Erapalli Prasanna, Ian Chappell and the joys of spin bowling

Among the pleasures of following sports is listening to sportspeople talk about sports. The joy of excelling at the highest level is known only to a chosen few. The rest of us must live vicariously. That’s why the interview with Erapalli Prasanna and Ian Chappel in newest Cricinfo Monthly is such a delight. The conceit is perfect: a great spinner and a great player of spin talking about the craft of spin from opposite perspective. Both men were attacking cricketers and both men are thinking cricketers. There is insight and wit and wisdom all rolled into one 7000-plus word package. [caption id=“attachment_1751523” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Erapalli Prasanna (second from right) with the other members of India’s famed spin quartet. AFP[/caption] You never feel the length though because the interview is so engaging. You get little gems like this one from Prasanna:

One time Ajit Wadekar was the captain and Wadekar comes from Bombay. Bombay cricket has always believed in the defensive approach. If they bat first, they want to score 500 runs and let that 500 work on the opponents. So we were playing against Tony Lewis’ side in Madras [in 1972-73] and Wadekar gives me the ball and he says, “Bowl tight.” Now there were still one and a half days of cricket left and England had wiped out the lead. So if I had bowled tight, the game may have gone to the next day but we would have lost. So I refused. Then he got wild. I said, “Don’t worry, leave it to me, don’t tell me what I should bowl.” He said, “Fair enough.” In the next seven overs, I took four wickets for six runs. They were bowled out. We won by four wickets.”

And you also get plenty of technique and strategy; which add up to a rare look into the minds of great players. Over and over again what Chappell says is mirrored by Prasanna and what Prasanna says is mirrored by Chappell. They are opposites in execution but soulmates in theory. For Chappell, using your feet is crucial to playing spin bowling. For Prasanna, getting a batsman to use his feet is the key to getting him out.

“Well, in the end it was a battle of your brains and your wills,” Chappell says. “You knew there was so much thought going into what he was doing. The objective was to try and dictate terms. If you get to the point where you’re dictating the spin bowler’s field placings then he’s in trouble. And let me assure you, it never got to that point with Pras.”

You can read the whole thing here (sign-up needed).