The great thing about spin bowling, the thing that makes it unique and different from seam bowling, is the tactical and mental element. This is the bit that really fascinates players and gets them hooked. Intelligent spin bowling is like chess on grass.
Which I think is a good analogy: the fundamental and most interesting part of chess, as in spin bowling, is in learning to out-wit your opponent, predict his next move and set a trap. To practice this, you constantly need to practice this skill.
Often the posts I read on here sound like people are obsessing too much about the mechanics without thinking about the strategy. If you think successful spin bowlers are successful primarily because of their bowling actions, you've completely missed the point of what spin bowling is all about.
Beginners' drills like standing start drills and bowling at an empty set of stumps are fine for 12 year olds who are being introduced to the game, and are a useful 5 minute warm-up for adults, but its not a practice that is really going to improve your ability to dismiss batsmen in real games of cricket. Its the equivalent of a chess grand master practicing moving his pieces around on an empty board. You'd think he was an idiot, wouldn't you?
Think of your basic bowling skills as the equivalent of learning the different moves in chess: the stock ball in the pawn, the topspinner is the bishop, the backspinner is the knight, the quicker ball is the rook and the wrong'un is the queen, or whatever.... Learning how to move the different pieces is only the very beginning - the real skill is in watching what your opponent is doing, identifying a weakness, and then figuring out the combination of moves that will win you the contest.
How many of you actually practice the REAL skills of spin bowling? How many of you even think about it? Or are you all like the chess player moving a solitary knight around an empty board? 2 to the front, 1 to the side.... 2 to the front, 1 to the side...
Which I think is a good analogy: the fundamental and most interesting part of chess, as in spin bowling, is in learning to out-wit your opponent, predict his next move and set a trap. To practice this, you constantly need to practice this skill.
Often the posts I read on here sound like people are obsessing too much about the mechanics without thinking about the strategy. If you think successful spin bowlers are successful primarily because of their bowling actions, you've completely missed the point of what spin bowling is all about.
Beginners' drills like standing start drills and bowling at an empty set of stumps are fine for 12 year olds who are being introduced to the game, and are a useful 5 minute warm-up for adults, but its not a practice that is really going to improve your ability to dismiss batsmen in real games of cricket. Its the equivalent of a chess grand master practicing moving his pieces around on an empty board. You'd think he was an idiot, wouldn't you?
Think of your basic bowling skills as the equivalent of learning the different moves in chess: the stock ball in the pawn, the topspinner is the bishop, the backspinner is the knight, the quicker ball is the rook and the wrong'un is the queen, or whatever.... Learning how to move the different pieces is only the very beginning - the real skill is in watching what your opponent is doing, identifying a weakness, and then figuring out the combination of moves that will win you the contest.
How many of you actually practice the REAL skills of spin bowling? How many of you even think about it? Or are you all like the chess player moving a solitary knight around an empty board? 2 to the front, 1 to the side.... 2 to the front, 1 to the side...
