To Tall To Be A Spin Bowler?

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DutchGuy

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Hello everyone,
Is there a certain length that could be considered to tall for a spin bowler?
I'm a Dutch 15 year old chinaman and SLA bowler. Right now I'm not that tall yet (1.77m or 5' 10''), but if the chart that represents my length is right then I'd end up somewhere in between 1.88(a bit more than 6' 2'') and 1.93 (almost 6' 4'').
Would it be better for me to switch to medium pace bowling, or should I keep on spinning.
Thanks for your advice.
 
DutchGuy said:
Hello everyone,
Is there a certain length that could be considered to tall for a spin bowler?
I'm a Dutch 15 year old chinaman and SLA bowler. Right now I'm not that tall yet (1.77m or 5' 10''), but if the chart that represents my length is right then I'd end up somewhere in between 1.88(a bit more than 6' 2'') and 1.93 (almost 6' 4'').
Would it be better for me to switch to medium pace bowling, or should I keep on spinning.
Thanks for your advice.
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Height will give you more bounce and will help with the getting the ball up above the eye level. Richie Benaud - wasn't he a bit of a 'Long Dog'?
 
"Not that tall yet"?! You're a 5'10" 15-year-old!

But yeah, I was also going to bring up Sulieman Benn. It may be rare to have very tall spinners, but it's not discouraged or unheard of. If you're comfortable in your craft, then go for it.
 
I'm 6'3. I find its probably a slight advantage being tall as your high release point really accentuates the dip and bounce you can get on the ball.

Plus long levers and big strong fingers = more revs.

I think the reason you see very few tall spinners is less to do with it being a disadvantage as a spinner and more to do with young bowlers being pushed into pace bowling by coaches because of their height. As a tall left arm bowler I was always encouraged to forget the spin and bowl pace instead, but I held my guns and switched permanently to spin when I was 15 and never regretted it for a second.
 
I would say it's a bit topsy-turvey this one, we assume tall players should be at a disadvantage bowling spin because spinners tend to be shorter, but actually I think it's more that short bowlers have a very definite disadvantage bowling pace so tend to bowl spin instead.

I think coaches like people to bowl seam-up because it's so much easier to coach!!! There's a real issue around not enough coaches really understanding what spin-bowling is about, they can tell you the grips and what a good length is and that's about it...
 
SLA said:
I'm 6'3. I find its probably a slight advantage being tall as your high release point really accentuates the dip and bounce you can get on the ball.

Plus long levers and big strong fingers = more revs.

I think the reason you see very few tall spinners is less to do with it being a disadvantage as a spinner and more to do with young bowlers being pushed into pace bowling by coaches because of their height. As a tall left arm bowler I was always encouraged to forget the spin and bowl pace instead, but I held my guns and switched permanently to spin when I was 15 and never regretted it for a second.
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Yeah I'd imagine almost every kid these days that plays cricket and is taller than average is going to be steered towards seam bowling and as far as coaching is concerned, if my clubs anyhthing to go by, spin coaching is pretty non existent. I know my younger son Joe was really enthusiastic about Leg Spinning a few years back, but as soon as he joined his club - one of the first things they did was tell him to change his grip and bowl seam up! I intervened and said "He's a spinner" and he went on to take 3 wickets in the game the bloke was coaching.
 
Thanks for your advice everyone! I asked my coach the same question and he said that I should look at the weather conditions at the start of the match, since I'm able to bowl both. Since I enjoy spinning the most right now I'll probably continue with spin bowling.
 
someblokecalleddave said:
Yeah I'd imagine almost every kid these days that plays cricket and is taller than average is going to be steered towards seam bowling and as far as coaching is concerned, if my clubs anyhthing to go by, spin coaching is pretty non existent. I know my younger son Joe was really enthusiastic about Leg Spinning a few years back, but as soon as he joined his club - one of the first things they did was tell him to change his grip and bowl seam up! I intervened and said "He's a spinner" and he went on to take 3 wickets in the game the bloke was coaching.
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Ouch, what happened to your son? Hope he'll recover soon!
 
Height didn't seem to worry Anil Kumble (1.88m) & Bill O'Reilly (1.88m) plus Daniel Vettori (1.91m) seems to do OK despite his 'affliction'.

I think the key for a tall spinner is to make sure you have a weapon that can land on a good length and hit the stumps on a bouncy pitch, this means a back spinning delivery for a tall legspinner (flipper etc.) and a good undercutter for an offspinner. But as you're only 15 I suggest you don't worry about this yet, just work on the standard legspin deliveries and keep in mind that a backspinning delivery will be needed as you get taller and compete at a higher level.
 
Looking at the weather conditions and deciding whether or not you are going to bowl spin or pace is O.K advice for a finger spinner maybe... but as a wrist spinner i think that you are better off making a decision as to whether or not you want to bowl spin... and if you do... focus on that alone. It is far too hard an art to master by just bowling it 'part time' and you will improve faster by learning to bowl in different conditions.
As for your height, you are never too tall to bowl spin, you may just have to look at different ways of getting wickets to the traditional spin bowler of shorter stature. Your height as a spinner would be fairly unique, particularly at club cricket level, so many batsman wouldn't be used to the kind of deliveries you would be bowling (higher release, more bounce) so use it to your advantage and don't worry about it being a hindrance.
 
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