Doosra dilemma puts cricket in a spin

By Paresh Soni

To doosra or not to doosra? That is the question being posed to off-spinners in the wake of the Harbhajan Singh controversy.

Harbhajan has run into problems bowling the doosra delivery

The India star's action came under scrutiny once again after the second Test against Pakistan, when match referee Chris Broad reported him for the second time.

So why does the doosra - a ball which turns the opposite way to a traditional off-break - cause so many problems for bowlers and administrators alike?

And why do you need to bowl one anyway? Is conventional off-spin no longer good enough to take wickets at the highest level?

BBC Sport spoke to biomechanics expert Bruce Elliott and England off-spinner Gareth Batty to get to the bottom of the fuss surrounding the delivery.

THE ANATOMICAL EXPERT

Professor Elliott has closely monitored Harbhajan Singh and Muttiah Muralitharan at the University of Western Australia.

He believes off-spinners bowling the doosra will struggle to stay within the new guidelines, which allow bowlers to straighten their arms by up to 15 degrees.

"To bowl it you really have to get your fingers over the top of the ball," he told BBC Sport. "The problem for most of them is to do that they have to extend the elbow.

Harbhajan and Murali could live without the doosra Bruce Elliott

"It's a question of controlling the elbow so it's not too flexed [bent] to start with because it's almost impossible to get the hand over the ball without extending it further.

"Harbhajan and Murali were under 10 degrees for off-breaks, but with the doosra they were always sitting near the 15 degrees. It only needs to be two deliveries a day and the bowler gets called again."

Leg-spinners, who tend to be a rarer breed than off-break bowlers, have a similar weapon - the googly - but do not fall foul of the rules.

"With wrist spinners, the arm is already more extended and all the leggies that I've seen can bowl top-spinners and the googly," Elliott explained.

"Their arm tends to be straighter to start with so any extension they get is minor, whereas off-break bowlers are bowling with slightly bent arms which means there is a problem when they bowl the doosra."

One of the sanctions available to the ICC is to prevent a bowler from using a particular delivery.

Elliott fears that something will have to give if bowlers like Harbhajan continue to have problems.

"I would hate to think you have to stop people bowling it, because in most instances the batsmen tend to be on top of the bowlers," he added.

"You can certainly change techniques. It needs to happen with young bowlers and the ICC is trying to get people very early in the piece.

"Harbhajan has been successful but his doosra isn't his stock delivery and he could live without it, as could Murali, although I'm not sure if they would be as successful without it.

"But we could be heading that way - decisions will have to be made along that line."

THE BOWLER'S VIEW

Worcestershire off-spinner Gareth Batty is trying to make his way in the international arena, having played five Tests and six one-day internationals for England.

Batty is a relative novice to the art of bowling the doosra and knows how tricky it can be to get it right.

"I've been playing around with it for two and a half years and I'm at a point where I can bowl it pretty well off 19 yards," he told BBC Sport.

It does different things, which is what you're looking for - to put doubt into the batsman's mind Gareth Batty

"You can get your wrist and fingers in a position to bowl it but the difficulty is keeping your arm straight while doing it.

"The 15 degrees [allowance] helps. You are allowed a bent arm all the way through and allowed to move it within that slightly. This allows you to get the wrist into a position to bowl it.

"But because you are using your wrist more and there is a flick, there are a few things that will make it look like a throw."

Having suffered at the hands of batsmen on pitches offering little assistance, the 27-year-old believes the doosra could significantly improve his chances of taking wickets.

"There's always a doubt in a batter's mind that you can turn it both ways, so you can apply pressure," Batty revealed.

"It does get a different shape through the air and does different things, which is what you're looking for - to put doubt into the batsman's mind.

"In the initial period of getting it right it can be obvious, but over time you develop and some of the best bowlers like Harbhajan rely on it more than the off-break."

So would taking it away from the bowler, render him powerless?

"It's not going to harm you to have it. It's going to be a plus and it's great to have in your armoury," he added.

"I don't think it's a necessity, but it should make life that tiny bit easier at times."