tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-345351152024-03-13T22:14:36.033-07:00The DoosraCricket IdeasBruce Charltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09615189090601688535noreply@blogger.comBlogger69125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34535115.post-84443831099003877122016-01-01T09:08:00.005-08:002016-01-01T11:29:29.669-08:002015 - the year the doosra died. End of the golden era of mystery spinThe final nail in the coffin was the banning of Sunil Narine in November, who was the last top level doosra bowler. The ICC have had a concerted campaign to eliminate the doosra, on the basis that it is 'illegal' - and they have succeeded with astonishing rapidity and completeness.<br />
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The doosra is now as extinct as the dodo. I hope the ICC secret police are happy at their success, because the game of cricket is significantly worse as a result of their activity. <br />
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This blog was begun in 2006 to celebrate and explore this exciting new set of deliveries by which an off spinner could bowl a leg-break with minimal change of action.<br />
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The delivery was popularized in the mid 1990s by Saqlain Mushtaq and reached its peak with Saeed Ajmal up until 2014 when he was banned (he had been the best spinner in the world for several years, and my personal favourite bowler - but from then his career was destroyed).<br />
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For a few glorious years the game of cricket - and especially the fifty over and T20 forms, were enlivened by what seemed like a galaxy of 'mystery spinners' of many types and varying abilities - all of them now neutered or gone altogether except for Ashwin who used the 'carrom', finger flick method; and who has now become the best spinner in the world (especially since the new spinning superstar, Yasir Shah has been suspended after a failed drug test).<br />
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Is cricket a better game now that spin has been all but deleted from front line bowling? Of course not - it is a far worse game.<br />
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Was it necessary, or 'fair' to destroy the doosra simply because it was 'illegal'? Of course not! The answer was not to destroy it, but to legalize it - as happened in the past with round-arm bowling, then over-arm bowling (indeed, the original bowling delivery of under-arm is the one that is now illegal).<br />
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What <i>harm </i>did the doosra do in the recent era of its success? None that I can see - it simply enhanced the game, made it more exciting, mysterious - gave bowlers back some of the ground they have lost to bat technology and (whisper it not!) the batters increasing use of undetectable human hormones (such as testosterone and growth hormone) as performance enhancing drugs.<br />
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Why was it banned? Perhaps because: 1. Cricket is a batsman's game; 2. England and Australia (two out of three of the game's ruling elites) could not find any doosra bowlers of their own; 3. The cricket administrators short-termist but insatiable appetite for ever more and more runs (esepcially sixes) in the shorter forms of the game (which is why ridiculously unfair changes in bat technology and the batters ever more Hulk-like drug-induced physiques have been conveniently ignored).<br />
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Anyway, it is all finished - the kill-joys have won the day; the batters have got their way.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Reference: my doosra posts:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://the-doosra.blogspot.co.uk/search?q=doosra">http://the-doosra.blogspot.co.uk/search?q=doosra</a></span><br />
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. Bruce Charltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09615189090601688535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34535115.post-19090571450951196512014-09-14T01:50:00.002-07:002014-09-14T01:50:29.892-07:00The banning of Saeed Ajmal - what is the priority? Answer: to get him playing again. Method - legalize 40 degrees of elbow straightening for the weak-throw/ back-chuck*<br />
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When a great bowler is banned for so-called throwing (actually, the back-chuck 'weak throw' - palm facing the bowler, used by a spinner - is not-at-all what was meant by throwing when laws were made against throwing), yet, if people are honest, <i>there is no real problem with the 'gut-level fairness' of Ajmal's bowling method</i><br />
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- it is not dangerous<br />
- it does not give the bowler an unfair advantage<br />
- indeed Ajmal's is an extremely difficult type of delivery to master and nobody else has succeeded in mastering it...<br />
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Then the priority is to change the laws of cricket in such a way as he can play again.<br />
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If, as some leaked ICC reports suggest, Ajmal was straightening his elbow by 40 degrees in some deliveries, and given that cricket lovers have all delighted in the immaculate bowling of Ajmal for several years at the highest level - <i>then we now <b>know </b>that 40 degrees of elbow straightening should be allowed for the weak-throw/ back-chuck.</i><br />
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40 degrees therefore needs to be set as the new standard (while retaining 15 degrees as the maximum straightening for the strong-throw - with palm facing the batter).<br />
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*Bruce Charltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09615189090601688535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34535115.post-46817314883992765732014-09-10T03:24:00.005-07:002014-09-10T03:24:37.406-07:00Saeed Ajmal banned - by Scyld Berry in the Daily Telegraph*<br />
I reprint this because it refers to me in the fourth and third paragraphs before the end.<br />
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*<br />
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Article by Scyld Berry, telegraph.co.uk, 10:19 BST 10 September 2014<br />
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<span style="color: #282828; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.48em;">"Wounded Tiger" is the title of the fine new history of </span><span style="color: black;"><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/cricket/international/pakistan/" sl-processed="1" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.48em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><strong>Pakistan</strong></a><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.48em;"> </span></span><span style="color: #282828; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.48em;">cricket by Peter Oborne. But now that Saeed Ajmal, their star spinner, has been banned from bowling, "Paralysed Tiger" might be more appropriate.</span></div>
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It is the latest in a series of body-blows. Pakistan can never play an international match at home. Their players are never allowed to cash in by playing in the Indian Premier League. They are the only country to labour under these two handicaps.</div>
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And now their best spinner has been banned for throwing. The world's most effective spinner as well. The one area in which Pakistan led the world game was in having the best pair of Test spinners, in Ajmal and Abdur-Rehman, but now they have been split up - and India's pair of Ravis, Ashwin and Jadeja, can nip in and take their title.</div>
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Ajmal has taken 178 Test wickets - and not a single one in Pakistan, because he has never had the chance to play at home, having debuted after the Lahore terrorist attack in 2009. It would be a form of rough justice, I suppose, if Pakistan's bowlers were allowed one extra degree of elbow flexion for every year they have to spend in exile.</div>
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But Pakistan are not being targeted for victimisation. All around the world offspinners of all nationalities have been getting it in the neck - or rather their right elbow.</div>
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<span style="line-height: 1.48em;">The list extends almost from A to Z, from Bangladesh's Sohag Gazi, New Zealand's Kane Williamson, Sri Lanka's Sachithra Senanayake, and West Indies' Shane Shillingford to Zimbabwe's Prosper Utseya. It is not just Ajmal who has been singled out for deviating from the straight and narrow.</span></div>
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This story started at the last ICC cricket committee meeting earlier this summer, when its members decided to get tough on bowling actions and clamp down for the good of the sport and its future.</div>
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A bowler who has a unique action as the result of some inherited peculiarity, or genetic defect, is one thing. But when youngsters start copying such a bowler for no need, that is another ball-game. The committee decided it was time to take action before such developments spiralled out of hand.</div>
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And this is not your usual ICC committee, dominated by businessmen and politicians who have never played the game and fall asleep in meetings. It is what it says on the tin: international, and run by cricketers past and present - you could form a fine Test XI out of them - with Steve Davis acting as the umpires' representative.</div>
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What is more, national boards are listening and towing the line. Once the ICC cricket committee had embarked on their clampdown on suspected bowlers, boards around the world realised that they had to back it up.</div>
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It is partly a question of financial investment - something that national boards can understand. You identify a spinner and pick him for your country's national age-group sides, send him to the youth World Cup, promote him to your Test or limited-overs team and bingo! Or rather, no-ball! An umpire reports him for throwing, he is found to have an elbow bent more than 15', then banned, and a lot of money has gone down the drain, never mind his aspirations.</div>
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As the main centres for elbow-testing have been Cardiff, Perth and Brisbane, there may be a whiff of imperialism in the air - but one in Bangalore is expected to come on stream soon.</div>
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And if Pakistan's supporters are upset, so are Worcestershire's. Their promotion to the first division of the county championship, if they do clinch it, will not look so good. Nor will the umpires who have let Ajmal, and Williamson, bowl so much in county cricket without being fingered.</div>
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Professor Bruce Charlton has renewed a suggestion he made in 'The Cricketer' a few years back. He distinguishes between two forms of throwing. One is strong-throwing: that is, with the palm of the bowler's hand facing the batsman, which can generate quite a few extra mph.</div>
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The second form, as Charlton classifies it, is weak-throwing, which is done with the back of the bowler's hand facing the batsman. This is the way the doosra is bowled. And he argues that weak-throwing should be legalised, or the permitted amount of flexion extended above 15'.</div>
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My hope is that the intended, or unintended, consequence of this ICC clampdown is that wrist-spin will revive. Its practitioners have virtually disappeared from international cricket, out-numbered by offspinners armed with a doosra.</div>
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But when India unveiled Karn Sharma in the T20I at Edgbaston last Sunday, England's right-handers had no answer, even if Eoin Morgan did. There is the flamboyant Imran Tahir appearing occasionally for South Africa, but no regular wrist-spinner in Tests or one-day internationals, and there should be - for variety's sake, but not least because it is deemed impossible for a legspinner to throw.</div>
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Bruce Charltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09615189090601688535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34535115.post-8986191572318158202014-08-01T07:44:00.002-07:002014-08-01T07:44:57.567-07:00Moeen Ali cannot bowl a doosra (or, at least, not a useful one - or so I predict)*<br />
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I am delighted that Moeen Ali bowled so well in the Southampton Test against India - and I am not at all surprised.<br />
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He has a really nice classical off-spinner's action, and spins the ball almost as rapidly as Swann (and considerably more rapidly than either India's Jajeda or of Sri Lanka's Herath).<br />
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But I predict that <i>Moeen will <b>not </b>be able to bowl a doosra</i> - at least, he will not be able to bowl a useful doosra at teh test match level (i.e. that a delivery that is legal, hard to pick, reliable and effective). This is simply because he has a classic off-spinners grip and action - holding the ball between index and middle finger and delivering it from the front of the hand; and a doosra cannot be bowled with that kind of grip and action (nobody has ever done it).<br />
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The fact that Moeen has been tutored by Saeed Ajmal at Worcestershire is irrelevant; since Ajmal has a completely different method. He grips the ball between middle and ring finger, and delivers both off-spinner and doosra with the back of his hand towards the batter and a forward flick of the wrist.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><a href="http://the-doosra.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/how-does-saeed-ajmal-bowl-his-doosra.html">http://the-doosra.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/how-does-saeed-ajmal-bowl-his-doosra.html</a></span><br />
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But Moeen does not need a doosra - he has already shown that he can beat the bat on both sides - even with very good players.<br />
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Given his excellent batting and superb temperament, England now solved their spin problem and have a really valuable all-round cricketer in Moeen Ali. <br />
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*Bruce Charltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09615189090601688535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34535115.post-25309707585404122752014-04-17T05:22:00.002-07:002014-04-25T07:00:40.384-07:00How to bowl a flipper-doosra*<br />
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This should work for an off-spinner (or orthodox slow left armer) who has a high action (near vertical arm at delivery) and large hands.<br />
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For an off-spinner - the usual grip is between index and middle fingers across the seam , with the ball stabilized by the thumb and ring finger, also resting on the seam.<br />
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To deliver the flipper-doosra the grip is very similar, but with index and middle fingers just spread apart and <i>resting </i>on top of the seam - while the ball is actually being <i>gripped </i>between the thumb and ring finger, which are on opposite sides of the ball, thumb and ring finger on the seam. <br />
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For the normal off-break, at the moment of delivery the seam is angled towards leg-slip.The ball is spun by rotating the wrist and forearm to move the seam in a clockwise and pointing-forward direction.<br />
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For the flipper-doosra, at the moment of delivery the little finger side of the hand is presented to the batter, and the seam is angled towards first slip; and the ball is spun by <i>snapping</i> the ring finger down, so the ball pivots on the thumb - just the same motion as you could use to 'snap your fingers', using ring finger and thumb.<br />
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*<br />
<br />
So, from the batter's perspective, there is only a small angular difference between the delivery angle of the off-break (stock delivery, coming in towards the right-hander) and the flipper doosra (moving away from the right-hander).<br />
<br />
Given that the grip is so similar, I think the flipper-doosra would be hard for a batsman to 'pick'. <br />
<br />
*<br />
<br />
The disadvantage of the flipper-doosra (assuming that it could be practised until it was controlled) is that the finger snap is tiring for the fingers, so the delivery probably could not be used very frequently - and the ring finger is neither very powerful nor easy to control. <br />
<br />
If the fingers actually snapped together, made a snapping noise, then this would potentially alert the batter that the variation which goes the other way was coming.<br />
<br />
Otherwise it might be worth a try. <br />
<br />
* <br />
<br />
Note: The flipper-doosra could also be used to bowl an off-break - therefore making it a double-bluff against batters who manage to 'pick' the flipper action. This would simply be done by rotating the wrist before release, so the seam points towards leg-slip (instead of towards first slip).Bruce Charltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09615189090601688535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34535115.post-21138929786533071502013-10-19T05:02:00.000-07:002013-10-19T05:02:26.726-07:00What would be the maximum speed of a fast bowler if throwing was allowed? 110 mph*<br />
<br />
In the previous posting<br />
<br />
<a href="http://the-doosra.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/where-does-bowlers-pace-come-from-spin.html"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">http://the-doosra.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/where-does-bowlers-pace-come-from-spin.html</span></a><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> </span><br />
<br />
I suggested that the long run-up of a fast bowler generates about an extra 10 mph pace, on top of the short run-up of a slow, spin bowler. <br />
<br />
I am assuming that the short, slow 'walk' to the crease of a typical spinner is more about achieving balance and technique than speed - and that the typical spinners 'run' up does not add to the arm speed. <br />
<br />
*<br />
<br />
In baseball, where the pitcher throws the ball after standing then a single step forward (no run up), a Major League fast ball travels at about 95-100mph).<br />
<br />
So a fast bowler with long run-up is 90-95mph, and a fastball pitcher without run-up is about 95-100 - therefore the throwing adds about 10 mph (and we already know that the run-up adds about 10 mph). <br />
<br />
Therefore, a combination of throwing plus run-up in the fastest bowler/thrower would probably be about 105-110 mph (fastball 95-100 plus 10).<br />
<br />
In other words, if throwing was allowed in cricket, the <b>fastest possible delivery</b> that combined both throwing and a long run-up would probably be <b>about 110 mph</b>. <br />
<br />
*<br />
<br />Bruce Charltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09615189090601688535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34535115.post-91906673440565420292013-10-19T04:58:00.001-07:002013-10-19T04:58:50.681-07:00Saeed Ajmal is as good or better than Shane Warne*<br />
<br />
Warne: 4.9 wickets per Test Match; average 25; economy rate 2.7.<br />
<br />
Ajmal: 5.3 wickets per Test Match; average 27; economy rate 2.7<br />
<br />
So Ajmal takes significantly more wickets per test than Warne, but at a slightly higher average per wicket.<br />
<br />
However, if adjustment is made for the generally higher batting and bowling averages of modern cricket compared with Warne's era, this probably leaves Ajmal ahead. <br />
<br />
Ajmal is a really, really good bowler! In the same league as Warne and better than any other spinner in the modern game except of course the best of all: Murali.<br />
<br />
This means that , from statistics, <i>currently - now - playing each other in the same Test series - </i>we have one of the very greatest ten or so spin bowlers of all time, and probably the greatest ever pace bowler of all time.<br />
<br />
(I mean Dale Steyn.)<br />
<br />
Why isn't more of a fuss made about this?<br />
<br />
* Bruce Charltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09615189090601688535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34535115.post-5539389167518451312013-08-30T12:13:00.000-07:002013-10-10T05:19:51.391-07:00T20 six-hitting sluggers seem to be using performance-enhancing drugs*<br />
<br />
It looks to me as if the new generation of T20 batters are going the same way as baseball sluggers - in other words getting into the whole body-building culture, including performance enhancing drugs - many of which are undetectable.<br />
<br />
When I say 'looks to me' I mean that there is a fairly characteristic body shape and coarsened facial appearance (heavy brows, prominent lower jaw) which many of these drug users develop - and I think I see some of these changes in some of the big hitting T20 batters. <br />
<br />
If this is the case it will, no doubt, be quite well known to insiders - as was always the case in baseball where heavy drug use was endemic among the most successful batters for many years before there was any attempt to stop it - and even after testing drug usage has remained very widespread.<br />
<br />
*<br />
<br />
Why T20?<br />
<br />
Partly the big money to be made; but also the one-dimensional and simple nature of T20 batting makes it the kind of sport where drugs can make a significant difference.<br />
<br />
Hitting sixes is at a premium, and this requires strength and bat speed - both of which are amenable to drug improvement.<br />
<br />
And the organizers want lots of sixes, so there is a conflict of interest with respect to detecting drug use; as also happened in baseball with their equivalent of home runs.<br />
<br />
The increased frequency of baseball home runs was very popular with fans; for example in the Sosa v McGuire home run record breaking chase of 1998, now presumed to have been drug-fuelled, and of course the remarkable drug-revived career of Barry Bonds. <br />
<br />
*<br />
<br />
Test batting and first class cricket, by contrast, is so multidimensional and strategic that drugs would probably make it worse, by 'messing with the mind' as they do - and many of the best T20 batters are mediocre at the longer game, which fits the pattern of drug use.<br />
<br />
Up until now, the main (detected) use of performance enhancing drugs has been the relatively-benign situation of anabolic steroids apparently being used by bowlers to speed-up their recovery from injury (this would fit the most most famous example of Shane Warne). <br />
<br />
*<br />
<br />
If it is suspected that T20 batting may be drug-fuelled, then it is unlikely to be prevented by drug testing, since the sports pharmacologists are always a step or two ahead of the testing regimes (even when testing is applied non-corruptly).<br />
<br />
What is needed to detect drug use is the kind of police detective work which led to the exposure of Lance Armstrong - discovery of laboratories, chains of supply, evidence of corrupt coaches and patterns of usage.<br />
<br />
Detection would be a complex and expensive business, in other words.<br />
<br />
Given the fact that both top players and T20 organizers benefit from the six-hitting abilities which come from the culture of performance enhancing drug usage, I don't suppose it will happen.<br />
<br />
* <br />
<br />
Note added 10 Oct 2013 - This article by John Hotten independently came to similar conclusions about performance enhancing drug use in T20 as this one, but a few months earlier - <span style="font-size: xx-small;"><a href="http://www.espncricinfo.com/blogs/content/story/622827.html">http://www.espncricinfo.com/blogs/content/story/622827.html</a></span>.<br />
<br />Bruce Charltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09615189090601688535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34535115.post-82272411278669674162013-02-04T03:23:00.004-08:002013-02-04T03:25:24.246-08:00Where does a bowler's pace come from? Spin compared with run-up*<br />
<br />
By comparing the speed gun measurements of a spinner's stock delivery with their straight (fast) ball variation - and a fast bowler's stock delivery with their slow delivery variation (usually an off-cutter) it looks as if the spin accounts for 10-15 mph of the delivery. <br />
<br />
Therefore, about 10-15 mph of the energy into a delivery goes into generating spin. <br />
<br />
*<br />
<br />
What about run-up?<br />
<br />
Well a 'big spinner', with a fast arm speed, who bowls at 55 mph off a few slow paces to the wicket can often deliver a fast ball variation at 70 mph (maybe a little more, but I would suspect chucking) - whereas a normal quick bowler off a long run-up will bowl at about 80 mph.<br />
<br />
Therefore, assuming that the spinner's and quick bowler's arm speeds are about the same - then a <em>long run-up</em> probably generates about an extra 10 mph for the quick bowler.<br />
<br />
*<br />
<br />
So - taking the bowler's straight delivery off a few paces as standard: spin subtracts about 10-15 mph while a run-up adds about 10 mph. <br />
<br />
*Bruce Charltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09615189090601688535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34535115.post-39598717537732518542012-02-09T03:18:00.002-08:002012-03-20T05:10:24.005-07:00Reverse wrist/ off-break doosra bowling needs a bent elbow - but chucking is not necessary*<br />
<br />
This report about Ajmal clarifies what seems anatomically necessary: that a reverse wrist spinner/ off-break-doosra bowler very probably needs to have a bent elbow, but does not entail chucking<br />
<br />
http://www.espncricinfo.com/pakistan-v-england-2012/content/current/story/552579.html<br />
<br />
This is quite simply because the elbow needs to be bent in order to rotate the arm (specifically to rotate the <i>shoulder</i>) to <i>point the elbow towards slips</i> (for a right handed batter) - which enables the forward flip of the wrist to generate the doosra.<br />
<br />
*<br />
<br />
Note added 12 March 2012 - it is notable that the two best doosra bowlers so far seem to have had a permanently bent, unstraightenable elbow on their bowling arm.<br />
<br />
Murali had this congenitally (i.e. he was born with a bent elbow), while Ajmal had a bent elbow as a result of an accident. <br />
<br />
This suggests that <em>unless</em> a bowler has a bent elbw, he will probably not be a really effective (as well as legal) doosra bowler. <br />
<br />
The possible exception is Saqlain Mushtaq; but for whatever reason, nobody seems to be able to replicate his method. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://the-doosra.blogspot.co.uk/2007/03/how-to-bowl-doosra-without-chucking.html">http://the-doosra.blogspot.co.uk/2007/03/how-to-bowl-doosra-without-chucking.html</a><br />
<br />
*Bruce Charltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09615189090601688535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34535115.post-33928871660202995842012-01-29T09:10:00.000-08:002012-01-29T09:10:16.202-08:00Reverse wrist spinner - the best name for an off-break-doosra bowler like Ajmal*<br />
<br />
In Mike Selvey's Guardian column today <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2012/jan/28/pakistan-england-changing-world-order">http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2012/jan/28/pakistan-england-changing-world-order</a><br />
<br />
he used the term <em>reverse wrist spinner </em>to describe off-break/ doosra bolwers like Ajmal.<br />
<br />
Sounds like the perfect name!<br />
<br />
*<br />
<br />
(I found a couple of other previous uses of the term reverse wrist spinner on Google - such as this time ten years ago on cricinfo by Sambit Bal - <a href="http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/story/226249.html">http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/story/226249.html</a>) . Perhaps the cricket journalists have been saying it for a while? <br />
<br />
*Bruce Charltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09615189090601688535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34535115.post-11241019085860695902012-01-26T20:56:00.000-08:002012-01-26T20:56:51.453-08:00Simon Hughes blows a fuse over the doosra*<br />
<br />
I'm a big fan of Simon 'the analyst' Hughes as a writer and TV commenter - but this video of him supposedly trying to bowl a doosra is very annoying:<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/sportvideo/cricketvideo/9034353/">http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/sportvideo/cricketvideo/9034353/</a><br />
<br />
Simon-Hughes-tries-to-bowl-the-doosra.html<br />
<br />
The doosra is in the news because of Ajmal's mastery dissection of the English batters in the current test series, but what Hughes is bowling bears zero resemblance to Ajmal's innovative action. <br />
<br />
Hughes makes the usual mistake of bowling a conventional off-break - where the ball is gripped between index and middle fingers, and which uses forearm supination to impart most of the spin; then trying to turn this action around to make it into a leg-break - which is pretty much impossible, otherwise off-spinners would have been bowling doosras ever since the beginning of cricket. <br />
<br />
But Ajmal has devised a new way of bowling - with a 'back-flip' extension of the wrist, and ball gripped between middle and ring fingers - so Ajmal's off-break is nothing like Hughes off-break delivery.<br />
<br />
*<br />
<br />
For heavens sake, can't people see the difference - it isn't subtle!<br />
<br />
That's why I began this blog - because the pundits don't seem to look at the way that innovative spin bowlers are doing their tricks; and the most ridiculous tosh gets written about, say, Paul Adams, Murali and now Ajmal.<br />
<br />
*Bruce Charltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09615189090601688535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34535115.post-79920134533555557542012-01-19T10:35:00.000-08:002013-08-31T08:16:59.713-07:00Forearm spinners - the commonest type of spinner*<br />
<br />
The commonest type of spinner - the off-break and orthodox left arm spinners (like Monty Panesar and Graeme Swann) should properly be caused <b>forearm spinners</b>, since it is the <i>supination</i> of the forearm which imparts spin to the ball. <br />
<br />
Supination is the rotation of the forearm from a position with the palm facing down and the thumb on the medial (middle) side being rotated to the palm is upwards and the thumb is on the lateral (out) side. <br />
<br />
It is this rotation of the forearm which generates spin - and it has almost nothing to do with the fingers (they merely grip the ball firmly) - so the name 'finger spinner' is wrong and misleading.<br />
<br />
*<br />
<br />
True finger spinners are those rare types who use a finger flick to impart spin - such as Mendis or Herath's carrom ball, or from the past Jack Iverson.<br />
<br />
*<br />
<br />
Wrist spinners are mostly leg break and chinaman bowlers, who bowl with the forearm in pronation (thumb medially rotated - but Saeed Ajmal is a <i>new kind of wrist spinner </i>who bowls with the forearm in supination (thumb laterally rotated).<br />
<br />
*<br />
<br />
What of Murali?<br />
<br />
He was mostly a <i>shoulder</i> spinner. The whole of his arm rotated, and the ball was either an off-break or a doora according to whether the wrist was flexed/ folded palm towards arm (doosra) or extended/ with wrist 'cocked' and back of hand towards arm (off break).<br />
<br />
*<br />
<br />
Some googlies are also shoulder-spun - bowled mostly from shoulder rotation, especially when the bowler has a round arm action like Shane Warne.<br />
<br />
Warne's most serious injury was of his shoulder, and resulted from bowling a sequence of practice googlies to Ian Healy. <br />
<br />
* <br />
<br />
(By contrast, right arm wrist spinners with a high or vertical arm action - such as Chandrasekar or Kumble - tend to bowl googlies (or top-spinners) as their stock delivery rather than leg breaks; and their googly is bowled with a flick of the wrist and not by rotating the whole arm from the shoulder.) <br />
<br />
*Bruce Charltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09615189090601688535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34535115.post-16404271860470781362012-01-13T01:52:00.000-08:002012-01-13T01:52:14.738-08:00What will be Ajmal's new 'mystery' delivery? A knuckleball?*<br />
<br />
I read that Saeed Ajmal will unveil a new 'mystery' delivery against England in the UAE test series. What could it be?<br />
<br />
Since Ajmal is too shrewd to mess with his beautifully-honed action - which is making him into the best world spinner, overtaking Swann - and knowing the method of his stock deliveries<br />
<br />
http://the-doosra.blogspot.com/2011/07/how-does-saeed-ajmal-bowl-his-doosra.html<br />
<br />
i.e. ball held between middle and ring finger, spin imparted by a forward flip (extension) of the wrist with the back of hand facing batter...<br />
<br />
Then I can make a guess that the mystery delivery will be a straight, floating, wobbling ball with no spin at all (thereby creating turbulence and unpredictable movement, like a baseball pitcher's knuckleball) - and he will deliver this simply by <i>not</i> flipping the wrist forward and instead releasing the ball completely dead, seam sideways to the batter.<br />
<br />
It's just a guess - and it will be interesting to see if my prediction is correct.<br />
<br />
*Bruce Charltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09615189090601688535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34535115.post-85144207974191072632011-07-18T08:03:00.000-07:002011-07-18T08:04:39.125-07:00Maurice Holmes = Saeed Ajmal?*<br />
<br />
Maurice Holmes was recently banned from bowling (he plays for for Warwickshire) due to suspicions of 'throwing' his doosra. <br />
<br />
<br />
It seems that after being reported for a suspicious bowling action, he was unable - or unwilling - to reproduce his match play action under laboratory conditions therefore it seems he was banned by default. From my reading he was not actually proven to throw his doosra. I have previously suggested how Saeed Ajmal can bowl the doosra without chucking:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://the-doosra.blogspot.com/2011/07/how-does-saeed-ajmal-bowl-his-doosra.html">http://the-doosra.blogspot.com/2011/07/how-does-saeed-ajmal-bowl-his-doosra.html</a><br />
<br />
I have never seen Holmes bowl but from the photos available online he seems to use the same grip as Saeed Ajmal, therefore he may be using the same - legal - method for bowling the doosra.<br />
<br />
Observe the similarity in the grip:<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifHOmO_6Jl7MACM5pjnlZDEK3GSJ7gRehgDDgssKvOO5Gp7-lh3IT6chyphenhyphenDh-63eDgZ7AmFPQMuzhg5o439c3Z11V151Cm4SO8ylPq9a2au_d27PclxxZcp6kkZT2hnCWbGwonuDA/s1600/Maurice-Holmes_2610535.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="169" m$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifHOmO_6Jl7MACM5pjnlZDEK3GSJ7gRehgDDgssKvOO5Gp7-lh3IT6chyphenhyphenDh-63eDgZ7AmFPQMuzhg5o439c3Z11V151Cm4SO8ylPq9a2au_d27PclxxZcp6kkZT2hnCWbGwonuDA/s320/Maurice-Holmes_2610535.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio4t8MhIewvhM3O2tNI0fcVxZK9bqXRmMoJVrGGXaHHFKO7uwJF0QT1lT3e32tJiTYzvJlue6h4tMnUekXX-3fLtEvhDNGT2HVPLl1AAoSlhyphenhyphenJPxLcLKN130yPuIG1e2ATJ5silg/s1600/Saeed-Ajmal_2599680.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" m$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio4t8MhIewvhM3O2tNI0fcVxZK9bqXRmMoJVrGGXaHHFKO7uwJF0QT1lT3e32tJiTYzvJlue6h4tMnUekXX-3fLtEvhDNGT2HVPLl1AAoSlhyphenhyphenJPxLcLKN130yPuIG1e2ATJ5silg/s320/Saeed-Ajmal_2599680.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Purely on this basis, it seems possible that Holmes might actually or potentially be able to bowl a legal doosra. <br />
<br />
Since Saeed Ajmal is one of the most effective spinners in world cricket this could be important.<br />
<br />
*Bruce Charltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09615189090601688535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34535115.post-6000484429150672432011-07-18T08:00:00.000-07:002011-07-18T08:00:21.422-07:00How does Saeed Ajmal bowl his doosra?*<br />
<br />
Originally posted Wednesday, May 25, 2011<br />
<br />
*<br />
<br />
I have been watching the West Indies v Pakistan Test series on TV, and thoroughly enjoyed watching Ajmal bowl. <br />
<br />
He is a real craftsman, and looks like currently being the second best spinner in the world (after Swann). <br />
<br />
*<br />
<br />
He also has the best doosra ever - in the sense that he is the first off-spinner to have a doosra good enough to be a stock delivery - it doesn't seem to cost much effort, seems impossible for the batsman to 'pick' from the hand, has a useful bats-width deviation and very good bounce.<br />
<br />
*<br />
<br />
How does he do it? <br />
<br />
Of course I don't know for sure - but I think this is the method: <br />
<br />
1. He uses his middle finger as the spinning finger for the doosra (contrasted with using the index finger for spinning the off-break). <br />
<br />
But the grip doesn't look very different for the two deliveries. <br />
<br />
2. He also uses a flip of the wrist - specifically an extension of the wrist - to impart extra spin. <br />
<br />
This is an important innovation, since without this extra wrist flip, the doosra would spin only slowly; but with this wrist extension he get good top-spinning revolutions which gives his doosra dip and bounce. <br />
<br />
*<br />
<br />
The reason that the doosra is so rare is that the off break is usually bowled using a rotation of the forearm (anatomically called supination - like putting your elbow on the table with the forearm lying flat, and moving from having the palm on the table to palm facing upwards). <br />
<br />
But supination cannot be used when the back of the hand is facing the batter (the forearm is already supinated), so most bowlers would need to rely on a small amount of finger-imparted spin, a small sideways movement of the wrist (called adduction) and perhaps an element of elbow straightening (a 'back-chuck').<br />
<br />
But by flipping his wrist forward, Ajmal is able to produce plenty of spin without throwing. <br />
<br />
*<br />
<br />
His other advantage is that (I guess) Ajmaal has built his bowling action around the doosra - with an almost vertical arm action, so that his off-break is bowled from a very similar action and hand position - his off-break is more of a top-spinner than most other off-break bowlers.<br />
<br />
Most off-break bowlers build their action around optimizing their off-break - then they find that they cannot bowl a doosra - or at least not without chucking, or bowling something very obvious and easy to 'pick'. <br />
<br />
So (leaving aside Murali as a one-off and unclassifiable bowler) I believe that Saeed Ajmal should be recognized as the first international quality true doosra bowler! <br />
<br />
*Bruce Charltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09615189090601688535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34535115.post-28802650883400894292011-05-16T03:09:00.000-07:002019-01-01T06:09:52.243-08:00More on Warne versus Murali (v Kumble) - top-spinner versus flipper*<br />
<br />
I recently saw a journalistic piece by Shane Warne on the subject of Muttiah Muralitharan (Murali) - full of back-handed (!) compliments; the sub-text of which was that the Australian batsmen in Australia had 'worked out' Murali, and negated his doosra - which is why Murali's record against Australia was modest (13 matches, 59 wickets at an average of 36) especially in Australia was poor (5 matches, 12 wickets at 75). <br />
<br />
Of course, since Australia were the best batting side in test cricket during this era, especially in Australia, this is strictly *irrelevant* to a comparison between Warne and Murali - Warne never bowled against the great Australian batting side; and in those match-ups against the best non-Australian test sides Murali clearly out-performed Warne<br />
<br />
http://the-doosra.blogspot.com/2010_07_01_archive.html<br />
<br />
of particular relevance is the comparaitive record against India, which was the second best batting side after Australia during the Warne v Murali era:<br />
<br />
Murali 4.5 wickets per match @ 33; Warne 3 wickets per match @ 47<br />
<br />
*<br />
<br />
IF Warne had bolwed against Australia he would have been much less effective than against other sides; because Australians use their feet against spin, negating Warnes best variation for the early part of his career - the Flipper: a faster, straight, pitched-up delivery which could trap LBW those batters who stepped back and played spinners from their crease - but which is negated by batters (such as Australians) who play forward and skip down the wicket to spinners. <br />
<br />
*<br />
<br />
The high bouncing top-spinners is the spinner's straight delivery variation which would be most effective against batters who come forward to spin - and who was the best recent top-spin bowler?<br />
<br />
Neither Warne, nor Murali - but Anil Kumble. <br />
<br />
Take a look at Kumble's record against Australia in Australia: 10 matches, 49 wickets (!) albeit at an average of 37 (spinners do the bulk of bowling in high scoring losing matches, which hurts their averages). <br />
<br />
This suggests to me that spin bowlers who have a lot of top spin on their straight ought to have done better against the great Australian sides of the 1990s and early 2000s than did spinners who lacked such a variation. <br />
<br />
*<br />
<br />
(Also relevant is that some Australian umpires in Australia were no-balling and referring Murali for throwing; and this seriously damaged his confidence since it was potentially career-ending. My opinion on this is that throwing is an irrelevant consideration with respect to Murali's unique action; because even if he did straighten his elbow, the delivery was only a 'back-chuck': with the back of the hand and the point of the elbow facing the batter. ie. Murali delivered the ball with the forearm in supination - to use the anatomical term. The regulations banning throwing implicitly apply to the front of hand delivery with the forearm in pronation; when a chuck can be much faster than a straight arm delivery. Indeed throwing with the forearm in supination could lead to quick bowlers delivering balls at over 100 mph - like a baseball pitcher's 95 mph thrown delivery from standing *plus* the extra speed from a run-up. Dangerous!)Bruce Charltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09615189090601688535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34535115.post-38194097605242384232011-01-25T02:57:00.000-08:002011-01-25T02:57:07.442-08:00Is there any evidence that wicketkeepers per se are good one day openers?*<br />
<br />
Just asking...<br />
<br />
*Bruce Charltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09615189090601688535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34535115.post-9331614230826352732010-11-01T05:01:00.000-07:002011-05-10T05:40:28.742-07:00Going round the loop - plus the gyro ball!*<br />
<br />
Interesting post at The Teesra <br />
<br />
http://idontlikecricket-andrewb.blogspot.com/2010/10/looking-for-more-variations.html<br />
<br />
which says: <br />
<br />
" "going "around the loop" - keeping the finger movement constant, but rotating the wrist between successive deliveries, to change the direction of spin.<br />
<br />
"So, for a right-arm wrist spinner, you might start with a "big leggie", releasing the ball with the seam pointing at gully, or even cover; then a "little leggie", with the seam directed to first slip; the top spinner, with the seam straight down the wicket; the googly, with the wrist now turned even further round so that the seam is spun towards leg slip.<br />
<br />
"Shane Warne's "slider" might be the delivery at the opposite end of the loop to the googly - still with the same finger movement as a regular leggie, but now with palm of the hand towards gully and the seam pointing towards leg slip but with the fingers spinning the ball back towards the bowler."<br />
<br />
*<br />
<br />
To this might be added the idea of the 'gyro ball' which is rotating the ball on a vertical axis - either by pushing the right side of the ball going forward (towards the batter) or the left side going forward (towards the batter). <br />
<br />
The ball rotating on a vertical axis will tend to swing away from the side which is spinning towards the batter - espcially if the exis of rotation goes down the middle of the seam, so that seam is like the equator of the earth. <br />
<br />
This means that the ball will *not* usually spin or turn off the pitch when it lands, because the seam is kept away from contact with the pitch. <br />
<br />
*<br />
<br />
In other words, this extra variation - http://the-doosra.blogspot.com/2010/05/gyro-ball-variation-for-off-spinner.html - is that one which which I believe is used by Graeme Swann, and which gets him so many LBW decisions against left handers. <br />
<br />
There would therefore be an away-swinging (to the right-handed batter) gyro ball - produced by the off-spinner and chinaman wrist spinner; and an in-swinging (to the right-handed batter) gyro ball produced by the orthodox left arm finger spinner and the leg break bowler. <br />
<br />
*<br />
<br />
In 'going round the loop', the gyro ball variation would probably come next to the backspinner - produced by a 90 degree wrist rotation: at the end for finger spinners - following after the 'Teesra'; and at the beginning for the wrist spinner - preceding the 'slider'. <br />
<br />
*Bruce Charltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09615189090601688535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34535115.post-64000649161509082012010-10-19T07:05:00.000-07:002010-10-19T07:05:54.847-07:00Index finger flicking - a potential new method for off-spin*<br />
<br />
The problem with off-spin bowling (or left arm orthodox) is that most bowlers cannot bowl a variation which turns the other way - i.e. most bowlers cannot bowl a doosra without either throwing it (a back-chuck), or having a very obvious change of action. <br />
<br />
But it might be possible to do this if the spin was imparted to the ball using an index finger flick. <br />
<br />
The ball would be held between the first three fingers (index, middle and ring fingers) with the index finger crooked. <br />
<br />
The ball would be delivered with the heel of the hand (the side below the little finger) facing towards leg slip, and the the index finger would be straightened with a flick to impart spin. <br />
<br />
I don't know of any bowler who has actually done this - but if someone had sufficiently large hands including a long strong index finger, I don't see why *somebody* shouldn't be able to do this!<br />
<br />
The disadvantage is that this method would not impart as much spin as a normal off break action. <br />
<br />
But the big advantage is that by angling the heel of the hand straight ahead then a top-spinner would result... <br />
<br />
And by angling the heel of the hand towards the slips a doosra would result. <br />
<br />
And this could happen:<br />
<br />
1. without chucking, and <br />
<br />
2. with only a barely perceptible change in the angle of the hand - which would be extremely difficult for the batsman to 'pick'. <br />
<br />
A further advantage would be that such a delivery could probably be bowled faster than a leg-break - because the shoulder is in a more anatomically-neutral position. <br />
<br />
I could imagine a Kumble-like or SF Barnes-like index finger flick bowler, medium paced, high action, plenty of bounce - able to bowl off-breaks, top-spinners and leg-breaks at will and without being picked. <br />
<br />
The ball would probably not deviate *much* - but combined with bounce, and done with control, the result could be devastating! <br />
<br />
*Bruce Charltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09615189090601688535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34535115.post-43515719671949815852010-08-16T03:17:00.000-07:002010-08-16T03:17:03.390-07:00Asian-style soft ball cricket for English schoolkidsIf we want English schoolboys to both enjoy cricket and display flair, they should be playing with a soft ball. In other words, English school-kids should be allowed to play like Asians.<br />
<br />
Instead of a traditional leather and cork ball, many Asians are brought-up on 'tape ball' cricket - perhaps using a tennis ball wrapped in gaffer tape. This encourages attacking, wristy batsmanship and unorthodox spin and swing.<br />
<br />
Of course, there are plenty of good soft cricket balls commercially available with a raised seam, without English schoolboys needing to resort to a tape ball. <br />
<br />
The hard ball means danger of injury, hand-jarring and help from the pitch. A softer ball means less fear, more scope for risk-taking, and bowlers who need to try something special.<br />
<br />
So, let the ECB recommend *not* to use a hard ball in under 16 cricket, and encourage creativity and adventure from English schoolboys (and, with a soft ball and reduced chance of trauma, maybe more girls too).Bruce Charltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09615189090601688535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34535115.post-59237441265493545872010-08-13T02:45:00.000-07:002010-08-13T02:45:30.738-07:00Test cricket = AshesIt looks as if almost every nation's fans are abandoning test cricket except for Australia and England. <br />
<br />
No matter - Test cricket can survive and thrive underpinned by only the original duo of Austraila and England - who remain wildly enthusiastic about the Ashes encounters, and who nowadays regard all other Test match contests as merely preparation and practice for the Ashes. <br />
<br />
But the Ashes will need to become an annual event - alternating back and forth between Australia and England as at present, but happening twice as often as at present.<br />
<br />
Also the Ashes tour programs could be expanded (as they were in the past) to include more warm-ups and friendly 'exhibition' games around the country - i.e. more of a 'scoial' program at the beginning and end of the Ashes proper. <br />
<br />
Obviously doubling the frequency would make the Ahses a little less special, but it would be well worth it.Bruce Charltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09615189090601688535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34535115.post-34216152739522341682010-08-09T13:35:00.000-07:002010-08-09T13:35:06.123-07:00What makes a high quality, long-term test spinner?1. Accuracy and reliability, obviously. <br />
<br />
2. Usually a powerfully-spun (fizzing) stock delivery with lots of revolutions on it; but if not then plenty of bounce at slow-medium pace (e.g. Kumble, SF Barnes, Mendis). <br />
<br />
3. A well-disguised variation. At the highest level is is vital that the variation be hard/ impossible to pick. If it is, then the variation need not be anything spectacular - a good 'arm ball' for a slow left arm orthodox/ of-spinner is as good as a doosra- or , and a legspinner's straight delivery is as good as a googly/ wrong-un. <br />
<br />
Contrariwise, if the variation is easy to pick then it is pretty useless at the highest level; even if it is a spectacularly-turning googly, an excocet-missile flipper or a high-bouncing doosra. <br />
<br />
Swann is evidence of all this. He is the best spinner in the world on the basis of accuracy and reliability, a high-rev off break and a straight 'gyro' ball. In particular he is better than any of the doosra bowlers, because his gyro variation is very difficult/ impossible to pick - unlike most doosras (exceptions being Murali, and perhaps Saeed Ajmal).Bruce Charltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09615189090601688535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34535115.post-78289447350236912992010-08-05T22:55:00.000-07:002019-12-07T04:46:33.482-08:00Wicket keeping averages, againFrom Cricinfo 6 Aug 2010: "All told, [Kamran] Akmal has dropped 34 chances in his last 28 Tests, and he averages less than 17 in Tests against Australia, South Africa and England."<br />
<br />
A wicket-keeper is a specialist fielder with gloves on, and should not drop chances. Each dropped chance is an extra wicket needed = (with ten wickets needed to bowl out a team) an extra 10% of that innings's runs (on average).<br />
<br />
Ideally, a wicket-keeper's career batting average would be:<br />
<br />
Runs - (Byes + runs conceded from dropped catches) / Innings given out <br />
<br />
<br />
But the runs conceded from dropped catches can, alternatives, be approximately calculated from the overall test match bowling average for that era.<br />
<br />
Currently each test match wicket costs an average of about 32 runs. Akmal, with 34 dropped catches, has therefore given away approximately 34 X 32 runs = 1088 runs in 28 tests = 39 runs per test. <br />
<br />
Giving away 39 runs per test (plus, probably, quite a few byes), or nearly 20 runs per innings - Akmal would need to have nearly 20 runs taken off his average to give a realistic measure of his contribution to the team. <br />
<br />
So <i>Akmal has been worth minus 3 runs per innings to his team</i> - so that any competent wicket keeper who did not drop catches would have been worth more - even if he scored no runs at all!<br />
<br />
But even if Akmal had batting average of forty, then this would only translate to a real average of about twenty. <br />
<br />
<i>My point is that a wicket keeper who drops chances frequently is *very* unlikely to be worth his place - even if he is a good batter. A reliable keeper who never drops catches would only need to average about mid-twenties in order to be preferable to almost any imaginable unreliable batsman-wicket-keeper. </i><br />
<br />
In other words, the traditional idea of choosing the best wicket-keeper is probably the best idea - and the modern idea of the batsman-wicket-keeper is basically flawed: a result of inadequate statistics.<br />
Bruce Charltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09615189090601688535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34535115.post-48106698011271103052010-07-20T04:53:00.000-07:002010-07-20T04:53:28.792-07:00Murali was the greatest bowler ever, without questionI would argue that - whatever people may say about it, and leaving aside considerations such as personality or entertainment value - Murali was the greatest ever bowler. <br />
<br />
The evidence is that:<br />
<br />
1. We have to assume that standards in sport are rising all the time, so that recent sports people are better than those of previous generations. This applies to all sports with objective measurements (running, jumping,, throwing etc), and we must assume it applies to competitive sports. <br />
<br />
2. The most valuable bowler is a great spinner. Because a spinner can bowl more time and more overs than a quick bowler, as and when required. <br />
<br />
3. Murali is the greatest spinner of the most recent generation. His main rival was Shane Warne, and Murali outperfomed Warne. <br />
<br />
I did the folowing analysis in 2008, before Murali's recent decline, which was published as a letter in Wisden monthly. <br />
<br />
v England: Murali 7.15 wickets per match @ 19.74; Warne 5.41 wickets per match @ 23.25; <br />
<br />
v South Africa: Murali 6.93 wickets per match @ 22.22; Warne 5.42 wickets per match @ 24.16; <br />
<br />
v India Murali 4.47 wickets per match @ 32.47; Warne 3.07 wickets per match @ 47.18; <br />
<br />
v Pakistan: Murali 5.64 wickets per match @ 23.31; Warne 6.00 wickets per match @ 20.17. <br />
<br />
Warne out-performs Murali against Pakistan, but Murali dominates Warne against the other three major test teams. <br />
<br />
I would particularly highlight Murali against England - considering that Warne was always considered to bowl especially well against England, yet he was totally out-perfomed by Murali; and Murali's superb performances against India - in an era when India had the second-best batting in the world. <br />
<br />
(India were second only to Australia, against whom Murali still managed to take a very impressive 4.5 wickets per match although at a modest average of 36 - sadly we will never know the comparison of how Warne would have performed against Australia.) <br />
<br />
I lay considerable stress on the statistic of the number of wickets a bowler takes per match as a measure of how much a bowler contributes as an individual to test victories. In this respect Murali ranks very high throughout history - with only SF Barnes scoring significantly higher than Murali's 6 test wickets per match - and over a much smaller number of matches than Murali. <br />
<br />
And of course Murali's basic statistic is that he has taken more test wickets than anyone else ever - which reflects that Murali's incomparably high value to his team over many years. <br />
<br />
Murali therefore is the most recent bowler who made the largest contribution to his team (both in sheer volume and also per match) - and he therefore deserves the accolade of 'the greatest ever'.Bruce Charltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09615189090601688535noreply@blogger.com