Leg Spin - A Dying Art?

[sifter132]

I think EVERY really fast bowler who's played the game has been injury prone. Lillee and Thomson were, Lee and Akhtar were, Tait certainly has been. It's a hard thing to do bowl at 150kph+ constantly. And going back to the 50s, Frank Tyson never played much Test cricket either....because of foot and other injuries. Who else is in the discussion of fastest ever? Michael Holding used to have shoulder problems.

Just looking at the list of players who have played over 50 Tests in a row:
Records | Test matches | Individual records (captains, players, umpires) | Most consecutive matches for a team | ESPN Cricinfo
Only fast bowlers on that list are Kapil Dev, Glenn McGrath and Courtney Walsh (and a couple of all-rounders eg. Sobers, Kallis, Greig). None of those were really fast bowlers.

I will agree though that it's frustrating the amount the Aussie bowlers have been injured. England and SA always seem to have their top bowlers available...

 

[Anish.]

Leg spin is a dying art,the few good leg spinners I can think of now are Hogg & only hogg. Let alone left-hand wrist spin is dyed,right hand is under pressure or whatever.People don't rip the bowl anymore like Warney,Rashid has to be the next good leggy bowler.

 

[ved_]

I believe that leg spin has truly gone away from international cricket now. Off - spin is the more favored option now, and that's nurtured more than leg spin in coaching classes. Look back at Shane Warne & Anil Kumble - they are 2 role models for aspiring leg spinners. This is a craft, which has truly lost it's value.

 

[Epic]

Maybe because they want to preserve their career. What happened to the express pace? All retired early due to injuries

Never denied this lol.

How many people have bowled consistent 150kph...EVER?? I doubt Larwood, Trueman or Hall were that fast - may have hit 150, but not consistently in my reckoning. Frank Tyson and Jeff Thomson, yes definitely. Lillee for a couple of years probably. Holding too, not sure any of the other Windies quicks would qualify though. You could argue Lee and Akhtar weren't consistent 150 guys either. So that list is pretty small. Certainly a lot smaller than the list of decent leg spinners. So I think your cut off point of 150kph is a bit unrealistic.

Maybe the word consistently was misplaced, but when was the last time you saw a bowler touch 150? Yeah, sure there's been the odd occasion where Steyn or someone else has hit 150, but it all ends there, 1 ball in a 5 match Test series...

I miss Lee, Akhtar and Bond, really do.

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Going back to what I said earlier, I really do think it's just the times, the sport is changing and hence certain skills are just left behind, totally normal. Not sure about this, but didn't off-spin have this fairly long dry spell till the Doosra bowlers came out the wood works? I don't know, I'm going to reference some documentary.

 

[Anish.]

When Kumble,& Waney were there Ajmal was a joke.Now he is the ruler of spin.He is losing touch,dont want Narine to conquer do we.??It would be awesome if a new leggy comes & dominates

 

[ved_]

The Indians hoped for Piyush Chawla to be the successor to Anil Kumble. He's not even half as close to his skill, though. Yes, he does have his magical moments, but that happens once in 10 matches. Regarding other countries, I don't really see any spinner other than Xavier Doherty who can consistently bowl well.

 

[Anish.]

The Indians hoped for Piyush Chawla to be the successor to Anil Kumble. He's not even half as close to his skill, though. Yes, he does have his magical moments, but that happens once in 10 matches. Regarding other countries, I don't really see any spinner other than Xavier Doherty who can consistently bowl well.

Yeah!Swann is coming to India,maybe he will dominate there.But Ashwin picks up wickets too..............