The Cricket Mentoring Podcast · Cricket Mentoring

Leg Spin Technical Fundamentals | The Spin Bowling Podcast Ep 3

·35 min·2 clips

Rashid Khan and similar 90-plus leg spinners need very high overspin because the ball is almost a top spinner.

1. The Cricket Mentoring Podcast episode “Leg Spin Technical Fundamentals” focuses on leg spin as a separate technical category from off spin. 2. Tom Scolay hosts the show, and Craig Howie appears as the spin expert and spin mentor from Cricket Mentoring. 3. The episode asks how leg spin should be coached when wrist spinners have different speeds, revs, seam positions, and format demands. 4. Howie says leg spin is more complex to bowl and coach than off spin, so he avoids pigeonholing wrist spinners into one style. 5. He groups effective leg spin into speed bands, seam position, and revolutions rather than one universal technique. 6. He names Shane Warne, Stuart MacGill, Anil Kumble, Dinesh Kaneria, Abdul Qadir, and Mushtaq Ahmed as examples of the traditional profile. 7. That traditional profile is described as roughly 78 to 82 kph with a seam around 45 degrees toward gully. 8. He then points to current wrist spinners such as Kuldeep Yadav, Adil Rashid, Tanvir Sanger, Mason Crane, Adam Zampa, and Wanindu Hasaranga. 9. He also describes a faster 90-plus group led by Rashid Khan, where very high overspin is needed for the ball to dip and turn. 10. Another group he highlights is the off-axis leg spinner, with Ravi Bishnoi and Peter Hatzoglou as examples. 11. Howie says high-revolution spinners often develop later because control takes time and many are judged too early at 18, 19, or 21. 12. He says Stuart MacGill debuted for New South Wales at 26 and Australia at 27, which he uses to argue for patience. 13. He contrasts Tanvir Sanger and Mitchell Swepson to show that the same increase in effort can lift one spinner and flatten another. 14. He says Swepson’s ideal range was around 78 to 82 kph because extra force pushed his shape flatter and his revs higher. 15. He says the wrist-spinner release needs a strong vertical plane, with the palm facing the batter at the top and the left shoulder driving to the target. 16. He explains that closing the feet or over-rotating can throw the arm past the vertical and knock the ball off its axis. 17. The tone is technical and coaching-focused, with Tom Scolay asking practical questions and Howie answering with examples and on-screen demonstrations. 18. The format mixes recap, explanation, and applied coaching advice, including references to rev gun and trackman data. 19. Listeners who coach or bowl wrist spin in red-ball or T20 cricket will get the most value. 20. Listeners wanting a general cricket chat without technical detail may skip it.

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