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Technical Fundamentals of the World’s Best Finger Spinners | The Spin Bowling Podcast Episode 2

·28 min·1 clip

Craig Howard says flat conditions reward beating batters in the air, not off the wicket.

1. The Cricket Mentoring Podcast episode on technical fundamentals of finger spin centers on Craig Howard’s coaching framework for the world’s best finger spinners. 2. Tom Scolay hosts Craig Howard, and Howard’s value comes from 17 to 18 years in high-performance coaching plus roles with the South Australian Redbacks, Cricket Australia, New Zealand Women, Victoria, and Australia. 3. The episode asks what finger spinners need technically to compete in the hardest conditions and across Test cricket, ODI cricket, and T20 cricket. 4. Howard starts with grip and says there is no single correct hold, because players such as Sir Clayton Wood, Bruce Yardley, and Shane Warne used different versions. 5. He says he likes “a little bit of a hook down the back of the ball” and mentions using a rev gun to test whether a grip increases revolutions. 6. Howard then moves to the run-up and says he wants “straight lines” rather than angled approaches, because force and energy need to go behind the ball. 7. He gives a pace range of about 85 to 90, sometimes 92, and says Ravindra Jadeja was “pushing sort of 93 94” in England. 8. He says three to five steps of more than a walk is the range he likes, while Graham Swann, Nathan Lyon, Daniel Vettori, and Rangana Herath are cited as examples. 9. Harbhajan Singh is described as the only one in that group who used two steps and takeoff, which Howard links to unusual athletic ability. 10. Howard then separates overspin from side spin and says flat conditions make it more important to beat batters in the air than off the wicket. 11. He says overspin makes the ball drop, while side spin makes the ball curve, and he would choose “all drop no curve” if forced. 12. He uses the example of “the greatest numbers of all time” to argue that the most effective spinner can be competitive without much curve if the ball drops hard enough. 13. Howard then explains the back-leg takeoff, saying the knee should drive to the target and the action should still allow enough turn into a semi side-on or semi front-on position. 14. He says a lot of bowlers from school and club pitches have learned actions that work on highly spin-friendly surfaces, but that habit can reduce the ability to generate power on the vertical plane. 15. At back-foot landing, he says the great finger spinners do not land truly side-on, and he notes that their shoulders and back feet stay closer to a semi front-on shape. 16. He adds that hip height in the back leg is a useful indicator, because the action needs the legs to contribute full-body power for an overspun ball. 17. Howard’s release-point discussion focuses on a vertical arm, ideally around 12 o’clock, with the left elbow staying near the left hip. 18. He closes the mechanics with the back-leg drive and “180 finish,” saying the follow-through should reach the danger-zone marker to show enough forward momentum. 19. This episode suits serious spin bowlers, coaches, and cricket students who want a technical framework for finger spin from a coach who has worked with Nathan Lyon and other elite players. 20. Listeners who want entertainment without biomechanics detail will probably skip it.

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