Spin Bowling: A dying art!

The main aim of spin bowling is to bowl the cricket ball with rapid rotation so that when it bounces on the pitch it will deviate from its normal straight path, thus making it difficult for the batsman to hit the ball cleanly.

But due to new ODI rules in International cricket and introduction of Twenty 20 matches, spin bowling is surely under the knife. Question arises : Is spin bowling : A dying art ??

Some of the latest rules introduced recently in One day matches are :
1. Combination of two new balls are used. One from each end.
2. Only four fielders allowed outside the 30 yard area. Number further reduces to 3 during power plays.
3. Two bouncers allowed in an over.

The ICC intended this rule to invite more aggression from both the batsmen and the fielding side, but in doing so, it may have stifled attack and creativity in spin bowling.
With the introduction of two new balls, one from each end it’s tough for the bowlers to put a pressure on the batsman. There’s pressure on bowlers on what line and length to bowl. The ball is only 25 overs old at the most. So spinners don’t get that much turn compared to a used rough ball. Even two bouncers favor fast bowling. Fewer men on the boundary means the variety of deliveries they can confidently attempt is reduced. Straight and accurate bowling is the only way to stay safe for spinners.

Even Mahela Jayawardene was quoted as saying: "A spinner needs the cover, and you’re not getting that with the new rules. As a batsman, it’s easy for me, but as a captain, I feel for the bowlers." "I’m not very comfortable with all these changes and I don’t think it’s the right way to go forward," Jayawardene said. "Unless there is sufficient assistance to the spin bowlers on the wicket, I feel the spinners will get targeted. They will try to bowl on one side of the wicket and become one dimensional, whereas the art of spin is about turning the ball and getting batsmen out," he added.

The need of a specialist spinner in a team is decreasing as part time bowlers can fill in their shoes by compensating extra runs conceded by scoring them. Now, attacking spinners have been put in peril. If these batsman favorable rules keep on coming, only god knows if we could see a future Warne or Murli.