Last two years - Spinners' downturn in ODIs?

[karan316]

Reckon that just might be because pace bowlers are better with the new ball than the old ball.

Just spit balling here...

Thats true, but there have been teams in the past who have had great spinners and horrible pace bowlers(who were just there to get the ball old), I remember many Indian lineups with poor pace bowlers, but didn't see spinners bowling regularly at the start of the innings, in any format.

Even during the time of the famous Indian spin quartet, pace bowlers were just picked to take the shine off the ball and produce some footmarks for the spinners. The spinners were happy bowling with the older ball rather than the newer one.

 

[Arjun]

Meanwhile, West Indies is emerging as a new breeding ground for spinners. Sunil Narine apart, we're also seeing Narsingh Deonarine, Shane Shillingford, Samuel Badree and once upon a time Dave Mohammed get plenty of wickets, for less. In other regions (England/Africa/South-Pacific) it's still tough for the spinners to chip wickets. It's looking good in Tests, not so much in ODIs.

One case of seriously good economy in ODIs is that of Sunil Narine, who maintains an economy of a little under four, and his strike rate keeps him competitive. However, we find that he maintains those figures largely in the West Indies, and not so much even in Asia.

Sri Lanka's spin revival is also likely. We're seeing Mendis play for Lanka again, and they still have Rangana Herath, who has been getting better.

Thats true, but there have been teams in the past who have had great spinners and horrible pace bowlers(who were just there to get the ball old), I remember many Indian lineups with poor pace bowlers, but didn't see spinners bowling regularly at the start of the innings, in any format.

Even during the time of the famous Indian spin quartet, pace bowlers were just picked to take the shine off the ball and produce some footmarks for the spinners. The spinners were happy bowling with the older ball rather than the newer one.

Indian seam/swing bowlers often rolled the ball along the ground during a ball change, often when a spinner was due.