Spinners stir after change to toss rules

Last year, when announcing the ECB’s decision to change the coin toss before the start of Championship matches, Peter Wright, chairman of the cricket committee, set out the thinking behind the move: “By giving the away team the option of bowling first, we hope the home side will be encouraged to produce the best possible four-day pitch. That will be good for cricket in general, and not only for spinners.”

So, with the dust settling on a four-day finale to remember at Lord’s, has the new regulation succeeded? Did better pitches help to rebalance the game, allowing English spinners to gain more traction?

Leaving aside the sight of Alex Lees and Adam Lyth serving up a few declaration lobs against eventual champions Middlesex on Sky TV on the final day of the season (probably not the sort of exposure the ECB had in mind), there were certainly some encouraging signs.

Speaking earlier in the month, Andrew Strauss, England’s director of cricket and a member of the ECB’s cricket committee, indicated that the governing body has been satisfied by the trial.

“Anecdotally it’s been a really important step forward,” Strauss said. “We’ve played on better pitches, more games have gone to the fourth day, the bowlers who have done well are those more likely to play international cricket, there have been different challenges on batsmen and spinners have bowled more overs.

“From an anecdotal point of view I think it’s achieved most of the objectives we set out. I’ve always thought we can judge it too soon. But the noises are encouraging, and once people have got their heads round the idea, in my opinion, it has nudged the right behaviour.”

In Division One, the effect was marked by two spinners – Warwickshire’s Jeetan Patel and Somerset’s Jack Leach – topping the wicket-takers’ list. Not since 2009, when Danish Kaneria and James Tredwell led the way in Division Two, were the two most successful Championship bowlers both purveyors of spin.

Patel, a vastly experienced international, has been recalled by New Zealand on the back of his good form and was already regarded as the best spinner in the county game, having taken 50-plus wickets in each of the past five seasons, although this was still his best return; Leach on the other hand enjoyed a breakthrough year as Somerset tailored their surfaces to suit the slow left-armer as the summer progressed and they narrowly missed out on a first title.

Middlesex also benefited, eventually. Despite drawing seven of their first eight games and not winning at Lord’s until August, they came through strongly in the second half of the season and held off Yorkshire and Somerset in a taut last round. Ollie Rayner’s 51 wickets (another personal best) made him a vital component of their attack.

“It has made a difference,” Middlesex’s director of cricket, Angus Fraser, said. “If its design was to get spinners more involved then it’s been a success because you just have to look at the top wicket-takers in the country.”

This time last year, Rayner was writing for …

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