September 19, 2008
Just how does one play mystery spinner Ajantha Mendis? It's a question that has foxed India, the team that has traditionally played spin best. Mendis has been an unqualified success with his dizzying array of variations and sleight of hand, taking 26 wickets in his three Tests so far, 33 from 13 ODIs at the scarcely believable average of 10.81, and the ICC's Emerging Player of the Year Award last week. Does one play him as a medium-pacer who gets the ball to move considerably? Pick him out of the hand or read it off the pitch? Go down the track or stay well back? We asked four ex-players who've watched him and one who has played him with some success.
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"Step out to his googly"
Gautam Gambhir, India batsman
I just played him as a bowler - not as a particular kind of bowler, a spin bowler or seam bowler. I didn't think a lot about what I would do against him. That makes it difficult. Whatever he threw at me, I reacted accordingly. He has a lot of variety, so it is important when he delivers that you react to it.
His variations are the googly, the legspinner, the offspinner and the carrom ball. He bowls two different googlies: the slower googly bounces much more, while the quickish one deviates a little bit.
I try to read him from his hand. Once it pitches it is difficult to judge and it gets really late and you can't score runs. If you can pick him from the hand you can react and look for scoring opportunities. It wasn't that difficult to pick him from his hand.
His greatest strength is that he is pretty accurate and very wicket-to-wicket. And he doesn't spin the ball a long way, so it is difficult to attack him or take runs.
You can only step out once you start picking him. His offspinner and the carrom balls are quick in the air, so it's difficult to step out against those. On the other hand the googly is pretty slow, so you can try and step out against it.
In Test cricket it is difficult because he can bowl long spells of 25-odd overs, so you need to be watchful. In ODIs guys have scored runs - you can try and accumulate runs, try and play in the gaps. In Test cricket you have to really play very good shots to create gaps, because most of the fielders are around you.
"Find a shot that can get you a single"
Dean Jones, former Australia batsman; commentator
Mendis has a wide variety and is terribly accurate, so you've really got to watch the ball. If you're not reading him well out of the hand then you need to concentrate on the rotations. Then you've got half a chance. Facing a spinner is no different from facing a quick - you've still got to read the length; you've still got to go forward or get back. He gets people caught on the crease, so you need to either play on the back foot or get down to him.
If you worry too much, you will get beaten in your own mind. You've just got to treat him with respect and wait for the bad ball. If you see him in Test matches, I dare say he will give you one ball to hit somewhere - not necessarily for a four, but you can at least work it away.
To play great spinners you've got to have the mental courage to use the bottom half of your body - to stretch and kick and get down the pitch, all of that. During the ODIs in Sri Lanka, Mendis didn't have it easy against the left-right combination of Suresh Raina and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, where Raina took him on by coming down the pitch and Dhoni used his feet very well.
| To play great spinners you've got to have the mental courage to use the bottom half of your body - to stretch and kick and get down the pitch Dean Jones | |||
I don't think it is a different ball game in Test cricket. It is still a battle between bat and ball even if the ball might spin more on the fourth and fifth day, but I still feel you must take him on, even in the longer version. You've got to play within yourself and not play stupid shots. You've just got to be smart. You've got to find a shot that can you get you a single.
In terms of his variations, half of it is bulls***, half of it is fair and visible. The one that really curves quite a bit is his offie - it won't turn a long way but it will turn, so you've just got to be mindful of it.
"Play him like a seamer"
VV Kumar, former India and Tamil Nadu legspinner
Mendis is a not spinner in the normal fashion. He is a bowler with a difficult action who gets the ball to deviate. He is not a normal spinner who forces the ball and then makes it spin and then the revolutions can be seen. It is, in fact, beneficial if you play him as a medium-pacer who cuts the ball. Just like batsmen played Chandra (BS Chandrashekar). If you are able to reach it, play well forward; if it is short, pull him; and if there is flight then go forward and drive him. If in doubt, play forward.
Never give him any room, because if you miss the line he will capitalise.
During the Sri Lanka Test series most of the Indians played more or less half-cock shots, anticipating the legbreak, but it turned the other way instead.
"Take the extra risk"
Arun Lal, former India opening batsman; commentator
Most batsmen are reading Mendis now but with his tight line and length he is difficult to get away.
Generally, you've to try and him play him late. When you can't read him, you've got to try and play as late as possible, try and be on the back foot as much as possible, and focus on the ball all the time.
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You've got to be aggressive. I saw Virender Sehwag do it. By that I don't mean play across line. In fact, the most fatal thing the batsman can do is close the face of the bat and push the straight ball to the on side. You've got to take the extra risk against him: whenever he pitches with a little bit of room, a little short, a little over-pitched, make him pay. Put some pressure on him, because with as many variations as he has, I think if there is more pressure on him he is more likely to bowl a normal offspinner or an orthodox spinner. If you're after him and he bowls a few bad deliveries and you hit him for a four, he is more likely to crumble mentally.
It's always beneficial to use your feet because you will keep him guessing, make him wary. If any batsman is good at using his feet, like Gautam Gambhir, he can definitely put pressure on Mendis.
"Make him change his length"
Laxman Sivaramakrishnan, Former India legspinner; commentator
You need to try and pick him from the hand - his hand positions are different for the offbreak, googly, and the push-through ball. Then follow it in the air by looking at the rotations - though that may be difficult as he bowls at a fairly decent pace.
Since he isn't a big spinner of the ball you can come to the pitch of the ball, especially against the push-through ball, and then he will have to change his length. And if he goes on to shorten his length you get a little bit more time to pick him off the pitch.
A lot of his dismissals are lbw and bowled. Once you pick the line and step out, you've mostly got those two modes out of the way. And when you're a few yards down the pitch it might put doubt in the umpire's mind. But you've got to be very quick on your feet.
Nagraj Gollapudi is an assistant editor at Cricinfo
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