably helped by that I was using a tape ball that had too much tape on it, and so was oversized when compared to a cricket ball, as I didn't have a cricket ball at that time, a little while after I start learning to bowl it properly. By the time I used a cricket ball, I think I was used to only just hanging onto the ball to a degree).
I just tested how wide my grip can go and I can get my fingers wide enough to hold the ball down the centre, that is to say that if you were to look at my hand from front on and draw a line between the two points what the tip of my index finger and middle finger lie on the ball, there would be about half the ball above the line and half below. This is a little bit wider than my usual grip though and I think I would need to practice somewhat if it was going to work as well as my usual grip. It can be a bit tricky because sometimes, as if you try and go for the widest grip possible, you can sometimes end up with a situation where you can't transfer the energy of to the ball properly because it just slips when you wrench your hand clockwise to impart the spin.

I think it helps to strongly pivot against a braced left leg to increase spin and really try and flick the ball at release. I always try to aim outside off-stump all the time and try to avoid bowling on the stumps full stop.

 

[SLA]

You don't have to spread your fingers out along the seam - I think more offspinners use an unorthodox grip than actually use the grip shown in the coaching manual.

Remember - the spin comes from the twist of the arm, the fingers are just there to transfer that on to the ball. Fingerspin is a misnomer really.

 

[EdSpeedCricket]

I also have the issue of small hands... My parents use to say I had 'pianist's fingers'... Which if you say rather quickly sounds like something completely different (har har)

Couple of ways you can overcome this:

1. I use a slightly different grip. What I call the Graeme Swann grip
(http://crickettipsandtutorialhowto.blogspot.com/2014/09/graeme-swanns-spin-bowling-grip.html)

You use the 1st knuckle on your 2nd finger and 2nd knuckle on your 3rd finger. I then have three positions for my thumb.
a) Thumb just resting naturally on the ball. Very gently so is merely resting on the ball
b) Thumb is resting on second finger so hardly touching the ball
c) Thumb is resting on the bottom of the ball (right next to the seam). Don't touch the ball with the ned of your thumb, just rest the length of your thumb on the ball

I haven't actually decided which works best as each give slight variations as it comes out of the hand. Instead of getting all twisted up about what is 'the best' grip I try and practise using all three so when in a match I can use them as variations

2. You can use your 4th finger as well. So 2nd and 3rd fingers are spread across the ball like normal and then your 4th finger is used to hold the ball in place at the bottom of the ball. This way your thumb doesn't have to come into contact with the ball at all. I am yet to master this grip and don't really practise it as it doesn't seem to work for me. The ball seems to get stuck in my hand on release.

3. Practise getting the ball comfortable into your hand. I like to 'screw' the ball into my grip. Apparently this is a good way of strengthening your fingers. I have found if I 'screw' the ball into my grip and then bowl without looking at the grip then I will get good amount of spin by just making sure the ball is comfortable in my hand.