Spin bowling

Spin bowling is slow bowling that relies on rotation on the ball to make it turn after it pitches, rather than on pace.

There are two families. Finger spinners roll the ball out of the fingers. An off spinner, bowling to a right-hander, turns the ball in from the off side towards the legs; a left-arm orthodox spinner turns it the other way, from leg to off. Their variations include the arm ball, which skids straight on, and the carrom ball, flicked with a bent finger to turn the opposite way. Wrist spinners use the wrist and get more turn with less control. A leg spinner turns the ball from leg to off; the googly, or wrong'un, is the same action turning the other way, and the flipper skids on low and fast.

Spin is at its most dangerous on dry, cracked or worn pitches, which is why it dominates the last days of a Test in the subcontinent. In limited-overs cricket spinners own the middle overs, when the field is back, the ball is old, and batters looking for boundaries have to hit against the turn. A captain sets the field for the spinner's turn, with fielders on the side the ball is leaving, and a spinner's overs are often the cheapest of the innings.

In Masterstroke: each spinner's ratings show turn, control and variations, and the commentary reads the pitch out loud when a ball grips.