• Welcome to the Cricket Web forums, one of the biggest forums in the world dedicated to cricket.

    You are currently viewing our boards as a guest which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our free community you will have access to post topics, respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join the Cricket Web community today!

    If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us.

The seamers who spun

stumpski

International Captain
I believe Maurice Tate was another of the spin to seam brigade - no doubt Mr Zaremba will be able to confirm for us in due course.
Yes, apparently he impressed the Sussex captain - Arthur Gilligan I think - bowling in his quicker style in the nets, and was told to stay with it.

Jim Laker was a fast-bowling all-rounder in his schooldays and only started bowling off-spin when playing in army cricket during the War, according to his obit in the 1987 Wisden.
 

Manee

Cricketer Of The Year
Tendulkar's swing is still often second to none. When he drops it down to 65-70mph, he gets some hooooooooooooooooop both ways.
 

andruid

Cricketer Of The Year
Jimmy Kamande was bowling seam at the '99 cricket World cupbut his action got called. Apparently he got packed off to the MRF pace acadamy in India and was told he was too skinny to bowl pace.
 

stumpski

International Captain
Oh, back on now are we? Couldn't access the forum for about an hour there. :huh:

Not a 'switcher' as such, but Indian left-armer Karsan Ghavri bowled both seam and spin, often in the same innings. Which reminds me of the old Essex stalwart Ray Smith, of whom it was written:

Ray Smith often opened the attack, with his sleeves rolled up, bowling huge inswingers at a fair pace; then with cap on and sleeves rolled down - as though he was someone else entirely - he would return to purvey somewhat less effective off-breaks.

I love that little detail, that when he came back on to bowl in a different style, he felt the need to alter his appearance. Does any other game throw up such eccentric behaviour?
 

zaremba

Cricketer Of The Year
I like this thread! Maybe because I was a seamer when I was a nipper before turning to legspin in my teens.

Anyhow...

Phil Tufnell opened both the bowling (with seamers) and the batting at school. Not sure which I find more implausible really.

Some more seamers who tried bowling a bit of spin:
Mike Procter
Ian Botham
Jimmy Ormond

I believe Maurice Tate was another of the spin to seam brigade - no doubt Mr Zaremba will be able to confirm for us in due course.
You and stumpski are, as ever, on the money.
 

Richard

Cricket Web Staff Member
Sachin Tendulkar started off as medium fast, then switched to spin, iirc.
Tendulkar's swing is still often second to none. When he drops it down to 65-70mph, he gets some hooooooooooooooooop both ways.
Yeah always thought Tendulkar has under-used his seam TBH. He's far from the worst wristspinner or fingerspinner you'll see, and his seam as Manee says isn't exactly quick. But I've seen him look threatening with it more than once before now despite the fact you very rarely see him use it.
 

BoyBrumby

Englishman
I seem to recall a (possibly apocryphal) story that Sir Alec Bedser's off-spinning twin Eric switched to slow-bowling after losing a toss of a coin with the great man, having been his bowling doppleganger as well as his physical one before that.

I'm sure I remember Colly bowling (rank) off-spin in a test in the summer of 2007 too.
 

Sanz

Hall of Fame Member
Manoj Prabhakar used to be a seamer until that fateful day when he was forced to bowl spin by Sanath Jaisuriya. I dont know how many people watched that game, but it was a hillarious to see him bowl spin.
 

Precambrian

Banned
Manoj Prabhakar used to be a seamer until that fateful day when he was forced to bowl spin by Sanath Jaisuriya. I dont know how many people watched that game, but it was a hillarious to see him bowl spin.
Yep, he was butchered by Sana in that WC game, went for 40 in his first three, i think.

Recently Sohail Tanvir also switched to left arm slow in a test match vs India, to make up for injured Gul, and also due to the fact that his medium pace was doing nothing.

As to Sachin, a gem of an outswinger still remains in mind, which he bowled to get the threatening last WI batsman (Ambrose?) in that awesome tied ODI at Perth in 91-92.
 

GIMH

Norwood's on Fire
I seem to recall a (possibly apocryphal) story that Sir Alec Bedser's off-spinning twin Eric switched to slow-bowling after losing a toss of a coin with the great man, having been his bowling doppleganger as well as his physical one before that.

I'm sure I remember Colly bowling (rank) off-spin in a test in the summer of 2007 too.
Think it was Pakistan @ Lord's in 06. I was in work in the afternoon and not watching, but I'd just found out I was having twins that morning so decided not to do anything, followed the action all afternoon on CW, still remember your post, "Colly trying his rarely used (ie poo) offies" well something like that

Seem to remember reading that ITB actually took wickets in a Test V Sri Lanka bowling Offspin

When Flintoff had back (I think) problems earlier in his career, he tried bowling both off and leg in the nets, decided to get through it and stick with pace. Good thing, that.
 

Richard

Cricket Web Staff Member
Seem to remember reading that ITB actually took wickets in a Test V Sri Lanka bowling Offspin
Yep, in 1984. Always wanted to procure some footage of that spell.

Ditto Pollock bowling fingerspin in SL in 2006, though that was something of a sad sight as he was forced to do that by lack of fitness and was not good at it.
 

Goughy

Hall of Fame Member
I didnt see it myself but there is the story of Gooch (IIRC) bowling left arm spin in a Test match (if we are including players that bowled it once in a while even if for comedic effect)
 

fredfertang

Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
I seem to recall a (possibly apocryphal) story that Sir Alec Bedser's off-spinning twin Eric switched to slow-bowling after losing a toss of a coin with the great man, having been his bowling doppleganger as well as his physical one before that.
This is essentially correct - they were both seamers originally but were told by the Surrey coach that if they wanted to play in the same side one would have to change - Eric, apparently, was a decent spinner as well whereas Alec wasn't hence the switch as they weren't prepared to contemplate being separated.
 

Xuhaib

International Coach
Wasim bowled spin for a over or two in a test match vs Aus way back in 89-90 needless to say was quite poo.
 

a massive zebra

International Captain
I believe Maurice Tate was another of the spin to seam brigade - no doubt Mr Zaremba will be able to confirm for us in due course.
This is correct. He began his career prior to the war as a as a hard-hitting batsman and spin bowler. After establishing himself in the Sussex side in 1919 with over a thousand runs, his batting developed further over the next few years, while the relatively innocuous spin bowling remained as merely a second string to his bow.

In a famous incident in 1922, at the age of 27, Tate bowled a faster ball in training at his captain Arthur Gilligan, which scattered the stumps. A stunned Gilligan was impressed enough to say, "Maurice, you must change your style of bowling immediately". Tate took his captain's advice on board and from that point on he developed as a tireless fast-medium seam bowler.
 

Top