ONE TWEAK A MITCH WINNER
RICH IE Ben aud spoke about it, Shane Warne put it into action and now Mitchell Sweps on is riding it all the way towards a baggy green cap.
It’s a simple little formula which sounds boring but history tells us it works.
It’ s the mantra which suggests leg-spinners should resist the temptation to be too funky and concentrate mainly ontheirstockball—thelegspinner—todothedamage they crave.
It’ s easier said than done because it is much like telling a magic ian not to worry about that magnificent trick with the disappearing elephant sand concentrate on juggling those three boring tennis balls.
If there’ s one things legspinners love it’ s getting wickets through the trickery of their exotic wronguns and flippers and listening to commentators laud them for being masters of deception.
But, as Ben aud, pictured, said 40 years ago :“Leg- spinners can be magicians but they should never forget that the No.1 rule of their craft is to masterthehard-spunlegbreak–you can get distracted by the tricks.’’
Ben au dad mitt ed he had not always practised what he preached.
Team mate Peter B urge reckoned Ben aud became so obsessed about trying to bowl the flip per it corrupted there st of his bowling to the point where Bur get old him “I would give the flipper a rest Rich.’’
Shane Warne had his flirtation with the flip per but never over-bowled that ballor the wrong‘un. Hek new his stock ball, the leg-spinner, was a gold plated meal ticket.
Which brings us to Sweps on, the 27- year-old Queen slander who has taken 15 wickets in two games in the Sheffield Shield competition this season to bean odds on chance of playing with Nathan Lyon the next time Australia chooses two slow bowlers
He did pickup one wicket with a flip per this season but generally it’ s been his stock ball that’ s done the damage on spin-friendly Adelaide decks.
“Batters these days watch the hand very closely and are not really fooled by the stuff that comes out,’ ’ Sweps on said .“They see so much footage it is hard to have too many secrets. That is why I have gone to the subtle side.
“My best ball to get them out is the leg-spinner but don’t get me wrong as soon as the tail enders come out I pull the tools out of the kit bag and have some fun.
“I have bow led awr on gun for along time but I have used it a lot less this year. I have backed my leg-break and variations of it and that has helped me with my accuracy. Different angles with these am and different angles.
“I have had a lot of people tell me War ni ed id not use his variation balls that much .”
Sweps on has never played a Test but was set togo as the No .2 spinner to the cancelled Bangladesh tour where Australia was set to play two spinners.