The exploits of Michael Clarke and Murali Kartik may be credited in part to the Wankhede pitch but cricket purists will delight nonetheless in the success of the left-arm spinners. They were a vanishing breed not so long ago and, though there’s been a revival of sorts, there are still too few of them for the good of the game. ‘I’ve always been fond of left-arm spinners’, wrote Allan Border after the Mumbai test, ‘and I believe that we need some more guys like Kartik in international cricket.’ Here’s what the fuss is all about. THE TECHNIQUE, THE FAQS WHAT IS LEFT-ARM SPIN?A left-arm spin delivery turns from the legside to the off when bowled at a right-handed batsman. The grip and action are exactly the way a right-arm off-spinner would deliver an off-break BUT because it’s bowled with the left hand, the ball is released in the opposite direction so will turn away from the bat WHY IS IT SO TOUGH TO PLAY?Because the ball spins away from the right-hander, the usual ploy of padding away the ball become dangerous. And the stock delivery — pitching on leg, turning towards off — always threatens to take a snick. Left-armers get more turn by pitching around the footmarks created by right-arm fast-bowlers outside a batsman’s leg stump HOW ARE THEY USEFUL TODAY?BEDI: A good left-arm spinner will be equally useful on away pitches as much as at home because he doesn’t necessarily have to be a big turner of the ball — even his arm ball can get him wickets as it drifts into the right-handed batsman in the air.
