Leg Spin bowling practice - Gibbs Reflective Practice in Sport (4th May)

What Happened.

Had another practice - the equivalent of 12-14 overs. Again only using 6 balls. Venue the paddock. Objective - accuracy and spinning the ball hard.

Feelings.

Yeah, a lot more positive than yesterday, a definite move forwards with some positive observations relating to the things that I tried.

Evaluation. (Good and Bad).

The good thing was with the additional focus on accuracy, it seemed to work really well. In addition my Googly is coming together - very accurate with loads of top spin a lot of the time. Bad stuff - for some reason irrespective of what delivery I chose at the start of the over, a lot of the time it ended up very wide down the legside.

Analysis.

The way I'm practicing this season is to use a mat, we started to do this last year, but since then I've looked at a few things and realised that one of the really important things is the length. In the nets over winter and at training I come up against some very good batsman who are able to read the spin, but if the flight combined with the length come together it leaves them in two minds. So the focus is to land the ball in a specific area. The point of reference for the ideal length comes from information that batsman have suggested 4-5 yards from the stumps and this is confirmed if you watch the IPL when the spinners are bowling their pitch maps have a 'Good length' defined as 4 metres.

The area that I spin into is relatively large, again there's some debate about this, spinners such as Grimmett and Benaud talk about being able to land the ball onto very small areas, but I reckon that if you're pursuing this discipline and you stick to that idea, you're going to get very despondent. It might be a target to aim for in the much longer term e.g. when you've been bowling this stuff for ten years or so, but when you're learning something akin to what I'm doing here I reckon is a good start.

Confirmation of the idea that a big target is acceptable, can be found here (Click on the image) and watch it at about three minutes in. This is Terry Jenner, Shane Warne's mentor.

 



Recently I've noted that when I bowl with loads of balls I don't take it as seriously as I should do, as there's always plenty of balls in the bucket to bowl correctly next time and it seems I get really sloppy. So now I go out with just six balls looking to bowl really well from ball 1 and trying to make every ball count. The fact that I then have to walk down the other end and gather all the balls together almost recreates the time gap that occurs as the other blokes over takes place. We never bowl more than six balls at a time and therefore our rhythm is disrupted and I feel that it's important to recreate this when you're practicing.

 

 

So today I set up the mat initially so that line was as below...

When I do this I pre-allocate points to each strip. So on this occasion I've said that landing the ball on 'A' scores me 3 points, the ball on 'B' scores 2 points and 1 point for 'C'. Hitting the stumps in addition scores an additional point. The mats as mentioned previously is on that 'Good length' the centre of the mat is at 4 yards, so the more I'm able to bowl onto the mat, the more it becomes to feel natural to bowl that length. The drill can obviously be changed in order that you bowl fuller or shorter and this again stretches your abilities.

 

So the first half of this evenings session was with this configuration trying to bowl at the stumps which in theory would draw the batsman forward to defend or drive the ball, or get him skipping down the wicket. So as I'm bowling I'm also trying to change the speed and flight and get more over-spin in order to get the ball to dip more rapidly. All these subtleties, still require the ball to land on the mat.

 

Initially I didn't score that high, the balls were too full and I didn't have any way of recording the points. In addition the amount of spin I was getting with my Leg Breaks meant that all of the balls were missing the off-stump by a mile. So then I changed the mat position to the one below...

With the ball turning so much I was then able to focus on getting the ball on the 'A' line attempting to turn it into the stumps and this was a lot more successful. Hitting the 'A' line coming around the wicket at the other end for some reason was a lot easier. My top-spinners were very accurate too and these look as though will be a key feature of my bowling at the start of the season. If they work as well as I'm envisaging that'll be a big leap forwards. My Googlies again were very accurate tonight landing on 'C' and missing the leg stump by some way as well. Point-wise I scored a couple of 9's and a 10, but to be really honest and brutal I need to take a piece of paper and record my success rates and post these up on the blog maybe?

 

I didn't have the camera tonight and yet I bowled relatively well, it does seem as though if I've got the camera recording me I get the Yips!!!

 

Conclusion -

 

I still need to get the first over bowled well, with good accuracy, so it may be that I should bowl Top-Spinners for the first 2 or 3 balls next time and then see if the 3rd or 4th ball as a leg break produces a better result? The first ball of several of the overs went way down the legside irrespective of whether I bowled around or over the stumps and I need to explore this. It may be that I'm still just be sloppy?

 

Action plan -

 

Bowl tomorrow night using the same approach. Record what I do and the points scored. Position the mat slightly differently and bowl over the stumps. Have the 'A' strip slightly wide of leg and have that as the '3 point' target. Bowl with more over-spin. Bowl some overs with a top-spin priority and adjust and record the target strip.

 

If you're looking for more info and ideas about Wrist Spin Bowling - check my Leg Break bowling page out here. http://mpafirsteleven.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/wrist-spin-bowling-leg-break.html

 

 

 





.

Subtle Variation - Leg Break bowling

This is just an idea, which might work for some people.

Even though I've now been bowling this stuff for 7 years I'm still learning all the time and I'm still trying to figure out ways to improve. My action seems to change from one season to another, although this season I felt a lot more relaxed and I tried not to tweak what I was doing at the end of the season last year and it does seem to have worked.

There's a few things I know I can do to make small adjustments to my bowling that make a significant difference. One of these is to consciously get right up on my toes when I'm pivoting. Because I don't do it to the extent that perhaps I should, when I do so, it does increase the risk of my bowling being slightly more wayward, but it is recognisably effective in that it spins far more, turns off the wicket far better and often with more bounce.

The conclusion therefore is...

(1). A small adjustment in what you do with your foot e.g. get up onto your toes may make a significant difference to what the ball does at the business end. What you are doing, when you do this (potentially) is bracing your leg in your pivot, this also gives you marginally more height.

(2). Conversely, if you're someone who bowls leg breaks in a way that is very consistent and you feel that you want to vary it in some way, you could possibly try the opposite - reduce the rise up on to the toes to produce a ball that spins less? I know this goes against the grain in terms of what you're told about the pivot, but it may work for you and might be worth looking at as a subtle variation?

Wrist Spin Top Tips - The Flipper

Top Tips for the Flipper.

If you've pretty much mastered your leg break and you're now fishing around for a variation the flipper might be an option for you. In his book the The Bowlers Art, Brian Wilkins makes a good case for having the Flipper as one of your variations. Once you've developed the muscles and learned the basic technique, there is scope to change the position of the hand to create variations within the variation as such.

So, if you're in the UK and you're thinking ahead to the next season and developing a variation, you can get started with the Flipper without having actually bowl...

One of the issues that stops people in their tracks when they start to work with the flipper, is the fact that they don't have the muscles developed in the hand, fingers and thumb to impart the spin. 

My suggestion therefore is, over the winter you get yourself a smaller lighter ball - you could start with a tennis ball and start flicking the ball out of your flingers in the manner required. The technique is to grip the ball as indicated above. You can grip with either one finger, two or three over the top of the ball - whatever feels good for you. Most people find that the power to impart the spin comes off of the middle finger. If you're confused to how you actually perform the action - it is the exact same physical action as clicking your fingers to a music beat - except that there's a ball between the finger and thumb!

Do this all the time - start with a small ball - maybe even a table tennis ball? Do it with apples, oranges - anything as long as you're able to give it a good click! You might find that initially you have no control over where it goes, but in time, it eventually starts to come out of the hand in the direction that you want it to. At this stage start to visualise and practice the release and arm position, thinking about how you'll bowl it.

Do this over the winter consistently and that part of the action will be in place, all you'll need to do in winter nets is tie the release action to your bowling action. It should be relatively pain free.

* I wouldn't take any notice of any of the stories you read about people taking 5 years to develop their flippers, I went from trying it for the first time to pretty much having the basics nailed in about a week (That was a week off from work - a few hours a day).

The image here is the version I describe as being the bog standard Flipper, this goes down with a vertical seam with back-spin. On hitting the wicket it might do one of several things. If you can hold your nerve and bowl it slowly, it can stall massively with the back-spin That method used as a variation amongst Top-Spinners or over-spun Leg-Breaks can be very effective.

Fitness drill - cricket specific

I've noted that my bowling this year has started off really well and I can only put it down to the fact that since Christmas I've been working on my fitness, stamina, upper body strength, core strength and flexibility. I've been doing a combination of this workout here (Cardio) and this one here (upper body). I've also been either power walking or running for 20 minutes most other nights. None of it religiously, but enough to make a difference. Now the weather is with us and we can get out on the paddock I've adapted what I do and made it even more cricket specific.

Been working on my fitness with Joe over the last week or so. The drill incorporates the kind of approach seen in SAQ cricket. It'll be interesting to hear from the experts that look in on my blog every now and then and comment on www.bigcricket.com regards the worthiness of it?

Equipment & space

Training ball or cricket ball, stumps and optional keepers gloves or catching mit   + open space.

Description

Set the stumps at 22 yards or more. One player acts as the coach whilst resting stands at end (A). The active player starts at end (B). The coach rolls the ball out towards end (B) and the active player runs in and attacks the ball scooping it up (Or long barrier) and throws it back to the coach over the stumps aiming to do so with accuracy.

The active player runs round the coach at (A) heading back to his/her starting end (B) as the active player sets off back to (B) the coach throws a high ball back towards the players end (B) so he has to catch the ball over his/her shoulder. On catching the ball he/she throws it back at the coaches end stumps (A) trying to hit them and then sprints back to (B). Then, runs round the stumps at (B).

Then finally runs back as fast as possible to (A) and the coach throws the ball to the incoming player underarm to catch whilst on the move and the throws down the stumps whilst running towards them.

Both players swap roles and repeat ad infinitum for either 20 minutes or until they can't run any more!

The theory is that the rest period whilst being the coach reflects the period when the body rests momentarily before having to set off again running at full pelt as in a batting situation. The 20 minutes gives you an aerobic work-out, the turning, stopping, accelerating all reflect movement in cricket. The catching and moving pick-ups reflect fielding skills. All in all I reckon that's a lot better than running or walking for 20 minutes which is boring as far as I'm concerned.

Spinners drill - competitive off-spin v Leg spin

My younger son Joe bowls finger spin so is a right arm off-spinner and I bowl Leg spin. We quite often practice in the paddock together trying to see who can hit the stumps the most times and things like that and I've done similar things at the club before. Tonight I came up with a good little drill you can easily do which encourages accuracy with line and length with the necessity to spin the ball.

Using a set of Kwik Cricket or training stumps, remove the middle stump. Make a decision that you're both going to bowl one side or another and both bowl that side. We both bowled over the stumps in this illustration. Then mark out a zone into which you're going to bowl, we use a mat. The zone/mat needs to be wider than the stumps and placed on a good length to bowl. As both bowlers look down the wicket from the bowling end they've both got a fair equal area onto which to bowl, one side shouldn't favour the other.

So the off-spinner bowls as per this illustration below - landing the ball on any part of the mat but aiming to hit the furthest stump, so with the offie he has to hit the leg-stump so encouraging him/her to turn the ball as much as possible. We play it - giving a point for landing it on the mat (A) and 3 points for landing it on the mat and hitting the designated stump (B). If the bowler hits the easier stump no points are given. Needless to say you could easily modify the rules and give points for the nearer stump too.

For the leg-spinner (Me) I have to pitch the ball on the mat (C) and turn the ball into the off-stump (D) to get maximum points. The way we play it is if the ball hits the stumps having gone straight on we still get 3 points.

 

Needless to say this only really works if you've got a good few balls. But it's good in that it's competitive and encourages bowling on a good length spinning the ball hard enough to hit the furthest stump. Looking at it, you could if you had some white tape mark the mat out as below and award even more points for landing it in the outside zone and hitting the opposite stump? The variations and possibilities are quite varied.

 

Check out my other blog here - this is all about Leg-spin bowling and nothing else. Double click on the image below.

 

 



Day 3 cricket boot camp

Boot camp drills for Joe have had to be put on hold as he's fallen ill with a cold and looks ill, so he's on paracetamol, lots of drinks and rest for a few days. Hopefully he'll be better before the start of next week. Next week looks as though we may be in for a change for the better with regards to the weather, with the temperature reaching double figures 11 degrees centigrade, so hopefully if Joe's feeling better we'll be able to get over the Rec and start doing some training and having a knock-about. We'll get Ben and some of the other lads involved, Kieran, Harry, Ollie Bybuke and maybe Frank?

Weather forecats here... http://www.xcweather.co.uk/forecast/ss16_5ue

In the meantime, I've kept going, using the same drill off of Youtube as linked yesterday and I've started power walking and running as well, my legs ache like mad, but it's got to be done! Ben joined me on the run/walk drill I do, but he didn't like the walking bit and ended up running off doing a circuit that I used to do back in the day, which is well beyond me at this point in my fitness regime and not particularly 'Cricket specific'.

The other thing I've been doing over the last year or so is the batting a ball up against a wall and keeping it going A La' Don Bradman, albeit with a flat bat and a training ball. The space I do it in is pretty small so it's quite awkward, but I reckon this forces me to do the right thing batting-wise. I batted in the nets a couple of weeks ago and survived quite well, so I'm guessing my batting, or should I say blocking is getting better! At the end of the summer I'd got to the point where I was able to do it 13 times consecutively and tonight I went out and did 22 times! So I'm wondering whether that indicates that I've improved my technique?

Exercise Boot camp for Joe (And me)

The weather is still crap, snowing again today and ranging between 4 and 5 degrees centigrade, so not at all nice and nowhere near warm enough to go outside and train. Everywhere is wet and saturated with water and with the Easterly wind it's just miserable. With the season looming fast there's a requirement to get out there and shed some pounds and get fit for the first match, especially for Joe what with having been sitting around for the last 12 months. So with 2 weeks off and the weather predicted to be cold and miserable for the full two weeks a contingency plan has been devised...

Exercise Boot Camp.

The plan is everyday we're going to be trying to get out and do something, hopefully for the most part it'll be useful in more than one way to cricket development. The main part of it though is based around a video I've come across on Youtube that I like that has a quick 5-6 minute work-out that'll get both of us fit and ready and maybe we'll lose a little weight. This is the video here or click on the video above. We made a start on it yesterday and it went okay as a first attempt and initially Joe needed a lot of cajolling to get through it and there was a lot of stopping and starting. But today we've done it again and we both did it and there was a very marked improvement - especially for Joe and I think now he's slightly enthused by the idea. *Note, we're not doing the full 30 seconds for each exercise we're only doing 15-20 seconds and we're looking to increase the time as we get fitter.

On day one 29th (Friday) we also went to the 'Muno' (Community Centre) and hired out one of the badminton bays and all played Badminton for an hour Ben, Joe, Michelle and Me and that was good as well as it incorprates eye, ball and bat coordination skills which can only be beneficial. I made sure that when I played Joe I was lobbing the ball up and into the corners alternately, getting him to run around lots. Needless to say he slept well Friday night!

Part of the same plan involves looking to reduce his carb intake, Michelle said at the start of the holiday that she felt we needed to do something (I've been saying this for months now) so, at last she's on board and hopefully he'll get served dinners fit for a boy who is the smallest member of the family as opposed to portions the same size as the rest of us?

There's a second video of the same nature that focuses on upper body strength and I'm hoping that after a week I might be able to incorporate that into my own exercise program, but at the moment I'm a big fan of this idea and I feel really motivated to do it, primarily because it is so fast to get done and out of the way.

Tomorrow we're planning to go swimming.