Left-arm orthodox spin

Left-arm orthodox spin or left-arm off spin, also known as slow left-arm orthodox spin bowling, is a type of spin bowling in cricket.^[1] Bowlers using this technique bowl with their left-arm and a finger spin action. Their normal delivery spins from right to left (from the bowler's perspective) when it bounces on the pitch.

A left-arm orthodox spin delivery

Lancashire players Gary Keedy and Stephen Parry bowling left-arm orthodox spin in the 2012 Friends Life t20

Left-arm orthodox spin bowlers generally attempt to drift the ball in the air into a right-handed batsman, and then turn it away from the batsman (towards off-stump) upon landing on the pitch. The drift and turn in the air are attacking techniques. The normal delivery of a left-arm orthodox spin bowler is the left-arm orthodox spinner.^[2]

The major variations of a left-arm orthodox spin bowler are the topspinner (which turns less and bounces higher in the cricket pitch), the arm ball (which does not turn at all and drifts into a right-handed batsman in the direction of the bowler's arm movement; also called a 'floater') and the left-arm spinner's version of a doosra (which turns the other way).

Notable slow left-arm orthodox spin bowlers

Players listed below are included as they meet specific criteria which are generally recognized as having achieved significant success in the art of left-arm orthodox spin bowling. For example, leading wicket-takers, and inventors of new deliveries.

• Rangana Herath – 433 Test wickets (highest by a left-arm spinner in all men's Tests) 74 ODI Wickets and 18 T20I Wickets
• Sanath Jayasuriya – 98 Test wickets , 323 ODI wickets (highest by a left-arm spinner in all men's ODIs)
• Daniel Vettori – 362 Test wickets and 305 ODI wickets
• Derek Underwood – 297 Test wickets
• Ravindra Jadeja – 309 Test wickets and 220 ODI wickets
• Bishan Singh Bedi – 266 Test wickets
• Shakib Al Hasan – 246 Test wickets, 317 ODI wickets and 140 T20I wickets (the 2nd highest in men's T20Is)^[3] and 317 ODI wickets
• Ravi Shastri – 151 Test wickets
• Keshav Maharaj – 177 Test wickets
• Ashley Giles – 143 Test wickets
• Taijul Islam – 204 Test wickets
• Jess Jonassen – 141 ODI wickets and 96 T20I wickets
• Sophie Ecclestone – 109 T20I wicket
• Hedley Verity – 10-10, best bowling figures in a first class inning ^[4]
• Ajaz Patel – Only left-arm spinner to take 10 wickets in an innings of a Test Match
• Monty Panesar – 167 Test wickets * Gudakesh Motie, 11 Test matches, 35 Test wickets,

22 One Day International matches  33 ODI wickets and
29 T20I and 31 T20I wickets