The spinner on the cricket field appeals to
your head and heart. He is a purveyor of beauty who can leave you in a state of
dizzy with his hallucinating turns. He also wears the hat of a chess
grandmaster - with a brain that’s ticking away with numerous possibilities that
feed on an arsenal of tricks up his spinning sleeve. Fast bowlers run in to
maim the batsman; spinners amble in to fox the poor sod. Fast bowlers swing,
cut and move the ball; spinners drift, dart and flight it. Fast bowlers can
make the batsman shiver; spinners can do much more – they make the batsman look
incredibly silly in front of thousands of spectators. For proof, look up the
Mike Gatting dismissal by Shane Warne in 1993. That genius delivery is simply
referred to as the ‘ball of the century’. A spinner is an aesthete’s best
friend, a classicist’s delight and an artist’s muse. It’s a craft that touches
a few, but astounds the entire cricketing universe.
