They’re all leggie good!

In addition to providing a few surprise results the T20 World Cup has reconfirmed the crucial part wristspinners play in achieving success in the formatLeading exponents like Adil Rashid Rashid Khan Adam Zampa Tabraiz Shamsi Shadab Khan and Ish Sodhi have been a big part of their teamrsquos success in recent years So important has wristspin become in T20 cricket that Englandmdashof all countriesmdashhave included allrounder Liam Livingstone in their team in order to have a second optionFormer Australian great legspinner Bill OrsquoReilly wrote in his 1985 book Tiger ldquoThey England have tried time and again to handicap legspin right out of the gamerdquoNo admirer of 50over cricket I hate to think what the feisty OrsquoReilly wouldrsquove made of the T20 format He would be devastated that very few of the wristspinners listed above have had any major effect in the Test arena This despite batsmen in general struggling mightily once the ball spins to any degree on wearing pitchesShane Warnersquos theoryAnother great leggie in Shane Warne has his theory on why wristspin success in T20 cricket isnrsquot being replicated in the Test arena He feels the main reason is that while wristspinners of yesteryear used to practice for hours perfecting a stock ball that they could land accurately under pressure the modern leggie is encouraged to bowl a variety of deliveries so they donrsquot become predictable in T20 cricketWarnersquos summation coincides with the advice OrsquoReilly passed on to Richie Benaud in 1953 Looking to improve his legspinning skills Benaud approached OrsquoReilly while on tour in England The retired spinner told him to work assiduously on a stock delivery so that his hardspun leg break would keep batsmen under constant pressureWarne cited another area where the thinking of wristspinners has changed and not necessarily for the better He explained that the modern wristspinner would rather concede a single than a boundary While Warne was never one to encourage boundary hits he reasons that if it occurs at least yoursquore bowling the next delivery to the same batsman Conceding regular singles means yoursquore constantly facing a different batsman and Warne believes this can lead to the bowler becoming impatientOrsquoReilly was never one to countenance any generosity towards his sworn enemies and when asked if hersquod ever tried to run out a player for backing up too far he replied ldquoI never encountered a batsman that keen to get to the other endrdquoTherein lies one of the great conundrums with the best legspinnersmdashthey are at their best when ultraaggressive whilst also remaining patient OrsquoReilly and Warne both epitomised that breedLack of FC opportunityAnother problem legspinners face in pushing their claims for inclusion in a Test XI is a lack of opportunity at firstclass level On this count Australia which used to be the great promoter of wristspin is now no better than EnglandUntil last season Queensland largely overlooked the skills of Mitchell Swepson a legspinner with the credentials to succeed at Test level When Queensland finally played him on a regular basis last season he had great success averaging six wickets a matchIn England the promising Mason Crane what with injuries and Hampshirersquos reluctance to select him in firstclass games is in danger of withering on the vine To their credit Lancashire played Matt Parkinson regularly last season and he rewarded them with a good County campaignWristspinners also suffer from a lack of understanding surrounding their art This comes both in the form of conservative captaincy and illinformed coaching All spinners need nurturing but in a world where success is wellrewarded captains and coaches arenrsquot often patientIf a young wristspinner is prepared to employ the work ethic of OrsquoReilly Warne and Benaud and he receives the right encouragement hersquoll enjoy success in all forms of the game After all a good wristspinner operating against leadenfooted batsmen is a recipe for widespread bowling success