India vs England 2016: 5 reasons why England struggle to bowl and play spin

England cricket is in a spin, once again and that too quite literally. After having dominated at home the team struggled against an inspired Bangladesh team on slow turning tracks. They somehow manage to escape defeat in the first Test match, largely due to the heroics of Ben Stokes, they were brought back down to reality in Dhaka.

While there is no shame in losing to Bangladesh in home conditions, the fact that the English team surrendered in such abject manner has a sense of deja vu attached to it. For long, spin has been an Achilles heel for England and even this new crop of players seem to find themselves in a real soup when confronted with the spinning ball.

The alarm bells are ringing and they are quite loud as their next assignment is against India, the number 1 ranked team, a team which has decimated oppositions at home.

Here in this list, we take a look at 5 things England players need to do to overcome their spin woes, both with the bat and with the ball.

#1 Judging the lengths of the ball

One of the most important criteria to play spin is the ability to judge the length and then accordingly react with the footwork. This is where the English batsmen have failed miserably. Very often, the batsmen have been stuck in the crease and have been neither forward nor backwards, mainly because they could not gauge the length of the ball. This has resulted in the bowlers pinning them down and then eventually nailing them right in front of the stumps, or by getting through their defence.

Indian spinners, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja believe in hitting the lengths and being patient. They vary their lengths in a very subtle manner and if the England batters do not improve their ability to read the length quickly this tour can become a big nightmare for them.

#2 Reading the spin from the hand

The batsmen should follow the ball from the bowler’s hands and not depend on the pitch

Indian spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja are conventional spinners who rely more on varying the flight and dip more than any mystery. Their wrist position dictates the position of the spin which in turn determines the dip and spin on the ball.

If the batsmen are not looking at the bowlers closely, and rely on reading the spin after it has pitched they are in for a real struggle. The fizz on the ball and the trait of the pitch will ensure that they do not have time to adjust if they read the spin off the pitch, and thus it becomes essential they try to figure out the spin from the hand itself.

#3 Rotating the strike

The batsmen should get close to the pitch of the ball and then look to rotate the strike

Often when the pressure is on of the best place to play spin is from the non-striker’s end. This is what England batsmen should follow in India. If they fail to rotate the strike and allow the bowlers to keep bowling at them, sooner or later one unplayable ball will claim their wicket.

And this is where wrist work and the ability to manoeuvre the field comes to the fore. The ability to get close to the pitch of the ball and then work the ball away to change ends. These tactics will also ensure that the bowlers will have to keep working on their variations and the batsmen will always be on the move.

#4 Bowlers will have to find the right pace

The spinners should work on hitting the perfect length

During the tour to Bangladesh, the England spin bowlers were out bowled by the hosts by a fair margin. This was mainly due to the fact the English bowlers tried to do too much and never maintained any pressure on the batsmen. This was due to the fact that the English spinners tried to bowl wide of the stumps and when the ball did not turn it became quite easy to play through the line.

Bangladesh spinners, on the other hand, targeted the stumps more and forced the batsmen to play more often than not. On low and slow pitches, this are the tactics which should be followed. A lesson which the English spinners should learn and execute.

#5 Playing the lines and not following the ball

Batsmen should watch out for the ball which keeps straight

On pitches which aid spinners, more often than not batsmen are dismissed by deliveries which do not turn. This is where the batsmen will have to guard against and they should look to play the line and not follow the spin of the ball. If the ball does not turn they will have the bat right in line, and if it breaks away they will be beaten.

The batsmen have to be committed in their footwork and should look to go right back or right forward while smothering the spin. Although, the Indian spinners will pitch the ball in a spot where it will be difficult for batsmen to either come forward or go back. This is where the batsmen need to come out of the crease and close to the pitch of the ball. It all depends on the approach of the batsmen and what lessons have they learnt.