Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Three)

[someblokecalleddave]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Three)

My sons' team got beaten again yesterday. He was 13 th man but still got to bowl 2 overs. He went for 3 singles, and went close to getting 2 wickets. One catch popped up to short leg off a lefthander and was nearly taken. I was really pleased with how he went though. He was bowling from the wrong end, I could see him looping the ball nicely and getting it to drop.

Shane Warne presented Steve Smith with his Aus twenty20 cap on Friday night and got pretty excited in the commentary box when smithy came on to bowl. At one stage Warne goes " bowl him a flipper, youv'e got a good one". Warne has tried to avoid pumping up smiths tyres too much and not pressure the kid, but warne admitted he was psyched up watching the new spinner. A few people have commented on how smith's bowling has improved since his coaching sessions with warne. He has slowed down his run up and is rotating his arm up and over properly now. Smith shapes the ball a lot like Warne.

Smith got the lefthander caught at slip by sliding an arm ball out of the front of his hand past him after some big loopy legspinners. The righthander was stumped and the replay showed Smith bowled that delivery over a foot further back than his normal delivery.

Is the Warne interaction incidental/voluntary or is this a plan to get him ready for something big some day?

 

[someblokecalleddave]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Three)

Quite a few deliveries from Mishra bowling against S Africa here. He did not take a wicket but worth a viewing South Africa vs India 1st Test Highlights Day 1 Nagpur 2010 | Cricket Highlights Video

I love this website, it's my access point for cricket. I had a look - this bloke Mishra's bowling approach is pretty much the same as mine. He bowled a lot of short balls in a couple overs in the afternoon and one or two down the legside with little turn off the wicket that Kallis put away easily. But good to see a leggie that bowls the same line and length as me, love seeing it missing the edge of the bat like that again and again - shame he didn't get a couple of wickets.

 

[someblokecalleddave]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Three)

I've just had this message via my youtube account from a bloke called Hughesy....

G'day mate,

Just got back from an exhibition match today, I've been in the nets every day since contacting you and I feel like I'm making progress, the very first ball I bowled today was probably the single greatest Leg Break I have ever bowled, I kid you not I threw in the karate chop motion and timed the wrist flick perfectly, I knew the second it came out of my hand it was going to be good, it pitched right on Leg Stump before turning no less than 50 degrees, outside edge straight to slip. Ended with 4/34 off 8 overs, for the first time in years I felt the batsmans fear as I stepped up to the crease, to be honest every other Leg Break was very average.

I threw maybe 3 Leg Breaks an over varying from 10 - 15/20 degree turns, but that first ball gave me the confidence I haven't had in years and I think that really reflected on to the opposing side, my first 3 wickets were within 2 overs, first ball, 4th ball and 10th. Slip catch, mid on catch and a wicket with the inside edge off a wrong'un, after that it almost seemed that no matter where I pitched the ball no one would challenge me.

Also another interesting development, I was feeling quite confident so I thought I'd try out the flipper, which to my knowledge I can't do, this is how my 4th wicket came to be, in my 7th over I threw a flipper and it broke like a Leggie, is that normal?

Thank you again, so much for all your help.

 

[macca]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Three)

Is the Warne interaction incidental/voluntary or is this a plan to get him ready for something big some day?

Warnes been doing work with most of the spinners and some coaches at the higher levels. He did some stuff with Kaneria as well.

Krezja said the stuff warne showed him was so simple and obvious Krezja wondered why he never thought of it himself. Hauritz and Smith have definately improved since warne gave them some tips.

 

[macca]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Three)

I've just had this message via my youtube account from a bloke called Hughesy....

G'day mate,

Just got back from an exhibition match today, I've been in the nets every day since contacting you and I feel like I'm making progress, the very first ball I bowled today was probably the single greatest Leg Break I have ever bowled, I kid you not I threw in the karate chop motion and timed the wrist flick perfectly, I knew the second it came out of my hand it was going to be good, it pitched right on Leg Stump before turning no less than 50 degrees, outside edge straight to slip. Ended with 4/34 off 8 overs, for the first time in years I felt the batsmans fear as I stepped up to the crease, to be honest every other Leg Break was very average.

I threw maybe 3 Leg Breaks an over varying from 10 - 15/20 degree turns, but that first ball gave me the confidence I haven't had in years and I think that really reflected on to the opposing side, my first 3 wickets were within 2 overs, first ball, 4th ball and 10th. Slip catch, mid on catch and a wicket with the inside edge off a wrong'un, after that it almost seemed that no matter where I pitched the ball no one would challenge me.

Also another interesting development, I was feeling quite confident so I thought I'd try out the flipper, which to my knowledge I can't do, this is how my 4th wicket came to be, in my 7th over I threw a flipper and it broke like a Leggie, is that normal?

Thank you again, so much for all your help.

Hughsey sounds like one of those blokes whose been bowling leggies for years but without much theory. Once he got the notion of the loop and where to find the big legbreak on that loop, he makes a big leap forward.

 

[someblokecalleddave]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Three)

Warnes been doing work with most of the spinners and some coaches at the higher levels. He did some stuff with Kaneria as well.

Krezja said the stuff warne showed him was so simple and obvious Krezja wondered why he never thought of it himself. Hauritz and Smith have definately improved since warne gave them some tips.

That's often the case, you do things in a particular way and get stuck doing it that way, then someone comes along and makes a small suggestion and bit like Hughesy and the 'karate chop' suggestion and something clicks. It's happened to me several times over the last three years, can't think of one at the minute but I know it has, cos I remember thinking how obvious it was and yet I'd never thought of it.

 

[someblokecalleddave]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Three)

Hughsey sounds like one of those blokes whose been bowling leggies for years but without much theory. Once he got the notion of the loop and where to find the big legbreak on that loop, he makes a big leap forward.

Despite having the theory, I still can't get it myself on a consistent basis, today I got a few, but to be honest I think there's a part of me that knows it's there for the taking provided I put in the hours and the focus on that one delivery. But then there's the other part of me that knows what I'm doing at the minute still gets me wickets, I'll have to wait and see how the pre-season practice goes once I get outside properly. If I'm happy with the progress of my three variations through the first month or so I might then lower the intensity of the practice with those three balls (Flipper/Top-Spinning Flipper and Wrong Un) and put a lot more time in getting the Biggun.

 

[Jim2109]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Three)

on the subject of obvious things that you just dont realise...

ive figured out why my bowling is crap at the moment. its super obvious, and i had kinda realised it 2 weeks ago, but its taken me a week of thinking to figure it out. plus i replied to a message on youtube about my bowling and it just fell into place in my mind.

ive changed my action a lot. before i would approach slowly, sort of lean back, rock forward onto the heel of my front foot, then transfer the weight through to my toes as i delivered the ball. my front arm was horizontal and not vertical, so weight transfer was minimal. also i didnt carry much momentum through my delivery, i had to artificially create it by "exploding at the crease", which resulted in a strong follow through, but a weak approach.

now, i approach faster, not a lot faster, but quick walking pace. i jump into the action a lot more aggressively. my leading arm is vertical (forearm at least. ive got a bent arm at the elbow like im trying to show off my biceps), my front foot gets planted harder and flatter. i get a lot more side-on (which i dont like, front on worked for me, and i dont agree with anyone that says side-on and high-armed is the way to bowl leg spin, as most people who see me bowl in real life always tell me, and it drives me nuts), my whole motion is a lot straighter and more direct and carries more momentum, and im bowling probably 30% faster than i was before. the whole thing means i transfer a lot more weight from back to front. my approach is very strong, but my follow through is weaker because it doesnt need to be strong to generate pace/length/spin any more.

and then it hit me. im now a pace bowler. im bowling pace, off of a walking run up with reduced delivery effort (because im still trying to flight it, so i dont need the effort or its just full toss), and trying to impart spin. when i try to flight it and get it wrong i drag down a lot (e.g. bowl short), my timing is all wrong, my rhythm is non existant. im struggling for accuracy, spin, and seam position. and my follow through is weak and is probably the origin of the lack of spin and turn!

so i need to get back to basics tomorrow at nets. break the action down and sort out why im bowling like a fast bowler and not like a spinner. and then i can start to analyse the spin aspects. thats the only way forwards. ultimately id like to retain the pace, but not at the expense of turn. id rather bowl at 30mph and turn the ball round corners than bowl at 55mph and barely deviate it. fast offies are super easy to hit runs off unless they still generate turn, or massive drift. a fast leggie would be the same, probably easier due to line. the problem is that simply slowing down doesnt help, ive got to slow down and adjust the timing and rhythm as well (hence when i tried to slow down last week it didnt help, i just bowled more inconsistently). i think im going to lose my run-up and then add everything back in step by step.

now that ive got a clear plan in my mind though im hoping i can move forwards at last. im going to start out bowling by myself in the empty end net that no-one bats in (the floor mat is too short for fat bowlers lengths). then if im doing anything acceptable by the last 30 mins of the session i might try against the batsmen again.

 

[Jim2109]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Three)

also, ive had some thoughts about pre-season net practice methods...

i think clubs all around the country are really missing a trick by having indoor nets setup the way they are. it would be better if they had alternating weeks. one week you have bowlers bowling at empty stumps (no batsmen) in 4 over uninterrupted spells each. the next week you have batsmen facing bowling machines for 15 mins each at a time. and alternate that. almost everyone bowls anyway, and everyone has to bat at some point. so its beneficial to every player. in the current setup youve got bowlers in queues bowling to batsmen. everyone is rusty, so bowlers cant find rhythm or improve their techniques, and batsmen are facing deliveries sprayed all over the place and so cant improve their technique either. its the worst of both worlds. the alternating week method would mean 10 weeks (in my clubs case) of pure technique improvement, and/or shaking off cobwebs. then when outdoor nets start up in march everyone is fresh, theyve corrected the worst of their issues from the season before, and come the first match the team should be near to top form.

instead, come outdoor nets time everyone is still a shambles and chasing form. then matches start and its too late to correct technique then, youve just got to make the best of what youve got. i try to practice several times per week, but most guys will only practice once a week for the first couple of months of the season and then stop. and then just play matches! theyre never going to improve. its no surprise that kids and old guys play the best cricket on a consistent basis. kids practice more often, even if just messing around with mates. old guys have been doing it long enough that their technique is sorted and doesnt alter. everyone in between is in the transitional stage where their technique is still crap, but it barely improves year to year. by the time they hit 50 theyll be at a decent level, but if they practiced properly now theyd probably get there in 3-5 years instead!

 

[someblokecalleddave]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Three)

on the subject of obvious things that you just dont realise...

ive figured out why my bowling is crap at the moment. its super obvious, and i had kinda realised it 2 weeks ago, but its taken me a week of thinking to figure it out. plus i replied to a message on youtube about my bowling and it just fell into place in my mind.

ive changed my action a lot. before i would approach slowly, sort of lean back, rock forward onto the heel of my front foot, then transfer the weight through to my toes as i delivered the ball. my front arm was horizontal and not vertical, so weight transfer was minimal. also i didnt carry much momentum through my delivery, i had to artificially create it by "exploding at the crease", which resulted in a strong follow through, but a weak approach.

now, i approach faster, not a lot faster, but quick walking pace. i jump into the action a lot more aggressively. my leading arm is vertical (forearm at least. ive got a bent arm at the elbow like im trying to show off my biceps), my front foot gets planted harder and flatter. i get a lot more side-on (which i dont like, front on worked for me, and i dont agree with anyone that says side-on and high-armed is the way to bowl leg spin, as most people who see me bowl in real life always tell me, and it drives me nuts), my whole motion is a lot straighter and more direct and carries more momentum, and im bowling probably 30% faster than i was before. the whole thing means i transfer a lot more weight from back to front. my approach is very strong, but my follow through is weaker because it doesnt need to be strong to generate pace/length/spin any more.

and then it hit me. im now a pace bowler. im bowling pace, off of a walking run up with reduced delivery effort (because im still trying to flight it, so i dont need the effort or its just full toss), and trying to impart spin. when i try to flight it and get it wrong i drag down a lot (e.g. bowl short), my timing is all wrong, my rhythm is non existant. im struggling for accuracy, spin, and seam position. and my follow through is weak and is probably the origin of the lack of spin and turn!

so i need to get back to basics tomorrow at nets. break the action down and sort out why im bowling like a fast bowler and not like a spinner. and then i can start to analyse the spin aspects. thats the only way forwards. ultimately id like to retain the pace, but not at the expense of turn. id rather bowl at 30mph and turn the ball round corners than bowl at 55mph and barely deviate it. fast offies are super easy to hit runs off unless they still generate turn, or massive drift. a fast leggie would be the same, probably easier due to line. the problem is that simply slowing down doesnt help, ive got to slow down and adjust the timing and rhythm as well (hence when i tried to slow down last week it didnt help, i just bowled more inconsistently). i think im going to lose my run-up and then add everything back in step by step.

now that ive got a clear plan in my mind though im hoping i can move forwards at last. im going to start out bowling by myself in the empty end net that no-one bats in (the floor mat is too short for fat bowlers lengths). then if im doing anything acceptable by the last 30 mins of the session i might try against the batsmen again.

Are you conceding that this new pace bowling approach - with the front on action - is a bad thing or are you happy with the front on action? Looking at your vids you go into your delivery pretty much side on and then rotate around your front foot i seems?

 

[Jim2109]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Three)

my new approach has a side-on action. its a "pace bowling" technique with a side-on action. whereas my old method was slow, fairly unorthodox, and front-on.

but i liked my old front-on action!! it felt a lot more fluid, even though it wasnt. not saying that front on is the best way, but for me its what was working. i may adapt to side-on eventually, but so far it hasnt helped. my new action feels a lot more "correct", but the end result is way off the mark.

the general consensus seems to be that side-on is best for a leg spinner. Shane Warne was very side-on. but i need to find what works for me. side-on isnt the only thing causing me issues. everything about my approach and the pace at which it is performed is causing my issues. plus my mindset is weak, im down on confidence because im getting smashed around the nets every week by banzai batsmen who arent playing "properly" like they would in a match.

which just solidifies my thoughts on how badly setup pre-season nets are!! how is it good for a player to go backwards in technique and lose confidence, in the first practice sessions of the season which are supposed to improve technique and boost confidence?!? its totally backwards.

 

[someblokecalleddave]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Three)

my new approach has a side-on action. its a "pace bowling" technique with a side-on action. whereas my old method was slow, fairly unorthodox, and front-on.

but i liked my old front-on action!! it felt a lot more fluid, even though it wasnt. not saying that front on is the best way, but for me its what was working. i may adapt to side-on eventually, but so far it hasnt helped. my new action feels a lot more "correct", but the end result is way off the mark.

the general consensus seems to be that side-on is best for a leg spinner. Shane Warne was very side-on. but i need to find what works for me. side-on isnt the only thing causing me issues. everything about my approach and the pace at which it is performed is causing my issues. plus my mindset is weak, im down on confidence because im getting smashed around the nets every week by banzai batsmen who arent playing "properly" like they would in a match.

which just solidifies my thoughts on how badly setup pre-season nets are!! how is it good for a player to go backwards in technique and lose confidence, in the first practice sessions of the season which are supposed to improve technique and boost confidence?!? its totally backwards.

Honestly you've got to ignore what happens in the nets, it's nonesense, but it's never going to change because most clubs derive revenue from it, so it's pack em in and play to the batsmans ego's scenario. Once the weather shapes up I'm sure you'll get it together, other than that as you say bowl in the space between the nets? It'll be different out on the wicket you'll see.

 

[Paulinho]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Three)

Honestly you've got to ignore what happens in the nets, it's nonesense, but it's never going to change because most clubs derive revenue from it, so it's pack em in and play to the batsmans ego's scenario. Once the weather shapes up I'm sure you'll get it together, other than that as you say bowl in the space between the nets? It'll be different out on the wicket you'll see.

I good technique in the nets is the think to yourself what shot am i going to allow the batsmen to play. Which options will I give him to score. Think of it as building your experience of what shots most batsmen will play to the line and length you are bowling and the delivery you have decided to bowl. You will learn a lot more from being smashed around in nets than you will if someone simply blocks you for a whole session. All you will learn that way is that he has no shots.

I used to think the same way and get down about being smashed in nets. Then I realised that in a proper game situation I had knowledge that I had been building for some time without realising it.

I learned how to entice the drive or the sweep or how to cut of a batsmans favourite scoring strokes.

I know what you mean and totally agree about batsmen playing strokes in nets that they would never attempt in a game situation and you do think to yourself I'm taking this seriously why aren't you. But just take this as an opportunity to refine your action and pay no mind to what the batsmen does.
Any captain who knows enough will be able to spot you bowling well regardless of someone swinging madly down the wicket.

 

[Jim2109]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Three)

if i was bowling at 70%+ of what im capable of then firstly, batsmen would struggle to smash me around anyway (or at least be taking risks). but more importantly id be in a position to formulate plans and tactics and bowl to them, so even if i was getting smashed, id feel like i still had some control and was learning something. as it is, im not learning anything because i cant even land the ball on a consistent line OR length, let alone both, and even when i do the turn is small or non existant. if i can find some form then everything will snap into place im sure.

 

[Jim2109]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Three)

much improved session this evening. i turned up to see the group before us using the "spare" net at the end for a bowling machine! i hoped it would disappear before our session, but no such luck. so that threw out my plans to bowl in an empty net by myself, gutted!

so i got myself prepared for another evening of awful bowling. however i was paying a lot more attention to what i was doing, and trying to maintain the same rhythm on every delivery. i could have done a LOT better, i still wasnt anywhere near focussed enough. but it went better than previous weeks.

the clubs premier leg spinner was there tonight, he bowls really flat but gives it a good rip and gets sharp turn and bounce. hes also got a decent wrong'un. he got me out in a 1's vs 2's match last season, although it was stumped marching down the wicket. id hit him for some good runs prior to that. but hes a good bowler. so that gave me a benchmark and some competition and i think it helped. he bowled well, he clean bowled a leftie with a lovely wrong'un that he totally didnt pick.

as for my own bowling - i tried slowing it down, it didnt much help. i tried going back to my old technique, and that didnt much help. then i found a break through in my hand position prior to release. ive altered it, but going back to my old method completely changed everything. i was bowling as quick as ive ever bowled, but still getting the spin, as well as improved accuracy and consistency!

my length was fairly solid all night. apart from the odd drag down. but i was flighting it better. my line was erratic at times, but more often than not id land it somewhere close to my intended spot. that didnt stop me getting smashed around sometimes though.

i bowled to 3 lefties, we had left handers in our lane for literally the first 30-40 mins. not a bad thing i suppose as its good practice. one guy started really sheepishly, i had him caught probably every 4th-6th ball. the longer he was there the more he had adjusted to me, and then he really went after me. anything outside off stump got dispatched, but i reckon i was still getting him caught at least once an over. in a real match theres no way he would have taken control of me that easily, the first one to go close to a fielder would have scared him back into the defensive shots he started out with. the next leftie in was always struggling, i was getting good sharp turn on a nice full length. the only ones he hit were bad balls, anything that came out well was either defended or a wicket opportunity. i should have had him caught myself, but i wasnt on my toes enough!

then at the end i really found my old form. i was bowling the best ive ever bowled to an adult batsman (ive bowled better at kids, and ive bowled better by myself, but never in a spell to an adult). i was getting edges, complete misses past the edge by several inches lol, the ball was drifting, i reckon i was up around 50-55mph and really ripping it. i was thinking to myself "tonight has gone pretty well, but i REALLY want to bowl someone out before i leave". about 3 balls later i bowled one at middle stump, very quick, it drifted huge, pitched on that perfect length where the batsman has no idea what to do about 3" outside leg stump, he took a stride forwards to it and tried to play me straight, and it turned back through the gate and took middle stump. an absolute corker, maybe the best "wicket" ive ever taken.

so im pretty happy now. nowhere near 100%, probably not even at 70% yet, but huge improvements on the past 2 sessions, improvements on last season, and easily a wicket every 2-3 overs on average through the evening, mostly caught. i got the other leg spinner caught at slip with a nice delivery which is always a bonus, although he played some cracking shots off me, as id expect (id expect to do the same back).

i really need to get into the outdoor nets on my own sometime this week though. i reckon if i can sort out the issues in my action then there is a massive improvement to be had. and in theory based on what i achieved tonight theres no reason why i shouldnt be bowling at this faster pace with turn similar to what i was getting with my old slower pace, probably even more. plus drift comes into play big time with added pace, it accentuates the movement in flight.

if i can still generate turn at this faster pace, and find consistency and accuracy 80%+ of the time, then i should have a field day come the start of the season. i made a very clear observation against one batsman where i was bowling slower for the first probably 3 balls at him and they were turning, but he was comfortable. then i bowled a really fast one (this was when my technique clicked into place a bit) at leg stump that turned on a decent length (maybe a touch short) and had him absolutely done. it hit him in the pad and was going well past off stump with the turn. everyone acknowledged the delivery as a cracker. but it was as good a comparison as you could possibly get for what that extra pace does to even a good club batsman. some of them can deal with turn and bounce, and you have to rely on a very full length and deception in flight to beat them. with the added pace, plus turn and movement in flight, theyre just screwed. its just a matter of time until one gets them out. so im really excited about the prospects.

i also think my height is to my advantage in some ways when it comes to pace. it has been commented before that im pretty tall for a leg spinner at 6'2", and also that the height can be quite unnatural. but ive got long legs and long arms. so ive got more leverage, and also i can flight the ball less and still get it above the batsmans eyeline. which allows me to put extra pace on the ball without compromising elsewhere. my flight tonight was pretty good, not too loopy but definitely not flat.

 

[Spiderlounge]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Three)

I had a bit of a bowl in the nets for the first time on Sunday, the full story's here.

I thought it went pretty well considering I'm so new to the technique (a month ago I wasn't even thinking of playing cricket) and I did get a few to turn a little - maybe a few inches at most. My speed's all wrong though, I really need to slow it down and learn to lob the ball up in the air rather than throw it. At the pace I'm bowling at the moment if I lob it up it would probably clear the wicketkeeper's head...

As for spinning it I'm probably not generating too much spin on the ball, but the "karate chop" idea helped. My arms and shoulder aren't used to the positions they need to get into so whenever I can I'm practising turning my arm over with the wrist in the right positions to stretch my muscles and tendons a bit.

Anyway, so far so good, and I seem to be getting on well with the other members of the club.

 

[someblokecalleddave]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Three)

I had a bit of a bowl in the nets for the first time on Sunday, the full story's here.

I thought it went pretty well considering I'm so new to the technique (a month ago I wasn't even thinking of playing cricket) and I did get a few to turn a little - maybe a few inches at most. My speed's all wrong though, I really need to slow it down and learn to lob the ball up in the air rather than throw it. At the pace I'm bowling at the moment if I lob it up it would probably clear the wicketkeeper's head...

As for spinning it I'm probably not generating too much spin on the ball, but the "karate chop" idea helped. My arms and shoulder aren't used to the positions they need to get into so whenever I can I'm practising turning my arm over with the wrist in the right positions to stretch my muscles and tendons a bit.

Anyway, so far so good, and I seem to be getting on well with the other members of the club.

Sounds okay, a step at a time and keep in mind it's not going to come together over-nightand you'll get there bit by bit. I had a mediocre net session tonight myself. There was also a lot of blokes there which means at the start of the season there's going to be a lot of competition for places in the teams, don't know how that'll pan out hopefully not like last year when I didn't get a game till the 4th week into the season and then took 4 wickets in four consecutive games. Hopefully people will remember that and give me a game earlier in the season. I've got a feeling the captains have all been shifted around again and that'll play a big part in who gets to play. The other Leggie 'Wizard' is one of the captains and we both usually bat at No.9 or No.10 so I dunno what'll happen, I'll just have to wait and see?

 

[someblokecalleddave]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Three)

much improved session this evening. i turned up to see the group before us using the "spare" net at the end for a bowling machine! i hoped it would disappear before our session, but no such luck. so that threw out my plans to bowl in an empty net by myself, gutted!

so i got myself prepared for another evening of awful bowling. however i was paying a lot more attention to what i was doing, and trying to maintain the same rhythm on every delivery. i could have done a LOT better, i still wasnt anywhere near focussed enough. but it went better than previous weeks.

the clubs premier leg spinner was there tonight, he bowls really flat but gives it a good rip and gets sharp turn and bounce. hes also got a decent wrong'un. he got me out in a 1's vs 2's match last season, although it was stumped marching down the wicket. id hit him for some good runs prior to that. but hes a good bowler. so that gave me a benchmark and some competition and i think it helped. he bowled well, he clean bowled a leftie with a lovely wrong'un that he totally didnt pick.

as for my own bowling - i tried slowing it down, it didnt much help. i tried going back to my old technique, and that didnt much help. then i found a break through in my hand position prior to release. ive altered it, but going back to my old method completely changed everything. i was bowling as quick as ive ever bowled, but still getting the spin, as well as improved accuracy and consistency!

my length was fairly solid all night. apart from the odd drag down. but i was flighting it better. my line was erratic at times, but more often than not id land it somewhere close to my intended spot. that didnt stop me getting smashed around sometimes though.

i bowled to 3 lefties, we had left handers in our lane for literally the first 30-40 mins. not a bad thing i suppose as its good practice. one guy started really sheepishly, i had him caught probably every 4th-6th ball. the longer he was there the more he had adjusted to me, and then he really went after me. anything outside off stump got dispatched, but i reckon i was still getting him caught at least once an over. in a real match theres no way he would have taken control of me that easily, the first one to go close to a fielder would have scared him back into the defensive shots he started out with. the next leftie in was always struggling, i was getting good sharp turn on a nice full length. the only ones he hit were bad balls, anything that came out well was either defended or a wicket opportunity. i should have had him caught myself, but i wasnt on my toes enough!

then at the end i really found my old form. i was bowling the best ive ever bowled to an adult batsman (ive bowled better at kids, and ive bowled better by myself, but never in a spell to an adult). i was getting edges, complete misses past the edge by several inches lol, the ball was drifting, i reckon i was up around 50-55mph and really ripping it. i was thinking to myself "tonight has gone pretty well, but i REALLY want to bowl someone out before i leave". about 3 balls later i bowled one at middle stump, very quick, it drifted huge, pitched on that perfect length where the batsman has no idea what to do about 3" outside leg stump, he took a stride forwards to it and tried to play me straight, and it turned back through the gate and took middle stump. an absolute corker, maybe the best "wicket" ive ever taken.

so im pretty happy now. nowhere near 100%, probably not even at 70% yet, but huge improvements on the past 2 sessions, improvements on last season, and easily a wicket every 2-3 overs on average through the evening, mostly caught. i got the other leg spinner caught at slip with a nice delivery which is always a bonus, although he played some cracking shots off me, as id expect (id expect to do the same back).

i really need to get into the outdoor nets on my own sometime this week though. i reckon if i can sort out the issues in my action then there is a massive improvement to be had. and in theory based on what i achieved tonight theres no reason why i shouldnt be bowling at this faster pace with turn similar to what i was getting with my old slower pace, probably even more. plus drift comes into play big time with added pace, it accentuates the movement in flight.

if i can still generate turn at this faster pace, and find consistency and accuracy 80%+ of the time, then i should have a field day come the start of the season. i made a very clear observation against one batsman where i was bowling slower for the first probably 3 balls at him and they were turning, but he was comfortable. then i bowled a really fast one (this was when my technique clicked into place a bit) at leg stump that turned on a decent length (maybe a touch short) and had him absolutely done. it hit him in the pad and was going well past off stump with the turn. everyone acknowledged the delivery as a cracker. but it was as good a comparison as you could possibly get for what that extra pace does to even a good club batsman. some of them can deal with turn and bounce, and you have to rely on a very full length and deception in flight to beat them. with the added pace, plus turn and movement in flight, theyre just screwed. its just a matter of time until one gets them out. so im really excited about the prospects.

i also think my height is to my advantage in some ways when it comes to pace. it has been commented before that im pretty tall for a leg spinner at 6'2", and also that the height can be quite unnatural. but ive got long legs and long arms. so ive got more leverage, and also i can flight the ball less and still get it above the batsmans eyeline. which allows me to put extra pace on the ball without compromising elsewhere. my flight tonight was pretty good, not too loopy but definitely not flat.

Sounds good to me, you can't complain after a night like that when your practicing is so infrequent. I'm sure that once the weather breaks and we can all get outside we'll all make big leaps and bounds in our bowling.

 

[Spiderlounge]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Three)

Sounds okay, a step at a time and keep in mind it's not going to come together over-night and you'll get there bit by bit.

Yeah, I decided pretty early that it was going to have to be a long-term project! Let me just check with you old pros that I've got the theory of the delivery right (clearly, the execution will obviously take lots of practise...)

As I understand it the idea is to have just enough of a run-up to develop a nice rhythm and some forward momentum, then I aim my left (non-bowling) elbow at the target, turn my right arm round turning my wrist in towards me as it passes my waist and as I swing my arm round I'm aiming to generate enough centrifugal force to push the ball onto my fingers as much as possible at the point I rotate my wrist, until finally my third finger rotates around the ball, meaning in effect the ball comes out of the side of my hand facing away from my head, hopefully looping up into the air with plenty of revs! Does that sound about right?

 

[mas cambios]

Re: Wrist Spin Bowling (Part Three)

I had a bit of a bowl in the nets for the first time on Sunday, the full story's here.

I thought it went pretty well considering I'm so new to the technique (a month ago I wasn't even thinking of playing cricket) and I did get a few to turn a little - maybe a few inches at most. My speed's all wrong though, I really need to slow it down and learn to lob the ball up in the air rather than throw it. At the pace I'm bowling at the moment if I lob it up it would probably clear the wicketkeeper's head...

As for spinning it I'm probably not generating too much spin on the ball, but the "karate chop" idea helped. My arms and shoulder aren't used to the positions they need to get into so whenever I can I'm practising turning my arm over with the wrist in the right positions to stretch my muscles and tendons a bit.

Anyway, so far so good, and I seem to be getting on well with the other members of the club.

Don't be afraid to put a mark down on the wicket if it helps you to pitch the ball. A bit of tape or a chalk mark is not going to effect the ball that much and it make a big difference when trying to get the ball to land in (roughly) the same place consistently.

Also, don't worry too much about getting the ball to turn loads, the key when starting is to get the body used to the movements involved and develop strength in those areas. Once that comes you'll find you can give the ball a much bigger rip.

Nets can also be a pain in the behind for bowlers (especially players learning the game), unless you have a coach who takes charge and organises them properly all that happens is the batsmen try to smash the ball to all parts - which rarely happens in a game.