West Indies tweaker Akeal Hosein’s arm-ball floors Uganda

Cricket’s glossary can sometimes be confusing. More so to a new audience which the ongoing T20 World Cup is giving a shout out to. West Indies left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein cast a spell on Uganda with the arm-ball, under lights at Providence, Guyana on Saturday night.

An arm-ball, by definition, doesn’t even spin but can be as effective a spinner’s weapon as the ones that turn square. Especially, if the batters are as out of depth as Uganda’s.

Hosein, 31, improved the knowledge of those who were new to the sport — the USA co- hosts the tournament — and taught the Ugandans, playing only their third match against a full member nation, a hard lesson with his spell of 4-0-11-5.

Hosein’s star act helped West Indies ease to a 134-run win in Group C after skittling Uganda out for 39 – the joint lowest total in T20 World Cup history.

In the first half of the match, cricket cranes as they are called, showed the kind of spunk that earned them their first World Cup win against Papua New Guinea. None of the West Indies power-hitters were able to swing the match decisively with the bat as Uganda bowlers, particularly in the death overs, fought hard.

When it came to defending 173, Hosein got into the act straightaway. His second delivery was an arm-ball that skidded on and right-handed Roger Mukasa couldn’t read. It rammed into his pads, beating him as he tried to reverse-sweep. It was fast as effective arm-balls are and was bowled after the batter had been set up by the previous sharp spinning left-armer’s delivery.

Hosein had done it many times before to survive as a finger spinner in the punishing format. Only this time, his two-card trick worked smoothly. There was enough assistance from the Providence pitch of low bounce where Hosein knew exactly how to use the new ball.

Hosein kept using the arm ball every over. In an unchanged spell, the Trinidad spinner picked up a wicket each in his first three overs, and two in his final over, all with the arm-ball. The Ugandan batters had no answer as they kept missing the straight deliveries that had a hint of movement in the air. Three of Hosein’s wickets were leg before and two batters couldn’t even place their leg before the stumps lit up.

So relentless was Hosein that 19 of his 24 deliveries were dot balls. By the time his spill was over, Uganda were 23/7 in 7 overs. For all practical purposes, they were out of the contest.

“I needed this. In the nets and the previous series, I felt that the ball was coming out right. I just wasn’t getting the results. I knew I had to stay calm and it would be my day,” Hosein said post-match.

Against the newcomers, he had a field day. But Hosein acknowledges that there will be more days of hard work than such success. “The way the game is moving, guys are going to study you. You have to be one step ahead of them every time,” he added.

The arm-ball may be a necessity of the times, but his heart beats for the spinning delivery. Hosein picked up Dinesh Nakrani’s wicket as his favourite – the only one he took bowling his stock ball, turning into the left-hander from around the wicket and beating him in flight.

West Indies have two wins in two matches and now move to Trinidad for the crucial encounter against New Zealand on June 12 that could decide the group.