Was SF barnes a spin bowler or pace bowler?

[the big bambino]

He'd hardly be the first, or last bowler to switch between tools in the box according to conditions.

Big Bill Johnston could bowl both pace and spin. I've seen some footage of both styles of his. Thing is, his normal fast bowling run was rather short, bounding and whippy as is, so going to left arm spin was maybe only a half speed different in approach.

Point is bowlers didn't have to be as specialized in those days, so there was more scope for them to use more flexible approaches. Getting a little less joy and purchase on an uncovered pitch with the sprint and sling approach that now characterizes the modern pacer, probably also contributed to that tendency.

For Barnes, I don't think he really ever saw the need to "choose a style" to make use of different techniques.

From perhaps faulty memory, Johnston like Voce, started out as a spin bowler before discovering they were even better at pace. Same with Tate. The two left armers occasionally reverted to spin in their test careers, though I think by the time of bodyline Voce gave up spin for good.

Barnes seemed to reserve slow bowling for league matches - though this is just inferred from what I’ve read. It makes sense as he valued his bowling as his livelihood and explains why he frequently avoided fc cricket for the leagues. After all he got paid as much for much less effort. A real mercenary, he realised what would be required for tests and demanded compensation and his terms were not always met. In that professional regard for his services he was as trailblazing as influential cricketers like Grace.

 

[Blenkinsop]

All of which makes me wonder why there are no longer any fast-medium bowlers whose stock ball is the leg-cutter. If it's really possible to bowl a ball that swings in and then decks away at anything like a decent pace you'd think someone would clean up.

 

[Johan]

All of which makes me wonder why there are no longer any fast-medium bowlers whose stock ball is the leg-cutter. If it's really possible to bowl a ball that swings in and then decks away at anything like a decent pace you'd think someone would clean up.

People have new toys, IE The Scrambled- oh wait, The "Wobble" Seam and the reverse swing.

 

[Blenkinsop]

This video of an Ashes Test from 1958-9 is interesting. When he's first brought on to bowl, the commentator describes Keith Slater as a medium-pacer, but in the second innings he calls him an off-spinner. Most of the time he's clearly bowling spin, but at 12'15 you can see him coming in off a longer run with the keeper standing back. I wonder it was relatively common back then for bowlers to switch depending on conditions, and perhaps this is what Barnes did?

It also makes clear exactly why people thought Ian Meckiff and Tony Lock had dubious bowling actions.

 

[Johan]

This video of an Ashes Test from 1958-9 is interesting. When he's first brought on to bowl, the commentator describes Keith Slater as a medium-pacer, but in the second innings he calls him an off-spinner. Most of the time he's clearly bowling spin, but at 12'15 you can see him coming in off a longer run with the keeper standing back. I wonder it was relatively common back then for bowlers to switch depending on conditions, and perhaps this is what Barnes did?

It also makes clear exactly why people thought Ian Meckiff and Tony Lock had dubious bowling actions.

Australia's Ted McDonald and West Indies's Learie Constantine were two bowlers who were actual true pacers who could switch to bowling off spin, Constantine's average speed was calculated by the Cambridge universe to be 85 mph but he did bowl off-cutters and could switch to off-spin. McDonald to me feels like an 85+ bowler too at full.

This goes back to what I said earlier, as Spofforth put it, in cut you push down your finger on one side of the ball and in spin you actively put more work by twisting your wrists and fingers. Both McDonald and Constantine likely just took their cutter, put in a bit more work into their natural cutters and bowled serviceable spin. Barnes likely cut down his speed and bowled his natural leg breaks because his leg cutters already moved a suffecient amount, he was basically just cutting down speed and runup for higher sustainability.