Roger Harper, former WI off-spinner, tells TOI why it is important for offies to adapt to different situations
GEORGETOWN: It wasn’t easy to be a spinner in the West Indies when Roger Harper played his cricket. Those were the days of the famous pace quartet. The tall off-spinner from Guyana was seen more as a restrictive option. But he was more than effective, especially in ODIs where he got 99 wickets at an economy-rate of a phenomenal 3.97.

In a chat with TOI, Harper spoke about the role of spinners in modern-day cricket, his admiration for Kuldeep Yadav and a lot more besides.

Excerpts…
How do you see the role of spinners in the T20 World Cup till now?
Some of the pitches have turned a bit and the spinners have been able to make an impact. Some of the boundaries have been slightly bigger as well and the batsmen have not been able to dominate all the time, which I think has been a welcome relief.

What do you think about the Indian spin-attack, and more specifically Kuldeep Yadav?
I think they have come here with the idea that they will have to play against a lot of right-handers. So they have taken three left-arm spinners in the playing XI. But they have been able to make an impact. As for Kuldeep, he is a left-arm wrist-spinner and there is a little bit of mystery about him. Batsmen find it difficult to read him. The fact that he is a left-armer helps him create more challenges and he can be a wicket-taker at times.

You were a top finger-spinner yourself. Do you think the role of finger spinners is diminishing in white-ball cricket?
The role of the finger-spinner is often to come in the middle of the innings, stop the runs and take wickets. Wrist-spinners provide more difficulty because they can probably be a little harder to read. But finger-spinners have bowled well in this World Cup, with Roston Chase of the West Indies being one of them. The finger-spinner still has a significant role to play, provided he knows how to adapt to different situations and bowl accordingly.

Who according to you is the best white-ball spinner at the moment?
Probably Rashid Khan. He has proven time and time again that he has the ability to take wickets. Batsmen sometimes get a hold of him, but he is difficult to hit and he takes wickets. So, he has to be up there.

You played at a time when the West Indies pace quartet ruled the roost. How does it feel now to see spinners opening the attack for West Indies?
Firstly, I keep emotion out of it and see how conditions are and what can be done accordingly. In this World Cup, spinners are proving very successful at the top of the order, somebody like an Aiden Markram, who is a part-timer, bowls four overs at the top of the innings. It is about conditions, situations, and I am happy that spinners are playing a very big role. And don’t forget this is not Test cricket. I don’t think West Indies open too often with spin in Tests, unless they are playing on absolute turners.

Who according to you was the best-ever player of spin?
I always felt Sunil Gavaskar looked very broad but Javed Miandad was brilliant too. He had the ability to nudge the ball and find the single. Javed Miandad too was really challenging to bowl to.

What do you think of the modern-day trend of dishing out big turners in Tests, where it spins from ball one? Is the art of playing spin taking a beating?
Back in our day too, there were pitches where the ball turned pretty early. What is more important is that the bounce has to be consistent so that it is a fair challenge between bat and ball. Now the approach has changed. Years ago the focus was about occupying the crease and accumulating runs. Some of the highly-skilled players could not score that fast. These days the urgency is to keep the scoreboard ticking, but having said that, some of the shots the England players played in India during the Tests a couple of months ago were horrendous. The mental attitude about playing spin has changed.

How do you compare the two great modern-day offies Nathan Lyon and R Ashwin?
Both have more than 500 Test wickets… I wouldn’t want to say who is the better bowler. They are different and I admire both of them. Lyon is more the orthodox off-spinner who will plug away and bowl consistently, get turn and bounce and vary his pace. Ashwin spins the ball as well and gets turn and his carrom ball adds mystery and intrigue. Both have the ability to bowl long spells and can get on top of a team and run through the batting line-ups.