Talk Us Through An Over

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SLA

Well-Known Member
Different spinners have different tactics, ideas, variations, ways of setting a batsman up, that we can share.

So talk us through how you go about setting your field, picking a line, figuring out what the batsman is trying to do, making adjustments. Tell us what each delivery is intended to do. Go from ball 1 through to ball 6 if you can.
 
Left arm orthodox, around the wicket. At a right-handed bat. Slip, gully, point, cover, short-cover, mid-off. mid-on, midwicket, 45

Ball one: Land it on or just outside off stump, with as much spin as possible. Tempt the batsman to drive.
Balls two-six: Repeat

Boring cretin that I am. :D
 
Spin Lizard said:
Left arm orthodox, around the wicket. At a right-handed bat. Slip, gully, point, cover, short-cover, mid-off. mid-on, midwicket, 45

Ball one: Land it on or just outside off stump, with as much spin as possible. Tempt the batsman to drive.
Balls two-six: Repeat

Boring cretin that I am. :D
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Fair enough. How many overs is that?


Here's my walk through.

I play a lot of T20 cricket, and generally bowl 2 overs in the middle and then - if its going to be a tight finish - overs 18 and 20. As a spinner this requires you to be 1 step ahead of the batsman at all times.

Some batsmen at this level play technically correct, but a lot think its the IPL and just try to smack everything through the legside. We play on a good track that takes a bit of turn with a fast outfield. Par score is about 140, so I'm looking to go at less than a run a ball (or less than however many they need to win).

I set either 3 in 2 out on the off side and 2 in 2 out on leg, or 3 in 1 out on the off and 2 in 3 out on the leg (basically send deep cover over to deep backward square leg) depending on what shots the batsmen have been playing in the overs leading up to my spell.

I normally start every spell with the same 4-ball sequence:

Ball 1:
As a new spinner comes on, I'm thinking the batsman is going to have a look and see what I do. I bowl a leg break, maybe slightly slower than normal, pitching on about middle and leg, turning to hit off. Hopefully the batsman will have a wild hoik and miss it, more likely he will just push it back up the pitch.

Ball 2:
I figure the batsman will have now had a look and decide that although there is a bit of spin, he will have observed that I bowl slowly enough that he has plenty of time to pick a spot and attack the next ball.
So this time, I bowl the exact same ball, but this time as fast as I can. Hopefully it will be through him and clatter into the stumps before he knows what has happened. More likely he will be a bit late but manage to jam his bat down on it.

Ball 3:
My thinking is that having bowled two dot balls (hopefully) the batsman will look to be aggressive and pre-meditate a slog to try and get "back into the over". As I've bowled two balls on middle stump, I'm betting he will be mentally targetting the leg side. You can often see the batsman standing there eyeing up the gap at midwicket.
So I bowl the exact same ball, but this time pitching a foot outside off and turning away. Very difficult to get into the leg side, this ball normally just goes straight past the swish and thumps straight into the keepers gloves.

Ball 4:
The batsman is probably admonishing himself for playing against the spin. Better to hit it through the offside, he thinks, especially if I get any width again. He probably quite reasonably expects me to bowl the exact same ball.
So this time I pitch the ball in the same place - but this time its the off break, turning back to hit middle. Hopefully he won't even notice what has happened until his stumps are splayed. More likely, he will jam his bat down on it or it will thump into his pads.

For Ball 5, Ball 6, it depends on a) which ball so far the batsman has struggled with, whether I'm going for wickets, in which case I bowl at the stumps, or going for dots, in which case I bowl outside off.
 
Through the first part of the opposition's innings, I'll be watching how the batsmen play - I might pick up a couple of things but I don't rely on this too much as they usually play a whole lot different against seamers than they do against the likes of us. When I get to bowl, I'll start of just trying to get the ball so that it would hit three quarters of the way up a, roughly, 5th stump - this allows me to change depending on the pitch and how it behaves. After I feel settled, I then begin to look for any weaknesses or tendencies that I can exploit.
This is the sort of field I would begin with for a normal 45 over match to a RHB.
Normal field RHB Leg spin.png
  • Slip - this is pretty standard for a leg-spinner who is turning the ball away from the bat - if they are slogging I might move him deeper and wider.
  • Deep point (just behind square) - with the ball turning away, if I drop short then it's going to be perfect to cut, so I have a sweeper out there.
  • Cover - this is to stop the single from the cover drive.
  • Mid-off - to stop the single for the off drive.
  • Mid-on - to stop the single for the on-drive.
  • Wide long-on - just straight enough for batsmen to be tempted to go cow-corner way but if anything spoons up, he can often catch it.
  • Short mid-wicket - if the batsmen tries to turn me through the gap at mid-wicket, then it only takes one to rip or bounce and a catch is spooned straight to short mid-wicket.
  • Deep square leg (in front of square) - cutting off the pull shot or other such hard shots in that region
  • Short fine leg (on the 45) - if I stray down the leg side there is the easy tuck off the hips - also for top-edged sweeps.

Most of the plans are made on the spot, but I do have a few tried and tested ones that often work (though not always):
  • You can see that there is a gap behind square on the leg-side - this invites a batsman to sweep. If he connects, I will give him a couple more to get him in a state of mind and then I will bowl a back-spinner on the same line which pitches fuller going under the bat and getting him plumb LBW.
  • If the batsman is consistently defending with the pad directly behind the line of the ball
 
It all depends on the circumstances. I have only bowled 37 overs in matches as a wristy, so I am learning with each one. Firstly I will just try and settle into line and length with my leg break and see how things go. If nothing is happening I will start attempting the odd flipper, wrong un, quicker ball or slower ball. But that hasn't happened very often, as things usually were going well much to my satisfaction and surprise.

There were only really two occasions when I had a tactical plan to get batsmen out which came off. The first was a batsman I knew, he was a left hander and a big hitter. I was playing on the same team as him merely 4 days before bowling at him and in that match he had hit 88 to win us the game. When he arrived at the crease I was on a hat trick and had four deliveries left. My plan was to bowl a wrong un for the last delivery. So he survived until the last delivery of the over and it was time for the wrong un. It came out well, turned slightly away from him and bounced a lot. It took a gentle top edge as he tried to work it to his leg side and was easily caught.

The next time was another t20 match. A guy was caught out early in the over from a leg break. The batsmen crossed so the new guy was at the non striker end. As the batsman who was caught was walking off I saw him tell the new batsman I was bowling leg breaks. So I thought I would try and get him on strike. To do that I bowled a big turning shortish leg break to ram home the message that I was bowling leg breaks. Sure enough it was tucked away for a single and the new guy was on strike. So I floated up a loopy wrong un for his first ball, it drifted out a bit so he left his crease to play it, missed and it took out middle.

Those are the best examples of overs where I've had a real plan and it has come off.
 
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Ball 1: legbreak. Try to pitch it somewhere in front of the batsman so it might hit the stumps.
Ball 2: legbreak. Try to pitch it somewhere in front of the batsman so it might hit the stumps.
Ball 3: Googly. Try to land it somewhere on the cut strip.
Ball 4: legbreak. Try to pitch it somewhere in front of the batsman so it might hit the stumps.
Ball 5: legbreak. Try to pitch it somewhere in front of the batsman so it might hit the stumps.
Ball 6: Googly. Try to land it somewhere on the cut strip.

:D
 
Sorry for digging up an old thread but this topic is too interesting to be deserted.
My plans differ from situation to situation, but in a normal game when we are bowling first on an unknown wicket I'll inspect it and find a small target on a good length so I know more or less where to bowl. Then I start my bowling from over the wickets and use these plans:
Right-hander:
Ball 1: Leg break, pitching reasonably far outside off with lots of sidespin, trying to turn it into the stumps off a good length.
Ball 2: More of the same, depending on how much the previous ball turned I'd either bowl this one slower or faster but not too much.
Ball 3: Leg break with more overspin, on most pitches this one grips and bounces slightly more.
Ball 4: All previous deliveries were bowled from as close to the stumps as possible, this one is bowled from very wide on the crease, lots of sidespin, trying to drift the ball maximally (usually from leg to outside off)
Ball 5: In short formats or if I know the captain is quite defensive and wants me to either restrict runs or take wickets immediately I'd bowl a googly or backspinner now. For right-handers it's more likely to be the googly since I still have to work on bowling the backspinner from over as it's a difficult adjustment to make, and it's easier to bowl from around to the RHB.
Ball 6: Have I got a wicket yet? If not, I'll bowl this from a comfortable position on the crease, try to put all my energy into bowling above the eyeline with my maximum revs and optimum speed, while pitching it on the best length possible with as much drift and dip as I can get.

Left-hander:
Ball 1: Leg break, sidespin, pitching on middle, I'll try to turn it past everything.
Ball 2: Leg break with more sidespin again, but I'll pitch this one on a different line depending on the turn of the previous delivery.
Ball 3: Wider on the crease, leg break with overspin but I'll try to drift it more than the others for some confusion.
Ball 4: Still wide on the crease with the same amount of drift but this time a different seam position to try and get either more bounce or more turn.
Ball 5: Wide on the crease, still probing for maximum purchase.
Ball 6: Backspinner, full and flat on middle stump (hitting leg stump) hopefully (and quite possibly) getting the LBW.
 
boogiespinner said:
Ball 1: legbreak. Try to pitch it somewhere in front of the batsman so it might hit the stumps.
Ball 2: legbreak. Try to pitch it somewhere in front of the batsman so it might hit the stumps.
Ball 3: Googly. Try to land it somewhere on the cut strip.
Ball 4: legbreak. Try to pitch it somewhere in front of the batsman so it might hit the stumps.
Ball 5: legbreak. Try to pitch it somewhere in front of the batsman so it might hit the stumps.
Ball 6: Googly. Try to land it somewhere on the cut strip.

:D
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I'm loving this!
 
I always get brought on or bring myself on if I'm captain around 20 - 24 overs into the game, once the fast bowlers have done their bit and the batsmen are settled and getting on a roll.

Hopefully if I've got my head screwed on and I've been focussed and not been too distracted by the English weather, I may have some idea of what to do. I wont bother with lefties, just assume it's a proper batsman who bats right-handed...

Have a look below; this is the field I've been setting when I'm feeling confident and on top of my game and bowling well.

I'm Right Handed...

Ball 1: Bowling over the wicket, close to the stumps on an off-stump line, pitching it full-ish looking to see if there's any turn off the surface. If there's nothing there, it forces the bat to play the ball, with the aggressive field and the support of the team giving "Come on Warnie - give it some fizz", the bat will have a look, rather than come after me from the first ball? (Usually works).
Ball 2: Exactly the same thing, but with an adjustment with the wrist so there's more side-spin and a bit more spin and pace. Again this usually works out fine.
Ball 3: If this has gone to plan and I'm bowling accurately and there is some turn, I use the 2nd ball approach, but go slightly wider on the wicket and look to pitch it on middle and leg to see if there's a preference for anything leg-side.

Scenario 1: If there's any inkling that the batsman prefers it on the legs, I then go back to an off-side approach looking to target the off-stump again.

Ball 4,5 & 6 in Scenario 1: I'd then vary the remaining 3 balls, going wider on the crease, but always looking to hit the stumps in the event that the ball doesn't turn, one of them I'd throw up with no side spin - faster and straight. One I might pitch wider on the crease to look at how the bat plays it when the ball doesn't threaten the stumps, that one I'd try and spin harder with more over-spin, to try and get some dip and more bounce.

Scenario 2: If the batsman looks to be uncomfortable on the legs I'll then look at that as option for attacking. Going round the wicket, balls 4,5 and 6 would be delivered from close to the stumps initially, gradually going wider putting the ball slightly wide of the leg stump - looking to turn it into the stumps. The fielder round the corner (10) might be brought up a bit closer, again to give the impression that something is afoot?

Generally this works okay. We've also got a specialist close in fielder Lee Dutton who has a death wish, who will, if the batsman is struggling with the scenario 2, come in right up under the blokes gills at silly mid-wicket and pile the pressure on right from the outset.

Dave%2BField%2Bconfident%2Bstart.jpg
 
Left Arm Orthodox. I'll be coming around the wicket.

Field Setting: Fly Slip, backward square leg, midwicket, mid on, mid off, extra cover, short cover, point, gully

Ball 1: Looking to bowl on a good length, pitching it up, on off-middle
Ball 2: If batsman defends on ball 1, I will now look to pitch an arm ball just outside off on 5th stump
Ball 3: Then Ball 1.
Ball 4: Repeat
Ball 5: Repeat
Ball 6: One final Arm Ball
 
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