The beauty and romance of the art of off spin bowling

Graeme Swann

Cricket has many facets which please the eyes of the connoisseur. To some it’s the athleticism and power generated by genuine fast bowlers that holds the maximum appeal. For others, it lies in the art of reverse swing, where the ball moves in ways opposite to conventional wisdom.

Let us focus our attention today on the art of off spin bowling, with its various subtleties, and how it has often been compared to the most romantic art in all of cricket.

Off spin bowling technically involves spinning the ball into a right hand batsman and away from a left hand batsman. The bowlers use their wrists and/or fingers to spin the ball. Off spin bowlers often rely on beating the batsmen in flight and trajectory to get them out. The art has been practiced by many bowlers in international cricket, but has been mastered by few.

One of the first names which comes to mind is Erapalli Prasanna of India, who was the fastest Indian to 100 Test wickets in only 20 matches, before being bettered by Ravichandran Ashwin. He had great wrists which enabled him to master the flight and trajectory of the cricket ball like no other off spin bowler in history.

He made the ball dip alarmingly off any length. Batsmen were left searching for the ball often while facing him. Ian Chappell, one of the best players of spin bowling of his era, commented that he felt that Prasanna kept the ball on a string, and at the last moment pulled it, to put the batsman completely out of position. His flight and drift fooled many a swift-footed bastman, including the likes of Ian Chappell.

In recent years, Muttiah Muralitharan and Saqlain Mustaq wrote new chapters in off spin bowling. Murali’s unorthodox action enabled him to impart great fizz on the cricket ball and he spun the ball big. He bamboozled many batsmen with his sharp spin and variations and became the most successful bowler ever in Test history with 800 wickets to his name. His varieties were subtle and difficult to pick for most batsmen of his era.

Saqlain invented the ‘doosra’, a mystery ball that turns away from the right-hander, as opposed to the conventional inward movement. This ball opened up a world of opportunities for off spinners to fool batsmen further. Saqlain used this effectively against India in the 1999 Test series and got Sachin Tendulkar out at a crucial moment in the Chennai Test using this very delivery.

Murali further mastered the doosra and not only brought the ball in, but spun it big too. This made him an even bigger threat to face. Rahul Dravid commented that the addition of the big spinning doosra to his repertoire made Murali an even bigger threat to face.

Currently, Saeed Ajmal is using this delivery effectively and it has enabled him to reach the top of the bowlers’ rankings in both Tests and ODIs.

Generally speaking , off spin bowling is considered less difficult to play than leg spin bowling as off breaks typically spin less than leg breaks, and off spinners have a limited repertoire of deliveries to choose from than a leg spinner. However, off spin bowling has seen many torch-bearers over the years, winning matches for their respective countries by using their art. By doing so, bowlers like Murali and Ajmal have added further charm and glory to the art.

It has to be said that off spin bowling of the highest class is a treat to watch because of the fascination that people have with good flight and drift, which appeals to the eyes in a way no other bowling skill does. It is purely magical. It is a poet’s delight too as there is poetry and romanticism in off spin bowling, which is without parallel in any other area of cricket. Long may the drifters and the flighters continue to amaze us with their art and magic and bring greater glories to the game of cricket. Amen!