Leg Spin Horror - Some Disasters And How (maybe) To Avoid Them (i)

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SLA said:
A comment on variations like the googly:

If you're not confident about it at all, show it to each batsman once just to make him look out for it from then on, then put it away.
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That's pretty much my approach. I don't use the ball coming into the right-hander as a wicket taking option. I just use it now and then so that the batter knows I can do it. It's just to create a little bit of uncertainty in his mind. You don't want a batter to get comfortable playing straight and square.

That issue of arm position is another interesting one. It's quite common to see leg spiners with a very upright action and those bowlers can certainly get drift (Bryce McGain is a good example of that). But Warne was one of those bowlers who tended to have a bit more of lower arm. He has said that he actually would sometimes get too low in his arm and would have to remind himself to "think high, spin up". I don't have a problem of my arm dropping too low, but I certainly don't have a very upright arm.

As SLA says, when you really rip the ball you will tend to make that "huuurrghh!" noise as you do. It's quite funny actually, but I will know how much I am putting into it purely by whether I make that noise. Really, I am trying to get that arm through as quick as I possibly can. The aim isn't to get the arm through quick whilst still retaining the flick of the wrist and accuracy. The aim is to just get that arm through as quick as I can. It's then a question of ensuring the wrist flick and accuracy are still there with that arm speed. At no point do I want to slow the arm down to help with the wrist flick and the accuracy.
 
SLA said:
I would definitely say to look at capitalising on what you've got and not trying to lower your arm or make any more changes to your action.

I would say, don't worry too much about getting huge drift or massive turn, because thats not the type of spinner you are. Work on pitching that topspinner/legbreak perfectly on a line and length 6 balls out of 6 and watch as batsman after batsman are fooled by the dip and slice the ball to cover. If you can mix in a googly as well, particularly when facing left handers, that would help. If you're not confident with you googly, then just show it to each batsman once and then put it away.
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That's good stuff there SLA, makes me feel a lot better about my bowling already and is kind of where I was heading at the end of the season. My accuracy was an awful lot better and I was varying the speed, flight and hopefully dip by using more spin and then trying the wrong un about once every 2 overs as a 'Ive got this one was well' approach.
 
Hi everyone I'm a new on this forum and thought it would be a good idea to take my problem here rather then make a new thread for it. Ok so my problem is a lot of my legspin bowling was characterised by one danger bowl, which was a huge leg break, on a good day I could turn it the whole pitch, but recently I've seem to lost this delivery and no matter how hard I seem to rip it or how I try to bowl it like I use too before (very square stance, more of a sidearm and palm facing the batsmen) I just cannot seem to bowl it, and it's really getting me down because it was a very big weapon in bowling attack.
 
MightM said:
Hi everyone I'm a new on this forum and thought it would be a good idea to take my problem here rather then make a new thread for it. Ok so my problem is a lot of my legspin bowling was characterised by one danger bowl, which was a huge leg break, on a good day I could turn it the whole pitch, but recently I've seem to lost this delivery and no matter how hard I seem to rip it or how I try to bowl it like I use too before (very square stance, more of a sidearm and palm facing the batsmen) I just cannot seem to bowl it, and it's really getting me down because it was a very big weapon in bowling attack.
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Sounds to me like your danger ball was a big side spinner. There could be any number of reasons for losing that spin off the pitch. The most likely one is that you are not landing the ball on the seam. The only way to get huge turn is to rip a side spinner very hard and land it on the seam. It is possible that you are releasing the ball with side spin, but that the seam is tilted slightly. If this is the case what will be happening is that the palm of your hand will be facing the batter as you release the ball and you want the palm to be facing the ground a bit more. This will ensure that you get your fingers ripping over the top of the seam and the seam is released upright and not titled.
 
To start with, try to figure out whether it is spinning well but not gripping when it is pitching, or if the problem is that it is not spinning quite right.
 
SLA said:
To start with, try to figure out whether it is spinning well but not gripping when it is pitching, or if the problem is that it is not spinning quite right.
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I have had a look to how the ball is coming out and it seems to have more top spin then over spin but I'm not sure how to counter it I've tried bowling it side on but it still comes out top spinning I'll definatley try clean prophets tip of keeping the palm at the ground
 
Cleanprophet said:
Yes, everything SLA has said. Obviously, with leg spin you want the seam upright and pointed in the direction of 1st-2nd slip. What you may well find when you first use the ball is that the seam comes out with mostly side spin and ball is rotating on its side, rather than upright, so that it lands on the side of the ball and not on the seam. This is what happens when you bowl with an open hand and a wrist not cocked enough. You can then work away on getting over the ball and cocking the wrist, watching the ball as you do it and keeping working away until that seam is upright and pointed towards the slips.
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Really appreciate the guidance. I'm having success by concentrating on
1. Over loose grip
2. Holding my wrist cocked through delivery release
3. Spinning up and over the wrist
This is a great forum and has been invaluable to my improvement. I am also finding it easier to spin up with better control and spin by bowling with a more round arm action. My original arm position was very high but by lowering it, I feel like I can almost watch the release and this seems to aid control. (Not sure if this is actually what's happening but it feels like this).
 
MightM said:
I have had a look to how the ball is coming out and it seems to have more top spin then over spin but I'm not sure how to counter it I've tried bowling it side on but it still comes out top spinning I'll definatley try clean prophets tip of keeping the palm at the ground
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If it is coming out with more top spin and side spin, then it's just a question of changing the wrist position. With the top spinner or leg spinner the back of the hand will be facing the batter (top spin) or towards the slips/point (leg spinner). For that side spinner you would need that back of the back of the hand facing square of the wicket and maybe even facing straight back into your face a bit.

Personally, I would advise sticking with the ball that is coming out with more top spin on it and work on giving that a good rip. That will get you more success than a big side spinner.
 
Darryn said:
Really appreciate the guidance. I'm having success by concentrating on
1. Over loose grip
2. Holding my wrist cocked through delivery release
3. Spinning up and over the wrist
This is a great forum and has been invaluable to my improvement. I am also finding it easier to spin up with better control and spin by bowling with a more round arm action. My original arm position was very high but by lowering it, I feel like I can almost watch the release and this seems to aid control. (Not sure if this is actually what's happening but it feels like this).
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Sounds promising. Incidently, I tried bowling with my previous lose grip (where my fingers are on top of the seam and only slightly touching the other side of the ball) and it came out lovely. I switched to a firmer grip when I was struggling to get over the ball and keep the wrist cocked. But, I've worked so hard on getting over the ball and cocking the wrist that I am now able to bowl quite nicely with a loser grip. The one note of caution I have is that it is trickier to really rip the ball with accuracy when the grip is a little looser. With work, you can combat that.

What I would say is, focus on that feeling you get when you spin the ball from hand to hand. You will (or should) feel your fingers, all of them, running over the top of the seam and ripping off the seam. You want that very same feeling when bowling. You will get that if your wrist is cocked enough.

Those bowlers who cock their wrist too much will tend to bowl the drag down as their bad delivery (short and down the off-side). Those who don't cock their wrist enough will bowl a full ball, often a full toss, down the leg side as their bad delivery. Needless to say, the aim is to get it somewhere in the middle for the perfect line and length.
 
Darryn said:
This is a great forum and has been invaluable to my improvement. I am also finding it easier to spin up with better control and spin by bowling with a more round arm action. ).
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Cheers for the endorsement Darryn, at the moment this is a great forum, and I no longer post on it in the same way that I used to as there's a set of blokes on here that do it now far better than me and that's brilliant. I reckon this forum has got to be the best around, the feedback and the willingness of the people on here to share their experiences is exemplary.
 
i am a leg spinner can anyone help me! please, i was bowling very well but now my bowling and non bowling arm get stick together after i jump i the air.
 
Hi All, hoping you can help with some new issues and disasters that have been plaguing my improvement.
While i seem to be giving the ball a fair rip and landing the ball consistently in the warm up prior to games, the moment i step up the the crease to bowl i feel like my wrist is like jelly and i tend to try and place the ball and not rip the ball. I'm sure its a nerves issue but it has been an issue for a long time. The end result is full tosses, wide's and short deliveries. Its pretty ugly!
 
Darryn said:
Hi All, hoping you can help with some new issues and disasters that have been plaguing my improvement.
While i seem to be giving the ball a fair rip and landing the ball consistently in the warm up prior to games, the moment i step up the the crease to bowl i feel like my wrist is like jelly and i tend to try and place the ball and not rip the ball. I'm sure its a nerves issue but it has been an issue for a long time. The end result is full tosses, wide's and short deliveries. Its pretty ugly!
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That's purely nerves, although there are always technical safety valves you can build into your action and grip it always comes down to feel and confidence. Make sure you always do in a game what you are practicing, if you try anything else you are attempting something you haven't practiced for (hence the erratic displays so far!).

There are also little things that you can build into your game to help to remind you to get into the right mindset. I, for instance, like to take off my cap as soon as the over at the other end has finished, this helps to remind me that it is time to switch on the bowling brain. The most famous example I can think of is where Richard Hadlee used to have a mantra of something like "Off-stump, Lillee, hate" which helped him concentrate on what he needed to do and how to do it.

The first ball is always nervy and we're all different but at the end of the day it's kind of like jumping into a swimming pool, the water feels cold if you are tentative but if you just jump straight in the water feels fine. Give the ball a rip!
 
leftie600 said:
There are also little things that you can build into your game to help to remind you to get into the right mindset. I, for instance, like to take off my cap as soon as the over at the other end has finished, this helps to remind me that it is time to switch on the bowling brain. The most famous example I can think of is where Richard Hadlee used to have a mantra of something like "Off-stump, Lillee, hate" which helped him concentrate on what he needed to do and how to do it.
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Certainly sounds like nerves. Given that some balls are full and some are short and wide, that means for some deliveries the wrist is opening too much, too early and on some deliveries it isn't opening enough. Therefore, we can assume it is entirely psychological and not technical.

That is good advice about having a mantra or something to do/think when you are about to bowl. Warne would say "think high, spin up". McGill would mark out a little space to start is run up from and take a deep breath just before he started his run up. These are all things that are developed in the nets and in conjunction with a solid bowling action. Therefore, out in the middle, these things promote the very same solid action.
 
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