WHEN sports writer, Telford Vice, remarked spin bowlers are an eccentric and endangered species in South Africa, he hit the proverbial nail right on the head. We’ve had the unorthodox style of Paul ‘Gogga’ Adams, the gritty and competitive Pat Symcox and one of the country’s greatest off-spinners, Hugh Tayfield, but since then however, few if any SA spinners have reached the heady heights of cricketing folklore.

One man trying to change that is uMhlanga’s Harry Shapiro. He’s worked as a high performance coach for Cricket South Africa (CSA) and during the December holidays held two training clinics using the PitchVision coaching aid system.

“South Africa has never had a world class spinner. With the rise of T20 internationals and ODI cricket, it’s become a vital facet of the game. These clinics help nuture and develop young spin bowlers from a young age,” he said.

“PitchVision allows players to track their bowling during practice sessions. The system uses ball-tracking sensors to instantly send bowling feedback to bowlers via a laptop. Players can instantly see on screen how fast they bowl, the line and length of their deliveries and how much the ball deviates off the pitch which is great for spin bowlers.”

Shapiro added the system also allowed coaches to benefit from the video analysis of bowling techniques.