SA Footy

Can anyone tell me what is meant by 'orthodox' when talking about spin bowlers e.g left arm orthodox etc ?

I've heard commentators use the description a thousand times but never really thought about what it refers to.

From Wikpedia...

Left-arm orthodox spin is a style of bowling in the sport of cricket. It is bowled by a left-arm bowler using the fingers to spin the ball anticlockwise. This action is the mirror image of that of an off spinner (a right-arm finger spinner), and causes the ball to turn from right to left from the bowler's perspective, or from the leg side to the off side of a right-handed batsman. It is usually considered to be harder for a right-hander to play against than off spin because of the direction of turn, but easier than leg spin since left-arm spinners generally have a smaller repertoire of delivery types and do not turn the ball as much.

Left-arm orthodox spin is one of the harder bowling styles to master because it requires long hours of practice to get the right line. The flight, dip, sharp turn, and drift in the air are potent weapons of a left-arm spin bowler. The major variations of a left-arm spinner are the topspinner (which turns less than expected), the arm ball (which doesn't turn at all), and the left-arm spinner's version of a doosra (which turns the other way). The chinaman (spun with the wrist rather than the fingers, like a leg break) is also a rare variation, especially potent when mixed up with the googly—a great exponent of this was Sir Garfield Sobers of the West Indies. Greater attacking depth can be achieved with the help of variation of amount of spin.


Examples of current left-arm orthodox spinners are:

Daniel Vettori, a member of the New Zealand cricket team
Ashley Giles, a member of the England cricket team
Monty Panesar, a member of the England cricket team
Mohammad Rafique, a member of the Bangladesh cricket team
Murali Kartik, a member of the Indian cricket team
Sanath Jayasuriya, a member of the Sri Lanka cricket team
Ray Price, a member of the Zimbabwe cricket team
Nicky Boje, a member of the South African cricket team
Enamul Haque Jr., a member of the Bangladesh cricket team
Abdur Razzaq a member of the Bangladesh cricket team
Historic left-arm orthodox spinners include:

Palwankar Baloo (India)
Bishen Bedi (India)
Phil Edmonds (England)
Tony Lock (England)
Maninder Singh (India)
Wilfred Rhodes (England)


clear as mud really

regards,

REB

"Orthodox" is basically a left arm off-spinner. There are two types of spinners; off-spin and leg-spin. Apart from one spinning from off and one spinning from leg, they are also very different in delivery.

So when a left arm bowler delivers an off or leg spinner, the mode of deliver, arm, wrist, fingers et al is the same as his right arm counter-part... but obviously because he's a left hander, it spins from the other side (to a right hand batsman).

It's the same with a left arm leg spinner - who is "technically" bowling leg spin, but it goes the opposite direction. Hence, a "chinaman".

A couple of recent Australia chinamen bowlers (part time anyway):

Simon Katich
Michael Bevan

blink wrote:A couple of recent Australia chinamen bowlers (part time anyway):

Simon Katich
Michael Bevan

Hoggy also, bit more of a specialist...

Nathan Hauritz is a left arm orthodox bowler.

He just chooses to down right arm.

Dissident wrote:Nathan Hauritz is a left arm orthodox bowler.

He just chooses to down right arm.

He couldn't be any worse if he tried with his left arm

Dissident wrote:"Orthodox" is basically a left arm off-spinner. There are two types of spinners; off-spin and leg-spin. Apart from one spinning from off and one spinning from leg, they are also very different in delivery.

So when a left arm bowler delivers an off or leg spinner, the mode of deliver, arm, wrist, fingers et al is the same as his right arm counter-part... but obviously because he's a left hander, it spins from the other side (to a right hand batsman).

It's the same with a left arm leg spinner - who is "technically" bowling leg spin, but it goes the opposite direction. Hence, a "chinaman".

Thanks fellas you have explained it well, especially Dissident. Cheers.