Are classic leg-spin bowlers the most endangered species in cricket? It certainly looks that way

Last year, the cricket world was shocked to hear of the sudden passing of one of the biggest legends of the sport – Shane Warne. Few players evoke the kind of universal acclaim that the Australian leg-spinner did. His reputation as the biggest and craftiest wizard is universally established.

In the wake of Warne’s untimely death, tributes poured in from around the world. On YouTube, several channels, including Cricket Australia’s official one, shared highlights of some of the most spectacular deliveries bowled by the Aussie legend.

The curvaceous drift of the ball, followed by prodigious turn off the pitch, was the biggest hallmark of Warne’s bowling. The number of times batsmen around the world saw the legendary tweaker’s deliveries pitch way outside their leg-stump (for right handers) or their off-stump (for lefties) and inexplicably hit the wickets is astonishing.

Few things in cricket are as delightful to watch as a highlights package of Shane Warne’s bowling. The sheer beauty of his art is a pleasure to the senses of cricket lovers.

However, there is something very interesting about all the highlights packages of the late Australian icon’s bowling. There are almost no deliveries that are not leg-breaks.

The only variations we see in these highlight reels is the famous Warne flipper. Even this delivery, which skids on rather than turn and bounce like the leg-break, became very rare from the great spinner after he suffered a shoulder injury in late 1990s.

There are almost no googlies, top spinners, zooters, or any other ‘mystery ball’ in these delightful snippets. This is very significant in the context of modern-day cricket.

Obsession with 'mystery balls' in assessment of spinners

Rashid Khan has emerged as a leading spinner in T20 cricket

In the last decade and a half, the cricket world has become obsessed with ‘mystery balls’ of spinners. Invariably, when any spinner arrives on the big stage, the first reaction of the fans and even experts is to know what is that spinner’s ‘mystery ball’.

The more variations a tweaker possesses, the more skilful and dangerous he is thought to be. This tendency to judge spinners on the basis of their variations has been greatly magnified due to the astronomical increase in T20 cricket, especially the leagues around the world.

Yet, the greatest leg-spinner of all time never needed the googly. Even his flipper was a rare variation that became nearly absent in the second half of his career. And Warne wasn’t playing in pre-historic times either. He was contemporaneous with the growth of the ‘doosra’ as an equally, if not more, dangerous variation as the googly.

Now, let’s also ask another question: How many successful leg-spinners have emerged in Test cricket since the retirement of Shane Warne and Anil Kumble? We are not even talking about great, just successful spinners? The answer is – 1. That lone ranger is Yasir Shah of Pakistan, who became the fastest bowler to reach 200 Test wickets (based on the number of matches).

The likes of Imran Tahir, Amit Mishra and Devendra Bishoo had very fleeting success.

So, is there a link between the great paucity of quality leg-spinners in Tests and the trend of judging a spinner on the basis of variations? There definitely is.

Differences between spin bowling in T20s and Tests

Spin bowling in T20 cricket is diametrically different than in Tests

Bowling in T20 cricket is about being unpredictable and accurate. Spinners who can bowl flat and hold a tight line-and-length are very valuable. Those who can add to that variations are superstars – such as Rashid Khan.

However, in Test cricket, that’s not enough. The batsmen are in no hurry to score and in no need to go after the bowlers. A spinner of any kind, has to lure the batsman with a great deal of patience and craft, into playing an incorrect stroke. Just throwing a googly isn’t going to work, nor bowling a flat and straight line.

What is needed are high-quality leg-breaks, with as many revs on the ball as possible, and the most subtle variations of flight. That’s what Warne used to churn out in bulk.

Unfortunately, the money that can be made by the strenuous hard work in Test cricket is a pittance compared to the bounty of T20. The new generation of cricketers have grown up with this reality. They are, unsurprisingly, more interested in darting the ball in, getting it to go different ways rather than continuously ripping it hard and varying their flight moderately.

Neither Australia nor India, two traditional breeding grounds of great leg-spinners, have produced a successful bowler of this type for more than a decade. This is no co-incidence. Pakistan did, in the form of Yasir Shah, but he too has gone off the rails in the last couple of years.

The fact is, the supremacy and prolificity of T20 cricket isn’t going away. It is only going to increase. This means the motivation to do what is good for Test cricket is increasingly declining. We are going to see more and more leggies who are average tricksters with a bag full of tricks than a truly classy, crafty, and subtle leg-spinner.

This most charming and stunning art in cricket is in danger of extinction. There might still be the oddball who wants to be a bona fide legend of the game – something that T20 success won’t give – who aims to bowl like Shane Warne. But such a player would be very rare.

The art of classical leg-spin bowling is seriously endangered and there doesn’t seem to be a way to revive it at the moment. We wish Warney was here to raise this issue more assertively.