Cricket is one of the most popular sports all around the world. It has a huge fandom and people love watching the competitive sport and its multiple leagues such as cricket World Cup, cricket T20 World Cup, Test cricket championship, and other domestic leagues as well.
Cricket majorly consists of three different departments or it can be also called components. Those three components of cricket are batting, bowling and fielding. All three components of cricket have their importance and role.
Key Takeaways
- Leg spin is a style of spin bowling in cricket, while leg break is a specific type of delivery within leg spin.
- Leg spin bowlers aim to deceive the batsman with spin and flight, while leg break deliveries turn from the leg side to the offside of a right-handed batsman.
- Leg spin requires high skill and control, while leg break deliveries are just one of the various deliveries used by leg spinners.
Leg Spin vs Leg Break
A Leg spin is a type of spin bowling in which the bowler uses wrist and finger movement to spin the ball. Leg spin deliveries turn away from the right-handed batsman. A Leg break is a specific type of leg spin delivery. It is a ball that spins from the leg side towards the off side.
Leg-spin bowling is referred to when the ball is spun by the bowler in such a way that when it lands on the pitch or the ground, the ball gets sharply directed in the offside direction.
While on the other hand, a leg break delivery is a type of leg-spin delivery which is referred to as the delivery which is almost the same as leg spin delivery.
That is to say, in the case of leg-break delivery as well, the ball gets directed from the leg side direction of the batsman to the offside direction batsman. However, the difference is that it is done by a right-handed bowler to a right-handed batsman.
Comparison Table
| Parameters of comparison | Leg Spin | Leg Break |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Leg spin is a method of bowling in cricket. | Leg break is a specific type of leg-spin bowling. |
| Common name | Wrist spin bowling | Leggies |
| Performed by | Leg spin delivery can be performed by a left-handed bowler as well as a right-handed bowler. | Leg break delivery can only be performed by a right-handed bowler. |
| Speed of ball | Speed of ball in leg-spin delivery ranges between a minimum of 70 km per hour to a maximum of 90 km per hour. | Speed of ball in leg-break delivery ranges between a minimum of 85 km per hour to a maximum of 95 km per hour. |
| Line-length | Adjustable | Relatively less adjustable |
What is Leg-Spin?
Leg spin bowling is a type of spin bowling in which the ball is bowled from the leg side direction of the batsman and then gets directed to the offside direction of the batsman due to the spin action of the ball made by the bowler.
This type of bowling is also known as wrist spin delivery. The reason behind that is because the way the bowler makes the ball change direction from the leg side of the batsman to the offside is by spinning his or her wrist.
The wrist is spun in such a way that the ball is caused to move away from the batsman, that is to the offside direction after it hits the ground.
Moreover, there are several different variations in the leg-spin delivery depending upon what type of bowler is performing the delivery.
If the bowler performing the leg-spin delivery is a left-handed bowler then the delivery is known as left-arm unorthodox spin bowling or left-arm chinaman.
What is Leg Break?
Leg break delivery is a type of leg-spin delivery in which the action is the same, but it is characterized by the type of bowler that is bowling the ball and the type of batsman that is receiving the delivery.
In simple words, it can be said that a leg break delivery is performed by a right-handed bowler to a right-handed batsman where the bowler rotates his or her wrist in such a way that the ball which is originally delivered from the leg side of the batsman gets directed towards the off side directly after the ball hits the ground.
The speed of the ball that is bowled in the leg break delivery is quite fast. An average leg break bowler delivers the ball at a speed of a minimum of 85 km per hour to a maximum of 95 km per hour.
Moreover, the speed of the wind and the direction of the wind also plays a vital role in determining the speed of the ball during the delivery.
Main Differences Between Leg Spin and Leg Break
- Leg spin bowling is a general term that is used for spin bowling. On the contrary, leg break is a specific type of leg-spin bowling.
- Leg spin bowling is also known as wrist spin bowling. Whereas, leg-break bowling is also known as leggies.
- Leg spin delivery can be done by both types of bowlers, that is to say, right-handed bowlers, as well as left-handed bowlers, can perform the delivery. On the other hand, leg-break delivery can only be performed by right-handed bowlers to right-handed batsmen.
- The speed of the ball bowled in a leg-spin delivery is slow as compared to the speed of the ball bowled in a leg break delivery. On the other hand, the speed of the ball bowled in a leg break delivery is high as compared to the speed of the ball in the leg-spin delivery.
- In the case of leg-spin bowling, the ball rotates in a clockwise direction. On the other hand, in the case of leg-break bowling, the ball rotates in an anticlockwise direction.
- https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14763141.2016.1161819
- https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02640414.2017.1358460
Last Updated : 13 July, 2023
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Emma Smith holds an MA degree in English from Irvine Valley College. She has been a Journalist since 2002, writing articles on the English language, Sports, and Law. Read more about me on her bio page.
