Flighting the Ball

• Good off spin bowling is often characterized by the bowler's ability to flight the ball. Flighting the ball is where, instead of darting the ball in fast and low, the bowler loops the ball high and above the batsman's eye line, only to get the ball to dip sharply and threaten the batsman's stumps. To carry out a flight drill, walk halfway down the wicket -- 11 yards -- and place a 6-foot-high object in the middle of the pitch. If you are in the nets, you can tie a piece of string across the pitch at 6 feet high halfway down. Practice getting the ball to go over the object or string; pitch and strike the stumps at the far end.
  
  

Pitching the Ball

• The pitch of the ball in cricket is where the ball lands on the pitch. For any style of bowler, the pitch is critical to the overall success of the bowler. While there is no hard-and-fast rule about where you should pitch the ball, if you can get the ball to pitch accurately on different areas of the wicket, you will become a very effective off spin bowler. To hone your pitching accuracy when bowling off spin, place a small cone, disc or marker on the wicket on different lengths before starting your run-up and attempting to hit the marker. Keep practicing until you can regularly hit your marker when it is placed in different areas of the wicket -- an off spinner should concentrate most of his deliveries on a good length, which means the ball will land and bounce a few yards in front of the batsman.
  
  

Upping the Revolutions

• Good off spin is all about the number of revolutions you can impart on the ball using your first and second fingers as you release the ball. In short, the more revolutions you impart on the ball, the farther it will off spin from left to right. To increase your revolutions, place a marker a few inches outside off stump on a good length before attempting to get the ball to pitch to the left of the marker and go on to hit the stumps. As you improve and increase your spin, move the marker wider outside off stump so you now require more spin to hit the stumps.
  
  

Making the Action Natural

• Former England International off spin bowler Peter Such advises you to practice your run-up and delivery with your eyes closed so you get used to the feel of the delivery action rather than relying on visual cues. Get a friend, teammate or coach to stand behind the stumps and act as a wicketkeeper and another to stand at square leg to observe your off spin drill. Practice your run-up and delivery action, ensuring that you keep at least part of your foot behind the popping crease -- get your volunteer at square leg to call "no ball" when you overstep this line. Keep practicing your action with your eyes closed until you can routinely hit a good length and get the ball to grip, rip and spin.