I would add that back foot parallel with he back crease is really important. If you come from seam bowling this will be counter intuitive (and would give you back issues pretty quickly if you did this as a seam bowler). Ideal once the back foot lands you are looking past or around your front (none bowling) arm and are almost completely side on. Another thing that is entirely different from seam bowing is how long into your action you wait before starting your release arm action. It might only be a fraction of a second - but it feels very different. You drive with your right hip so (for a right hander) you start the action staring at the umpire's face (or mid on if he's up close) and finish it looking to extra cover You do this in the video but I think it needs to be said that this is important. Your wrist position will follow your feet and legs and hips and upper body in that order. If you bowl off spin from a "chest on" start you will probably send the ball down with the seam rotating back towards mid on rather than canted towards leg slip. That's a decent variation. It might stop a little and bounce a little, but you won't get much (if any) turn and you will lose all drift and drop The reason you don't damage your back is that you start arm action slightly later as a spinner - a fraction after you've started driving your right hip forward. You don't ~"pull through the chest" really at all. Coming from many years as a seamer, and wanting to be a proper spinner (rather than a lazy old ex-seamer who lobs down none spinning stuff) the transition isn't simple. There are many things trained into muscle memory you need to unlearn. Some people find it easy. Others never do it (Hence so many 50 year old ex seamers who roll the ball down with zero spin "landing it on a length" and "doing a job") Back foot parallel, force the right hip through, wait...... a fraction for the right position. Bowl. Also flick the wrist. I don't know how many times I hear off-spinners say ~"turning a door knob" Yeah - that will work, and put about "3 revs an hour" on the ball You want a cock wrist to come forward with as much of a flick as you can. If it's a door knob you want to think of spinning it so fast you take the brass of it A good example to watch is Moeen Ali (not saying he's the best offie - but he does demonstrate a hell of a good "wrist flick" )and is known for putting many revs on the ball for an offie. Watch his wrist on release. It's a blur. From cocks to extension and off the tip of the index finger. Have a look at about 1:20 in this video ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-r8JZPamYOyM.html No-one turns a door knob like that. Great video Buzz :)
I'm one of those ex seamers. Can't get the back foot parallel due to old knee injuries. Can't get the hang of off spin. Ball seems to come out with back spin rather than off spin and seam pointing in working direction. So a curious opposite of the intention.
@C R I would say practice release from a standing position. No run up. Be really conscious of getting your bowling shoulder well ahead of your head and neck before you release the ball. Then see what angle the ball is spinning. If this works you'll get the feel of the right release position of your wrist, shoulder and body position. Once you've done many repetitions of that, start adding a small run up to get more energy into the action. GOOD LUCK :)
I would say particularly for those with smaller hands. Thumb on during the run up and load is ok. As long as the thumb comes off before you pivot and release. During your run up and load it really doesn’t matter. Sometimes having your thumb on until late in the action can make you feel more comfortable and most Importantly allow your index and middle finger to relax right up until the point where you need them to start imparting revs on the ball. Having tense index and middle finger will likely stop you spinning the ball as much, or even at all.
My local village has just started a team and I'm too old to learn how to bat so i tried bowling spin in the nets. I got some results but far too slowly. I think you are spot on about hands because mine are particularly small and my thumb stays on the ball. I will give your advice a go. I take it that a strong pivot and action will help getting the ball 'up and over' to confuse the batsman?
Hi Andy ive just found your channel and now im going to watch all of your videos, i have been trying to get my head around how to spin the ball for years ive never been able to do it and noone has ever explained it to me this clearly. Ive always kept my thumb on the ball and i think thats been my problem! I cant wait to try out some of your techniques in the morning! Thanks very much mate
During run up and load it's Ok to have thumb on the ball. It's at delivery it needs to be off the ball. I tend to take my thumb off at load up, when my bowing arm is parallel to the ground. It's a mental thing. Security. I know I have the ball held correctly and the seam in the right position. I don;t think about it, my thumb just comes off at that point and always has.
Focus on isolating the movement with your wrist. Start by simply rolling your wrist forwards and back whilst releasing the ball. Slowly build into a full delivery. Don't rush the process. It will feel boring and frustrating but its so important to work on this as a spinner. Without the fundamentals it will be very hard to be consistent. Good luck, let me know how you get on!
Your finger (index) is like an accelerator, the more force you put into the ball (revolutions) the more spin you will create. If additional fingers of your thumb are in contact with the ball (at release) it will acted as a break on the amount of spin you can deliver. You can create more spin via use of both your body and wrist.
I used to be able to turn a ball square, but after a break of 10 years, when I try to bowl offspin today I keep under cutting the ball. I still am able to impart a lot of revs, but at he point of release I keep cocking my wrist, this results in a floater. Any exercises I can do to counter this?
When I bowl the balls seam moves backward because my wrist turns back and the ball goes like a arm ball seam facing 1 slip or it the seam goes sideways but the seam does not go forward i have tried but I cannot fix it please help me
galib hasan chowdhury focus on what naturally comes to you. A run up as a spinner is simply designed to get you from A to B consistently, economically and rhythmically
My grip uses my middle finger to hold the ball, kind of like doing the number 3 with thumb index and middle finger (if that makes sense). What is the negatives of this? Reason is as a kid i had small hands and only way i could hold the ball. Split finger feels uncomfortable.
