Menno Gazendam is author of Spin Bowling Project. Get your free 8 week spin bowling course here

The doosra and carrom ball is very difficult to bowl. Some even say they cannot be bowled legally.

I disagree with this. While it is very hard (and physically impossible for some), many spin bowlers will have the ability to bowl those deliveries legally.

Saying that a doosra impossible to bowl is like saying every spin bowler is the same, which they are not.

So how do you work out if you can do it?

It takes time to learn a new delivery. And getting the technique right is the most important. You can build accuracy on that.

A normal size cricket ball can be just too heavy and big to teach your finger the muscle memory needed to bowl a doosra or carrom ball.

You need something that will help you develop your technique without breaking your confidence.

So, start with a tennis ball.

tennis balls are much lighter and slightly smaller. They will allow you to learn the technique needed to bowl these deliveries without damaging your fingers or wrists.

You can move on to a real cricket ball once you are confident you can bowl it.

It’s the way Saqlain learnt to develop his doosra. So it should be good for you too.