Off spin is a type of
spin bowling in
cricket
Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...
. A bowler who uses this technique is called an off spinner. Off spinners bowl with their right-arm and a
finger spin action. Their normal
delivery is called an off break, which spins from left to right (from the bowler's perspective) when the ball bounces on the
pitch. For a right-handed
batsman, the ball breaks towards them from the
off side,
hence the name 'off break'.
Off spinners bowl mostly off breaks, varying them by adjusting the
line and length of the deliveries. Off spinners also bowl other types of delivery, which spin differently. Aside from these variations in spin, varying the speed,
length
Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with Dimension (physical quantity), dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a Base unit (measurement), base unit for length is chosen, ...
and flight of the ball are also important for the off spinner.
The bowler with the most
wickets in the history of both
Test matches and
ODIs,
Muttiah Muralitharan, was an off spinner.
History
Although rare now, in the past there were bowlers who used the off-break action who deliberately did not impart any considerable spin on the ball but relied on line and length (or even speed variations) to frustrate batsmen. They endeavoured to pitch the ball in an area that the batsman was unable to play a scoring shot, even making last moment adjustments to "follow" a batsman should they move within the crease to negate the bowlers tactics. Whilst this is primarily a defensive style, wickets were achieved by forcing a batsman to make a rash stroke or even bowling at the stumps instead of the retreating batsman. Another wicket taking method was to impart more spin on the ball than usual, and surprise the batsman. An exponent of this style of bowling was "Flat"
Jack Simmons who played for Lancashire and Tasmania in the 1970s and 1980s. With the advent of limited overs cricket promoting more adventurous batting styles and the use of ever heavier bats this style of bowling has declined, although some off-spinners will still use this tactic when the pitch is offering very little or no ''turn''. It is a tactic often used by
Kane Williamson when he bowls occasionally in limited overs format because his bowling style tends to be flatter and faster.
Comparison with other types of spin bowling
Off spin contrasts with
leg spin, in which the ball spins from leg to off and which is bowled with a very different action (wrist spin).
Off spin is generally considered less difficult to play than leg spin, as off breaks typically spin less than
leg breaks, and do not generally possess the same loopy, potentially deceptive flight. In addition, off spinners tend to have a smaller repertoire of deliveries to choose from. For a right-handed batsman, the ball moves in towards the batsman's body, meaning the batsman's legs are usually in the path of the ball if it misses the bat or takes an edge. This makes it difficult for the bowler to get the batsman out bowled or caught from an off break, but it does mean there is a chance of
leg before wicket
Leg before wicket (lbw) is one of the ways in which a Batting (cricket), batter can be dismissal (cricket), dismissed in the sport of cricket. Following an Appeal (cricket), appeal by the Fielding (cricket), fielding side, the umpire (cricket), ...
, assuming the ball has not turned enough to miss the leg
stump. However, the off spinner often bowls faster and more accurately than a leg spinner, and can therefore deceive the batsman with changes in the pace of the ball. A left-handed batsman has more difficulty facing off break bowling, because the ball moves away from his body. This means that any miscalculation can more easily result in an outside edge off the bat and a catch going to the
wicket-keeper or
slips fielders.
A
left-handed
In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to and causing it to be stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply l ...
bowler who bowls with the same (finger spin) action as an off spinner is known as a
left-arm orthodox spin bowler. While the orthodox spinner has the same action as an off-spinner, the ball itself spins in the opposite direction (akin to a right arm leg spinner). Such a ball is not normally called an off break, but a ''left-arm orthodox spinner''.
Terminology
Off spin: Sometimes the term off spin is used to mean the off break delivery.
At other times the term off spin has a wider meaning, to include all deliveries bowled by an off spinner, including non-off break deliveries.
Off spinner: The term off spinner can be used to mean either the bowler or the off break delivery.
Offie: The term offie can also be used to mean either the bowler or the off break delivery.
Technique
An off break is bowled by holding the
cricket ball in the palm of the hand with the seam running across under all the fingers.
As the ball is released, the fingers roll down the right side of the ball (for a right-handed bowler), giving the ball a clockwise spin as seen from behind.
Notable off spinners
Notable off spinners include:
*
Muttiah Muralitharan of
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
, who has the most wickets in both ODIs and Test matches,
*
E. A. S. Prasanna and
Srinivas Venkataraghavan, two of the legendary
Indian spin quartet
*
Harbhajan Singh of
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
*
Saqlain Mushtaq and
Saeed Ajmal of Pakistan.
Saqlain Mushtaq was credited with the invention of the "
doosra", which is bowled with a similar-looking action to the off break but spins the opposite way, just as the leg spinner's
googly turns the opposite way from his stock ball.
*
Jim Laker and
Graeme Swann of England
*
Nathan Lyon of Australia.
*
Tim May of Australia. He played 24 tests as well as being the Chief Executive of the
Australian Cricketers' Association and later the
Federation of International Cricketers' Associations.
*
Ajantha Mendis: inventor of the carrom ball
*
Lance Gibbs: first spinner to pass 300 wickets
*
Ravichandran Ashwin of India. Fastest Bowler to reach 250, 300 and 350 wickets in test cricket.
and more...
Other deliveries bowled by off spin bowlers
Another common weapon of the off spinner is the
arm ball, which does not spin but goes straight on "with the arm". More skilled offspinners also have the
topspinner.
See also
*
Cricket terminology
*
Arm ball
*
Doosra
*
Leg break
References
External links
The Complete Guide to Bowling Off Spin - teamtechnologyOff Spin Basics video - wisdomtalkiesOff Spin Bowling - cricketcoachingblog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Off Spin
Cricket terminology
Bowling (cricket)