“Kachra Firki Daal,” screams Bhuvan( Amir Khan) in the film Lagan.
Kachra’s( Aditya Lakhiya the actor) weapon of choice is the Firki – a spinning delivery so subtle, it whispers secrets to the wind. Each revolution of the ball conjures illusions painting arcs of mysteries in the air dancing on the edge of impossibility.
The “firki balls” spun in unusual directions and with varying trajectories, making them difficult for the batsmen to read and play effectively. But all that is fiction isn’t it?
What relevance does it have to an article on Cricket?
Film, they say often mirrors society, encapsulating its essence and narratives. So the fictional “Firki” delivered by Kachra and the realistic “googly” bowled by Bhagwat Chandrashekhar have a few things in common.
Both Kachra and India’s own Bhagwat Chandrashekhar, the real-life cricketing spinning legend were afflicted by polio during their youth. It’s also widely acknowledged that Bhagwat Chandrashekhar’s bowling style was so unique and unpredictable that there were instances where even he himself didn’t know, which way the ball would turn.
Imagine the plight of the batsmen!
What is it about the art of Leg spin that makes it so special? Chandrashekhar was known to turn around test matches on its head and earn victories for India from seemingly impossible situations. If no one can do it Chandra can. That was the belief.
An art of elegance and finesse
Leg spin bowling is often described as an art form of due to its elegance and finesse. The sight of a well-flighted leg break drifting in the air before dipping and viciously turning past the bat is a testament to the skill and craftsmanship of leg spinners.
But leg spinners do not come off the assembly line as off spinners or orthodox left arm spinners. Why?
Because of the difficulty quotient. Leg spinning requires the bowler to control the ball with his wrist and not only the fingers.
And purists believe that more body parts including the wrist, the fingers, the elbow and hips and shoulders all come into play more than in the case of traditional finger spin. It must be extremely difficult to activate your entire body to regulate the trajectory and perfectly pitch the ball across 22 yards.
The dancing run up of the legend Abdul Qadir, his springing delivery style, the sudden leap, the pivot then the epic landing on the bowling mark followed by the grandiose release.
Along came the Qadir’s, the Sivaramakrishnan’s and Rashid Khan’s
Qadir even kept staring at the ball as it whizzed through the air as if he was controlling the balls
trajectory even after he had released it. That is what the mesmerising art of leg spin
brings to the game.
Such names like Narendra Hirwani, Laxman Sivaramakrishnan and the recent exponents like Rashid Khan and Kuldeev Yadav are taking the magical art of leg spin bowling to newer heights with their guile.
Leg spinning is considered to have started with Arthur Mailey, with his flamboyant style and seemingly endless array of deliveries. His performances for Australia in the 1920s and ’30s, including memorable battles against the likes of Jack Hobbs and Herbert Sutcliffe, showcased the sheer artistry of leg spin bowling.
The prowess of those across the Tasman Sea
Meanwhile, across the Tasman Sea, Clarrie Grimmett was honing his craft to perfection.
Born in New Zealand he went to Australia in 1914 on a short working holiday which lasted for 66 years. He joined the Sydney club but representing Australia, Grimmett’s unerring accuracy and subtle variations made him a nightmare for opposing batsmen.
His mastery of the googly, a delivery that spins in the opposite direction to a conventional leg break with the same action revolutionized the art of leg spin and set a benchmark for future generations to aspire to.
Overall, the combination of wrist action, variations, deception, consistency, and risk factor makes leg spin or wrist spinning more difficult than any other orthodox off spin or finger spin. But when the going gets tough, the tough get going.
How did Subhash Gupte rise in his craft?
Subhash Gupte who played during the 1950s and early 1960s is widely regarded as one of the finest leg-spinners to have played the game.
It is often recounted in cricketing lore that Subhash Gupte practiced his bowling by aiming at a single stump and regularly hitting it with accuracy. Both with traditional leg spin and the googly’s. Lord only knows what the man’s value would have been in today’s Franchise Cricket?
In the 1970s and 1980s, it was thought that leg spin would disappear from the game due to the success of West Indian, and later Australian teams, exclusively using fast bowlers.
The demands of modern cricket also shifted towards faster bowlers and aggressive batting, leading to a perceived devaluation of leg spin bowling. Leg spinning just required a higher level of spinning talent. Changing pitches, coaching emphasis, limited opportunities all contributed.
During this time Abdul Qadir of Pakistan was the high-profile leg spinner in the world and is sometimes credited with “keeping the art alive”.
Continued evolution of leg spin
Following World War II, leg spin continued to evolve, with new exponents emerging from all corners of the cricketing world. Jim Laker from England, Richie Benaud from Australia both carried on the tradition of their predecessors, mesmerising batsmen with their guile and cunning.
In the Caribbean, Sonny Ramadhin and Alf Valentine formed a fearsome spin duo, bamboozling opposition batsmen with their unorthodox approach.
But then came Shane Warne.
The “Mad Max’ of leg Spin bowling.
Shane Warne mesmerized cricket fans worldwide with a flick of his wrist, bamboozled batsmen and captured hearts. Suddenly leg spinning became fashionable. Parents wanted their kids to become leg spinners. And Leg spin acquired a halo of greatness that it duly deserved. Warne’s audacious flair set him apart as one of the greatest spin wizards in cricket history. Forever etched in the annals of the game, Warne’s legacy shines brightly as a testament to his magical prowess on the pitch. He is also credited to have bowled the “ball of the century” to bamboozle Mike Gatting.
There is also another magical aspect of the art of leg spin that that can be termed as the equivalent of left handed batsmanship. The Chinaman!
The term “Chinaman” in cricket is said to have originated in the early 20th century, specifically during a Test match between England and the West Indies in 1933. Ellis “Puss” Achong, a left-arm orthodox spinner of Chinese descent from the West Indies, bowled a delivery that turned unexpectedly confusing the English batsman Walter Robbins.
As Robbins was dismissed, he reportedly remarked, “Fancy being done by a Chinaman,” in reference to Achong’s ethnicity.
This incident led to the coining of the term “Chinaman” to describe a left-arm wrist spinner’s delivery that turns unexpectedly. It is the left arm bowler’s “googly” or “wrong’un.”
Kuldeev Yadav has recently completely bamboozled the Englishmen in India with his Chinaman deliveries.
In the end whether it’s the subtle drift in the air, the sharp turn off the pitch, or the wickedly spinning googly, leg spin bowling is a spectacle like no other in cricket. It requires not only supreme skill and athleticism but also an innate understanding of the nuances of the game.
For the bowler, it is a test of patience and perseverance; for the batsman, a challenge of skill and concentration.
In the graceful arc of a leg spinner’s delivery, cricket finds its divine poetry, spinning
tales of skill and artistry upon the canvas of the pitch.
