Rajith’s Column

I was always fascinated about spin bowling. I followed Shane Warne and Murali very closely over the years and tried to understand what made a spin bowler great. When YouTube came around there was plenty of videos to study. Then came Ajantha Mendis, who bought a completely different perspective to spin bowling and bamboozled batsmen and pundits alike.

Spin bowling is more art than science. The principles of spin bowling are very simple. One could learn to bowl spin by learning these principles, but mastering them is an art. A closer look at spinners who were successful at their trade, shows that each made an art out of these principles. They had something unusual to offer that set them apart from the rest of the pack.

Looking at some of the greatest spinners, for example Bhagwat Chandrasekhar had an unusually whippy action due to a withered arm which was a result of childhood polio. It is said that he delivered googlies, topspinners and leg breaks at near medium pace and eventually producing an unplayable delivery. Abdul Qadir had a fancy run up, the temperament of a fast bowler and good variety to back it up. His googly was probably the best. Muttiah Muralitharan was a vicious spinner of the ball on any type of surface. Saqlain Mushtaq was probably the first to use the “doosra” effectively. Shane Warne undoubtedly the best leg spinner we have seen so far, has quite a bit of variation. Then finally you have Ajantha Mendis who uses variation as his main weapon. All these folks mixed their unique talent (and their deformity in the case of Mural and Bhagawat) with these principles to create an art form that is almost magical. (For the die hard fans, the above is not an exhaustive list of great spinners. So if your favorite is not listed there please do not think I have thought less about your favorite spinner).

As a bowler you need to consistently beat a variety of batsmen to become a successful bowler. Sure you may get a few freebies when the batsmen eventually makes a mistake (every human is going to make a mistake at some point) or due to pressure at the other end. But if you need to improve your wickets column and become a champion spinner, then you have to ensure that the batsmen makes those mistakes while you are bowling.

There are several ways to beat a batsmen and more often than not a combination of those techniques is what buys you a wicket. Most of these techniques are intertwined. One technique is to try and out think a batsmen. For example Shane Warne always tried to anticipate a batsman’s move and bowled accordingly. Creating doubts in a batsman’s mind is another way. Ajantha Mendis is a master at this as he bowls very accurately with subtle changes in the direction where the ball spins. Bhagwat Chandrasekhar didn’t even know what would happens when he bowled and never planned his deliveries. When a batsman is not picking up the variations he begins to doubt and his confidence suffers, effectively stifling the scoring and increasing the chances of making a mistake. Deceiving a batsmen is another way. You could deceive a batsmen through changes in the amount of spin imparted, pace, line, length , flight or direction of spin by cleverly disguising your variations off the hand. For example a spinner could bowl a quick top spinner, a cleverly disguised googly or an arm ball. The batsmen depending on his ability and concentration level may not pick the subtle change in your action, the pace or the direction it takes off the pitch, Yet another way is to setup and lead a batsmen into a trap. For example a leg spinner or an off spinner could use their stock ball on a given line and length and then stealthily produce a googly or a doosra on the same line and length inviting the batsmen to make a mistake. Or the trap could come in the way of a cleverly placed field setting.

If we look closely most of the great spinners, have devised their own way of executing those techniques. The rest are ordinary bowlers who approach spin bowling mechanically as a science and most with a bit of coaching can get there. But the legendary spinners used what ever skill they had to transform spin bowling into an art of it’s own. Great spinners are not made, they are born.