Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Three)

[GoldenArm]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Three)

Whoa check this out - Top-Spinner kept this a bit quiet or did I miss it being promoted first time round - MCC Coaching Manual 1952 Leg Spin Section pictures by TopSpinCricket - Photobucket if you can't link it from there - check it out in his blog - The Top-Spinner: Rediscovery & Regrets; A Cricketing Legacy it's at the end there's a very discreet link.

I thought nobody was that fussed about it! now there's an interest i'll stick up the off spin bit tomorrow. Love the picture of Mailey, i've just ordered a copy of 10 for 66 and all that off ebay, can't wait to read it. i'm currently in the process of having the 1994 MCC coaching video tranferred to DVD, should be back by the end of next week and then i'll upload the different sections. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by its depth. it consists of Tony Lewis talking at length face to face with the person, interspersed with them coaching a young pro in the nursery. Just a few examples of the gems hidden within it: Batting by Viv Richards! Off-spin by Ray Illingworth and most surprising of all is in the Leg Spin section by Richie Benaud, an actual physical demonstration of the flipper! not the slider which he bowled but the flipper. random!

 

[someblokecalleddave]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Three)

Nightmare bowling again, I'm a bit disillusioned at the minute,not sure what to do. I reckon I'm definitely a 3rd team or Vet's team bowler, because again I was just hit to the 4 corners of the county let alone the pitch! I also reckon that the teams I've played in have been massively mis-matched and again this happened again today. We were supposed to be playing a similar team - a few old blokes, a bunch of under 16's and some new players. Turns out that they were putting out two teams a strong team made up of 1st team players and one that matched ours and one of the fixtures was cancelled. So guess which team got to play us? Yeah you guessed it - the first team players which included an oversees player (An Aussie). Their team were all blokes between the age of 20 and 30 with one young bloke who was about 16 and one bloke who was carrying a bit of weight but was still good 2nd team opening bowler and No.3 batsman (Ex Grays player - my team). I dropped two dollys off of one their better batsmen - one a ball that went straight up and one that looped in the air in a nice gentle arc to me at Mid on, both bounced out of my hand. I joked it'd be third time lucky and then fielding at backward of Square leg with their reputed best batsman settled and looking to take us to pieces at about 210 for 3 off 28 overs one of our 13 year olds bowled a good ball and he smacked it straight at me my face, with no time to think about it caught it perfectly with the ball going God knows how fast. No wickets for me and just being hit for sixes and fours requiring fielders about 30' tall on the boundary to have any chance of catching them. Gutted! Back to the drawing board I suppose as my bowing is just awful in the games.

As an indication of how good these blokes were one of them who I know (The bloke I dropped twice) was telling me how the ball was spinning - he could see when I was bowling the Flippers and which way the ball was spinning - that's never happened before.

 

[shrek]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Three)

Nightmare bowling again, I'm a bit disillusioned at the minute,not sure what to do. I reckon I'm definitely a 3rd team or Vet's team bowler, because again I was just hit to the 4 corners of the county let alone the pitch! I also reckon that the teams I've played in have been massively mis-matched and again this happened again today. We were supposed to be playing a similar team - a few old blokes, a bunch of under 16's and some new players. Turns out that they were putting out two teams a strong team made up of 1st team players and one that matched ours and one of the fixtures was cancelled. So guess which team got to play us? Yeah you guessed it - the first team players which included an oversees player (An Aussie). Their team were all blokes between the age of 20 and 30 with one young bloke who was about 16 and one bloke who was carrying a bit of weight but was still good 2nd team opening bowler and No.3 batsman (Ex Grays player - my team). I dropped two dollys off of one their better batsmen - one a ball that went straight up and one that looped in the air in a nice gentle arc to me at Mid on, both bounced out of my hand. I joked it'd be third time lucky and then fielding at backward of Square leg with their reputed best batsman settled and looking to take us to pieces at about 210 for 3 off 28 overs one of our 13 year olds bowled a good ball and he smacked it straight at me my face, with no time to think about it caught it perfectly with the ball going God knows how fast. No wickets for me and just being hit for sixes and fours requiring fielders about 30' tall on the boundary to have any chance of catching them. Gutted! Back to the drawing board I suppose as my bowing is just awful in the games.

As an indication of how good these blokes were one of them who I know (The bloke I dropped twice) was telling me how the ball was spinning - he could see when I was bowling the Flippers and which way the ball was spinning - that's never happened before.

Yeah it happens, when I'm well set, I can see the direction of rotations on the ball and the seam. I have to concentrate very well to do that. It happened today, when I was facing a good offspinner, (although I would say he is a chucker, he's got the most wickets in the league) I could identify the topspinner, the offspinner all in the air.

Unfortunate that we still lost the game - chasing 228 in 40 overs, and folded at 210 in 39.1. we dropped 9 catches in all- which explains why they scored that much in the first place. And for the first time that I remember, I declined captain's offer to bowl. Because a leftie was batting on 50+ and smacking the offspinners over the boundary- I thought feeding him my inconsistent leg spin might do more harm to the team and suggested we bowl another guy (turned out to be right choice as he created two chances off the leftie in that over- but guess what! both were put down!! )
By then the moment had passed and I didnt get to bowl the entire game - oh well, I plan to work a lot more in the nets to get my consistency right before demanding an over in the match.

Oh btw, I think I know what your problem might be with respect to catching. Looks like you go hard at the ball when you are taking a catch. Thats why the hard and fast catches stick- but dollies just pop out. Try to keep wrists very supple and without any tension when you go for a catch. It won't pop out then.

 

[someblokecalleddave]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Three)

And for the first time that I remember, I declined captain's offer to bowl. Because a leftie was batting on 50+ and smacking the offspinners over the boundary- I thought feeding him my inconsistent leg spin might do more harm to the team and suggested we bowl another guy (turned out to be right choice as he created two chances off the leftie in that over- but guess what! both were put down!! )
By then the moment had passed and I didnt get to bowl the entire game - oh well, I plan to work a lot more in the nets to get my consistency right before demanding an over in the match.
.

Yeah this is how I'm feeling - not sure whether I want to play this Sunday coming and was quite happy with the prospect of not playing yesterday and only did so because someone called me and asked me to play for another team.

 

[Jim2109]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Three)

my weekend was no better. 5-0-36-0 were my figures, of which at least 30 were gifted to the batsmen with full tosses, mostly down the leg side, and a few drag downs well outside off stump. it was the worst ive bowled this season in a match by far. i didnt go for many wides (just the 1 i think), but the batsmen were just able to hit too many easy runs off the full tosses and drag downs. i had my line fairly well controlled, but just couldnt find a length consistently.

our team was massively mis-matched. i think it was a struggle to cobble 11 together, i know that i was only called up last minute because they couldnt get any more players, which is a little disconcerting when there were a couple of under 13 players, and 4 under 15's. there were only 5 adults i think. the other team also had a lot of youngsters as well as a couple of much older guys. but their number 3 batsmen was a first XI player that couldnt play on the saturday, and they had 2 top seam bowlers who i think had been out injured and were just coming back or something.

so we fielded first, took an early wicket, then the top batsman came in at number 3 and he ended up staying in for about 28 overs out of 35, and got well past 100 before getting bowled near the end. they had a kid who opened and got past 50. i came on to bowl 2nd change and got to set my own field, but both batsmen were well set. and it didnt help that one of the kids bowling off spin at the other end was even less consistent than me and serving up boundaries on a plate, so they very quickly got their eyes in against spin and stood no chance because there was zero pressure at either end.

on the upside, i bowled one delivery that was absolutely world class. i always slow my bowling down in matches and it wasnt working, so i tried an effort ball. i got it to absolutely rip, pitched on middle and leg with a ton of drift, and turned huge to well outside off. and it was at a very high pace, definitely up around the 50mph mark, faster than some of our young seamers were bowling!! the no.3 batsman didnt even have time to get his bat near it, he was just flummoxed. but i couldnt produce that kind of standard with any consistency. just the odd decent ball here and there.

the other teams captain was umpiring at my end, and at the end of the game he was full of praise for my bowling. he seemed very impressed by the drift and turn, i was less impressed with myself lol. the other team had a couple of very sharp young leggies themselves, so i guess the praise was of some merit.

they ended up 230'ish for 4 off of 35 overs. to give an idea of how mis-matched we were, i batted at number 3. the captain obviously hasnt seen my batting on youtube

we lost a wicket in about the 3rd over, so out i went. i felt quite confident, facing top class seam bowling instead of dibbly dobbly sh*t at the tail end, i cant stand batting against slow loopy bowlers because it just infuriates me that i cant smash them out of the ground and i lose patience. i got bat on ball 2nd delivery with a textbook forward defense, and i felt good. then next over i played and missed at one outside off stump. next delivery was on a good length, which i read, on middle stump, which i read, and muppet that i am i tried to slog across the line like a moron. bowled for a 4 ball duck, and the irony is that its probably the most confident ive ever felt in the middle. i was furious because i reckon i could have had a really good innings had i played myself in properly.

oh well, heres to hoping i get another go next weekend. i need to do some solo practice during the week, i havent done much lately and its starting to show. you can only get by on match practice alone for so long before you lose touch.

 

[someblokecalleddave]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Three)

Don't diss the little kids Jim - some of em are exceptionally good. The catch I took at Square leg yesterday from the reputedly best batsman who was going to mulller us - came off of a 13 year olds bowling and up till that point was on 3-0-5-0 so was going for less than 2 an over and causing both batsmen problems and he ended up taking both their wickets including the player that had passed a 100 runs that no-one else had been able to worry.

 

[Jim2109]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Three)

im certainly not dis-respecting the kids, certainly none of them played badly. one of the best batting performances came from a 12 year old batting at number 11. i was umpiring and he played a young leg spinner exceptionally well.

in the field and bowling i dont think the kids struggle too much. but it really tells in the batting. when youve got an opening partnership with a combined age that is barely as old as me, against some top quality seam bowling, its rarely going to end well. there was just no-one in the side who was ever likely to score runs or hang around for more than a few overs. and so it proved, all out for 64 off about 24 overs. when we were about 5 down after 6 or 7 overs their seamers all started bowling spin lol. but i think it made it worse, because they werent proper spinners, so they were looping it up and it just made it impossible for anyone to hit runs.

ultimately sunday cricket is about everyone having a bit of fun, and i think thats great, it takes the pressure off, whilst saturday league cricket can get super competitive. but at the same time, less pressure makes it a million times harder as a bowler. you dont find batsmen going into their shell fearful of their place in the side next week, they just go after you knowing that no bad can come from it.

its why i enjoy bowling in T20 matches. the batsmen are either scared stiff, or overly aggressive. either way they are easy targets if you bowl consistently.

 

[macca]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Three)

my weekend was no better........

To have the opposition captain compliment your bowling means you probably went better than you thought. Unless he was joking!

Those figures are exactly the same as my sons worst from last season. The funny thing was the coach came up and said how well he bowled.

 

[Jim2109]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Three)

To have the opposition captain compliment your bowling means you probably went better than you thought. Unless he was joking!

Those figures are exactly the same as my sons worst from last season. The funny thing was the coach came up and said how well he bowled.

i guess its one of those things as a bowler. some days you can bowl at your best, but the batsman is just better. it happened to Shane Warne enough times. Ashes 2005, final test, Kevin Pietersen hit 150+ and dispatched Warne all around the ground. Warnes bowling was as good as ever, Pietersens batting was just better. Warne knew it, and chased Pietersen off the field to shake his hand when he eventually got out.

in that situation id feel content, if i know ive performed to my best but ive still been outclassed then i can have nothing but respect for the batsmen. what bothers me is when i know ive not performed at 100%. even if i had taken 5 wickets, id still have been disappointed knowing that i might have had 6 if i had controlled my bowling better. the opposition captain was completely sincere in his praise, he was making comments about my bowling whilst he was umpiring in the middle! things like "youre really getting the ball to turn a lot", etc. my responses were always something like "yeh but im not finding any consistency today". how to take praise and turn it into a negative.

a depressing day in the life of an obsessive-compulsive perfectionist

 

[macca]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Three)

i guess its one of those things as a bowler. some days you can bowl at your best, but the batsman is just better. it happened to Shane Warne enough times. Ashes 2005, final test, Kevin Pietersen hit 150+ and dispatched Warne all around the ground. Warnes bowling was as good as ever, Pietersens batting was just better. Warne knew it, and chased Pietersen off the field to shake his hand when he eventually got out.

in that situation id feel content, if i know ive performed to my best but ive still been outclassed then i can have nothing but respect for the batsmen. what bothers me is when i know ive not performed at 100%. even if i had taken 5 wickets, id still have been disappointed knowing that i might have had 6 if i had controlled my bowling better. the opposition captain was completely sincere in his praise, he was making comments about my bowling whilst he was umpiring in the middle! things like "youre really getting the ball to turn a lot", etc. my responses were always something like "yeh but im not finding any consistency today". how to take praise and turn it into a negative.

a depressing day in the life of an obsessive-compulsive perfectionist

Yeah the whole legspin thing means you are going to take some stick from good batsmen. That is what makes it entertaining to watch but when you are in the middle of the action and it is you being dispatched it is hard to see anything entertaining about it eh?

Still those positive comments from captain/umpire are encouraging. Might get a game with them? If you can bowl the balls they praised more often, say 4 or 5 of them an over, then you would be set.

 

[Jim2109]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Three)

i had a blinder tonight in a midweek T20 game. its ridiculous how i can see-saw from awful one day to my best ever performance so far a few days later. ive observed that my bowling is slower in matches, for whatever reason, and one of the best aspects of my bowling in nets is how fast i bowl whilst still getting loads of turn, plus the added drift, bounce, etc. so tonight i decided to make a conscious effort to bowl faster. the first 2 balls were looseners, then from nowhere on the 3rd ball i decided to run in for the last 3 steps rather than walk. ive never really practiced this before, never thought of trying it properly until tonight, and it just came really naturally!

so i only got 2 overs, but i bowled at an express pace for a leg spinner the whole time. the ball was still turning nicely with more drift and bounce than i have been getting lately.

my final figures were 2-0-18-1 which dont look that impressive on paper. to be honest, they arent that impressive really, i leaked a few boundaries. but i bowled no extras, and only bowled 1 bad ball (full toss outside off stump to a leftie, dispatched for 4), and one half bad ball which wasnt bad at all, i just knew i couldnt bowl there - i pitched on the lefties off stump and it turned big, so he just tickled it on its way past his pads for a 4 at fine leg. aside from that a righty at the other end hit a really good 4 off me from a perfectly good ball (he was swinging a bit), and then just singles and 2's, including a really sloppy overthrow from my mate in the field.

i almost found the edge a few times, almost had a stumping, almost had a bowled. lots of close balls. i got to the last ball of my 2nd over, knowing that there were no overs left for me after that as i was bowling at the death. i asked the umpire how many to come, he said 1, so i replied "this is the wicket ball then, bowled". he just looked at me, probably thinking arrogant tw*t.

i knew EXACTLY what the batsman was going to do, so this was truly a planned delivery, and a planned wicket. the first i have really taken. i wanted to land the ball fuller than i had previously in that over, outside his leg stump, fast with drift, and for it to turn back in and hit the top of middle stump. i expected him to come down the pitch a couple of strides and open himself up for a slog through mid wicket.

so i bowled the ball, it started on leg and drifted outside by about 8". batsman advanced and opened his stance, got his front leg out of the way and took a swing. but the ball dipped on him whilst drifting, pitched outside leg stump, and turned back through the gate. it didnt turn as much as i wanted it to, and only hit leg stump about 3/4 way up. but i was extremely happy with that one! my best ever wicket

for some reason the rest of the team didnt really appreciate how good a delivery it was. i guess they knew we had the game as good as won anyway. but it was a really top class delivery, even if i do say so myself.

it doesnt look like im getting a game at the weekend again though. unless i get a last minute call.

 

[someblokecalleddave]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Three)

Good to hear you're doing okay - I'm at an all time low at the moment spent 3/4 trying to bowl big leg breaks and didn't get anywhere and then out of desperation spent 3/4 of an hour bowling flippers. They looked good but I don't know how they'd go in a match, I might try it if I get a call up - maybe vary the pace and flight and bowl the 3 that I can do. The off-spinning one was coming out well and was spinning both ways for some reason, but the accuracy was good and all three are potentially quite fast balls with the option of slow and flighty and I was getting that ludicrous late swing I mentioned last year with the back-spinner and top spinner. Maybe I'll try it - I can't imagine it'll be any worse than the crap I've been serving up so far this season!

 

[shrek]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Three)

Good to hear you're doing okay - I'm at an all time low at the moment spent 3/4 trying to bowl big leg breaks and didn't get anywhere and then out of desperation spent 3/4 of an hour bowling flippers. They looked good but I don't know how they'd go in a match, I might try it if I get a call up - maybe vary the pace and flight and bowl the 3 that I can do. The off-spinning one was coming out well and was spinning both ways for some reason, but the accuracy was good and all three are potentially quite fast balls with the option of slow and flighty and I was getting that ludicrous late swing I mentioned last year with the back-spinner and top spinner. Maybe I'll try it - I can't imagine it'll be any worse than the crap I've been serving up so far this season!

In my last session I bowled with a slightly different wrist flick compared to what I had been doing so far. Until now, my wrist action could be described as being closest to round the loop flick that dave has up on his videos. It almost always resulted in me bowling topspinners - from the time I remember I hit growth spurt back when I was 13.

In the last session, I changed it to a flick which ends up like a push with the base of the palm. Starting from wrist bent 90 deg inwards and ending up with a 90 degree flick to bring it to position where palm ends up in line with the forearm and the forearm is facing away from me. Helped me get the most consistent spin I can ever remember. Looking at that amount of turn I got with this action, I'm very excited and can't wait for my next session which should be on friday.

More so, because I now know two different wrist actions for me to bowl the leg break and the top spinner- this way there'd be no confusion of having to control the amount I flick my wrist so as to not end up further in the loop than intended. - you know the topspinner syndrome, googly syndrome and all that.

However, I still have a problem that I haven't sorted out yet. Stand start bowling is great - better control on line, length and oodles of spin. But, when I take the run up, line and length go for a toss, spin becomes inconsistent etc.
I've narrowed it down to two things - 1) my skip/leap just before hte bowling stride which results in 2) me being square on - front foot facing square leg rather than side on - front foot facing down the wicket.

As a first cut solution, i've decided to abandon the jump-skip in my delivery stride and simply walk in a couple of steps increasing pace as I go along. Will keep you posted on how it goes. Once I achieve some semblance of a consistency, I will try to get a videocam.

 

[macca]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Three)

As a first cut solution, i've decided to abandon the jump-skip in my delivery stride and simply walk in a couple of steps increasing pace as I go along. Will keep you posted on how it goes. Once I achieve some semblance of a consistency, I will try to get a videocam.

That might work, could take a little bit to settle in to new style but probably worth it if it gets you more side on. Isolate the run up from kick off to the point you want to arrive in the side on posture with back foot parallel to crease. You can do it with out bowling the ball. There will be a natural gathering tempo to suit you.

I know i dont need to tell you that because you have probably been playing for years but when you change your basic run up you have to get back to fundamentals again.

Which foot are you starting your run up on?

 

[shrek]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Three)

That might work, could take a little bit to settle in to new style but probably worth it if it gets you more side on. Isolate the run up from kick off to the point you want to arrive in the side on posture with back foot parallel to crease. You can do it with out bowling the ball. There will be a natural gathering tempo to suit you.

I know i dont need to tell you that because you have probably been playing for years but when you change your basic run up you have to get back to fundamentals again.

Which foot are you starting your run up on?

Starting my run up with push off from left foot- So, I always counted odd number of steps from the bowling crease to top of run up. I don't understand how it makes a difference. Could you please explain ?

I've been playing for years, but have taken up bowling after a long break. Batting has been my vocation mostly and as a good slip fielder, I could adapt to being a wk fairly well. But as they say, once a leggie always a leggie, had to come back to this.

 

[macca]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Three)

Starting my run up with push off from left foot- So, I always counted odd number of steps from the bowling crease to top of run up. I don't understand how it makes a difference. Could you please explain ?

If you had said right foot i would have said try your left foot. But not visa versa. That's presuming you are right handed?

Sometimes if someone kicks off with the same leg as their bowling arm they can get better balance by changing.

There was a legspinner from this area that was so nervous in his one and only test that he could not remember which foot he normally started off on!

 

[Jim2109]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Three)

after yet another week of being overlooked for selection, i got a surprise call yesterday morning asking if i was free as someone had dropped out of the Saturday 2nd XI league side. as always, i am the last port of call, and only get a look in when everyone else is busy. but i figured i might as well take the opportunity.

the weather was miserable, and the match was about 50 miles away, so i was fully expecting to drive over there and then end up driving home straight away because the match was cancelled. but fortunately (i think) the game went ahead, and we fielded first in the pouring rain, despite our captain winning the toss. that was a really stupid move.

so as with every game, the seamers bowled first. another really stupid move. the ball was soaking wet, the outfield was soaking wet, and we had a rookie wicket keeper behind the stumps. couple that with a very quick bowler and he went for about 40 runs in byes in his first spell!! so with the seamers at both ends for about the first 14 overs we went for about 100 runs.

a clever captain would have chosen to bat first. but having made the wrong call, he should have started with medium pace and controlling spin (we had one of each, in a medium pacer who is the clubs leading wicket taker so far this season, and his son who is a slow left armer who bowls controlled line and length all day long. but doesnt really take wickets).

by the time he took the seamers off and brought on the medium pacer and slow left armer the match was already getting away from us. he then proceeded to bowl the pair of them for the next 20 overs. during the first 17 overs they went for about 100 runs with no wickets. then at the ends of their spells they each picked up one wicket. but 20 overs for 120 runs with 2 wickets between them lost us the match.

i was getting increasingly more angry at not being given a bowl, as i should have been bowled first change really. and then once they started to build a strong partnership in the middle overs i should definitely have been brought on. the slow left armer only created 2 chances in his entire innings (10 overs). one got a wicket, and one was a catch that i dropped at cover.

when youve got a leg spinner in the side, it is absolutely ridiculous to then not use them when you are desperate for a wicket. wickets are what i do, im not economical, im not always consistent, but i ALWAYS get wickets.

the captain eventually took the medium pacer and slow left armer off, about 10 overs too late, and then put himself on at one end (fair enough), and then brought back the most expensive seamer at the other!! at this point i just stopped caring. the captain ended up clearing up the tail with about 4 wickets, whilst the other seamer took 1 (their number 10 i think, not exactly a challenge).

after the innings i got the obligatory apology for not bowling. the exact reason given was "sorry, but the opportunity just never materialised". it actually did, 40 times (thats how many overs it took to bowl them out). and when they were about 170-2 with a rock solid partnership building was literally the perfect opportunity to bowl a leggie.

so to summarise, i spent 4 hours stood in the rain, having dug the side out of a hole at the last minute by playing (given that there was literally no-one else available, i was already the last resort), and despite all the other bowlers getting smashed around i still didnt get to bowl.

and to top it all off, i got absolutely slaughtered for my fielding! granted, i dropped a catch (which came to me very fast at knee height and i just couldnt move my feet quickly enough. i got my hands on it but i had no room to move my arms so it popped out), and i misfielded probably 3 times with the ball getting through attempted long barriers. but in total, i probably cost the team 10-15 runs, so nothing major. i also did some excellent fielding work recovering balls in the deep. and there were about 5 or 6 other dropped catches from other fielders, as well as multiple misfields. the wicket keeper must have leaked at least 50 byes.

next time i get a phone call 2 hours before the game, at a ground an hours drive away, il tell them where to stick it. i cant play next weekend, so ive got 2 weeks to find a new club. im going to try and find one in the same league as my current club so i get to play against them this season. id love nothing more than to clean bowl the captain and tell him to f**k off back to the sheds.

call me a bad team player, but i couldnt help but laugh when we ended up all out for about 80 runs. i batted at number 11 (so i didnt even get a proper bat to compensate for the lack of bowling), hit a nice lofted cut shot for 2 runs first ball. then got out 2 balls later to a really unlucky delivery that swang in at me, and was going well over the stumps, but hit me in the thigh and ricocheted into the stumps. i needed to stay in for about 30 overs to hold out for a draw, so that was never going to happen. ive never lasted more than about 5 overs.

 

[GoldenArm]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Three)

after yet another week of being overlooked for selection, i got a surprise call yesterday morning asking if i was free as someone had dropped out of the Saturday 2nd XI league side. as always, i am the last port of call, and only get a look in when everyone else is busy. but i figured i might as well take the opportunity.

the weather was miserable, and the match was about 50 miles away, so i was fully expecting to drive over there and then end up driving home straight away because the match was cancelled. but fortunately (i think) the game went ahead, and we fielded first in the pouring rain, despite our captain winning the toss. that was a really stupid move.

so as with every game, the seamers bowled first. another really stupid move. the ball was soaking wet, the outfield was soaking wet, and we had a rookie wicket keeper behind the stumps. couple that with a very quick bowler and he went for about 40 runs in byes in his first spell!! so with the seamers at both ends for about the first 14 overs we went for about 100 runs.

a clever captain would have chosen to bat first. but having made the wrong call, he should have started with medium pace and controlling spin (we had one of each, in a medium pacer who is the clubs leading wicket taker so far this season, and his son who is a slow left armer who bowls controlled line and length all day long. but doesnt really take wickets).

by the time he took the seamers off and brought on the medium pacer and slow left armer the match was already getting away from us. he then proceeded to bowl the pair of them for the next 20 overs. during the first 17 overs they went for about 100 runs with no wickets. then at the ends of their spells they each picked up one wicket. but 20 overs for 120 runs with 2 wickets between them lost us the match.

i was getting increasingly more angry at not being given a bowl, as i should have been bowled first change really. and then once they started to build a strong partnership in the middle overs i should definitely have been brought on. the slow left armer only created 2 chances in his entire innings (10 overs). one got a wicket, and one was a catch that i dropped at cover.

when youve got a leg spinner in the side, it is absolutely ridiculous to then not use them when you are desperate for a wicket. wickets are what i do, im not economical, im not always consistent, but i ALWAYS get wickets.

the captain eventually took the medium pacer and slow left armer off, about 10 overs too late, and then put himself on at one end (fair enough), and then brought back the most expensive seamer at the other!! at this point i just stopped caring. the captain ended up clearing up the tail with about 4 wickets, whilst the other seamer took 1 (their number 10 i think, not exactly a challenge).

after the innings i got the obligatory apology for not bowling. the exact reason given was "sorry, but the opportunity just never materialised". it actually did, 40 times (thats how many overs it took to bowl them out). and when they were about 170-2 with a rock solid partnership building was literally the perfect opportunity to bowl a leggie.

so to summarise, i spent 4 hours stood in the rain, having dug the side out of a hole at the last minute by playing (given that there was literally no-one else available, i was already the last resort), and despite all the other bowlers getting smashed around i still didnt get to bowl.

and to top it all off, i got absolutely slaughtered for my fielding! granted, i dropped a catch (which came to me very fast at knee height and i just couldnt move my feet quickly enough. i got my hands on it but i had no room to move my arms so it popped out), and i misfielded probably 3 times with the ball getting through attempted long barriers. but in total, i probably cost the team 10-15 runs, so nothing major. i also did some excellent fielding work recovering balls in the deep. and there were about 5 or 6 other dropped catches from other fielders, as well as multiple misfields. the wicket keeper must have leaked at least 50 byes.

next time i get a phone call 2 hours before the game, at a ground an hours drive away, il tell them where to stick it. i cant play next weekend, so ive got 2 weeks to find a new club. im going to try and find one in the same league as my current club so i get to play against them this season. id love nothing more than to clean bowl the captain and tell him to f**k off back to the sheds.

call me a bad team player, but i couldnt help but laugh when we ended up all out for about 80 runs. i batted at number 11 (so i didnt even get a proper bat to compensate for the lack of bowling), hit a nice lofted cut shot for 2 runs first ball. then got out 2 balls later to a really unlucky delivery that swang in at me, and was going well over the stumps, but hit me in the thigh and ricocheted into the stumps. i needed to stay in for about 30 overs to hold out for a draw, so that was never going to happen. ive never lasted more than about 5 overs.

Totally understand your frustrations mate but even at the highest echelons of cricket, even if you're an amazing spin bowler (AKA Monty) if its perceived that you can't bat and you're a liability in the field you're basically not going to be treated with much respect. Captains and other players aren't going to be keen on you playing nor on giving you a bowl. you're a new player at the club obviously and you can't expect to just walk into an established team just because you can bowl some alright leg spin. Obviously there is the age old problem of captains not really understanding how to use their leg spinners effectively or fairly but playing for a team is so much more than just fancying your own bowling and then admonishing other bowlers for their incompetence (true as it may be). if you want to bowl get down the club as often as you can and help out, get to know everyone and become indispensible. You should love your club! not be laughing when they lose. And work insanely hard on your fielding at least, even if you're never going to be a great batsman if you start saving 10-15 runs instead of leaking them it'll make the world of difference, trust me. get fit and throw yourself around! also did you ever think to go and tell the skipper you wanted to bowl? a quiet, confident word might have brought an over your way...

 

[Jim2109]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Three)

Totally understand your frustrations mate but even at the highest echelons of cricket, even if you're an amazing spin bowler (AKA Monty) if its perceived that you can't bat and you're a liability in the field you're basically not going to be treated with much respect. Captains and other players aren't going to be keen on you playing nor on giving you a bowl. you're a new player at the club obviously and you can't expect to just walk into an established team just because you can bowl some alright leg spin. Obviously there is the age old problem of captains not really understanding how to use their leg spinners effectively or fairly but playing for a team is so much more than just fancying your own bowling and then admonishing other bowlers for their incompetence (true as it may be). if you want to bowl get down the club as often as you can and help out, get to know everyone and become indispensible. You should love your club! not be laughing when they lose. And work insanely hard on your fielding at least, even if you're never going to be a great batsman if you start saving 10-15 runs instead of leaking them it'll make the world of difference, trust me. get fit and throw yourself around! also did you ever think to go and tell the skipper you wanted to bowl? a quiet, confident word might have brought an over your way...

if we were playing test cricket, then fair enough, being a first rate fielder, being able to bat a bit, throwing yourself around in the field, being super fit, etc are all valid attributes in a player. ive got more important things to do in my life (such as work) that spend all of my time getting fit and improving my batting. this is club league cricket at the absolute lowest levels, its about having some fun on a saturday, and thats how everyone else views it (but that doesnt mean they arent highly competitive, as am i).

in terms of my fielding, i put in 100% effort. i didnt let a few runs go because i was lazy, im just not a good fieldsman! i gave it my best effort, and that is all anyone can do. if i was perfect then id be playing professionally, this is club cricket, people make mistakes. one of the guys asked me how long id been playing (less than a year) and said that i need to work on my fielding. i agreed, but made the very valid point that i show up for practice EVERY week, the majority of the time im the ONLY person there, and even when everyone shows up, there has never once been a fielding practice!! so how am i supposed to improve when the only practice i get is in matches, and i never get played? nobody had an answer to that.

also, id also like to point out that i was nowhere near the worse fielder. i was a scapegoat (as the outsider in the team), but nowhere near the worse. there were 2 old guys who physically cant field that well. sure theyve got an excuse, but if youre saying that fielding is the difference between playing or not then why are they playing ahead of younger guys? there were also plenty of the other younger guys who leaked more runs and dropped more catches than i did. and sure enough they all got criticised as well. the difference being that those guys got to bowl their overs.

also, in this situation, i was called up absolutely last minute (i didnt even have time to wash my kit which i hadnt expected to need after playing midweek), helped the team out of a bind (given the weather conditions and the fact i cancelled plans to be there, i could just as easily have said no and left them with only 10 men), and STILL didnt get a chance. im also the only person dedicated enough to be at training EVERY week pretty much without fail, i put in 100% all of the time (practice and matches). what more can i possibly do?!

i dont drink alcohol, so hanging out with a bunch of older guys getting drunk every weekend isnt my idea of fun. but then most of the youngsters dont participate in this either. however most of them have parents who do! its all about who is friends with the captain, and not who is best for the team. so its double standards (and at the same time a catch 22) for them to then overlook me based on my fielding and batting performances, since performances have pretty much zero influence on the other players selection. even if i play well, theres every chance il get overlooked for someone whos friends with the captains. and if i perform badly, well then it just gives them a valid excuse.

with regards my batting - im a bowler, who has only played cricket for 10 months, and who cant get any net practice when nobody else shows up for practice. im getting better all the time, and i take my batting fairly seriously (i was the most bothered about getting out of anyone in the side, most of whom simply didnt care). again, all i can give is 100% effort. im in the side for my bowling, which had i been given a chance im sure would have been much better.

i asked the captain for a bowl at the start of the match, as i always do. i dont like to push the issue too much because the captains ive played for tend to be quite touchy about being told what to do. so if you walk upto them and say "bowl me now", they are more likely just to overlook you completely. his response when i asked at the start was "well, youre not a batsman so youre only here for your bowling, so we will see how the match goes". i knew at that moment that the only way i was getting a bowl was if we had complete control and i would just get a couple of obligatory overs at the end.

leg spin was clearly the answer once the batsmen started to get themselves set. we needed to break the partnership, and the captain stuck with medium pace and slow left arm (the 2 most defensive bowling styles in existence). so that tells you everything you need to know about the club i play for (defensive, overly cautious, unwilling to attack). hence im moving elsewhere. ive got no chance of a fair shot where i am. the leg spinner who does get played every week always has to bowl to super defensive field settings. he gets all his wickets caught in the deep because he cant put any pressure on batsmen.

 

[GoldenArm]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Three)

if we were playing test cricket, then fair enough, being a first rate fielder, being able to bat a bit, throwing yourself around in the field, being super fit, etc are all valid attributes in a player. ive got more important things to do in my life (such as work) that spend all of my time getting fit and improving my batting. this is club league cricket at the absolute lowest levels, its about having some fun on a saturday, and thats how everyone else views it (but that doesnt mean they arent highly competitive, as am i).

that is, quite frankly, rubbish. you don't have to be first rate you don't have to be super fit. this is not professional levels we're talking about here. Go and watch some cricket in the league above the one you're in or perhaps even just a little higher. you will see that the teams doing well are the ones with players who are most willing to work hard. Dynamic fielding is usually a symptom of a good attitude. week in week out i see a pretty damn chunky bloke chuck himself around like a maniac, stopping everthing and shouting at younger, fitter lads for not doing better!

Cricket is a wonderfully inclusive sport and natural talent springs up in all sorts of places but the basics are the basics and they are inescapable from the top right down to the bottom.If you don't want to improve these key things you've not got much hope of impressing anyone even if you can bowl a top spinning, off breaking, back spinning flipper at 55 miles an hour. And surprise, surprise cricket is a highly sociable game! if you don't go and have a drink (even if its a coke) with the boys after you can't expect them to like you very much! And as for the old blokes playing, well how long have they played for the club I wonder? Every club has its hierarchy and its politics. you just have to learn what they are and work with it. Its not as simple as saying 'hello i want to play for your team, look at me i can bowl leg spin, put me in the team and respect me!'