Left-arm unorthodox spin
Encyclopedia
Left-arm unorthodox spin, or chinaman, is a type of bowling
in the sport of cricket
using the hand wrist.
Left-arm unorthodox spin bowlers use a wrist hand action
to spin the ball which turns from off to leg
side of the cricket pitch. The direction of turn is the same as that of a traditional right-handed off spin
bowler; however, the ball will usually turn more sharply due to the spin being imparted predominantly by the wrist. Some left-arm unorthodox bowlers bowl a leg spinner's "googly
" (or "wrong'un"), which turns from right to left on the cricket pitch. The ball turns away from the batsman, as if the bowler were an orthodox left-arm spinner
.
The left-arm unorthodox bowling action is bowled in common with a leg spin
or leg break
. Very few highly skilled left-arm wrist spinners have played at the international Test
level. The South African
Paul Adams
, known for his unusual bowling action, is perhaps one of the best-known left-arm wrist spinners. Another notable wrist spinner is Michael Bevan
from Australia
, who was known for his speed and bounce. Others include Brad Hogg
, Garfield Sobers
and Dave Mohammed
of the West Indies
.
, a player of Chinese origin, was a left-arm orthodox spinner, playing for the West Indies at the time. According to folklore, Achong is said to have had Walter Robbins stumped off a surprise delivery that spun into the right-hander from outside the off stump. As he walked back to the pavilion, Robbins said to his teammates "Fancy being done by a bloody Chinaman!", leading to the popularity of the term in England, and subsequently, in the rest of the world.
Bowling (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, bowling is the action of propelling the ball toward the wicket defended by a batsman. A player skilled at bowling is called a bowler; a bowler who is also a competent batsman is known as an all-rounder...
in the sport of cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
using the hand wrist.
Wrist spin
Wrist spin is a type of bowling in the sport of cricket. It refers to the cricket technique and specific hand movements associated with imparting a particular direction of spin to the cricket ball...
to spin the ball which turns from off to leg
Leg side
The leg side, or on side, is defined to be a particular half of the field used to play the sport of cricket.From the point of view of a right-handed batsman facing the bowler, it is the left hand side of the cricket field...
side of the cricket pitch. The direction of turn is the same as that of a traditional right-handed off spin
Off spin
Off spin is a type of bowling in the sport of cricket which is bowled by an off spinner, a right-handed spin bowler who uses his or her fingers and/or wrist to spin the ball from a right-handed batsman's off side to the leg side...
bowler; however, the ball will usually turn more sharply due to the spin being imparted predominantly by the wrist. Some left-arm unorthodox bowlers bowl a leg spinner's "googly
Googly
In cricket, a googly is a type of delivery bowled by a right-arm leg spin bowler. It is occasionally referred to as a Bosie , an eponym in honour of its inventor Bernard Bosanquet.- Explanation :...
" (or "wrong'un"), which turns from right to left on the cricket pitch. The ball turns away from the batsman, as if the bowler were an orthodox left-arm spinner
Left-arm orthodox spin
Left-arm orthodox spin is a type of bowling in the sport of cricket.Left-arm orthodox spin is bowled by a left arm bowler using the fingers to spin the ball from right to left of the cricket pitch...
.
The left-arm unorthodox bowling action is bowled in common with a leg spin
Leg spin
Leg spin is a type of spin bowling in the sport of cricket. A leg spinner bowls right-arm with a wrist spin action, causing the ball to spin from right to left in the cricket pitch, at the point of delivery. When the ball bounces, the spin causes the ball to deviate sharply from right to left, that...
or leg break
Leg break
A leg break is a type of delivery in the sport of cricket. A delivery of a right-handed leg spin bowler. Leg breaks are also colloquially known as leggies or wrist spinners, as the wrist is the body part which is primarily used to impart spin on the ball, as opposed to the fingers in the case of...
. Very few highly skilled left-arm wrist spinners have played at the international Test
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
level. The South African
South African cricket team
The South African national cricket team represent South Africa in international cricket. They are administrated by Cricket South Africa.South Africa is a full member of the International Cricket Council, also known as ICC, with Test and One Day International, or ODI, status...
Paul Adams
Paul Adams (cricketer)
Paul Regan Adams is a former South African cricketer, a chinaman bowler who played for the national team sporadically since the 1990s. Meanwhile, his first class cricket career registered 412 wickets....
, known for his unusual bowling action, is perhaps one of the best-known left-arm wrist spinners. Another notable wrist spinner is Michael Bevan
Michael Bevan
Michael Gwyl Bevan is a former Australian left-handed cricket batsman and a slow left arm chinaman bowler. He played 232 ODI matches for Australia, and was a part of the 1999 and 2003 teams that won the World Cup...
from Australia
Australian cricket team
The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877...
, who was known for his speed and bounce. Others include Brad Hogg
Brad Hogg
George Bradley "Brad" Hogg , is an Australian cricketer currently listed with the Perth Scorchers in the Big Bash League. He is a left-arm chinaman bowler, and a capable lower-order left-handed batsman, as well as an excellent fielder....
, Garfield Sobers
Garfield Sobers
Sir Garfield St Aubrun Sobers AO, OCC is a former cricketer who captained West Indies. His first name of Garfield is variously abbreviated as Gary or Garry. He is widely regarded as one of cricket's greatest ever all-rounders, having excelled at all the essential skills of batting, bowling and...
and Dave Mohammed
Dave Mohammed
Dave Mohammed is a West Indian cricketer. He is a left-arm chinaman bowler, and bats left-handed.Having played only three first-class matches, he was called up to the squad for the third Test against South Africa in March 2001, but did not make his Test debut until January 2004, again against...
of the West Indies
West Indian cricket team
The West Indian cricket team, also known colloquially as the West Indies or the Windies, is a multi-national cricket team representing a sporting confederation of 15 mainly English-speaking Caribbean countries, British dependencies and non-British dependencies.From the mid 1970s to the early 1990s,...
.
Origin of the term chinaman
In cricketing parlance, the word "chinaman" is used to describe the stock delivery of a left-arm "unorthodox" spin bowler (though some reserve it for the googly delivery http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/chinaman). The name has its origins in a Test match played between the West Indies and England at Old Trafford, Manchester, in the year 1933. Elliss "Puss" AchongEllis Achong
Ellis Edgar Achong was a sportsman from Trinidad and Tobago in the West Indies. He played cricket for the West Indies and was the first person of Chinese descent to play in a Test match...
, a player of Chinese origin, was a left-arm orthodox spinner, playing for the West Indies at the time. According to folklore, Achong is said to have had Walter Robbins stumped off a surprise delivery that spun into the right-hander from outside the off stump. As he walked back to the pavilion, Robbins said to his teammates "Fancy being done by a bloody Chinaman!", leading to the popularity of the term in England, and subsequently, in the rest of the world.