Where are the Chinaman bowlers?

Chinaman or left-arm wrist spin bowling is one of cricket’s most enthralling stuff. Charlie “Buck” Lelewellyn, a South African allrounder is thought to be the inventor  of Chinaman delivery, but this term is believed to have originated with the former West Indian spinner Ellis “Puss” Achong, the first Test cricketer  of Chinese origin who bowled an unexpected left-arm wrist spin which spun from leg to off in the Test match against England in Manchester in 1933.

It effected in the stumping of English batsman Walter Robins. "Fancy being done by a bloody Chinaman" were the words which Robins uttered while walking towards the pavilion. The story of Chinaman had  started since then.

The collection of Chinaman bowlers is not rich like left-arm orthodox spin. Chuck Fleet-Wood Smith, Gary Sobers (Occasionally, Michael Bevan, Brad Hogg, Paul Adams and at present Dave Mohammad are some of the prominent names who used to bowl the Chinaman. Last year, a 19-year old from India named Kuldeep Yadav showed enough promise with his left-arm wrist spin in the Under-19 World Cup.    

The number of Chinaman bowlers are pretty scanty in modern day cricket. But why? In my opinion, it is quite tough to master the Chinaman bowling than the  left-arm orthodox spin. When you bowl relying on your left-wrist, it’s always become very difficult to control the flight and generate spin and moreover, the left-arm wrist spinner’s most  lethal weapon, the googly which comes into the left-ander (and leaves the right-hander) loses its effectiveness more often. The left-arm leggies tend to leak more runs than a right-arm leggie and in the era of heavy bats, they seem not to be the ideal option.

This might be one of the reasons for the  lack of interest in taking left-arm wrist spin seriously. While, another important reason might be the lack of brands in Chinaman bowling. Yes, there are no Bedis or Underwoods or Shakibs in this sector to inspire the future generation.

But, I think, this art must not ebb away. Like Kapil Pandey, Kuldeep Yadav’s coach, the coaches who are engaged with nurturing young talents, should use their hawk-eyes to spot  the right talent ideal for Chinaman bowling.

Thank You

Faisal Caesar