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Offspin- The Future?

GuyFromLancs

State Vice-Captain
For years now they've been telling us that the art of Off Spin is on its last legs. But I bet if someone said 30 years ago that in 2010 England will have an offy at number 2 in the world rankings and the team that has spend 15 years a clear division above everyone else will also be employing a full-time offy, you wouldn't have believed them.

Even at my local club the skill is chuckled at a bit. Offies are not really taken seriously if they can't bat in the top 6-7. Yet at the same time, on a bowler friendly pitch they often go for about 10-15 runs per wicket at this level. Our offy gets a wonderful frisby-like flight on the ball and is always taking the wickets of batsman trying to charge him or those that misjudge length to any degree.

This anti-offy snobbery stems from the top. Barely a month goes by in which a former player and/or pundit doesn't write off the art, tells us in not so subtle terms that kids should forget it, it's a dead art. Yet it's still here after all these years, played and played well from the local parks to the very top level - test cricket.

How long do people think it has? Or will it be around until the Sun eventually swallows the Earth and everything in it?

Cheerio
 
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zaremba

Cricketer Of The Year
Hawkeye may be starting to prove to be the salvation of finger-spin. Umpires (correctly) give LBWs now which they would never give in the past. About bloody time too.

To be fair, in recent months, and particularly since Swanny's emergence, people aren't banging on about the death of off-spin as much as they used to.
 

GuyFromLancs

State Vice-Captain
Hawkeye may be starting to prove to be the salvation of finger-spin. Umpires (correctly) give LBWs now which they would never give in the past. About bloody time too.

To be fair, in recent months, and particularly since Swanny's emergence, people aren't banging on about the death of off-spin as much as they used to.
They will when Swanny hits a lean patch, which all bowlers do.

The use of Hawkeye by umpires, if it ever really takes hold, will change the game forever and in a way not seen for years. The LBW rule has been very forgiving on batsman in the past, the umpire seems to want to know that middle stump will be hit for certainly rather than merely the wickets. The benefit of the doubt rule has propped up a number of batsman no end.

If hawkeye was used for umpire's LBW decisions in the same way as replays are for runouts, the careers of a few batsman will go up in smoke.
 

zaremba

Cricketer Of The Year
Yes, and it's already started happening. Even before the UDRS was introduced, umpires were already being strongly influenced by Hawkeye. Hawkeye has taught us and the umpires that the stumps are a lot "wider" and a lot "shorter" than we ever thought before.
 

Jungle Jumbo

International Vice-Captain
Yes, and it's already started happening. Even before the UDRS was introduced, umpires were already being strongly influenced by Hawkeye. Hawkeye has taught us and the umpires that the stumps are a lot "wider" and a lot "shorter" than we ever thought before.
Not sure that's the right way round for the offspin argument TBH. Lots of LBWs are being given when batsmen defend off the front foot, whereas until recently it was more or less accepted that if a batman was forward to a spinner, it was very unlikely the ball would be hitting the stumps.

Panesar against the West Indies in 2007 springs to mind.
 

zaremba

Cricketer Of The Year
Not sure that's the right way round for the offspin argument TBH. Lots of LBWs are being given when batsmen defend off the front foot, whereas until recently it was more or less accepted that if a batman was forward to a spinner, it was very unlikely the ball would be hitting the stumps.

Panesar against the West Indies in 2007 springs to mind.
I think that the worry they have these days with front-foot LBWs is primarily height whereas before it was basically line.
 

Uppercut

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Not sure that's the right way round for the offspin argument TBH. Lots of LBWs are being given when batsmen defend off the front foot, whereas until recently it was more or less accepted that if a batman was forward to a spinner, it was very unlikely the ball would be hitting the stumps.

Panesar against the West Indies in 2007 springs to mind.
Yeah, they've got rid of the unwritten law that said when the batsman is on the front foot, the ball's driver is likely to take a sharp turn in order to miss the stumps at all costs.
 

Migara

Cricketer Of The Year
Not a dead art by any stretch of imagination. But the newer ones come with lot more tricks up their sleeves than the older ones.

SL has two emerging offies. Both very different to each other. Suraj Randiv, with excellent control of flight and spin, with a cracking top spinner vs Sachithra Senanayake, who teases batsmen with slow loopy, big off breaks. Next 5 - 6 years these two will be seen plenty of times in SL lineup.
 

BoyBrumby

Englishman
I agree that Hawkeye has been the main plank of the art's revival, but also think the increasing numbers of cack-handers in teams' top orders has been a factor. Turning the ball away from the batsman seems to be an advantage for spinners.
 

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