Spin bowlers over the years have enjoyed a significant command over batsmen, despite being in the shadow of the mighty pacers, who always stole the attention.
The reason for this ruthless dominance can be attributed to the sheer amount of skills possessed by the spinners. The fact that the top three Test wicket-takers are spinners highlights the dominance of spinners in the cricketing world.
Spin bowlers over the years have developed a unique blend of skills and variations.
Spin bowlers are historically known to have troubled the mightiest of batsmen. While the majority of the batsmen have had their share of dismay against spin bowling, some have mastered the subtle art.
Subcontinent batsmen have always been better players of spin in comparison with other countries.
This was not just because of the rank turners that they play in but also because of their mindset in tackling spin.
The key is and has always been simple. It’s about picking the variation from the bowler’s wrist. It’s the art of watching the bowler’s wrist to pick the trajectory of the ball.
This art nullifies the impact of spin as it prepares them for the spin even before its delivery.
It’s the good old way of tackling the spin, which was heavily used by the batsmen of the 90s and early 2000s. This art which almost was an obligation for every budding batsman in the late 90s clearly seems to be fading away in the modern-day.
The inability of the modern-day batsmen to pick the ball from the wrists is what contributing to their struggle against spin.
Even the subcontinent players, who are otherwise known to have a better skill against spin, often succumb to spin due to their inability to pick the ball.
Surprisingly, the likes of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are also no exception to this as they are some of the oft-dismissed batsmen against wrong-uns.
Modern Pakistani and Indian batsmen have displayed their weaknesses against spin on several occasions.
The fading of this art perfectly correlates with the advent of T20 cricket. The struggle becomes clearly visible with the modern-day batsmen emphasising more on slogging the ball rather than nudging it as nudging it would require a better skill.
The fading of this art has turned the tables for the spinners, especially for the ones who can spin either way.
The struggle against spin is likely to continue for further more years until the game sees another Shane Warne or Murali, which will then likely force the modern batsmen to get their basics right against spin.
Suraj
Roar Rookie
Me too a big fan of the conventional spin bowling mate. But what I believe is that for a spinner, you either have to be a master in a selected skill (like Warnie) or be unique with a mediocre skillset. I’m with you on the mystery spinners getting undue hype. But it’s always good to keep the batsmen guessing doesn’t it, in the orthodox way of course.
Suraj
Roar Rookie
Well Paul regarding my statement on subcontinent players being traditionally better players of spin, my assumption was based on the fact that they get relatively higher exposure to quality spin at every stages of their career. However I am not judging or making any conclusions with respect to the technical aspects of the game simply by that statement. What I truly meant was that the players from the subcontinent have generally been more comfortable in handling spin than their counterparts. This doesn’t necessarily have to mean that their technique was better. I haven’t made any statements regarding the technique as you can see. Coming to the art of picking the ball, you can clearly see it diminishing if a bowler like Ish sodhi cleans the stumps of the Indian top order by bowling googlies on Nz soil.
Tigerbill44
Roar Guru
I think one great spinner many years ago once said; I don't need a googley to take my wickets.
Tigerbill44
Roar Guru
Some interesting thoughts. One thing I don't like about many modern spinners is that there is too much emphasis on so called mystery deliveries. Often the media make massive hype of these. I like the old fashioned spin bowling. Shane Warne had just two and a half deliveries in his stock- the leg break, the flipper and the googly which wasn't very good. still the greatest spinner I have seen.
Paul
Roar Guru
Gee, you've made some big claims in an interesting first piece, Suraj. There's one I'd like to single out; "Subcontinent batsmen have always been better players of spin in comparison with other countries." It's safe to say subcontinent players have had more exposure to spinners from a young age, just as Australian players have had more exposure to quicks and English players to seam & swing. Does that necessarily make them better players of spin? I wonder how much of this assumption is down to good technique, as opposed to spinners not getting it right when they tour India, Pakistan & Sri Lanka. Or perhaps their style of bowling isn't suited to the conditions. I look at a guy like Kumble, who was dynamic in India but not so much in Australia. In the '98 series in India against the Aussies he averaged just over 18, yet 2 years later averaged 90 in Australia. This says to me he knew how to bowl to the conditions in one place, but not in another. I'm also not sure about technique and the rise of short form cricket. Warne made it clear that spin bowling is a completely different beast in T20 cricket than it is in Tests, with way more variety used each over in white ball cricket. The conditions though are vastly different so batsmen don't have to worry so much about technique against spinners in comparison to a dusty day 5 Test pitch. It's hard to know right now if the art of picking a spin bowler is disappearing simply because there aren't too many top class spinners in red ball cricket. Throw in pitches that are designed for pace, even in India and the spinners, with a few exceptions, aren't getting much if a look in.