Hogg reveals key to leggies' success

Brad Hogg has revealed the simple secret to the success of teenage leg-spinning sensations Rashid Khan and Shadab Khan flies in the face of the lessons their Australian counterparts have learned from the legendary Shane Warne.

Afghan Rashid and Pakistani Shadab – born within two weeks and around 300 kilometres of one another either side of the Khyber Pass – have helped make leg-spin the major talking point of the early stages of the KFC Big Bash League.

Adelaide Strikers recruit Rashid delivered perhaps the ball of the tournament to date with a perfectly placed wrong'un that deceived Sydney Thunder veteran Ben Rohrer and clattered into his off stump.

Shadab, who became the BBL's youngest-ever overseas player when he made his debut for Brisbane Heat this week, has collected four wickets in two matches. On Saturday evening against the Renegades he bowled three overs in the Power Play, a nearly unheard-of feat for a wrist-spinner, and finished with 2-17 from four overs to let the Heat take some small joy from a seven-wicket defeat.

And evergreen Renegades left-armer Hogg, who turns 47 in February but looks every bit the bowler he's been in previous seasons, says the method employed by Shadab and Rashid, rather than the one made famous by Warne, should be the blueprint for young Australian wrist-spinners hoping to have T20 success.

"We look at the overseas leggies compared to the Australian leggies – they're a lot quicker in the air and a lot quicker in their action," Hogg told cricket.com.au after collecting 2-25 in the Renegades' win at Etihad Stadium.

"If you look at all the spinners around the world that have that quicker arm action, they are more difficult to pick.

"Those that are slow and do the Shane Warne walk to the crease, they don't have as quick an action.

"The batsman picks the wrists a lot easier with those type of bowlers.

"Shane Warne was absolutely brilliant but he had a very good core.

"Sometimes these younger players coming through don't have the core strength so they need to be a bit quicker in their run up."

Shadab's ability to find sharp spin while bowling at speeds occasionally above 100kph is a rare skill, while Rashid too is able to deceive batsmen with his whippy arm action.

Even Hogg, who is generally a little slower than that pair, has retained the quick action that makes his wrong'un difficult to pick, as Shadab – a more-than-capable batsman – found out when he prodded hastily at his first ball from Hogg and edged to slip.

While Shadab's, Rashid's and Hogg's style's all differ slightly, the common link between them is a running approach to the wicket in their delivery stride, a contrast to Warne's famed – and famously tough to replicate – slow walk to the crease that saw him generate immense energy in his gather rather than his run-up.

Mitchell Swepson, who looks to be forming an effective combination with Shadab at the Heat, was the leading leggie from last summer's BBL|06 with 12 wickets at 21 and his approach is cut from a similar cloth as Warne's.

And while his style, one recently tipped by Stephen O'Keefe to be capable to netting 200 Test wickets, isn't in need of a make-over, Swepson might well come away from BBL|07 with some new tricks up his sleeve.

"We are learning from each other – I'm learning the leg break from him and he's learning the googly from me," Shadab told cricket.com.au.

"He is a good bowler."

Whether they're following in Warne's image or not, the BBL's leg-spinners have earned the King of Spin's tick of approval, praising both their diversity and the way they've been used.

And ultimately, Hogg says a wrist-spinner's frame of mind is equally as important as his bag of tricks or technical advantages.

"The difference between Sheffield Shield cricket and the next level, and even grade cricket and the next level is all mental," he explained.

"There's situations where I've been out in the middle where the mind has got the better of me and I just haven't performed.

"If you've got the skill, it all comes down to the mental side of it.

"If you look at the spinners, the guys that are here, they turn the ball excessively both ways. Other leg-spinners don't turn it as much but know their limitations and do their jobs. You've got to know your limitations and know your game plans against the opposition.

"It's just great to see blokes – and women as well – that are able to spin the ball both ways really playing a big part in the shorter formats of the game and the longer formats as well."