Adelaide Strikers spinner Jemma Barsby unveils ‘absolutely incredible’ ambidextrous bowling

Australian cricket fans were left in awe when Strikers spin bowler Jemma Barsby plucked up the courage to whip out her party trick.

It wasn’t until the final game of the WBBL regular season that Adelaide Strikers spinner Jemma Barsby plucked up the courage to whip out her party trick.

The 26-year-old was brought into the attack for the eighth over of the Melbourne Stars run chase at Adelaide Oval on Sunday, and Elyse Villani slapped the right-hander’s opening delivery towards long on for an easy single.

With Australian captain Meg Lanning now on strike, Barsby informed the umpire of an impending change – she was going to bowl the next delivery with her left arm.

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Channel 7’s commentators roared with delight as the ambidextrous cricketer finally attempted a left-handed delivery, which Lanning respectfully defended.

Barsby conceded seven runs in the over, with Lanning only managing a single off her three deliveries faced.

“It was a strategy spoken about prior to the match,” Barsby told news.com.au on Tuesday.

“I was told if Meg was still there, then whip out the left-armers. In the past, she’s had a weakness against left-arm spin.

“She’s obviously very good against right-arm offies, so I was just trying to play a bit more towards her weakness.

“Thankfully I didn’t get smacked around too much.”

This is absolutely incredible. https://t.co/OYGpukRqCo

— James Silver (@JamesSilver3) November 21, 2021

Avenue of Ambidexterity 👏🎯 https://t.co/4A3wsPqGJQ

— Damien Fleming (@bowlologist) November 21, 2021

Playing her maiden season with the Strikers, Barsby has taken four wickets in 14 overs with a commendable economy rate of 6.07, the club’s second-lowest behind Australian seamer Megan Schutt.

Several other cricketers boast the rare talent of ambidexterity, most notably Sri Lankan international Kamindu Mendis and Tasmanian teenager Nivethan Radhakrishnan.

Incredibly, Barsby feels more comfortable switching arms than bowling leg-spin to the right-handers, something England captain Joe Root has attempted in the sub-continent.

“Bowing leg-spin’s an art that I can’t master, so I’ll just stick to the off-spin,” Barsby laughed.

During the coverage of Sunday’s T20, Channel 7 presenter Jason Richardson suggested it was unfair that bowlers are required to tell the umpire which arm they intend to bowl with, while batters are allowed to play reverse sweeps.

“You can’t have it both ways,” he cried.

Law 24.1 states: “The umpire shall ascertain whether the bowler intends to bowl right-handed or left-handed, over or round the wicket, and shall so inform the striker. It is unfair if the bowler fails to notify the umpire of a change in his mode of delivery. In this case, the umpire shall call and signal No ball.”

However, Barsby wasn’t opposed to a rule change.

“It’s a batter’s game, isn’t it?” she said with tongue firmly in cheek. “They’ll blow up if they don’t get told (what arm she’ll bowl with).

“It kind of would be cool … it would be kind of nice to have some sort of edge over them. “But I guess it’s in the rules at the moment, and I’m happy to abide by them.”

Jemma Barsby celebrates with her Adelaide Strikers teammates. Photo by Steve Bell/Getty Images

After finishing fourth on the WBBL ladder this season, the Strikers will face the Brisbane Heat in The Eliminator at Adelaide Oval on Wednesday evening.

Asked if cricket fans would see her left-armers in the finals series, Barsby replied: “We’ll have to wait to see.

“Sunday gave me a lot of confidence that I can bowl (left-handed) to one of the best batters in the world.

“It could be a chance, depending on the situation of the game and the batter.”

The Strikers’ top-order has been superb throughout the 2021 campaign, so much so that Barsby – who typically appears at No. 9 or 10 in the line-up – is yet to have a bat in the seventh edition of the WBBL.

“It’s kind of weird,” she said. “There’s quite a few of us that haven’t had a bat this year, which just shows how well the top-order’s gone for us.

“Hopefully that can continue and I won’t be required.”

The Eliminator is scheduled to get underway at 7.10pm AEDT on Wednesday, with the winner progressing to Thursday’s Challenger against the Melbourne Renegades.