All about Spin bowling

Vineet Sharma

The game of cricket changed drastically with the advent of spin bowling. There were many new facets added to the game when this new style was introduced for the fist time. It made working on the ball a tricky affair and helped the game of cricket garner better skills in terms of the playing techniques of the batsmen as well as the bowlers.

Spin bowling is a kind of technique used for bowling in cricket. Practitioners of this wily craft are known as spinners or spin bowlers.

The main aim of spin bowling is to bowl the cricket ball with rapid rotation so that when it bounces on the pitch it will deviate, thus making it difficult for the batsman to hit the ball cleanly. The speed the ball travels is not critical, and is significantly lower than for fast bowling. A typical spin delivery has a speed in the range 70-90 km/h (45-55 mph).


This spin can be obtained using an array of styles. Some of the most commonly used styles are as follows:

Finger spin- It refers to the mechanical technique and specific hand movements associated with imparting a particular direction of spin to the cricket ball. The other spinning technique, generally used to spin the ball in the opposite direction, is Wrist spin. Although there are exceptions, finger spinners generally turn the ball less than wrist spinners. However, because the technique is simpler and easier to master, finger spinners tend to be more accurate.

Depending on the orientation of the rotation of the ball, spin bowling can be of many types.

Off spin - Right-handed with finger spin technique. (eg. Muttiah Muralitharan)

Leg spin - Right-handed with wrist spin technique. (eg. Shane Warne)

Left-arm orthodox spin - Left-handed with finger spin technique. (eg. Abdur Razzak, Bangladesh)

Left-arm unorthodox spin - Left-handed with wrist spin technique. (eg. Brad Hogg)

Depending on technique, a spin bowler uses wrist or finger motion to impart spin to the ball around a horizontal axis that is at an oblique angle to the length of the pitch. This sort of spin means it is also possible for the Magnus effect to cause the ball to deviate sideways through the air, before it bounces. Such deviation is called drift. The combination of drift and spin can make the ball`s trajectory complex, with a change of direction at the bounce. This variety of trajectories achievable by a spin bowler can bewilder inexperienced or poor batsmen.

Even the best of willow wielders have been left bamboozled by the spinning greats of this century. Australia’s Shane Warne surprised everyone with his ‘History Ball’ which seemed to defy the laws of physics before it dislodged the stumps of Mike Gadding in his first Ashes outing. The then young spinner went ahead to trample every bowling record of his era and was feared by every opposition batsman he ever faced.

India’s Anil Kumble and Bishen Singh Bedi, Pakistan’s Saqlain Mushtaq, Abdul Quadir and Mushtaq Ahmad have been forces to reckon with due to their prowess in spin bowling.

All in all, this art of bowling in the sport of cricket has indeed revolutionised the game forever and stamped its authority all over the face of the 22-yard pitch that decides the fate of a match.