Hitting Against the Spin: How Cricket Really Works

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Only fifteen years ago it would have been difficult to answer them – cricket was guided only by decades-old tradition and received wisdom.

But the argument in the first chapter on "how to win a world cup" was a pretty ordinary qualitative one--I kept waiting for the data that would redeem it. The traditional opener at Arundel has long been dispensed with, sadly, but Kent will be one of the few counties to entertain the tourists. Leamon and Jones start off this marriage of data and story with a demonstration of their field's contribution in England's fairytale transition from the outdated also rans to heralds of a new era in limited overs cricket - a journey that culminated in them being crowned champions at that final at Lord's in July 2019. Every now and again a new book slips under my radar and, very occasionally, that is because I have allowed it do so. Hitting Against the Spin is the story of that data, and what it can tell us about how cricket really works.

This is a fascinating and wonderful book about the use of statistics in cricket, which reveals some surprising truths which have only been revealed over the last few years since the widespread use of Hawkeye. The 103 third parties who use cookies on this service do so for their purposes of displaying and measuring personalized ads, generating audience insights, and developing and improving products. For those brought up with the mantra that when a captain wins the toss he should either decide to bat immediately, or alternatively think about inserting and having done so then choose to bat, that is another part of the game that is deconstructed and then put back together again after the changing trends over time have been examined. Of all the chapters in Part I of Hitting Against The Spin: How Cricket Really Works the most interesting, even to a dinosaur like me, was the closing one which, by looking at England’s disasters against the spin attacks of Sri Lanka and Pakistan in the early months of 2012, analyse just how they managed to turn that round and, against all expectations, win in India as that same year drew to a close. For example, the chapter on left handed batsmen is brilliant but near the end, the analysis about spinners is rushed and the exclusion of leg spinners is handwavy which is funny because later leg spin gets its own chapter.

My interest in T20 has heightened after reading the chapters about data analysis in t20 tournaments which seem to create the best circumstances for data driven insight in cricket.In keeping with my age, upbringing and general nerdiness, I generally mean First class cricket and, in particular, Test cricket.

Update: still really enjoying the book, but the chapter on swing (explaining the difference between turbulent and laminar flow) loses its impact when it is constantly spelled ‘laminar’. In an era of big-data, how are leaders in sport, business, politics and education supposed to use the power of this new tool productively? Only criticism was boring and tiresome final chapters on the IPL and PSL as these chapters will date very quickly, provide little insight to take away with for future thinking and sort of filler stories. Assuming, BazBall will stay, I hope the authors come up with the second edition telling us exactly how this changed Cricket. The editing is where this falls down, plenty of poorly-executed visuals with sub-standard labelling, or cases where two visuals could be combined for greater effect.I do feel I know more about the game - I didn't even realize there was a dearth of left-handed batters in India for example and looking into those things is, to this cricket nerd at least, a fascinating diversion into, with apologies to football, this most beautiful game. Amazingly detailed and analytical review of how cricket has changed over the years, how it is being played and how deep thought is now assisted by deep analysis. Also absorbing is an examination as to why there are a disproportionate number of left handed batsmen at Test level in some countries. Also, since the story of sports and evolution is relatable across different kinds of sports (and non-sports fields too), non-cricket fans could end up enjoying this book. Some key takeaways were matchups, line and lengths for specific, bowlers and batsman it really showcases well how the stats help cricketers now optimise for success.