How T20 Spinners Became Cricket's Secret Weapon

Initially, there were doubts about whether spinners could hold their ground in the high-scoring, fast-paced world of T20 cricket. Yet, over the past two decades, many spinners have proved their worth as valuable players in various leagues worldwide. The art of spin has had to adapt to the increasing demands of this format. In recent years, fast and flat wrist spin has gained popularity, with spinners adding variety by changing speeds and even incorporating inswinging deliveries during the powerplay. Interestingly, data from the last eight years shows that spinners have maintained lower economy rates than pace bowlers across major T20 leagues in the first 16 overs of innings.

However, this dominance is no longer as pronounced in the IPL. In a recent analysis with Sidharth Monga, it was noted that IPL spinners are now delivering shorter and faster balls. Factors such as flatter pitches, smaller boundaries, and aggressive batting have limited spinners' attacking opportunities, pushing them into a 5-7 meter length range that restricts their effectiveness. The IPL’s 2024 season, in fact, recorded the lowest average turn in the last seven years, with surfaces becoming less spin-friendly and bowlers increasing their speed, resulting in reduced ball deviation.

The Role of Overspin in Modern T20 Cricket

With spinners struggling to generate turn-off the pitch, the question arises: how can they continue to evolve in T20 cricket? This is where overspin becomes relevant.

Traditionally associated with Test cricket, overspin relies on subtle variations in flight and dip to deceive batters in the air. It is particularly effective on Southern Hemisphere pitches, which require the ball to be hit hard into the ground to produce bounce and turn. For instance, Nathan Lyon often bowls with overspin, while Indian spinners like R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja tend to rely more on sidespin, which works well on Indian pitches that already offer significant turn.

Overspin works by applying extra downward force on the ball, which makes it drop faster than the batter expects, creating a sharp curve as the ball falls to the pitch. This extra force drives the ball harder into the ground, producing more pronounced effects.

A comparison between Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav illustrates this well. Although Axar releases the ball from a higher point, Kuldeep imparts more overspin on his deliveries. As a result, despite Axar’s height advantage, the dip on Kuldeep’s balls allows them to hit the pitch with the same speed as Axar's deliveries, thanks to the additional downward force created by overspin.

The effects of dip are far-reaching. Balls that dip not only bounce higher because they land harder, but also tend to spin more. This occurs because the dipping ball stays in contact with the surface longer, allowing more friction to act on it. Data confirms that more dip usually leads to more turns, regardless of the country, speed, or amount of sidespin.

Moreover, dip alters the length at which the ball lands. Without overspin, gravity alone brings the ball to the ground at a standard acceleration of 9.8 m/s². Even a small increase in this force, like an additional 0.2 m/s², can change the pitching length by around 20 centimetres. This seemingly minor difference can determine whether the ball edges off the bat or passes cleanly to the wicketkeeper. While dip is difficult to detect with the naked eye, its effects are both significant and subtle.

Overspin: A Game-Changer for T20 Spinners

In T20 cricket, dip offers spinners a new avenue for attack. Although deliveries with overspin tend to have slightly lower or similar economy rates compared to those without, they boast a higher strike rate for taking wickets. This holds true across different speeds, types of spin, and the four-to-seven-meter length range that is ideal for spinners. The slight change in length, extra bounce, and potential for deviation all combine to make dipping balls harder for batters to play.

Interestingly, while more dip usually results in greater turn in Test matches, this isn’t always the case in T20 cricket, especially in the IPL. White-ball pitches behave differently, leading to inconsistent amounts of turn with varying dips. However, the data does show that balls with dip tend to bounce higher. For instance, dipping deliveries can increase bounce at the stumps by as much as 7 centimetres, which could cause a well-timed shot to result in a mishit or edge.

The increased bounce and subtle shift in length contribute to a higher rate of dismissals for balls with dip. Data reveals that dipping deliveries consistently outperform non-dipping ones in terms of balls-per-wicket across all speeds and lengths. As highlighted in “Hitting Against the Spin” by Nathan Leamon and Ben Jones, deliveries with more dip in Test cricket correlate with lower batting averages—a trend that is also seen in T20 formats.

Even in the challenging 2024 IPL season, where spinners faced tough conditions, deliveries with dip still managed to achieve better averages than those without. According to “Hitting Against the Spin”, the success of spin depends on where the ball is intercepted by the batter relative to the pitch. Batters aiming to counter spin must either get forward to smother the turn or stay well back in the crease to track the ball’s movement. Research shows that intercepting the ball 1.8 to 3.6 meters from the point of pitching tends to result in lower averages, as this "no man’s land" leaves the batter vulnerable to mistimed shots. Dip enhances the chance of forcing the ball to land in this tricky zone, deceiving the batter in flight and causing errors in judgment.

This deception is crucial for forcing mistakes in both defensive and attacking shots. ESPNcricinfo’s data shows that the control percentage drops for all types of shots when batters face deliveries with dip. For example, in the 4-5 meter length range, control rates for both attacking and non-attacking shots decrease by 8-9%. Although shorter deliveries offer less time in the air, reducing the window for deception, control still decreases across all lengths.

Spinners are often cautious about using overspin in T20s because a short-pitched ball with dip can sit up, making it easier for batters to pull the ball. Data supports this, showing that while dipping deliveries perform better overall in the 6-7 meter length, they fare worse when it comes to countering pull shots. However, overspin still proves more effective in the 5-6 meter range, where batters struggle to maintain control against these deliveries.

The Future of Overspin in T20

Though overspin is typically associated with Test cricket, its potential for increasing wicket-taking opportunities in T20 has not been fully explored. Because dip is difficult to perceive with the naked eye, its influence is often underappreciated by both players and spectators.

While success in bowling relies on various factors, including the bowler's strategy and understanding of the game, dip has shown a strong correlation with taking wickets across different speeds and lengths. In a format where defending has become the norm, the subtle variations in length and bounce brought by dip offer spinners a valuable weapon to keep attacking in the fast-paced world of T20 cricket.