Finger spin

Although the cricket technique of finger spinner are the same for right and left handed bowlers, such bowlers are often discussed separately, as the direction in which the ball deviates as it bounces on the cricket pitch is different:

Right handed finger spin is known as an off spin.

Left handed finger spin is known as a left-arm orthodox spin.

The rest of this article assumes a right handed finger spinner bowling to a right-handed batsman.
 Grip

A finger spinner grips the ball with the top knuckles of the index and middle fingers firmly gripping across the seam. The thumb is held clear of the ball.



 Process

The stock ball for a right-handed finger spinner has a clockwise component of spin as well as a component of top spin. The stock ball for a left-handed finger spinner rotates the anticlockwise as seen by the bowler. For some finger spinners the index and middle fingers do a lot of work, snapping, to impart spin on the ball. At the other end of the spectrum there are finger spinners who rely much more on the wrist action. Either way the wrist position at the point of release determines how the ball spins.