Topic: Playing Leg Spin (Read 1317 times)

Marc28 · « **on:** March 04, 2013, 10:15:34 AM »

After having a mare yesterday of being out twice to a young leg spinner we have, both times stumped whilst trying to heave it to the legside,
in order to stop this should i just move my foot in line with the ball and try and play to the onside more sort of cover driveish or should i try and play straight bat backdown the pitch.

all advice welcome as its slightly frustrating

Buzz · « **Reply #1 on:** March 04, 2013, 10:29:54 AM »

http://custombats.co.uk/cbforum/index.php?topic=358.msg88859#msg88859

acko109 · « **Reply #2 on:** March 04, 2013, 10:34:25 AM »

from what im gathering is your trying to hit the ball to hard if your feet are coming up off the ground to get stumped.. i think playing spin isnt always about smashing it all over the place. its case of touching the ball about . going over cover to a leg spinner is far easier than over leg side as your hitting with the spin .. also a case of waiting for a bad ball.. whether a 50 year old is bowling spin or a 14 year old

The_Bird · « **Reply #3 on:** March 04, 2013, 10:41:24 AM »

I always play with the spin, I was told growing up to go back and cut and drive Leg spin and slow left arm through cover/cover point and use my feet against off spin playing it from mid on to square leg. Works well for me.

tommo256 · « **Reply #4 on:** March 04, 2013, 10:50:03 AM »

Smash it over cow

Buzz · « **Reply #5 on:** March 04, 2013, 10:53:23 AM »

Here are a few more thoughts, i think I have posted previously.

The best players of spin are able to judge the length extremely early then they can make a positive movement to counter the spin.

When facing a good spinner you will have to deal with pace, bounce, dip, drift, as well as spin � so balance is vital. If you topple over to a spinner when you have got the length wrong, either by being beaten in the flight or by going forward to a ball you could play back to � you can be in trouble.

The key is stay strong mentally and to play the ball late, but also not to over commit, you will have a moment to react as the ball drops or dips (depending on the quality of the spinner � a really good spinner will make the ball dip and shape late) so ensure you don�t play the ball outside your natural zone. � Hold your shape � and definitely don�t push at the ball.

Two ways I have seen of playing this (I am sure there are others) are the V.V.S. Laxman method, probably the best player of spin of his generation, or the Duncan Fletcher �forward press� method � Marcus Trescothick is the ultimate exponent of this method.

V.V.S. plays the ball amazingly late with wonderfully quick wrists, a bit like A.B. de Villiers or Michael Clarke, all of whom are able to move their feet wonderfully quickly forward and back and picking the length of the bowling very early.

To help with your balance, practise shadow batting, try not to over commit, but lead with your head and let you foot move second, as a result you will then play with a bent front leg and hit the ball under your eyes.

Against offspin, I encourage players to get outside the line of off stump where possible, to force the bowler to bowl straighter, thus allowing you to work the ball through the leg side, or too far outside the off stump, giving you more room to hit the ball through the off side.

Legspin is a different challenge, as you are playing a ball that is usually spinning more, thus will drift and bounce more, which can be hard to judge. Reading the ball from the hand is important and is usually easier against a legspinner. The nature of this style of spinner means there will be more bad balls to hit. Once again, decisiveness with your movement, forward or back, is important. If you hesitate, then you risk a gentle nick to the keeper, which is always something to be avoided.

Not allowing a spin bowler to settle is a good move. I believe looking to hit an early boundary can upset a spinner�s confidence, or more crucially the fielding captain�s confidence in the bowler, which will give you the advantage. A spinner requires overs to build a rhythm � as a batsman you want to stop that happening, so push the singles hard rotate the strike so the bowler can�t set you up with a series of deliveries and then fool you with one of his variations.

Quote from: tommo256 on March 04, 2013, 10:50:03 AM

Smash it over cow

I think ths is the issue - Marc isn't able to do this yet...

uknsaunders · « **Reply #6 on:** March 04, 2013, 11:27:46 AM »

Some things I have picked up on in the past. Leggies tend to get more bounce than finger spinners. You can use this to your advantage and play balls marginally back of a length off the back foot. Makes life alot easier as you can not only get over the ball and keep it down but also play both sides of the wicket. I look for short balls with leggies and pull or cut depending on the line. If it's pitching outside leg then pull, on the stumps I look to cut through the off side with the spin (note if he isn't turning it much then working through leg is an option or just look for balls outside off). Pitched up deliveries I play for a little spin if I haven't seen the bowler before. If he rips it I tend to tuck the bat inside the line and let the delivery past, normally it's turning enough to miss the stumps!. You also need to get a stride in and get over the top of the ball. I personally wouldn't slog to leg against a leggy unless I was right over the top of the ball, killing all the spin. Playing against the spin isn't a great idea unless you are too the pitch. Another option is to look to sweep, again you have to pick length well (ie pretty full) and be careful of the line of the ball. Particularly with leggies, bounce becomes the big problem with the sweep shot.It is, in my opinion, a far safer way to negate spin as the blade is horizontal not vertical creating a wider impact area.

jamielsn15 · « **Reply #7 on:** March 04, 2013, 04:47:01 PM »

I come up against a leggie in midweek T20 every year. He opens the bowling and I always tend struggle against him (in terms of rotating strike and scoring off him); he seems to have the whole bag of tricks and there's the added pressure of having to score quickly in T20.

Although I haven't any real advice in terms of playing leggies (i'm taking the previous posts on this topic onboard), here are a couple of observations. I've played against him 6-7 times and he's only got me out once, caught. The bounce is something I've noticed, as are the mixture of deliveries; for all of his variations he rarely bowls balls that will hit the stumps, they are either passing off or leg significantly, or bouncing over.

His variations also mean that he is inconsistent in line and length. I know his back of the hander will always be short. He has another that drifts to leg (haven't picked that yet!)...

Keep looking and learning and take every opportunity at the non-striker's end to watch him closely. Good luck, if I pick up anything more this season I'll post...

Author Topic: Playing Leg Spin (Read 1317 times)

Marc28

Playing Leg Spin

Buzz

Re: Playing Leg Spin

acko109

Re: Playing Leg Spin

The_Bird

Re: Playing Leg Spin

tommo256

Re: Playing Leg Spin

Buzz

Re: Playing Leg Spin

uknsaunders

Re: Playing Leg Spin

jamielsn15

Re: Playing Leg Spin