9 mystery spinners through the ages

Sunil narine
Sunil Narine is one of the mystery bowlers of the modern generation

3. Jack Iverson

Jack Iverson
Jack Iverson was known for his unusual grip

A fast bowler when at school, Jack Iverson took no part in cricket for twelve years afterwards and then came into the reckoning after developing a strange way of spinning the ball.

Gripping the ball between his thumb and middle finger, he was able to bowl a wide variety of deliveries, including off-breaks, leg-breaks, and googlies, without any remarkable change of action.

He first made headlines in cricket in 1949-50 when he took 46 wickets for Victoria at an average of 16.12. In the following autumn against W. A. Brown’s team in New Zealand, he snapped up 75 wickets in total and in the next Australian season, he was chosen for his country to play against England in the Ashes.

The Ashes turned out to be a juggernaut for him as he bewildered the English batsmen with his bagful of tricks. He took 21 wickets at an astounding average of 15.73 in that series and made his name instantly. However, during the fourth Test at Adelaide he suffered an ankle injury when he trod on the ball and after that he played only one game in each of the next two seasons.

Then he left the gentleman’s game forever and faded into obscurity.

Click here to get India Squad for T20 World Cup 2024. Follow Sportskeeda for the T20 World Cup Schedule, Points Table, and news

Quick Links

App download animated image Get the free App now