Straight Fast Ball As Flipper (leg Spin Bowling)

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Mubarak Zeb

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Hi,

I am a leg spinner currently playing in a Division 9 (cricket club). I am having a very good season, with plenty of wickets and good economy rate. I don't have a back spinning flipper like a normal leg spinner would have. But, I can bowl a very very fast straight ball with wrist positioning like a fast bowler. What I do is, I just start with a my spinner's runner-up and then at last minute change my wrist to bowl the straight fast ball.

First of all, I would like to ask you guys, is the above a good approach, as I don't have time to really spend ages on the back spinner flipper. Secondly, What should be a good line and length for the above ball, normally I bowl it once the batsman hit me for a six or four.

Looking forward for your guys feedback :)

Thanks
 
Mubarak Zeb said:
Hi,

I am a leg spinner currently playing in a Division 9 (cricket club). I am having a very good season, with plenty of wickets and good economy rate. I don't have a back spinning flipper like a normal leg spinner would have. But, I can bowl a very very fast straight ball with wrist positioning like a fast bowler. What I do is, I just start with a my spinner's runner-up and then at last minute change my wrist to bowl the straight fast ball.

First of all, I would like to ask you guys, is the above a good approach, as I don't have time to really spend ages on the back spinner flipper. Secondly, What should be a good line and length for the above ball, normally I bowl it once the batsman hit me for a six or four.

Looking forward for your guys feedback :)

Thanks
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What you're doing is exactly what Afridi does, he changes his grip just before delivery and still gets wickets if the batsman picks it because the change in speed is so dramatic!

In terms of where to land it, you need to think that the batsman has got used to the ball dropping like a legbreak. When the batsman sees the ball, even though it's obviously going quicker, his brain may still think that the ball will be shorter than what it actually will be. Given this you need land it on a lengeth so that it hits just below the bails, I'm picking the batsman will try and play you off the back foot and get bowled or LBW.

If the batsman has no issues with picking the trajectory then use this ball as a yorker, at the very least it'll give the batsman a scare.

Don't worry about backspinning deliveries too much, all that matters is that you have a delivery that does the opposite of a legbreak (i.e. doesn't spin, dip or get extra bounce from overspin).
 
Most legspinners don't have a flipper. Its a very difficult ball to learn to bowl and I'm not entirely sure its worth the effort.

I'm also not sure of the benefit of a fast straight ball. Its not a mechanical challenge to all but the weakest batsmen, and its not going to fool anyone visually. I know a legspinner who bowls a similar ball; in 4 years I've never once see it take a wicket. Mostly what happens is they spot the extra pace, jam their bat down on the line of the ball, and because its a straight ball it just thuds straight into the middle of the bat. After they've seen a few they start expecting it and smacking it.

Quicker balls are good, but try and think how you're trying to beat the bat. If you're trying to get a bowled/lbw then I would say a mixture of backspin and sidespin tends to work better than pure backspin because you still get that skid off the pitch, but you also keep a little bit of drift and possibly some turn. This is much more likely to miss the middle of the bat.

Quicker topspinners are also a good option, because you can generate extra bounce and induce an edge or an aerial shot.
 
I like SLA's idea, get a decent slider going, the drift makes the batsman think it's a legbreak, then it doesn't turn, seen Warne/McGill get bowled/LBW like that loads of times
 
maximas said:
I like SLA's idea, get a decent slider going, the drift makes the batsman think it's a legbreak, then it doesn't turn, seen Warne/McGill get bowled/LBW like that loads of times
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Yes the slider is a very lethal weapon against nearly every batsman. I'm surprised that everyone found it so difficult to pick Warne's slider though. He mostly bowled his leg break (if not always) with an upright seam. Then comes the slider which is scrambled seam, about 5-10kph quicker, clearly spinning backwards, etc. But I guess it is MUCH harder if the whole cricket-watching public is looking at yourevery move and expect you to perform. That pressure could make a simple slider nearly undetectable:(
 
Mubarak Zeb said:
Hi,

I am a leg spinner currently playing in a Division 9 (cricket club). I am having a very good season, with plenty of wickets and good economy rate. I don't have a back spinning flipper like a normal leg spinner would have. But, I can bowl a very very fast straight ball with wrist positioning like a fast bowler. What I do is, I just start with a my spinner's runner-up and then at last minute change my wrist to bowl the straight fast ball.

First of all, I would like to ask you guys, is the above a good approach, as I don't have time to really spend ages on the back spinner flipper. Secondly, What should be a good line and length for the above ball, normally I bowl it once the batsman hit me for a six or four.

Looking forward for your guys feedback :)

Thanks
Click to expand...
Yeah this is definitely a good idea all the time your playing at a level where the batsmen don't read the ball out of the hand and react to it. The Flippers not that hard to learn, there's a million and one videos on it. Look at the Warne and Jenner videos and learn the one that has your thumb at the bottom at the point of release - Warne's Flipper. It's a useful delivery if you do learn it well.
 
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