We need to understand the terms we use - their meaning, what they imply and what we tend to understand their meaning to be. Unfortunately these are not always the same. So the terms spin (thereby spinner), break (off or leg), cut (off or leg - in or out), swerve (in or out - from off or from leg), swing (in or out) - all mean something, imply something and people understand from them what they think they understand from wherever they read/hear the terms used. I have no intention to get into the silly/childish and mindless game of having the last word that is going on here so please continue - the pleasure is entirely your own - if any
. However, let me try and clarify the terms. Because it is obvious that some people in the argument use the definition (as they understand it) others use what the term implies and yet others what it has come to mean to them,
Spin
Definition : It is the most general term as far as definition goes. almost every bowler who ever bowled from the very first one to roll the ball along the ground to a stool or tree trunk to the under arm length pitcher, round arm and over arm bowlers till the modern day. Every bowler bowling slow or fast, off and leg breaks to in swings and outswings imparts spin on the ball. Why even when you throw the ball flat at hundred miles per hour plus at the wicket keeper from point you cant help imparting spin to the ball. So those who use definitions to decide who is a spinner and who is not do it at their own 'peril'
Implied meaning Keeping the silly implication of the spin that is imparted every time we fling a sphere away from us, what the cricketers meant by the term when it was first used to describe a type of bowling, referred to spin imparted by a bowler intentionally. Thus the first rollers along the ground did not spin the ball. The ground being so rough and uneven, it was quite a job even to send the ball straight along the ground to hit the 'wicket'. However they soon realised the value of imparting spin, only leg spin in the beginning to cause more difficulties to the batsmen. pitching at a length (as against rolling) brought in off spin to be added to leg spin. The former using the fingers to impart the spin and the latter using the wrist.giving rise to the terms finger spinners and wrist-spinner.
This had nothing WHATSOEVER to do with speed. The fastest of bowlers such as the Demon, Fred Spofforth imparted spin to the ball and this was the only way to make the ball deviate laterally for many decades even after test cricket started in the 1870's. Remember first class cricket started a century earlier.
It also has nothing to do with flight. In fact, any bowler who bowled after rolling along the ground went out of fashion, flighted the ball.
Understanding the term This really depends on the person using the term. Initially since bowlers did nothing but impart spin to the ball, all bowlers were called spin bowlers (slow or fast) or break bowlers (initially off break/break back and left arm leg break) - break being the abilty to use the spin to wilfully and consistently make the ball deviate on landing.
Over time the general term off spin was not used so much for the quicker bowlers who came to be known as bowlers of the 'break-back' which was the most popular form of weapon in the fast bowers armoury but in describing even the fastest bowlers of that time the word spin and flight are used time and again by all writers of the game.
Over time bowlers started using the seam to both move the ball in the air and off the pitch and the words swing and cut gained currency. It is possible that some of the earlier break back bowlers actually cut the ball where too the fingers are used to impart side-ways rotation to the ball but since the term break and spin were more prevalent we did not use these terms then. No one is able to say for sure who was the first to bowl an off cutter or a leg cutter as distinct from an off break or a leg-break for example.
Through usage, it has bow come to be understood by the common cricket fan that off-break, off-spin, flight are terms meant for the slower bowlers. But in effect, such distinctions have been made by the users over time which has neither to do with what those terms actually mean nor provide us with a consistent word picture of what they have been used to depict over time.
By the way, I have seen the word, swing used often to describe Barnes’ movement in the air including by the great man himself describing what he bowled. Others too have talked of his ‘swing’. I guess when the swing bowling became more commonplace even those older cricketers who were not using the term in their playing days started using it to describe lateral movement in the air.
. . . more later
