Wrist Spin Explained: Leg-Break, Googly, and Flipper in Cricket

Wrist spin is a type of spin bowling where the ball is spun using the wrist and fingers together — generating more revolutions and sharper turn than finger spin (which uses only the fingers). Wrist spin bowled by a right-arm bowler is called leg spin (the primary delivery turns from leg to off for a right-handed batter); the equivalent from a left-arm bowler is called Chinaman. Wrist spin is the most difficult bowling type to both bowl and play — its variety of deliveries (each turning in a different direction) creates the greatest batting challenge of any bowling style.

The Leg-Break

The leg-break is the wrist spinner's stock delivery — a ball that turns from the leg side to the off side for a right-handed batter (i.e., pitches on or around off stump and turns away toward the off side or catches the outside edge). The leg-break is bowled by rotating the wrist at release so the back of the hand faces the batter, and the ball rolls off the fingers with a combination of side spin and top spin. A well-bowled leg-break has enough turn to beat the outside edge of a batter attempting to play through the off side.

The Googly

The googly (sometimes called a 'wrong 'un') is the wrist spinner's primary variation — a delivery that appears identical to the leg-break in the bowler's action but turns in the opposite direction (turning into the right-handed batter rather than away). Bowled by rotating the wrist further so the ball comes out of the front of the hand rather than the back, the googly turns from off to leg for a right-hander — the exact opposite of the leg-break. The deception comes from the identical-looking bowling action: if a batter cannot identify the googly from the hand, they face the ball expecting it to turn away but it turns into them.

The Flipper and Other Variations

The flipper is a wrist spin variation delivered with underspin (back spin) rather than the topspin of the leg-break — squeezed out of the fingers rather than rolled off. The flipper skids on quickly after pitching, staying low rather than bouncing, and can trap batters LBW or bowl them through the gate. Warne used the flipper as a weapon specifically for the trapped-LBW or bowled dismissal, delivered after setting up a batter with leg-breaks. Other wrist spin variations include the top-spinner (which bounces more than expected, often taking the top edge for a caught behind or slip catch) and the zooter (a flat delivery that generates little spin, used to vary flight and pace).