Starfighter
Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
Recently I started cultivating off spin in the nets (tbh I think I chucked them) and in addition to a lovely topspun release that got big bounce off the matting I tried the undercutter (called it the 'subcontinental special'). It didn't skid all that much on the matting (much better to bowl pure sidespin for that) but I did beat a few guys with it.
It's surprisingly hard to bowl when you have geared your action for topspin, explains why you don't see someone like Lyon bowl like that.
One other one is that forcing the ball through low and quick often makes the ball skid, often by bowling a bit roundarm and bowling pure sidespin, or even spinning slightly backwards. Shakib does this and Derek Underwood beat countless batsmen back in the sixties that way too.
It's surprisingly hard to bowl when you have geared your action for topspin, explains why you don't see someone like Lyon bowl like that.
The ones where you cut under the ball won't spin as much simply due to the forces involved (the real spinning-top like ones don't have much sideways pull) but the ones that really skid you can only really increase the chance. You still won't know, which is what I was saying.Both Ashwin and Jadeja have spoken about how they try to ball on certain side of the seam, or give it a bit of an undercut, when delivering so as to try and get it to spin lesser sometimes. They may not know the exact degree to which some balls will turn and some won't etc., but the finger spinners who can beat both edges usually have a pretty decent idea of what they are trying to bowl. Its not like they dunno which one will turn and which one won't literally. Just that they can't be sure of the level of the turn or lack of it.
One other one is that forcing the ball through low and quick often makes the ball skid, often by bowling a bit roundarm and bowling pure sidespin, or even spinning slightly backwards. Shakib does this and Derek Underwood beat countless batsmen back in the sixties that way too.