Weakness against wrist spin due to poor training
It’s not only the stroke range that has dramatically evolved in short format batting but also the mental approach. Contrast the somnambulistic approach of Essex’s Brian Ward in a 1969 40-over game with England’s recordbreaking assault on Australian bowling in the Trent Bridge ODI.
Ward decided that Somerset off-spinner Brian Langford was the danger man and eight consecutive maidens resulted to hand the bowler the never-to-be-repeated figures of 8-8-0-0. On the other hand, England’s batsmen displayed no such inhibitions in rattling up 481 off 50 overs.
One thing has remained constant in the short formats; a wariness around spin bowling, although currently it’s more likely to be the wrist variety than finger spin. The list of successful wrist-spinners in short-format cricket is growing rapidly and there have been some outstanding recent performances. In successive T20s against England, India’s Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav have claimed a five-wicket haul. It’s a trail of destruction that would have gladdened the heart of Bill O’Reilly, a great wrist-spinner and the most insistent promoter of the art there has been. Wrist-spinners are being eagerly sought after for the many T20 leagues. Their success is mostly down to the deception they provide with turn from both the leg and the off with only a minimal change of action.
Kuldeep provided a perfect example when he bamboozled both Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root with successive wrong ‘uns in the Old Trafford T20. That Bairstow -- a wicket-keeper -- was deceived by the wrong ’un is symptomatic of a malaise -- a general inability to read wrist-spinners. This failing is not only the root cause of wicket loss from mishits but also contributes to a desirable bowling economy rate, as batsmen are hesitant to attack a delivery they’re unsure about.
This inability to read wrist-spinners is mystifying. If a batsman watches the ball out of the hand, the early warning signals are available. A leg break is delivered with the back of the hand turned towards the bowler’s face while with the wrong ’un, it’s facing the batsman. The wrong ’un, bowled out of the back-of-the-hand, has a loftier trajectory.
Final confirmation is provided by the seam position which is tilted towards first slip for the legspinner and leg-slip for the wrong ’un. Following Kuldeep’s demolition job, Jos Buttler said; “It may take one or two games” for English batsmen to get used to the left-armer. This is an indictment of the current system for developing young batsmen when you send them into international battle minus a few important tools.