One major knock-on effect of the rise of T20 cricket over the past decade is the way in which it has fuelled the renaissance of wrist spinners in the sport.
As many as five of the 10 bowlers currently occupying the highest positions in the ICC T20I rankings are wrist spinners. Over the course of the sport’s history, magicians like Shane Warne, Abdul Qadir and Anil Kumble have turned wrist spin into a bowling form to be reckoned with.
At its core, wrist spin is a harder art to master than finger spin and it requires greater levels of control to give the ball enough revolutions.
In the era of T20 cricket and shorter boundaries, variations are key for any bowler to survive and even thrive. Below, we look at five kinds of variations which any top wrist spinner carries in his armoury.
THE LEG-SPINNER (STOCK BALL)
The stock ball is the natural and most commonly bowled delivery for any bowler. For a right-armed leg-spinner, the stock delivery is the one which turns left after pitching. Shane Warne’s ‘ball of the century’ to dismiss Mike Gatting is a classic example of the leg-spinner which turns away from the right-handed batsman.
The seam is angled towards the slip cordon while the ball is gripped primarily by the index and middle fingers. At the start of the delivery, the bowler has his palm facing himself. The wrist is then rotated completely, with the bowler using his ring finger to generate the revolutions and subsequent turn.
By the end of the wrist rotation, the back of the palm will be facing the bowler.
In case of a left-arm wrist spinner in the mould of Brad Hogg and Kuldeep Yadav, the ball turns into the right-handed batsman after it pitches.
Best exponents: Shane Warne, Stuart McGill, Yasir Shah
TOP-SPINNER
The top spinner can be a variation, though it is also used as a stock delivery by several leg spinners. The mechanics of the top spinner are largely the same as that of a conventional leg spinner, with the angle of seam being the main difference.
Instead of being angled towards the slip cordon, the seam is directly pointed towards the batsman for the top spinner. Unlike the leg spinner, the top spin delivery continues in a straight path after pitching. It is also accompanied by a sharp dip and extra bounce.
The extra bounce generated by a top spinner along with the lack of turn brings the bat-pad and LBWs into play for the bowler.
Best exponents: Anil Kumble, Shahid Afridi
WRONG ONE (GOOGLY)
The ‘wrong one’ or the googly is one of the greatest variations a leg spinner can have in his arsenal. The key to having an effective googly is to get the ball to spin the other way after pitching without making too many visible tweaks to the action.
Instead of moving away from the right hander after pitching, the googly turns back in like an off spinner. To bowl the wrong one, the bowler delivers the ball from the back of his hand. At the time of releasing the ball, the palm of the bowler is facing skywards.
Best exponents: Rashid Khan, Shane Warne, Brad Hogg
THE SLIDER
The slider is often referred to as a back spinner and is a delivery which has been made famous by Shane Warne. Unlike a top spinner which generates extra bounce for the bowler, a slider will skid through quickly with low bounce.
To bowl the slider, the seam is pointed towards cover or square with the palm of the bowler almost facing the pitch at the time of release. It is bowled with a mix of back and side spin, while the seam is in a scrambled position during the flight. It can be an extremely difficult delivery to navigate for the batsmen when the bowler gets it absolutely right. However, it does require plenty of practice for any spinner to pull it off, with even the great Warne using it sparingly over the course of his career.
Best exponents: Shane Warne, Rashid Khan
THE FLIPPER
The flipper is another variation of a back spin delivery. It is bowled at a faster pace than a leg spin delivery, with the ball keeping deceptively low after pitching.
Contrary to a leg spinner, the flipper requires the bowler to make extensive use of his thumb during the delivery. The thumb and forefinger are vital for the mechanics, and are used to impart the back spin to the ball. It is usually accompanied by a click or pinch through the two aforementioned fingers.
The delivery generally floats towards the batsmen at a fuller length before dipping sharply and bouncing low.
Best exponents: Anil Kumble, Shahid Afridi and Shane Warne
THE ‘QUICKER’ ONE
While the flipper is bowled at a slightly quicker pace than the conventional leg spinner, there are some bowlers who have a completely novel trick up their sleeves. There are no subtleties to this delivery though, which involves the bowler throwing down a full-blooded medium pacer with the run up of a spinner.
Powerful shoulders are most definitely a plus to pull off this delivery which has surprisingly been attempted by very few bowlers. Former Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi used this variation often to surprise batsmen, while Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan is a leggie who has attempted this in recent times. It helps that Afridi started his professional career as a medium pacer, with the Pakistan icon even managing to clock speeds of 135kph on occasion with this variation.
Best exponents: Shahid Afridi, Rashid Khan and Anil Kumble
