In cricket, fast bowlers, as the name suggests, rely on the pace of the delivery to try to dismiss the batsman. Spinners attempt instead to manipulate the ball to turn after bouncing on the pitch, therefore deceiving their opponent into playing a false stroke and increasing the chances of dismissing them.
Leg Spin
A spin bowler grips the ball in the palm of his hand, with the seam parallel. The first two fingers spread and grip the ball, and the third and fourth fingers close together and rest against the side. The first bend of the third finger grasp the seam. The third finger of the hand will impart the spin.
Exponents of leg spin, most famously, Australian Shane Warne, bowl the ball noticeably slower than a fast bowler would, at a maximum of around 60 mph. Using wrist movements, they aim to make the ball spin across a right-handed batsman. Because of this and a combination of flight and spin, leg spin is often regarded as one of the most dangerous types of bowling for a batsman to face. Over the years, however, batsman have attempted to negate the threat of a leg-spinner by attempting to read the flight of the ball before it reaches them, so they can anticipate whether or not it is going to deviate significantly. Leg-spin bowlers have adapted to include deliveries such as the googly, which turns the other way, and the top-spinner, which doesn't turn off the pitch but skids on towards the batsman quicker than a normal delivery would.
Off Spin
The first and second fingers impart off spin. As with leg spin, batsmen have become increasingly able to study the flight and trajectory of an off-break delivery before it reaches them, forcing bowlers to introduce variations such as the doosra. Because a leg-spinner is aiming to pitch the ball outside the batsman's leg stump, he often has little chance of getting a leg-before-wicket decision. Off-spinners, however, don't have the same problem, and often dismiss batsman leg-before or bowled because of the natural angle of the delivery coming in towards the stumps.
Variations
Pioneered by Pakistan spinner Saqlain Mushtaq, the doosra is bowled with the same action as an off-break but doesn't spin and often catches the batsman off guard when they expect the ball to turn. Many of Muttiah Muralitharan's 792 test wickets came from doosras. Although the Sri Lankan will retire from test cricket in November, world batsmen will surely encounter its variations for years to come.
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