Ajantha Mendis’s Carrom Ball signals end of bent arm ‘doosra’

World cricket has in recent years seen the advent of the ‘doosra’ - the offbreak that turns as a legbreak. Cricket also in the recent past has witnessed the reporting of various offspinners (but no leg spinners) from various countries for suspected bowling actions (chucking).

Since the reporting of Muttiah Muralitharan for a suspect bowling action and his clearing by the ICC’s tests at the University of W. Australia, there has been an increase of international off spinners bowling ‘doosras’ and being reported: Marlon Samuels, Johan Botha and Saeed Ajmal.

.This is not a coincidence. The problem for off spinners who bowl the ‘doosra’ is that they rotate the wrist inwards towards the head to get the back of the wrist facing the batsman to deliver the ‘doosra’ legbreak. This automatically bends the elbow. The reader can try it by cocking the wrist away from the head for a legb reak and towards the head for the off break. The former has a straight elbow and the latter has an elbow bending outwards.

The result is that when an offspinner such as those named above, bowls a "back of the wrist" doosra, the elbow flexes; the greater the "rip" imparted on the ‘doosra’, the larger the elbow flexion.

Not surprisingly, by just using published images of these ‘doosra’ bowlers and by measuring their elbow flexion above shoulder height in the delivery swing one can get an idea of the large degree of elbow bend imparted by bowling the ‘doosra’.

Taking published images of Botha, Murali, Samuels and Amjal, the average elbow bend is around 60 degrees (*). And for the big ‘doosra’ ripper’s of Botha and Murali the elbow bend is 70*.

Ajantha Mendis, the Army CC mystery spinner who burst onto the cricket scene last year and whose meteoric rise to international acclaim and respect, is an offnspinner whose arm action is impeccablen- indeed the army bowler’s arm is rifle straight!

His ‘doosra’ is different from the other bowlers: while they rotate their wrist to change from off spin to legmspin; Ajantha bowls with a straight wrist but uses his middle finger to impart leg spin to the ball. His "carrom" ball is actually a finger spinning ‘doosra’.

Ajantha developed this delivery on his own in the streets of Moratuwa, and as earlier described by this writer, he is the cricketing offspring of another humble village lad: Sonny Ramadhin who first discovered this delivery in a sugar plantation village in Trinidad some 60 years ago.

So why does a bowler risk the stigma of being reported for chucking by bowling the bent arm wrist ‘doosra’ when he can bowl the "Ajantha Mendis" finger ‘doosra’ and achieve the same leg spin with a straight arm?

Currently, off spinners all over the world are learning to bowl the wrist ‘doosra’, except in Australia where there are none - surprisingly for a country whose players do not hesitate to ignore, tread or overstep the line in various aspects of cricket such as sledging, over-rates, intimidation etc.

An unfortunate development is that locally and indeed all over the world, young players are emulating their bent arm idols and learning the wrist ‘doosra’. Coaches are being asked to teach the ‘doosra’. Do these coaches not know the bent arm ‘doosra’ is a no ball according to the law?

Despite the reporting of ‘doosra’ bowlers for suspect bowling, there is the call from some quarters including ex-cricketers to "legitimize" the ‘doosras’. Daryll Cullilan of South Africa said: "Bowling the ‘doosra’ is a skill and it makes the game more interesting."

But throwing a baseball is a skill (although some purists might disagree), so why not go the whole hog and allow this too? Terry Jenner, Shane Warne’s bowling coach says: "Why should we bend the rules for something that is not legal?

A top local umpire has declared that chucking is prevalent in schools cricket and the most "popular" is the off spinner’s ‘doosra’. But "there is no point in no balling or reporting the offence." Instead the umpires just notify the school coach in private.

Is this the legacy we wish to give to our children and the future cricket generations? For a country is that is renown for its gentle peoples and cultures, its traditions of fairness and the common way and its awards for the ‘Spirit of Cricket’, it may be fitting that Sri Lanka set in motion the call for the teaching and adoption of Ajantha’s finger ‘doosra’ instead of the current bent arm ‘doosra’.

It would be feather in the cap for the SL Cricket Board, its coaching section and the Umpires’ Association to lead the way in this important development and to fight for its adoption by the ICC and the MCC.

Just as a humble village lad started the "mystery" ball a long time ago and another humble lad of Chinese lineage gave us the "chinaman" ball, maybe our Moratuwa lad may one day be best remembered for the ‘Mendis doosra’ that ended the era of the bent arm offspiners.

Source : Lanka Times

Ajantha Mendis is a freak, says Lanka’s first Test captain Bandula Warnapura

AJANTHA Mendis is a ‘freaky phenomenon’ who could surpass spin greats Shane Warne and Muthiah Muralitharan if he stays injury-free for at least 10 years, Sri Lanka’s first Test captain has said.
Bandula Warnapura, who led Sri Lankan greats such as Roy Dias, Duleep Mendis and Arjuna Ranatunga against England when the island nation got Test status in 1982, even compared Mendis to Don Bradman, calling them ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ cricketers.
“From what I have seen so far of Mendis I have no hesitation in saying that he could be to bowling what the great Don Bradman was to batting,” the former opener told the Gulf Times yesterday.
“In fact, if you permit me, I’d even say Mendis is a freak. He is a freaky phenomenon, a once-in-a-lifetime player like Bradman who could break all records if he stays healthy,” enthused Warnapura, who is visiting Qatar as part of his work as a development officer with the Asian Cricket Council (ACC).
“Look at Bradman. He has a Test match average of 99.96. Can anyone beat it? Never. Mendis could also end up breaking all bowling records,” predicted Warnapura.
Mendis shot into the limelight at the Asia Cup earlier this year where he foxed batsmen by sometimes bowling six different balls in one over. His mesmerising spells helped Sri Lanka win the tournament beating India and Pakistan in the process.
Bowling off a longish run-up, he delivers a mixture of googlies, off-breaks, top-spinners, flippers and leg-breaks and is credited with inventing the carom ball, a fizzing delivery released with a flick of his middle finger.
In the final of the Asia Cup against India he claimed figures of 6 for 13 and his 17 scalps in the event earned him the man of the series award.
Mendis proved his performance at the Asia Cup was no fluke when he made his Test debut against India last July and almost single-handedly routed them, taking a whopping 26 wickets in three Tests which Sri Lanka won 2-1.
His first scalp was Rahul ‘The Wall’ Dravid bowled by the carrom ball that pegged back the batsman’s off-stump after pitching on middle. He claimed eight wickets for 132 in the Test, the best figures recorded by a Sri Lankan bowler making his debut.
Mendis was praised to the skies by the master Muralitharan himself after the match.
“When I started playing Test cricket, I was not as good as Mendis. He is exceptional. He is the future of Sri Lankan cricket,” Muralitharan said.
Mendis collected his first ten-wicket haul in the very next match, but Sri Lanka lost the match thanks to a double century by Virender Sehwag and some fine bowling by Harbhajan Singh who also claimed 10 wickets.. But with 26 wickets (ave.18.38) in the series, Mendis set a world record for most scalps by a bowler on his debut in a three-Test by series.
Mendis won the player of the series award for his efforts and the Indians’ reputation as the best players of spin bowling took a hammering. Adding insult to injury was the fact that the Sri Lankans lived up to captain Mahela Jayawardene’s promise of not allowing Sachin Tendulkar to break Brian Lara’s Test record of most runs on Lankan soil.
Warnapura said Mendis made his international debut at the right time.
“Some say Mendis should have been thrust onto the world stage much earlier, but if you ask me he was introduced at just about the perfect time because many promising spinners have just faded away after making their debuts as teenagers,” said Warnapura.
“At 23 Mendis was seasoned enough. He had the maturity to handle pressure unlike some so-called prodigies who just disappeared after being mauled, their confidence totally shattered.
“They were not ready, but the selectors were ready to expose them and they suffered badly.”