How important is the captain of a team in the development of a young spinner and what advice would you offer the captain?

Captains play a critical role on the development and enjoyment of the game for spinners, especially young spinners.

Captains must be patient and support their spinners and most importantly communicate with them.

I’ve seen on too many occasions captains giving a spinner 2 or 3 overs with poor field placements and little encouragement and then taking the spinner off.

Depending on the level, age and quality of the batters spinners will more than likely need some protection until they can get into their rhythm and bowling spell.

Captains shouldn’t be afraid to have a deep mid on and mid wicket straight away and give the spinner some protection and allow them to build their confidence.

Make sure the teams best fielders are in front of the wicket. The best fielders should be at mid off, mid on, midwicket and cover and if they’re placed with the right angles they can stop the singles and will be in a better position to stop the big shots and boundaries. It not only builds the confidence of your spinner but the better fielders will build pressure on the batter and they’ll be more likely to make a mistake.

There is nothing worse for a spinner and the team for the batter to be turning the strike over with easy and unnecessary singles.

Spinners can be match winners and need support. The captain should always be communicating with their spinners about tactics, fielding placements and building their confidence both on and off the field.

Come on skippers, we need to do better to support our spinners.

A good captain is THE most important factor in the development of a younger spinner. I had good & bad captains as a young spinner, and a bad one can cruel you for a long time

The captain holds all the keys when it comes to the on-field development of a spinner. Essentially the captain needs to be not just a leader but also a mentor and number one supporter.
Bowling spin has been said to be an art. The art needs self belief and confidence by the artist. When a young spinner feels they are fully supported by the captain they will tend to take what are perceived to be “risks” in their bowling.
The risk taken is an approach or mind set of giving themself a chance. Many young spinners will instantly go to a mindset of “what if I get hit” if the captain is negative in their assistance this negatively will be reinforced.
A captain who sets the right field, tells the player that some balls may get hit , but that’s expected and that they back the bowler will be the one who has success guiding young spinners.
Think about the support the great Shane Warne received after his first test .

Terry Jenner used to talk about giving young spinners a 'bucket of runs' As an example you say to the bowler you have 40 runs in your bucket and you can keep bowling until the bucket is empty. Often a captain will bowl a spinner two or three overs and take them out of the attack prematurely.

I am going from memory here but I am pretty sure Jason Krejza was something like 0-28 off his first three overs on Test debut. Often captains would pull a spinner off in an instance like this. However, RT Ponting backed his bowler and he found his groove finishing with 8 wickets.

If a bowler knows they are not going to get taken off if they go for runs in their first couple of overs, they are more likely to be relaxed and execute their skills better.

As mentioned by Paul and Rob, the captain plays a big role here.

Absolutely, great answers guys.

For me it is about the captain showing faith and belief in the spinner that he is the man for the job. When a spinner can bowl feeling relaxed, supported and feeling the confidence from his leader he/she will be able to perform much better.

From a strategic angle, the captain and the spinner need to discuss plans before a game - at what phase of the game are you going to bowl, what is your role, what is expected from you, match ups during play and field settings that support the above.

Cheers everyone,