Is this the ultimate sporting prodigy?

[Tubby Isaacs]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qC3HF7wfEc

New Zealand domestic Women's T20 Final, televised live. Batting side 61-3 after 12 overs.

Enter Amelia Kerr. Who is- you won't believe this- a 14 year old legspinner. Watch the whole spell. She takes 3-19, plus has a catch dropped at mid off (having tossed the ball up a bit more), another catch not given out and another ball that hit stumps and doesn't knock the bails off.

It isn't just the control- how does anyone pitch legspin within 6 feet of where they aim?- but the variations. About 4 balls in, she does a wrong-un. There's also a zooter and a slider.

Isn't she incredible?

[SouthdownRebel]

Is this the ultimate sporting prodigy?

Marvellous stuff!

[ursus arctos]

Is this the ultimate sporting prodigy?

Can she bowl for the senior men's team?

There's also one in her first over that would have been caught and bowled if she was fully grown.

[ursus arctos]

Is this the ultimate sporting prodigy?

Jesus

She scored a T20 century at Basin Reserve when she was 13

[SouthdownRebel]

Is this the ultimate sporting prodigy?

And apparently keeps wicket when the need arises...

[Janik]

Is this the ultimate sporting prodigy?

Rob Steen ought to be watching that and feeling a sense of deja vu. He just appears to have got the nationality wrong. But the name is really rather close.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Is this the ultimate sporting prodigy?

ursus arctos wrote: Jesus

She scored a T20 century at Basin Reserve when she was 13

That looks like it was in an age group game. I assume she doesn't play in those any more. Opposition wickets would clatter at the sight of her doing warm ups. Like Sylvester Clarke.

I forgot the one that goes just over her head. There's also a very sharp chance that the keeper misses. The keeper is double her age.

[Vicarious Thrillseeker]

Is this the ultimate sporting prodigy?

The comments page on that clip is absolutely dreadful - there should be a ban on that sort of shit.

One comment from there is true, though - she hardly bowled a traditional leggy - they were nearly all wrong 'uns and zooters.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Is this the ultimate sporting prodigy?

Youtube comments can take the joy away from anything, can't they?

She does bowl a leggy but it's not a Warne-Gatting level spinner. It's more in line with Richie Benaud's comment that if you can spin it half a bat's width, you're in business.

I think she might even bowl two different wrong uns. There's one early on that goes a mile (and the batter picks it). There's another which doesn't turn anything like as much, which the batter (admittedly a lower order one) doesn't get at all.

[SouthdownRebel]

Is this the ultimate sporting prodigy?

Never read the comments.

There are very few leg spinners of any age who can manage Warne levels of turn - he was a freak of nature in so many ways.

The most remarkable thing about her is that she can control her variations so well at just 14 - by all accounts it's not usually until the mid 20s that most leg spin bowlers learn enough control to become a top line bowler. Kerr looks to be well along that path already.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Is this the ultimate sporting prodigy?

Amelia's probably added a "Warne" delivery to her repertoire by now. That match was 7 months ago.

In fact, she's probably developed a delivery that burrows under the batsman and uproots the leg stump, while simultaneously signing Crowded House's Greatest Hits.

[E10 Rifle]

Is this the ultimate sporting prodigy?

Like the assertive way she directs her field at the start too. But yeah, a lot of variation, and not that many traditional leggies in there.

[SouthdownRebel]

Is this the ultimate sporting prodigy?

Does anyone else think it would be fairly common among 14 year old bowlers to bring out all the variations in a single over? In a T20 match, that might not be such a bad tactic.

[Vicarious Thrillseeker]

Is this the ultimate sporting prodigy?

Isn't that what Adam Hollioake introduced into the Surrey shorter form team a while back? Slower balls, holding across the seam, slower short balls etc.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Is this the ultimate sporting prodigy?

I think the slower bouncer was a bit later, wasn't it? Flower-era England. Maybe Hollioake used it at Surrey though.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Is this the ultimate sporting prodigy?

E10 Rifle wrote: Like the assertive way she directs her field at the start too. But yeah, a lot of variation, and not that many traditional leggies in there.

Yeah, I liked the pointing Looked quite precise too, didn't it?

Doesn't the first delivery do a little bit as leg spinner? Half a bat width, something like that. Flies through first slip- another wicket she could have had.

[SouthdownRebel]

Is this the ultimate sporting prodigy?

Tubby Isaacs wrote: I think the slower bouncer was a bit later, wasn't it? Flower-era England. Maybe Hollioake used it at Surrey though.

My memory of Hollioake was a more general variation of pace. It was spoken of in hushed tones within English cricket as if it were some new form of wizardry

[Tubby Isaacs]

Is this the ultimate sporting prodigy?

So how is Amelia Kerr's "difficult second season" going?

Not as spectacular as the TV debut, but solidly enough. She's played for New Zealand A and got a few wickets in the Women's T20 and 50 over games.

This game though caught my eye. I thought women's cricket had relatively low scoring rates. Here S Devine comes out to bat in the 14th over, and scores 162 not out.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/new-zealand-domestic-2015-16/engine/match/918551.html

Even I might give a leg spinner a bowl defending 340. Heck, Clive Lloyd might have done.

Amelia Kerr bowls her full allotment and takes 3 for 38, including 2 main batters. Devine takes 3 for 4.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Is this the ultimate sporting prodigy?

SouthdownRebel wrote:

I think the slower bouncer was a bit later, wasn't it? Flower-era England. Maybe Hollioake used it at Surrey though.

My memory of Hollioake was a more general variation of pace. It was spoken of in hushed tones within English cricket as if it were some new form of wizardry

Adam Hollioake wasn't as good as it seemed he should be. Maybe he was talked up because of his Australian background. I remember watching him get belted around in an ODI when captain, and the Sky commentators told us it was "good to see Hollioake "backing himself. The batsmen agreed.

[Etienne]

Is this the ultimate sporting prodigy?

A.E.J Collins record may have gone, with a teenager in Mumbai - Pranav Dhanawade - reportedly scoring 1000 runs in an innings. As it happened in 300 balls, I suspect the boundaries were on the short side.

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

Is this the ultimate sporting prodigy?

The captain declared when he was on 1009 not out.

I'd have left him on 999, to keep him hungry for his next knock.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Is this the ultimate sporting prodigy?

Amelia is now 16, and playing for the NZ ODI team.

First 4 ODIs- combined figures of 6 for 120 from 33.5 overs. Played one T20 international- 3/16.

Doesn't sound bad, does it?

[Tubby Isaacs]

Is this the ultimate sporting prodigy?

She got a bit of stick in this domestic game (7-0-51-1) but came back top score 58 off 96 balls.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/newzealand/engine/match/1051875.html

Proper cricket. If not quite as proper as Deanna Doughty, the number 11, who scored 1 not out off 25 balls. She must have been a Mark Richardson fan.

[Sean of the Shed]

Is this the ultimate sporting prodigy?

Sometimes it's obvious who the outstanding player is in your team.
Shania-Lee Swart scored 160 of her side's 169-8, with the rest coming from extras.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Is this the ultimate sporting prodigy?

Those partnerships must have been interesting. Maybe one of the duck scorers stayed in a while, blocking out the last ball of the over, while Shania-Lee carted a load off the other five balls.