The Biggun

I've had a got at trying to bowl the Big Leg break today with some degree of success, I spent about an hour or so over 2 sessions and it came and went, for a couple of overs I had it and then I'd lose it again. It seemed at one point the key to getting it was a really relaxed grip, with it still coming off the 3rd finger with the emphasis being that sensation that you spin it inward towards yourself (See Peter Philpott).

I then had a third session for about an hour in the evening and got really frustrated with the lack of control and the inconsistency of getting to spin well. It seems at the moment that there is obviously a right way of holding the ball in the hand and flicking it, but the precision involved means that there is so much potential for the delivery to come out wrong and the ball just sailing down the Legside to be hit for a 4 or a 6.

Again I had to re-think what was happening and eventually went for a delivery that gave me a lot more spin, 95% control over line and length but not enormous amounts of spin that would allow me to pitch the ball 2 foot or more wide of Leg Stump and get it come back in on the stumps. The modification in the grip came down to holding the ball in much the way I do with my Medium Wrong Un - so that's a really loose and lazy kind of grip but with the 3rd finger very much the primary contact with the seam/ball. A cocked wrist is used ain conjunction with a straight arm delivery that comes over and the cocked wrist flicks or unfurls with the 'Stop' hand action being used as the ball leaves the hand off the 3rd finger (If you know what I mean). This was very accurate, with a good amount of deviation off the line and loads of bounce, so I'm more than happy as it represents a big improvement on the spin front.

In the end I was using 6 balls and practicing using a sequence of This new leg break approach (NLB) for the first ball, The Grimmett Mystery Ball, NLB, Usual Leg Break, NLB and the last ball a wrong un. My Wrong Uns were so good today, massive turn and very accurate. So I'll keep at the New Leg Break for this coming week and see how well it serves me and put the biggun on hold again till the close of the season. What I have noticed is that my 3rd finger feels as though it's been used as it was used in a far more integral way during the delivery the ball comes off the 3rd finger in a very purposeful manner, so maybe this will represent further improvement in my bowling?


such a tiny margin for error with getting the flick wrong and the ball simply sailing down the leg-side straight