Apr 29, 2012

A note to the leg-spinner and his captain

Dear Leg-spinner,
Being good friends with your captain is absolutely paramount. More so than possessing a fantastic loop, a workable googly and a straight-seam top-spinner.  Even if the captain has never bowled a single ball all his life and yet feels competent enough to understand the cobwebs you are attempting to weave around the batsmen, let him do so. If he puts in the square-leg  you so cleverly left vacant to get the batsman to play across when not reading your subtle changes in pace and fight, let him. If he forces the deep-midwicket fielder to stand ten feet inside the rope, let him. If he moves the long-off squarer than you like, let him. If he stands at short-cover having never caught a single ball in the league, let him. If he walks up to you and tells you to bowl quicker through the air, let him. For we leg-spinners are a very smart breed and can account for these foolish actions  by merely changing the line, or the length by a few inches. However, when your captain walks up to you and asks you to go bowl a maiden, run! Run as far away from the man as possible as he has lost faith in your wicket-taking ability. If he does not back you to get  the man a 100% of the time, you are as useless as the next finger-spinner.

Regards
ernaw enahs