When I started this blog, I struggled to come up with a name that evoked the fascination I feel for the game of cricket. I didn’t want to write as the wrong’un, much as the googly would fit the bill – possibly the original mystery ball. Professor Bruce Charlton already had an excellent blog called the doosra.
So I went one further. After the doosra (the second, or “other” on), comes the third one, or “The Teesra”. Saqlain Mushtaq was reputed to be developing a new mystery delivery, back in 2004. At the time, it wasn’t really clear if this ball ever was ever bowled in anger, or even exactly what the delivery might be.
But a post on cricistan.com shows Saqlain bowling his “third one” (after the off break, and the doosra) in the 2008 ICL. [post no longer available; video clip removed from youtube for copyright violation]
It looks like a flipper – palm of the hand facing away from the bowler at the point of release, the ball flipped out beneath the fore-finger. And the video clip shows the result as a seemingly short delivery pitches much further up than expected, and skids on to trap him leg before.
So is this the new mystery ball? Or could it be Graeme Swann’s “gyro” arm ball?
It doesn’t really matter – so long as spin bowlers can keep coming up with new ways to take wickets, the game will stay as fascinating as ever.
The Teesra 
Saqlain’s teesra now has an entry on wikipedia – the description of how the ball is delivered is questionable, however.
>Thanks – interesting video. Ironic that the guy was teaching something quite different from what Tim May was actually doing!
I read something similar – that Tim May gripped the ball between his middle and ring fingers.I do know that Tim May spun the ball prodigiously – there is a video of Mike Gatting on the receiving end (again) of a "miracle ball". Take a look at the Cloverdale Cricket Masterclass video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Si48Ch1EbRQ."The Teesra"
Thanks for posting this video – fascinating stuff. Talking about unsual off-spin actions – I read somewhere that Tim May used to spin the ball using his middle finger (instead of index finger). Do you know anything about this? – I would expect that it might be a good method of getting more revs on the ball (since the middle finger is stronger than the index finger).Bruce Charlton (Doosra blog)