Leg Spinners.

[Adelaide Hawk]

There have been very few great leg spinners in the history of test cricket.

You could easily ask why has India not produced one since Kumble?

Limited incentives and many disincentives for kids to learn the art. Technically most difficult and easiest to dispatch. Clueless captains. Impatient coaches.

Leggies virtually disappeared in the mid-1970s through the Lillee-Thomson era and then the success of the 4-pronged West Indies attack through to the 1990s. As a captain myself, I was guilty of relying upon 3 quicks and a medium pacer, and if I selected a leggie they usually had to be able to bat, and only really used with the ball if all else failed. I think we lost the art of using spin as an attacking weapon. Maybe I fitted the clueless captain category

We did have some leg spinning talent around such as Sleep, Holland, etc, but it was still very much a paceman's game, this is why Shane Warne became such an innovation. He was the first leg spinner in many years to become a frontline attacking bowler. That flipper in his early years ... wow.

Looking back to the West Indies domination of 20 years, they were so inadequate against good leg spin bowling, we probably should have developed a school of leggies and prepared turning wickets instead of trying to fight fire with fire.

 

[Cold Sober]

Leggies virtually disappeared in the mid-1970s through the Lillee-Thomson era and then the success of the 4-pronged West Indies attack through to the 1990s. As a captain myself, I was guilty of relying upon 3 quicks and a medium pacer, and if I selected a leggie they usually had to be able to bat, and only really used with the ball if all else failed. I think we lost the art of using spin as an attacking weapon. Maybe I fitted the clueless captain category

We did have some leg spinning talent around such as Sleep, Holland, etc, but it was still very much a paceman's game, this is why Shane Warne became such an innovation. He was the first leg spinner in many years to become a frontline attacking bowler. That flipper in his early years ... wow.

Looking back to the West Indies domination of 20 years, they were so inadequate against good leg spin bowling, we probably should have developed a school of leggies and prepared turning wickets instead of trying to fight fire with fire.

We have produced many Test Leggies, unfortunately, they're all playing for other Countries.
We seem to be the only Country who don't use them.