5 reasons why spinners bowl with the new ball

Spin bowling is one of the most special skills in the game of cricket. Unlike pace bowling, this art has a number of variants which are decided not only by the way the ball is being delivered but also the hand being used to do so. The right-arm wrist spinners and left-arm finger spinners turn the ball away from the right-handed batsman and vice versa.

Over the years, we have seen spin bowlers experiment with their trade in a lot of different ways, one of them being bowling with the new ball. While the norm has been for the faster men to take up the new cherry, there have been multiple occasions where skippers have tossed it to their tweakers across all formats of the game.

Here we try to figure out 5 primary reasons why spinners are given the new ball:

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#1 To get maximum purchase from a turning track

Pitches in countries of the Indian sub-continent are known for assisting the spinners. While some of them require gradual wear and tear during the course of the match in order to become highly favourable to spin bowling, there are others which begin to turn square from the very first day.

On the latter variety of pitches, which are commonly dubbed as ‘rank turners’ or ‘dustbowls’, skippers prefer to give the new ball to their spinners. The seam of a brand new ball is far more pronounced compared to an older one and allows the tweakers to get more out of the pitch.

This ploy has been used quite successfully by the Indians with Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja bowling in tandem at the start of the opponent team’s innings. Also, the Sri Lankans often bowl Rangana Herath with the new ball and he gets them the required results.

#2 To take pace off the ball during the powerplay overs in ODIs and T20s

Mohammad Hafeez of Pakistan used to bowl regularly with the new ball in limited-overs cricket

The new ball is used more regularly by the spinners in limited-overs cricket in comparison to the longest format. In ODIs and T20Is, though, the pitch is not always a factor in captains opting to give the slower bowlers a run-in with the brand new white ball.

During the powerplay overs in both ODI and T20I cricket, the batsmen prefer to face the quick bowlers as the ball comes on to the bat nicely and they can make full use of the fielding restrictions. However, with a spinner operating, they are forced to hit the ball harder due to lesser pace on the ball thereby creating an opportunity for the bowling side.

Former New Zealand captain Martin Crowe was perhaps the first skipper to use this tactic when he let off-spinner Dipak Patel open the bowling. Pakistani all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez, who is presently banned from bowling his off-spin, regularly bowled with the new ball in limited-overs cricket.

#3 To surprise the batsmen

The Indian batsmen were left shell-shocked by the New Zealand spinners in the 2016 World T20

The ploy of using the spinners with the new ball is often used just to take the batsmen by surprise, too. Under normal circumstances in any of the three formats of cricket, the quicker bowlers bowl during the first few overs and once the ball gets older, the spinners are introduced into the attack.

The batsmen walk out to the centre with a mindset of facing the pacers and prepare themselves accordingly. However, if a spin bowler comes into the attack with the new ball, they are forced to rethink their strategy and the surprise element often leads to a wicket in such a case.

Although there are chances of the move backfiring and working to the batsman’s advantage, it is certainly worth giving a try on certain occasions.

#4 Due to the bowler’s preference

Herath has always shown interest in bowling with the new ball

Sometimes, the personal preference of a spin bowler also pushes the captain in favour of throwing the new ball towards him. This mostly happens when the premier wicket-taker in the team is a spinner and he believes in his ability to make early inroads for his side.

The pitch conditions, again, tend to play an important role here as it must have something in it for the tweakers to feel that they can do the job. Sri Lankan left-arm spinner Rangana Herath is known for taking the mantle of bowling with the new ball, particularly on home pitches.

Legendary Indian leg-spinner Anil Kumble, too, was one of the bowlers who preferred to take the new ball at times and given his credentials, the captains seldom disagreed.

#5 To prey on the opponent team’s weakness against spin

India capitalised on South Africa’s spin weakness in a big way last year

Another scenario where skippers opt to bring the spinners in operation with the new ball is when the batsmen from the opposition team have a known weakness against the turning delivery. This happens mostly in the case of teams that travel to the Indian sub-continent, especially if the hosts are able to sense the chink in their armour.

The plan here is to make the batsmen come face to face with their worst fears early on in the innings and put pressure on them. This threat posed by the spinners often leads them into playing the wrong shots and giving away their wickets.

Teams from countries like Australia, South Africa and England have fallen victim to such plans on a number of occasions during their tours to India and Sri Lanka.