9 mystery spinners through the ages

5. John Gleeson

John Gleeson had a similar grip like Jack Iverson

Another Australian spinner with an unusual grip like Jack Iverson, John Gleeson’s career took an entirely new turn when his mystery was unraveled by the batsmen.

However, his career started on a positive note when he impressed the likes of Richie Benaud with his unusual bowling. Gleeson himself acknowledged the influence of Iverson, “The first time I saw it was a photograph in a 1951 Sporting Life magazine. I would bowl with the same grip with a tennis ball in backyard cricket, with a jacaranda tree as the wicket. It was quite natural for me to bowl a legspinner even if it looked like an offspinner - it was basically a reverse wrong'un: looks like an offspinner but is a legspinner.”

Gleeson, who made his debut against India at Adelaide in 1967, started on a promising note but soon faded away as his opponents broke the mystery code.

Despite promising to reach the unprecedented heights, the mystery bowler finished with 93 wickets in 29 Tests with a strike rate of 95.2