The carrom ball demystified

I mentioned in my column last week that due to the lack of potency in the Sri Lankan attack they will have to rely on sleight of hand to deceive the rampant South African batsmen. I am afraid the next six weeks will be devoid of good news for the visitors as they toil against an aggressive line-up intent on stamping their authority on proceedings.

It will be hard yakka for them and I am struggling to see how they can take 20 wickets. If that can’t be done, you don’t win test matches. That by the way has been a perennial problem with the Lankans since the retirement of Muralitharan and the self-imposed white clothing exile from Malinga.

So what exactly is the trickery element that Sri Lanka will have to bring to the table whilst bowling to increase their wicket-taking potential? The premier example that will be witnessed will be introduced by both the spinners that will be on show. You will hear the commentators talking a lot about and exhibiting the ‘carrom ball’ on air. That is one smart delivery that is exceptionally difficult to control.

The use of the carrom ball is known to date back to 1940 and it was re-introduced into international cricket again in 2008 by Ajantha Mendis after months of perfecting it in the nets. It is a delivery that is held between the thumb and the index finger and flicked out of the front of the hand by the middle finger. It tends to be slightly quicker through the air and lower in trajectory as it angles in towards a right-handed batsman.

It really is nothing more than a gentle leg break coupled with a hint of backspin that exudes flatter characteristics and fewer revolutions. However, from a batsman’s perspective it does look unusual as it is released and if you have not seen it before, momentary panic can set in as the mind attempts to unravel the mystery. If anything, it will turn away a fraction from the right-hander on a responsive pitch but often it holds its line and skids, therefore rushing the batsman.

Mendis initially achieved remarkable success with his unique mystifying repertoire which included the carom ball as a strike weapon. He decimated India’s best with 26 wickets in three tests when he first exploded onto the spinning landscape in 2008. Since then, though, he has been worked out by most batsmen around the cricketing globe and that is testament to the extensive analytical efforts now being done behind the scenes. Rangana Herath has also adopted the problematic delivery, but from a left-hand orthodox spinner’s perspective.

The carrom ball is named after the very popular tabletop board game that is played predominantly on the sub-continent. Sometimes it is referred to as finger billiards and sources suggest that the game is of Sri Lankan or Indian origin. As with the release of the carom ball, the ‘striker’ on the board game is also flicked in a similar fashion.

As deceptive as this delivery can be, my spin on things is that following scrutiny, it will hold no fears for Kallis and company and they will turn the tables and give it the flick.