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Dubai: Rarely does a sri lanka bowler hit the headlines over Muralitharan. But one young spinner has managed it.
Ajantha Mendis is being hailed as a mystery bowler able to conjure up all kinds of delivery.
He demonstrated how deadly he could be against India when he claimed the best bowling figures of a Sri Lankan of debut.
Mendis is not the first bowler to produce such magic deliveries.
Sixty years ago, Australia's Jack Iverson too bowled offbreaks, legbreaks, googlies and top spinners to fox the batsmen.
He, like Mendis, was in Army Service when he discovered this delivery but Iverson's method of spinning the ball was different from Mendis.
He gripped the ball between his thumb and middle finger and produced offbreaks, leg breaks and googlies without any change of action.
Batsmen found him difficult but soon the discovered that when he bowled the top spinner his thumb pointed straight and if his thumb pointed to the leg side the ball would turn that way.
During England's tour of Australia in 1950-51, he the suffered an ankle injury in the fourth Test in Adelaide when he trod on the ball.
He gave up cricket after two more seasons and died in 1973 aged 58.
Harder to spot
Mendis's delivery may be more difficult to spot than his Australian counterpart because the ball is held between the thumb, forefinger and middle finger.
At the point of delivery the ball is squeezed out and flicked by the fingers. It could turn out to be a number of different deliveries.
The first bowler to get the mystery bowler tag was England's Bernard James Tindal Bosanquet.
He is known as the inventor of googly, which he bowled by turning the wrist over enormously at the moment of delivery so it would alter the axis of spin.
This was followed by the emergence of spinners who used their fingers effectively, such as Australian John Gleeson.
He bowled with two fingers, the middle finger and thumb, pressing the ball on both sides to produce the variety.
Milking cows
He was the son of a dairy farmer and it is said that the secret behind the strength of his two fingers was because he spent his childhood milking cows.
West Indies' Sonny Ramadhin soon emerged and he could also bowl right arm offbreaks and legbreaks with no change of action.
At Lord's in 1950, he took 11 for 52 and helped the West Indies record their first win there.
India's Bhagwat Chandrasekhar managed to make an advantage out of an attack of polio as a child that left his right arm withered.
He could bowl the ball from the back of his hand with a whipping action. It was his 6 for 38 at the Oval in 1971 that gave India their first series victory in England. For Chandrasekhar the turn of the wrist too played a big role but for Mendis it is his strong fingers that are important.
Slow motion replays have managed to detect his style of deliveries.
It has been found that when he bowls the doosra, only the middle finger will be on the ball as the other three fingers tend to be raised.
But it is his 'carrom ball' that has hit the headlines The ball is delivered with an unusual snap or flick of the fingers and Mendis has been credited with its invention.
The various deliveries produced by spin bowlers
Back spinner: This is a ball delivered with back spin. The ball comes off the pitch at a slower pace from when it was in flight. The bowler hopes batsman will play a mistimed stroke.
Googly: Used by bowlers whose standard delivery spins from the leg to the offside. The googly goes the other way. It is also known as the wrong'un or the bosie after its inventor BJT Bosanquet.
Chinaman: A ball bowled by a left arm wrist spinner. It will break from off towards leg when bowled to a right-handed batsman. It is also known as the stock ball of a left arm wrist spinner.
Donkey drop: A slow ball bowled with a high dropping trajectory. The batsman could misjudge it, believing the bowler has mistakenly delivered a full toss. It can clean bowl a batsman if not picked correctly.
Floater: This is a well-flighted slow ball that will curve deceptively into the batsman or away from the batsman.
Flipper: It is a leg spin delivery with under-spin so it bounces lower than normal. This was invented by a New Zealand born Clarrie Grimmett, who played between 1925 and 1936.
Doosra: An off spin delivery developed by Saqlain Mushtaq. It is the finger spin equivalent to googly and turns the wrong way. Muttiah Muralitharan is today an expert in it and has used it to become the leading wicket taker in Test cricket.
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