I’m a young offspinner playing grade cricket in Melbourne and have a question about bowling in one day games.

Our captain wants me to bowl flat and full-to middle stump so we can have 3 players on the boundary to keep the runs down and look to get the batter out bowled or LBW.

My preference is to bowl with more loop just outside off stump and spin the ball back towards the stumps. I feel more comfortable as some balls will turn more than others and I’m hoping to beat the outside and inside edge of the bat.

I’d like to get some advice on which is the better way. He is the captain, so I do as I’m ask but I find it difficult.

Thanks

Hi Roh,
You are on the right track. The main aim should be to hit the off stump.
Therefore if the pitch is turning you will land the ball outside the off stump to allow for it to spin in to off stump.
If the wicket is not turning so much you will need to be a lot tighter with your line and land the ball on or just outside the off stump.

At the end of the day if you are aiming for the ball to hit the off stump, you will get some bowled and LBW dismissals, and with natural variation the outside edge of the right handers bat too.

You are the one with the ball in your hand at the start of your run up, if you can prove that your plan works, and your field set works then it should be up to you, and a good captain will allow it.

I suggest have an in depth chat with him about your own bowling philosophy and how you will take wickets, not stop runs. Talk about subtle bowling variation changes, field placements required, bowling at different times in the innings etc.

The best scenario is your white bowl bowling will have an underlying method, with a range of variations of your stock
ball as the most important factor. Bowling the same thing to every batter soon becomes an easy tasks for them to make decisions on what shot to play. Having the confidence in your bowling, and the freedom to change the field as you see fit, is the ultimate outcome. More often than not this is main obstacle in ensuring the Captain trusts your bowling and what you want to do, they cannot hand over the freedom.

The more you talk to the Captain about letting you be the Captain of your bowling the more likely that is to occur.

Hi Roh

First get the captain in confidence from the nets, at the end of the day you need make the batsmen drive so you are more effective and most important thing is to spin the ball give rep to ball so it’s dips and make the batsmen difficult to bat if you don’t dip the ball with reps then the batsmen will dip the ball out of the park
So keep it simple by making the ball dip n make the batsmen drive