Worst Bowling Action.>

[Rachael]

Originally Posted by flanflinger

I accept that, I just don't think it can be applied to Warne... [..] I just don't think it is one that Warne has often used, or that it is a tactic solely applied by leg-spinners.

It's perhaps an unfortunate turn of phrase.. but in essence Warne has been the classic example of a guy who bowls so slowly that anything even fractionally out (especially on a slower pitch) means easy runs for a good batsman. The odd thing is that he's so damned accurate: astonishing. Helped by a succesion of decent 'keepers gathering nicely behind the stumps and encouraging ever greater flight though.

I appreciate that batsmen have been known to get after finger spinners.. but I'd still be inclined to suggest that the finger spinner's trade is fundamentally less aggressive: the variations are a vital part of the leggies armoury.. and were most especially of Warne's when the great man was at his peak... and encouraging confident strokes in the hope of being able to bamboozle is central to the craft.. whereas I get the impression that the classic English finger spinner has (aided by uncovered wickets and the fact that the action makes acuracy so much easier) built a game around the incessantly probing "stock" delivery.. and proving difficult rather than devious.

I'm quite prepared to believe that there's a grey area where the two overlap somewhat.. but I was trying to clarify something I'd long been given to understand but never really investigated: that (leaving Warne aside) there's a significant gulf of the sort I outlined seperating the craft of the wrist spinner and finger spinner.

[flanflinger]

Originally Posted by Rachael

there's a significant gulf of the sort I outlined seperating the craft of the wrist spinner and finger spinner.

There is and having been a leggie and an offie I fully understand where you are coming from.

As a leg-spin bowler control was the major difficulty, I could get the ball to spin both ways. My Top-spinner was described by a former first-class player as very difficult to play. But only on a good day could I ever get 4 out of 6 balls to land in the right areas.

Warne does bowl quite slowly, but the ball fizzies* out of his hand, meaning that it dips in the air, so you are unable to pick up the correct flight and the turn is sharp. He also varies the turn, with big spinning balls mixed with top-spinners turning less. Plus at any point he can bowl out the back of the hand, and if you can't pick it, the ball turns back into you. Then you think he has dropped short, set yourself and the ball is low and fast off the pitch (Flipper) and you are suddenly an LBW candidate. He is the supreme example of a leg-spinner who can bowl any of the deliveries at will and all exactly where he wants to, and so can employ tactics that other Leg-spinners only dream about.

I take your point about having a good keeper, but I think he needs a very good keeper and a very good slip fileder to help take wickets.

The craft of the off-sinner is different. You don't the huge variations in turn (direction) and the ball is less likely to fizz out of the hand and dip in the same natural way. Variations in flight and turn are your main weapon, toss the ball up to get the batsman out of his crease, fire-in a quicker flatter delivery or set the batsman up for an arm-ball. The great thing is that Off-spinners can get a little extra bounce on cut-up pitches.

The problem for the average young leg-spinner is the captain does not trust him to keep the runs down and so is afraid to bring him into the attack, while the off-spinner is told not to look for wickets but to keep the runs down. The result is that many young leggies end up doing something else so that can get a bowl, and off-spinners are flight-less merchants spearing the ball into leg-stump.


*He uses he shoulders to drive the ball through the air, combined with his very strong wrist the ball actually can be heard to make a fizzing noise