Wrist Spin Bowling (part Five)

[Cleanprophet]

Have a look at this http://www.wristspinbowling.com/accuracy-drills-spin-bowling.html I bowl really slow so have had to work on my accuracy a lot.

I watched some of the women's WC and India had this tiny legspinner called Poonam. She bowled very, very slow (in the 30mph-40mph range and usually around halfway). She had to bowl very full and she did. But they did look like nice big tasty pies to me.

 

[boogiespinner]

Graham Swann was being interviewed with Phil Tufnell on Test Match Special today. His advice to young spinners - just practise spinning and turning the ball as big as possible, don't worry about control, it will come later, and ignore all the coaches who say you have to get the ball in the right areas.

 

[SLA]

Graham Swann was being interviewed with Phil Tufnell on Test Match Special today. His advice to young spinners - just practise spinning and turning the ball as big as possible, don't worry about control, it will come later, and ignore all the coaches who say you have to get the ball in the right areas.

You're knocking down a strawman. I don't know anyone who discourages 12 year olds from trying to bowl fast or spin the ball hard. If anything, coaches get carried away in the other direction and constantly try to produce the next Shane Warne or Brett Lee.

If you're 12 years old, practice spinning the ball hard at a good pace, and don't worry about accuracy, because other 12 year olds are unlikely to cart you for 6 just because you drop one a bit short. Even if they do, who cares? You're not going to get dropped, its U12s cricket. You can work on your accuracy once you've got a consistent, established bowling action.


Of course, this advice no longer applies once you are no longer a 12 year old.

 

[boogiespinner]

Of course, this advice no longer applies once you are no longer a 12 year old.

Well I am taking it age 45!

 

[SLA]

Well I am taking it age 45!

Its a matter of personal priorities. If you're mostly interested in developing some party tricks to show off down the nets, then focus on working on 20 different variations, with massive spin, and make sure to bowl them short enough that we all get a chance to see how far they turn before the batsman rudely hits them into a nearby field.

On the other hand, if you're interested in become a valuable and valued member of an amateur cricket team, able to bowl at, and dismiss, competent amateur batsmen, so that you can come on here and tell us all about your series of brilliant 5-fers that won your team the league trophy, then you need to concentrate on consistently bowling the ball full and at a reasonable pace, with just enough spin to beat the edge.


I was given the same "turning the ball as big as possible, don't worry about control" when I was 10 years old, and it was completely appropriate for about 3 years, but actually, I listened to it for too long, and was still trying to turn the ball like Shane Warne and bowl 6 different variations an over when I was 17.

I only really turned into a decent spinner in my 20s, when I dropped most of my variations and FINALLY figured out that bowling a little quicker and a little fuller was more likely to get a wicket than a massive spinning slow long hop.

Since then I've taken 500+ league wickets at an average of around 15.

 

[boogiespinner]

Yes there is maybe a fair point there, it is the pursuit of the art that motivates me rather than expedience.

 

[boogiespinner]

But if someone wanted an easy route to being an acceptable bowler at amateur standard, I'd suggest steering clear of legspin altogether rather than watering it down.

 

[SLA]

But if someone wanted an easy route to being an acceptable bowler at amateur standard, I'd suggest steering clear of legspin altogether rather than watering it down.

Why? Leg spin is really not that hard. Most kids pick it up far easier than finger spin, it's far easier to get dip and drift, and googlies are easier than doosras. You just have to bowl full and not too slow and batsmen will struggle.

 

[Neville Young]

Yes there is maybe a fair point there, it is the pursuit of the art that motivates me rather than expedience.

Wouldn't High Art be, big spin and landing it on the spot?

 

[SLA]

Yes there is maybe a fair point there, it is the pursuit of the art that motivates me rather than expedience.

Is the "art" of spin bowling not the ability to out-think and dismiss batsmen by spinning the ball? If you're not actually interested in the bowling aspect of spin-bowling, why not just play with a yoyo or something?

 

[boogiespinner]

For me, there is really no substitute for making the ball go around in circles as much as possible S SLA , which I suspect is exactly how our further discussion on this matter is likely to proceed.

 

[boogiespinner]

And of course, I'm not going to bowl England to an Ashes success in 2019 with a yo-yo

 

[AngryRanga]

What is the most overs I should bowl a day, given that I am practising every day, if I would like avoid having 3 shoulder reco's in my lifetime?

 

[Neville Young]

What is the most overs I should bowl a day, given that I am practising every day, if I would like avoid having 3 shoulder reco's in my lifetime?

How many overs are you bowling in practice each day?

 

[SLA]

What is the most overs I should bowl a day, given that I am practising every day, if I would like avoid having 3 shoulder reco's in my lifetime?

When I was a kid (9-13), I used to practice for hours on end, every day in the summer holidays. 50% batting (throwing a golf ball against a wall) and 50% bowling at the stumps. I'd bowl 6 balls, sprint to collect them, sprint back, and repeat. Even though I was barefoot, I wore a series of footprints into my dad's lawn. I probably bowled 100-200 balls a day. I don't remember ever getting an injury.

Between 14 and 18 I played 4 games a week, over which I'd probably bowl 20 or so overs, and had 4 3-hour net sessions, during which I would bowl continuously for 2 hours.

As recently as a few years ago I was playing 3-4 games a week.

 

[AngryRanga]

How many overs are you bowling in practice each day?

15 overs a day on my own, added onto whatever I do at other net sessions 3 or 4 times a week.

 

[SLA]

15 overs a day on my own, added onto whatever I do at other net sessions 3 or 4 times a week.

That sounds ok. If you get any pain or soreness, stop for a few days.

In terms of development, bowling by yourself is useful if no-one is around as you can experiment freely, nets are ~ok, but nothing comes close to the rhythm and feedback of actually bowling in matches. The more you bowl in matches, the better you get as a match bowler.

*In addition, you want to practice on proper pitches as much as possible. Practicing on your lawn or backyard, the ball could do anything and you have no idea whether it was something you did or whether it just hit a mole hill. Plastic net surfaces often bounce excessively and encourage you to bowl too short.

 

[boogiespinner]

I believe that vast amounts of practice are possible if your technique is good and you practice at sub-maximal effort. I would go by how you feel, if it feels good to start with and still feels good when you stop and then wake up the next day, there's probably nothing to worry about.

Be careful though of practicing through pain or discomfort.

 

[Darth Spin]

What is the most overs I should bowl a day, given that I am practising every day, if I would like avoid having 3 shoulder reco's in my lifetime?

I'm in my 40s and practice for about 2 hours per day, four or five days per week. I probably bowl about 20-30 overs in a typical session, sometimes more. I have a bag of 30 balls to assist with this. My run up is also quite short and is of the slow walk-in kind.

 

[Neville Young]

15 overs a day on my own, added onto whatever I do at other net sessions 3 or 4 times a week.

I guess the other question I should have asked is, how many, if any shoulder reconstructions have you had so far.
And going further, how long have you been playing?