Coaching Tips

'Adidas the kit supplier to In-Touch Cricket Academy'

As part of the In-Touch Cricket Academy relationship with The World Cricket Academy we will be featuring coaching articles based on the WCA methodology

Playing spin… (part 1)

The key fundamentals all great players of spin have possessed is good foot work, which effectively translates to using the depth of the crease and playing off two feet to maximum advantage. We have split the discussion on playing spin into 1. General observations 2. Playing leg spin 3. playing off spin and 4. In the context of an initial (forward) movement or as nowadays referred to as the press.

Lets begin the thought process by simplifying the way in which we approach the topic of playing spin, so that we begin teaching the subject without overwhelming our wards.

We often hear commentators say this wicket is a slow turner, well, what else, if the ball spins, by default it’s a slow wicket, there really isn’t anything like a fast turner!

The spinner also has several restrictions he cannot really bowl a bouncer and is restricted to pitching the ball in a very narrow area to be effective, so logically speaking with such few options at his disposal it should be easier for batsman to cope with. Hence, absolutely no need to cloud our approach with a variety of defeatist theories.

Instead, all we should be doing is practising a few skills which need to be mastered in the following order 1. Going back and being able to take the front foot behind the body to play the spinner which will disrupt that narrow area in which the spinner needs to bowl to be effective and yet minimising the risks for the batsman 2. Staying on two feet to be able to place the ball which will enable conversion of no-run into a single and the single into two and so on and so forth 3. To also learn to step out to drive to disrupt that length which he/she/ the spinner so crucially needs to bowl to trouble the batsman.

Playing spin is even more about anticipation as the deviation off the wicket is slower and far more pronounced and so one needs to maintain a neutral position for as long as possible to be able to appropriately judge length. A common ingredient we observe of those who don’t play spin well is that they play “at the line of the ball” instead of leaving a margin for/or anticipating spin. While playing the left arm spinner/leg spinner right hand batsman must play a little outside the ball with the alignment being – if it goes straight it will strike the inside half of the bat and for the off spinner the alignment one follows is to get the downswing in line of the original path of the ball i.e. if it goes straight and then turn the top hand to guide the ball away to the leg side should it spin.

It is also critical to maintain balance, generate power and critically the ability to place the ball and to do this effectively we need to keep our weight on both feet and be aware that we don’t get stuck on one foot.

Like anything else one has to discover what works within your technique to counteract the spin and then practice the same diligently. We have suggested tips and drills which you can practice to improve your game against spin.

Picture 1 below depicts how the batsman is going to stay on both feet transferring weight at the point of contact and placing the ball on the on-side.

Once again your alignment is set to play everything straight, then you put pressure on the front foot to push off and go back (you can just see the back foot lifting to move back in the photo on the left).

The batsman has then made room to play the ball on the onside keeping his eyes on the point of contact. He has also maintained a good side on position at the crease with his legs well spaced out to allow space for the bat to come down.

Just at or immediately after the point of contact the legs begin to cross giving the batsman more options to place the ball on the onside (or off side).

Once again he maintains his balance with his head staying focused on the point of contact and looking ahead while the bat turns to place the ball on the onside, all the fielders and their positions are pretty much imprinted in the “minds eye” and hence one doesn’t necessarily need to immediately turn to watch the ball.

He has also brought his back leg in-front of middle stump after completing the shot, which enables keeping the ball down and has both feet firmly implanted on the ground which will give him effortless power as weight has transferred at the appropriate moment at the point of impact.

This way of transferring weight and taking the “front foot back behind the body” (picture 2) also enables you to play the ball late giving you the ability to judge what the ball is doing until the last possible moment and also then place it for “runs”.

This foot movement can be used for both on and off side shots and critical especially while playing spinners, it is imperative for coaches to teach this movement to their wards so that players/batsman have this movement in their armoury to disrupt the spinners length, and further still, taking little to no risk.

Playing leg spin (part 2)

Another common mistake while batsman are playing spin is the advise some coaches give of opening their front foot, to play balls on the leg stump. Once the foot goes outside the leg stump there is no where for the other (back) foot to go but fall over to the off side thereby leaving the head/eyes in a bad position to play the ball. Once the head falls over it is extremely difficult to keep the ball down on the on/leg side. The next problem it creates; is exposing your stumps to the ball and giving the bowler two options of getting you out. Both bowled and caught behind or at slip. Further, it is also impossible to judge the degree of spin by opening ones leg as we are leaving ourselves no options but to play only one shot and that is at the ball, without being able to leave any options for the turning ball, as we are simply not sure how much it will spin. This completely reduces your options of playing against the spinning ball and further reduces chances of surviving, let alone scoring.

While playing leg spin the great players of spin “anticipate” the ball to turn with the alignment as follows. The outer half of the bat is “aligned” and “covering” for the spin and the inner half of the bat is aligned to cover for the straight through. From this alignment one has enough time to adapt to either the straight ball or the one that turns. Obviously this coincides with anticipation, watching the bowlers hand and quickly discerning what each bowler is capable of doing with the ball, and playing well in-front of the pad.

Another very basic but common mistake made while playing leg spin is the angle of the bat on impact, invariably this is not straight (i.e. down the wicket) but towards cover, once again this translates to presenting only half a bat to the ball and you are not giving yourself the maximum opportunity to connect.

A tip while “practising” playing leg spin or orthodox left arm spin would be to try and play against the spin/break on the front foot on the (on side) and with the break on the back foot on the off side (unless the ball is very short and you can pull it off the back foot). So, try and drive a ball which you would have normally driven to cover to mid-off and the next time to mid-on and then mid-wicket by constantly altering where you land your front foot to play the ball. This is a great exercise as we know we can always drive the ball to cover, this is easy, but to practice driving the ball where it isn’t easy to drive is great practice. Also, do the same while defending, if the ball has dropped on the off side in the direction of point, try and drop the next one in the direction of cover, then mid-off, then mid-on, mid-wicket, square-leg and even fine leg. Try not to leave too many balls, but get yourself into a position to defend the same, even if the balls are well outside the off stump, you can do this by keeping the downswing slightly outside the line of the ball (see article on downswing) as well as taking your foot further and further across towards the ball. This is great practice, once you perfect doing the same there is very little which is going to trouble you while playing leg/left arm spin.

Picture 1 - playing spin

Playing Leg spin

This way of playing gives the bowler two options to get you out, caught at slip as well as bowled to the ball turning away from you. Further, it is virtually impossible to maintain ones balance when one takes the foot at this angle as there is no base being created and there is no option but to fall over, creating even more problems. One has also noticed a lot of players maintain a extremely straight front foot ankle position i.e. its not in line with back foot toe (i.e. like we talk about having the hips in line with where the feet land for fast bowlers) the same holds good for batsman and those who’s feet point straight down the wicket while the back foot is pointing at cover also tend to lose their balance quite easily as there is no base being created.

The alignment one is seeking while playing the leg spinner is this: if the ball goes straight-on and doesn’t spin (photo on the left), it should meet the inside half of the bat. If the ball spins it should meet the outside half of the bat (photo on the right). He is also playing well in front of his pad and his head is positioned right on top and close to the ball, almost like he is seeking the ball with his head/nose!

Picture 2 - playing spin

Playing Leg spin

Here the batsman has done a few things correctly, anticipated the ball will turn and so has positioned his foot slightly outside the line of the ball, he has also covered his stumps and offered the full face of the bat to the ball, reducing his risk of bowled or caught at slip (as the above photo shows). As all batsmanship is about maximising scoring opportunities and minimising risk in doing so, this seems a more logical way of playing the leg spinner turning the ball away.