Flipper

Been working on one of my other blogs today. The one I've been working on is the one relating to The Flipper. It strikes me that at the best of times it's difficult to get good sound advice and knowledge about most of the Wrist Spin variations despite the fact that it has a very rich history. But I'm getting the impression bit by bit that although it has a very rich history very few of the people that play cricket and bowl Wrist Spin know of it's history and the expansive range of variations especially the Flipper. You've only got to have watched the recent impromptu 'Shane Warne Master Class' during the final day of the Ashes at the Oval to get some sense of how ignorant professional Wrist Spinners are about their speciality. The two lads that were brought out into the middle to bowl alongside Warne seemed to be very vague about some of the variations. It may be the case that from the word go they've been trained and coached and told perhaps to focus on 3 deliveries - Leg Break, Wrong Un and the Top Spinner. Or could it be that their coaches and trainers buy into the notion that The Flipper is virtually impossible to bowl?

I read today that there have only ever been 6 bowlers in first class cricket that preceded Warne who could bowl The Flipper. In fact many commentators that have had the job of describing and analysing Warnes performances live on TV seem to chuck in 'Ooh that's The Flipper' any time the ball goes straight, when in fact it may well have been a Slider. Warne himself is complicit as was Clarrie Grimmett in the mystery around this variation and it's very difficult to unravel the secrets of this delivery and it's history.

The research I've been doing alongside a Aussie bloke on one of the forums has unearthed some interesting material relating to the Flipper. The key issue arising from our research is that the originator of the Flipper - Clarrie Grimmett bowled it as a Top-Spinner as opposed to the Back-Spinning version as exemplified by Warne and Jenner. The little information that is available about Richie Benauds Flipper despite the fact that he's still alive suggests that his Flipper was the conventional Back-Spinning Flipper, but today I've discovered some written material suggesting that Benaud's Flipper was the Top-Spinning version. Unfortunately as with all internet material you can't trust the informations integrity as it's not edited or checked, so for the moment I'm in the process of researching Richie Benauds contribution to Wrist Spin in order to check to see if he did or didn't bowl the Top Spinning Flipper. It seems ever Peter Philpott get his descriptions confused... http://www.planetnz.com/palmheads/myhacks.php?pg=bent_finger see the quote below from his book 'A Spinner Yarn'. But if you read Philpotts book 'The Art of Wrist Spin Bowling' you'll note that he glosses over the Flipper very quickly not paying it much attention and then writing it off as an inferior back-spinning delivery to the Slider. No mention at all of the Top-Spinning Flipper and the other 2 basic variations.

Anyway once I've established a few more facts I'll update the new blog with possibly the most comprehensive account of The Flipper on the internet. I'll put a counter on the web page and we'll see how it goes?

Paddock News

Not a lot really, there's not been a great deal of rain and I'm acutely aware of the fact that I'm now into seed sewing time and I want to get this done in order to establish good growth for next April. Instead I bowled on it tonight and that went fairly well - bowled some Flippers, Leg Breaks and Sliders.