Cricket Articles

How to bowl Off-Spin

The off-spinner is the opposite form of spin bowling to the leg-spinner. Hence, the delivery spins the opposite way. To a right handed bowler, bowling to right handed batsmen, the ball spins towards the leg side, from the off side. There are 3 types of deliveries an off-spinner can bowl. These include the off-break (spin), which is the bowler's stock delivery, the doosra and the arm ball.

Off Break: The off break is the standard, stock delivery of the off-spinner. As the name suggests, the ball breaks away from the off-side, towards the leg (right handed bowler, bowling to a right handed batsmen). The grip on the ball should have the thumb under the ball, on the seam. The index finger and middle finger should grip the top part of the ball, on the seam. The seam position should face across the batsmen. The wrist position at delivery should face towards the point/cover region. When delivering the ball, the wrist should turn clockwise, like you would to turn a door-knob. This imparts clockwise (off) spin on the ball. The ball will then turn upon pitching, into the batsmen.

It is important to be prepared to give the ball some flight. That is to loop the ball. This will give you a chance of taking wickets as it draws the batsmen into a loose shot. You and your captain have to be prepared to go for runs when bowling off-spin. However, it does provide a good chance of mixing things up, and taking wickets. The Off Break delivery can vary by the pitch of the delivery (full or short), the flight of the delivery (loopy or flat), the speed of the delivery (slow or fast), and the amount of spin applied to the ball.

Doosra: The Doosra delivery is the opposite of the Off Break. Instead of the ball spinning into the batsmen, the ball spins away from the batsmen, as a leg break would. The grip of the Doosra is the same as the Off Break, with the same clockwise twist of the wrists. The difference comes from the wrist position. The wrist turns so that the back of the faces the batsmen. This causes the ball to be imparted with the spin going in the direction away from the batsmen.

Arm Ball: This delivery is likened to the leg spinner's slider. The ball goes straight on towards the batsmen, instead of spinning. This delivery is bowled without turning the wrists or fingers. This causes the ball to be released with no spin on it, resulting in a straight delivery. To make this ball effective, the seam should be held upright. This will cause the ball to swing.

This ball, with the doosra, should be used as a surprise ball to confuse the batsmen and to keep them guessing.

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