Wrist Spin Bowling (part Five)

[MagicDave]

Yeah its funny how everyone's biomechanics all differ to give the same result.

I think of myself as chest on because that's where I know I want to finish after the ball leaves my hand - shoulders parallel to the wicket. If I set up to bowl with the more classical style (feet in a T shape and body open like a baseball pitcher ) then I struggle to control direction so all my mental cues are based around turning up to the crease with everything aligned towards the batsman.

 

[SomeblokecalledDave.]

Pre-season for me is working out well - have a look at my blog Pre-season 2025 - https://theoldwristspinner.blogspot.com/2025/04/pre-season-2025.html

 

[doc8176]

I manage to get noticeable drift on both my leggies and offies but I genuinely could not explain how.

One thing I have noticed is a bit of top spin and dip definitely helps with drift.

I’ve been having a lot of luck drifting my off spinners away from a right hander. I’ll bring a few back in and then bowl an under cutter that drifts out a bit the same as my off break but doesn’t turn and seems to catch the outside edge really well.

 

[SomeblokecalledDave.]

It looks like I'm to go into the season with the full package this year. I've been working on the Top-Spinner for months now and have finally settled on a conventional grip and all it takes is a slight re-allignment of the wrist angle and it comes out really nice. It's very effective when bowled in a series of leg-breaks where the batter has got it into their mind that the next ball is going to be the same style leg-break either just on leg-stump or outside off. But in addition to that, the last couple of sessions I've just looked to rotate the wrist just that bit more and I'm bowling a very decent wrong-un seemingly with total ease. Those combined with the Flipper - who knows how I'm to go this season!

 

[doc8176]

It looks like I'm to go into the season with the full package this year. I've been working on the Top-Spinner for months now and have finally settled on a conventional grip and all it takes is a slight re-allignment of the wrist angle and it comes out really nice. It's very effective when bowled in a series of leg-breaks where the batter has got it into their mind that the next ball is going to be the same style leg-break either just on leg-stump or outside off. But in addition to that, the last couple of sessions I've just looked to rotate the wrist just that bit more and I'm bowling a very decent wrong-un seemingly with total ease. Those combined with the Flipper - who knows how I'm to go this season!

The top spinner is so easy and subtle to bowl but it works so well

 

[doc8176]

Here’s an interesting (and very important) one:

What visual cues do you often pick up on and use against the batsman?

I consider this a huge part of how I bowl spin. If I’m tying a batsman down and I notice him getting angry which often causes them to either:

Tap the bat harder, put their weight further forward or a harder grip with their bottom hand it usually means they’re either going to charge me or they’re thinking about it. So I loop up a slower, shorter delivery to make them think they can run down the wicket and smash me over mid on. But because it’s actually shorter they usually get in a whole lot of trouble.

Usually pretty subtle cues but I find I naturally adjust to them.

 

[Fleetwood]

good question, and while I definitely get a feeling that I'm about to get charged, I'm not sure what the cue is, and I don't normally react to it in time if I'm bowling wristpin - if I'm bowling SLA, I'll send it wide, but my action for wristspin seems a lot more "grooved". Thinking about it, I think most batsmen sashay down the wicket by taking a big stride forward with their rear leg, so it would make sense that a premeditated shift of weight onto the front foot is a bit of a tell.

 

[doc8176]

good question, and while I definitely get a feeling that I'm about to get charged, I'm not sure what the cue is, and I don't normally react to it in time if I'm bowling wristpin - if I'm bowling SLA, I'll send it wide, but my action for wristspin seems a lot more "grooved"

I definitely know what you’re talking about by the “feeling”, it’s really hard to put a finger on why. Maybe it’s just knowing that you’ve got the batsman under a lot of pressure.

 

[Fleetwood]

I definitely know what you’re talking about by the “feeling”, it’s really hard to put a finger on why. Maybe it’s just knowing that you’ve got the batsman under a lot of pressure.

yeah, they definitely do it after a few dot balls, especially if struggling with turn - it's a Get out of jail move. Batsmen on my own team give me the charge all the time in nets, and very often fail to get to the pitch - unfortunately in games it tends to lead to a missed stumping. I think it's a lot easier keeping to a right-arm wristspinner as the ball isn't appearing from behind the batsman, it must be hard - even if the ball is turning away from the r/h bat, the keeper is still unsighted for a bit.

 

[Fleetwood]

It looks like I'm to go into the season with the full package this year. I've been working on the Top-Spinner for months now and have finally settled on a conventional grip and all it takes is a slight re-allignment of the wrist angle and it comes out really nice. It's very effective when bowled in a series of leg-breaks where the batter has got it into their mind that the next ball is going to be the same style leg-break either just on leg-stump or outside off. But in addition to that, the last couple of sessions I've just looked to rotate the wrist just that bit more and I'm bowling a very decent wrong-un seemingly with total ease. Those combined with the Flipper - who knows how I'm to go this season!

it's amazing how basic technical things can get away from you - I was bowling in the nets yesterday and turning absolutely nowt, I eventually realised that I really wasn't rotating my wrist at all, as soon as I made a point of emphasising it as I spun the ball pre-delivery, I started turning it round corners again. I still can't bowl a topspinner as reliably as I'd like, but if I stand there spinning it pre-delivery and emphasise getting my hand straight over the top of the ball, it works more often than not.

How's your season going Dave - has your optimism been justified so far?

 

[SomeblokecalledDave.]

Not too bad as you can see. I was pretty ill for the first part of the season and nearly died at one point (Quinsey), so missed a bunch of games, but I'm starting to catch up now. Some at the club might say my figures are good because the opposition are rubbish. I'd argue otherwise, at the level I play most of the time I'm bowling at clueless sloggers who don't value their wicket, with poor fielding from my team due to their ages and the fact that most of them can't run or can't be arsed. My best figures and bowling come in better standard games. I've got a League game this weekend where I'm bowing with another Spinner who's about 35 year younger than - who is one of the people who keeps me out of the league games. (He's the Willoughby bloke in the list above). So it'll be interesting to see how we compare and whether that has any impact on the selectors decision making process? The top-spinner's being used a bit and has got me some decent wickets. The last game I played in I got a nice one with the Flipper as well, but for the most part I've been bowling 95% Leg-Breaks. What's your thoughts on bowling Leg-Breaks around the wicket with a heavily loaded leg-side field?

 

[Fleetwood]

Jesus, that sounds rough - glad you're still with us! Figures looking pretty reasonable there - it can't be bad for a leggie to have the tightest economy.

I'd argue otherwise, at the level I play most of the time I'm bowling at clueless sloggers who don't value their wicket, with poor fielding from my team due to their ages and the fact that most of them can't run or can't be arsed.

Very much my experience - I've spent the season playing mid-week T20s only. We're a one team club - single Sat league side & midweek T20 friendlies; at the start of the season, I was continually being asked when I was going to make myself available for league, but the club's had a pretty fair season (about to be promoted for the seconds successive time), recruiting a few decent players so I'd be nowhere near the first XI now, especially as I'm a weak fielder and bat. Most opposing lineups midweek consist of a few good league players, plus a few outright sloggers and development players. I get my fair share of the better bats, plus have got fairly good at bowling to the sloggers - at this level bowling an off-stump line and turning it away has worked quite well. I grip the ball for SLA cross seam, so a lot of deliveries skid straight through, without much need for variation on my part . Sadly I haven't really fixed the nerves I mentioned, so I've been bowling SLA pretty much exclusively - to be fair it's gone pretty well and I'm sat top of the wickets, but I really want to be bowling wristspin, even if just as a complement to the orthodox, so have been practicing it around the wicket for the last few nets.

Midweek XI - PCCC Stats
As of 15/08/2025

*Bowling*
Me 17 wks @ 14.06*
S Andrews. 6 @ 25.67
S Bhandari. 5 @ 23.60
B Wootton. 4 @ 11.25
R Khan 4 @ 23.75
J Griffiths. 4 @ 23.75
J Whiteaway. 3 @ 25.33
J Bryant. 3 @ 53.00
D Going. 2 @ 15.50
RV 1 @ 17.00

The last game I played in I got a nice one with the Flipper as well, but for the most part I've been bowling 95% Leg-Breaks. What's your thoughts on bowling Leg-Breaks around the wicket with a heavily loaded leg-side field?

Interesting to see how your bowling has gone all the way from leg-breaks to googly syndrome to almost all flippers, and now back again!
Re the around the wicket gambit, it would normally be regarded as a negative approach. I think the days of offies & inswing bowlers firing it into leg from round in the 50s leave a long shadow, but Warne obviously valued it as an attacking option, though that was largely in tests, where he was trying to get a limpet-like bat to have a go - Adil Rashid did it . I don't think I remember him doing it in ODIs - I think it's worth a try, as long as your length is spot on; anything short is a gimme for a pull, and anything too full is right in the slot for a slog. I'd be careful about overloading the leg side, a lot of bats may try to keep leg-side of it, and play inside out, although that may depend on the amount of turn available. Do you have footmarks to bowl into? Either way, it's definitely something I would try were I a rightie - as a left hander, I don't see enough lefthand bats to really try it.

 

[slingylefty]

Hi All,

First time posting here, and I am so glad to be part of this community. I have been watching the spin bowling threads, especially the wrist spin mega threads for the past 3 months. I live in the US and play weekend Cricket at my local league. Cricket has grown a lot in recent years and my club has 500+ members and 20+ teams. I am a left arm pace bowler who recently took up learning wrist spin. I bowled pace for almost 30 years, opened bowling for many years and with my natural action, I would swing it back into RHB. I tore my ACL a few years ago on my landing foot (right leg) and it took me out of the game for a couple of years. When I came back, my bowling was never the same. I used to have a classic side-on action but after the surgery, I tried becoming a chest on bowler to be easy on the braced front foot. The reality is that I ended up with a mixed action. Accuracy suffered and I lost the opening slot. Bowling in middle overs was brutal as the ball offered no swing and I had to depend on variations. With all these frustrations, I decided to try spin bowling and stopped playing matches since this Spring. Told my Captain that I would be taking a break for a couple of seasons and come back as a spinner.

The choice I had was to go with left arm orthodox or wrist spin. I picked up wrist spin because even though it is very tough to master the art at the age of 48, I know that it will be incredibly rewarding once I put enough hard work. Bought Philpott book (took me forever to get that book shipped from the UK ). I also started looking for online resources and came across this forum. This is a treasure trove of information for wrist spin and I absolutely love the discussion and in depth analysis. I bookmarked all of Dave's (someblokecalleddave) blogs and videos. I spent hours and hours on the 5 wrist spin mega threads (still going through them), When I finally got the email after 5 weeks that my account is approved for posting, it made my day. So glad that the wait is over.

Now, coming to the progress, it's been about 3 months since I started practicing leg spin. Still early days, but my progression has been very good. I am spending at least 3-4 hours a week and hoping to increase that once it gets a bit cooler here. First few weeks were frustrating and I totally expected that. I would bowl either a waist high full toss or a half tracker. It came to a point that the batsmen in nets started giving my pity looks and advised me to go back to medium pace. Things really started turning around the 2 month mark. I have a consistent approach, and the ball generally lands in good length and I can get the ball to spin. Here is a breakdown:
Runup/Approach: I started with running a bit like Rashid Khan but I was rushing at the delivery without fully pivoting. I then tried diagonal (like Kuldeep), cross run etc. I finally ended up just walking (Shane Warne approach), and my walk is just 5 steps. That seems to be my perfect rhythm. I recently started staying a lot more upright, jumping higher on my backfoot so that I can get into a full side-on position. I took this tip from the "Wrist spin disasters" thread put out by Bosie. The jump now gives me time to get side on, get my right shoulder and head in line with the target and hence more consistency.
Arm: The biggest issue for me is that I am too round armed. My left arm is probably around 45 degrees at release. I always bowled like that as I had a slingy action that helped me bring the ball into the RHB (I emulated Wasim Akram's action). Because of that muscle memory, my wrist apin also comes around that position. Warne actually mentioned in a couple of his masterclass videos that he is a bit round armed but that is impacting my line sometimes. I tried to consciously have a more vertical arm, but I ended up with a sore shoulder. I guess I need to strengthen that muscle group as the activation seems to slightly different from round arm. I am working on it especially to bowl the wrong one.
Flight: I bowled to a decent batsman last weekend and he said I am bowling a lot flatter and advised me to flight the ball. I did trouble him a bit as he wasn't picking up my googlies but he said he can milk those flatter deliveries for easy singles. I need to work on flighting the ball more.
Going through the loop: I have a general idea and a theoretical sense of how going through the loop works (read Philpott's book and watched Dave's videos), but I am still yet to grasp that concept fully when I bowl. Right now, I am going with a vague idea of what to do but my wrist doesn't actually end up where I really was envisioning. Leg breaks sometimes end up as googlies and having read all the warnings about the Googlie syndrome, I am very nervous. Any tips in imagining or grasping that concept would be super helpful.

I will try to post a couple of videos soon. I have some but every time I check them after a week, there was an update already made to my action and that video feels out of date

 

[slingylefty]

Here are a couple of videos of my bowling action. The first one had decent flight and landed in the right area and the second one had turn but dragged short.

Please give your feedback. I have some more questions but will wait for comments