Left-arm orthodox spin

A left-arm orthodox spin delivery

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Lancashire players Gary Keedy and Stephen Parry bowling left-arm orthodox spin in the 2012 Friends Life t20

Left-arm orthodox spin, Left-arm off spin also known as slow left-arm orthodox spin bowling, is a type of left-arm finger spin bowling in the sport of cricket.^[1] Left-arm orthodox spin is bowled by a left-arm bowler using the fingers to spin the ball from right to left of the cricket pitch (from the bowler's perspective).

Left arm orthodox spin bowlers generally attempt to drift the ball in the air into a right-handed batsman, and then turn it away from the batsman (towards off-stump) upon landing on the pitch. The drift and turn in the air are attacking techniques. The stock delivery of a left-arm orthodox spin bowler is the left-arm orthodox spinner.^[2]

The major variations of a left-arm orthodox spin bowler are the topspinner (which turns less and bounces higher in the cricket pitch), the arm ball (which does not turn at all, drifts into a right-handed batsman in the direction of the bowler's arm movement; also called a 'floater') and the left-arm spinner's version of a doosra (which turns the other way).

Notable slow left arm orthodox spin bowlers[]

Players listed below have been included as they meet specific criteria which the general cricketing public would recognise as having achieved significant success in the art of left-arm orthodox spin bowling. For example, leading wicket-takers, and inventors of new deliveries.

• Rangana Herath – 433 Test wickets
• Daniel Vettori – 362 Test wickets and 305 ODI wickets
• Derek Underwood – 297 Test wickets
• Bishan Singh Bedi – 266 Test wickets
• Ravindra Jadeja – 223 Test wickets and 188 ODI wickets
• Shakib Al Hasan - 215 Test wickets, 115 T20I wickets and 277 ODI wickets
• Ravi Shastri – 151 Test wickets
• Keshav Maharaj - 129 Test Wickets
• Jess Jonassen – 109 WODI wickets and 71 WT20I wickets
• Sophie Ecclestone - 64 WT20I wickets
• Ajaz Patel - Only left arm orthodox spinner to take 10 wickets in an innings of a Test Match

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