Penguinissimo
U19 12th Man
I thought this was a fascinating extract from an interview on a subject that's pretty relevant at the moment:
Why is there a problem with developing Australian spinners?
"Every guy in a state squad wants to play all the forms of cricket but for a spinner, it takes a significant amount experience to be able to change your game to do that. It's the longer form of the game that suffers because a young spinner takes the spin off the ball so he can become more accurate and when they do that they become semi dot-ball bowlers.
"That's why we have no leg-spinners in Australia at the moment because they are asked, through a total lack of understanding, to bowl dot balls. Shane Warne says that when you defend with the field, then you can attack with the ball. It takes a lot longer to develop a wrist spinner with accuracy, it's much easier to sacrifice the spin to become accurate. But you don't bring your spin back, it's gone forever.
"You have more leg spinners going around in England than we have in Australia. You never would have thought an Australian could say that because we have been breeding them here for years. But we are not developing youngsters because we say to them that they have to bowl economically."
What should happen now?
"We need a change of attitude and we now have to have a rethink about how we develop these guys. Cricket Australia have employed Shane to try and get through to captains about encouraging the development of wrist spin as well as using field placings to protect them - and I hope they listen to him.
"I would also look at the form of cricket spin bowlers play. There is a young player in New South Wales called Steven Smith, who is very talented - but he is playing limited-over cricket. He should play just four-day cricket instead. If he is our future, let's develop him as such. Warne played a host of Tests before he played a one-day international and that allowed him to develop his craft.
"We are not bereft of some reasonably good developing cricketers but you have to work out how they are going to get their opportunity to show they are up to it."
I'm going to go through and fisk it shortly, but that's the main text for you to read yourselves.
Why is there a problem with developing Australian spinners?
"Every guy in a state squad wants to play all the forms of cricket but for a spinner, it takes a significant amount experience to be able to change your game to do that. It's the longer form of the game that suffers because a young spinner takes the spin off the ball so he can become more accurate and when they do that they become semi dot-ball bowlers.
"That's why we have no leg-spinners in Australia at the moment because they are asked, through a total lack of understanding, to bowl dot balls. Shane Warne says that when you defend with the field, then you can attack with the ball. It takes a lot longer to develop a wrist spinner with accuracy, it's much easier to sacrifice the spin to become accurate. But you don't bring your spin back, it's gone forever.
"You have more leg spinners going around in England than we have in Australia. You never would have thought an Australian could say that because we have been breeding them here for years. But we are not developing youngsters because we say to them that they have to bowl economically."
What should happen now?
"We need a change of attitude and we now have to have a rethink about how we develop these guys. Cricket Australia have employed Shane to try and get through to captains about encouraging the development of wrist spin as well as using field placings to protect them - and I hope they listen to him.
"I would also look at the form of cricket spin bowlers play. There is a young player in New South Wales called Steven Smith, who is very talented - but he is playing limited-over cricket. He should play just four-day cricket instead. If he is our future, let's develop him as such. Warne played a host of Tests before he played a one-day international and that allowed him to develop his craft.
"We are not bereft of some reasonably good developing cricketers but you have to work out how they are going to get their opportunity to show they are up to it."
I'm going to go through and fisk it shortly, but that's the main text for you to read yourselves.