A question of traning the eye?

[Sticks4Stumps]

A question of traning the eye?

Hi,

New to the forum and sorry if this has been covered (I have seen the bat vs spin thread but thought this was a different case) but i'd like to raise a personal issue I have predominantly with spinners.

This week I was out to a leg spinner who was turning it about 1-2 feet on a good length. I ended up dabbing at it on a good length and was caught behind.

I had trouble facing his inconsistency of turn and wanted some tips on how this could be avoided... How do I play spin is the basic question but how do I judge it is what I really need an answer to... Is there an art to it or is it practise, can I judge it from the revolutions and if so, how is this possible when it's travelling at 50mph+

 

[micoach]

Re: A question of traning the eye?

Short answer: it's a question of experience. The more you face the better you get.

Of course, it always takes some time to get in on a pitch. Each set of conditions are slightly different leading to more or less turn, dip and movemement.

 

[Sticks4Stumps]

Re: A question of traning the eye?

Short answer: it's a question of experience. The more you face the better you get.

Of course, it always takes some time to get in on a pitch. Each set of conditions are slightly different leading to more or less turn, dip and movemement.

But how do I judge the spin and play the bat at it? How do I know how much it's going to turn?

 

[macca]

Re: A question of traning the eye?

The only sure way to nullify the spin is to get to the pitch of the ball and try to turn it into a full toss or half-volley, then it doesn't matter how much it is turning you can treat it as a straight one ,this requires skill ,footwork, courage and a good eye. It is impossible for a batsman to get anywhere near the pitch of good length legspin by moving one leg and stretching down the pitch.

Most legspinners dont know exactly or even roughly how much each ball will turn so it is hard for the batsman.

 

[gundalf7]

Re: A question of traning the eye?

macca is right it will vary from ball to ball and also from pitch to pitch as the ball grips slightly differently. The only rough idea you can get is by looking at the angle of the seam, closer to horizonal it is the more it should turn theoretically, though this is not always true on some pitches.

 

[micoach]

Re: A question of traning the eye?

But how do I judge the spin and play the bat at it? How do I know how much it's going to turn?

You have to take an educated guess based on what you have seen while waiting to bat, what the other batters say, what experience you have on the type of pitch and how much you know about the bowler.

Technically though you can do things to minimise the risk. As macca says, play right forward to give the ball less chance of spinning. That does not mean lunge at it of course. Just pick the length, get in position and play positively, even in defence.