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[Nothing2SeeHere]

I'm trying to learn leg spin.

As a bloke who didn't pick up a cricket ball until my mid-late 30s (and being older now) I don't have the formative years of knowledge to draw on so I have been trying to figure it out as I went along. I'm a kinesthetic learner so I try to work on doing simple movements first every time I practice and use that feeling to self diagnose.

I started practice and managed to get some moderate turn. All good. So I thought I would work on a bit of accuracy. Unfortunately I have managed to modify my action so that the seam is now pointing directly at the wicket every ball (but accuracy is alright). Were I learning off spin, I could use a resource like this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9A32iTdLGfM

and work on getting the release position stored in my muscle memory but I haven't been able to work out a simple exercise that gives good feedback. I have tried a straight arm standing lob but I notice even then that the best I can manage is a 45 degree seam angle (from the wickets) so I assume I need a simpler exercise. Has anyone come across a simple set of drills to build the muscle memory to learn the release?

Ta

[imran75]

mate, I bowl leg spin and have done for years. Best thing i did for my bowling was read this:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Art-Wrist-Spin-Bowling/dp/1861260636

Brilliant book that breaks down each part of the movement and gives you drills to practice them. It's a relatively short book with lots of pictures so it suited me well!

[GoldenArm]

Quite simply from hand to hand is the best place to start with this and not in a full bowling action at all. Just get your grip right then flick it from one hand to the other getting that seam rotating correctly. In time the rhythm and the strength will come as your wrist gets more educated. Forget variations too and concentrate on that leggie. I recommend going out and buying Peter Philpotts The Art Of Wrist Spin. It covers a lot of the basics extremely well. Learning leg spin is a very very long road. I started when I was 23 and now ten years later I'm still trying to crack it. It's a bit like golf, just when you think you've nailed it something goes wrong. You never stop learning. But it is a hell of a lot of fun, just expect some horror days! You'll have to have a thick skin and really love doing it. Have you consulted all the usual YouTube masterclasses?? Benaud, warne, Jenner etc...?

[FattusCattus]

@imran75  @GoldenArm  - for the mysterious art of left arm wrist spin, do you reckon you could learn from the Philpott book by doing everything in reverse?

ie are the diagrams of grips etc simple enough to follow and mirror?

[GoldenArm]

@imran75  @GoldenArm  - for the mysterious art of left arm wrist spin, do you reckon you could learn from the Philpott book by doing everything in reverse?

ie are the diagrams of grips etc simple enough to follow and mirror?

Absolutely it's exactly the same in every way. Oh and @Nothing2SeeHere forget about accuracy for the next 12 months and just concentrate on spinning the ball, rip it as far as you possibly can. Accuracy comes later. You won't be match ready for ages so just have fun ripping it in the nets. Oh and be yourself, do what comes naturally then you can make changes later. You don't want to groove bad habits but it's all too easy to try and model yourself on someone you watch and it won't work for you. If you feel comfortable whirling in like qadir or mushie then do that. Don't feel you have to amble in like warne. But just for now a slow approach and concentrating on your arm position and wrist position is probably a good place to begin, perhaps even the Jenner prescribed standing start drills with zero run up. You'll eventually become your own bowler with your own style, it's very much trial and error.

[hopwoodbear]

when you see the likes of rashid and other top quality leggies bowling filth you realise it will never be perfect and is bloddy difficult

practice, practice and more practice is the only way

[GoldenArm]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nW1fRPqsa-A

I ripped this Benaud MCC masterclass off an old VHS ages ago and uploaded them for anyone interested, its good stuff. Although I don't agree with him that the thumb on or off the ball makes no difference, I added my thumb onto the ball in my grip a couple of seasons ago and it improved my control greatly at no sacrifice to spin. If you have massive hands you can probably have the thumb off but I've got little sausage fingers so I need it on!

[imran75]

@GoldenArm strange, as the reverse is true for me. Took my thumb off the ball and control improved hugely (i don't have massive hands). As you said earlier, it's all about learning the basics and then working out what works best for you.

[GoldenArm]

@GoldenArm strange, as the reverse is true for me. Took my thumb off the ball and control improved hugely (i don't have massive hands). As you said earlier, it's all about learning the basics and then working out what works best for you.

It still holds true though that one way or the other it was important! Benaud sort of dismisses it as if it doesn't matter when what I think he really means is do whichever you like but one will suit you more than the other.

[Nothing2SeeHere]

Have ordered the Philpott book. Will have a good read.

Thank you for the recommendation.

[Nothing2SeeHere]

Quick update. The book is good! Have made huge leaps of progress. Can recommend though that nobody try learning to leg spin. Its pretty addictive. Every now and then I deliver a fantastic ball that drifts, turns miles on pitching, bouncing into the bushes at the side and a little part of me inside is smoking a cigarette and thinking Feck Yeah! Its a great feeling and I want more and more of it.

I haven't reached the demoralising stage of bowling that peach of a delivery to see it sail back over my head yet as I'm still bowling about 1/20 really great balls and about 2/5 good enough for a match but thats still progress.

On the thumb thing. I find gripping with my thumb helps get the ball more square on which gives more spin and allows me to lift my arm a bit higher (less round arm) which helps with my accuracy immensely. With more experience I may find otherwise.

[Nothing2SeeHere]

Another update. Maybe my experiences will help others also going through the same pain of learning.

Massive changes to my action of late. Was plodding on getting reasonable results when I watched a Shane tutorial. I have watched plenty of people doing the toss the ball from one hand to the other on youtube before but never from the over the shoulder angle. From that it was apparent I was spinning out of the palm of the hand ( I guess like a reverse off spinner?). So last week I spent the evenings modifying my technique. Plenty of changes. I no longer bring the thumb into play. My fore and middle fingers are now splayed further apart (small hands have necessitated I adopt the techniques taught to children) and I also grip less tightly (this took a while to figure out how lightly I could hold the ball).

I have only had one practice session with this new grip but I'm excited by the results. Length is as poor as ever but I can now bowl with a much higher arm which is making a huge difference to overall accuracy and still get good turn (although not consistently getting big turn). Even better, by releasing from the back of the hand I can finally understand how to bowl the wrong'un. So I gave it a go! First ball turned 4-5 inches. Second ball turned well too. Third, fourth and fifth deliveries kind of went straight on but even so I was delighted to bowl deliveries that wouldn't have been classed as wide on my first attempts - and some of them turned.

Still plenty of work to do but I'm still revelling in being at the beginning of the learning curve where every little adjustment brings big rewards.

[Woodyspin]

Great work mate, ive been known to throw up the odd leggy if needed in a game. As you can tell thr wrong un is relatively easy to turn but even harder to control

Id you keep you arm high you should get the natural drift and dip on the ball, if you need help with accuracy I've used felt on a wicket to help concentration on accuracy

[Nothing2SeeHere]

Thanks for the encouragement. For accuracy I have a couple of sticks marking out a length range and I'm trying to land everything within that range. I need to check out what a good length is for a spinner as I'm currently using a similar length to a slow medium dobber (about 4-5 metres from the stumps).

I acknowledge I'm cheating slightly as to prevent damage to the grounds at the office I'm using windballs which probably grip significantly more but I'm a big believer in positive reinforcement - better to have obvious feedback when making small adjustments (for those learning swing bowling they also turn like a banana when new making learning to swing both ways easy at much lower speeds = less fatigue = more practice time)

I'm probably a good way off a smaller target. I never had better accuracy than about a front car mat sized target in my medium paced dobbers. I'll settle for no wides in an over and work up from there. I have noticed that the change in technique has affected my dobber accuracy. I bowl medium pace chest on but need to follow the side on action for spin to get a better release point

[Hoover]

The second best ever explains it best in my opinion...
https://youtu.be/VRalbzmKIEM