Leg-Spin
Also known as: leg spin, legspin, wrist spin
Leg-spin is a type of spin bowling where a right-arm bowler spins the ball from leg to off (from right to left as seen by the batter), using wrist rotation to impart heavy clockwise topspin.
Leg-spin is delivered with the wrist rotating sharply at the point of release — the third and fourth fingers flick the ball out of the hand. Because the ball spins from leg to off for a right-handed batter, it moves away from the bat and towards the slips on pitching, making edges highly probable. Leg-spin is considered the most dangerous form of spin bowling because of how much the ball can deviate, but it is also the hardest to bowl accurately: the same wrist action that generates big spin also makes line and length harder to control. Variations from the leg-spin wrist position include the googly (spins the other way), the top-spinner, and the flipper.
Example
The leg-spinner lands the ball on leg stump and it spins sharply to take the off bail — the right-handed batter left playing for the straight ball.
Why it matters
Leg-spin is a match-winning skill in all formats. SwingVantage's cricket analysis (in development) will study wrist angle at release and seam position to help bowlers develop this high-value, hard-to-master skill.
Related terms
- GooglyA googly is a deceptive wrist-spin delivery from a leg-spinner that turns the opposite way to the stock ball — toward a right-handed batter instead of away — disguised by an identical action.
- Off-SpinOff-spin is a style of finger-spin bowling that turns the ball from the off side into a right-handed batter (right to left), the stock delivery being the off-break.
- Good LengthA good-length delivery is one that pitches at the spot that forces the batter to be uncertain whether to play off the front foot or the back foot — the most dangerous line for any bowler.
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