'Tonner & Chinaman' - PPI .... Brad Hogg and Kuldeep Yadav : Marine in Cricket

Sure, you know of various kinds of Marine insurance policies ~ heard of ‘Policy proof of interest’ - : a marine insurance policy provision whereby the underwriter agrees to dispense with all proof of insurable interest with the policy being stamped accordingly !!!

He  is well known for his use of his tongue while bowling, poking it out just before he bowls, considered his trademark. This spinner played for Rajasthan Royals in IPL 6 but perhaps will have to do more to  earn a new deal with the Perth Scorchers, though he has performed admirably for them – which ensured a call for the National team in T20 WC last year.  However, at 42 years of age and with T20 the only form of cricket in his repertoire, it's hard to gauge where his  form sits. He in fact made his debut against India in a Test at Delhi playing as a replacement for Warne who was injured.  It is George Bradley "Brad" Hogg, left arm spinner,  a capable lower-order left-handed batsman, as well as an excellent fielder.

There are types which are both obsolete forms of early reinsurance – considered unlawful as there was no insurable interest and hence unenforceable in law. Policies were typically marked P.P.I. (Policy is Proof of Interest). Their use continued into the 1970s before they were banned by Lloyd's, the main market, by which time, they had become nothing more than crude bets.

photo courtesy : the Hindu

In the footsteps of Hogg is Uttar Pradesh’s left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav. In the recent Buchi Babu tourney in Chennai, he bowled with flight and bounce. Left-arm wrist spinners — sending down the chinaman that turns into the right-hander and the wrong ’un that spins away — perform a rare and difficult art. Left-arm unorthodox spin – in someways the corollary of googly is known as ‘chinaman’. 

Bishan Singh Bedi, Padmakar Shivalkar, Rajinder Hans, Rajinder Goel, Raguram Bhatt, Dilip Doshi, Maninder Singh, Pragyan Ojha are all practioners of left-arm spin bowling….they turn the ball from left to off… there are some unorthodox left-arm spinners – who use the  wrist hand action to spin the ball which turns from off to leg side of the cricket pitch. The direction of turn is the same as that of a traditional right-handed off spin bowler; however, the ball will usually turn more sharply due to the spin being imparted predominantly by the wrist. Very few highly skilled left-arm wrist spinners have played at the international Test level. The South African Paul Adams, known for his unusual bowling action, is perhaps one of the best-known left-arm wrist spinners. Michael Bevan, Brad Hogg, Garfield Sobers and Dave Mohammed  are some whose footsteps Kuldeep Yadav tries to emulate.

Gif image courtesy : wikipedia.org

Given the uniqueness of his style, the 18-year-old Kuldeep is among the brightest bowling prospects in the country. A left-arm wrist spinner like him is essentially an attacking, wicket-taking option. Former India left-arm orthodox spinner Maninder Singh said, “It is very hard to come across a genuine left-arm chinaman bowler. It is because of this that batsmen struggle to pick them.  This breed requires the support of the team management and Kuldeep has been backed by Uttar Pradesh coach Gyanendra Pandey and skipper Mohammed Kaif. And the years spent at the NCA have been immensely beneficial. He was part of the U19 team that toured Australia and Sri Lanka and his coach Bharat Arun was immensely satisfied with him..

Now the Marine connection :  There were policies called ‘Tonner and Chinaman’…….

A "tonner" was simply a "policy" setting out the global gross tonnage loss for a year. If that loss was reached or exceeded, the policy paid out. A "chinaman" applied the same principle but in reverse: thus, if the limit was not reached, the policy paid out.

Prior to MI Act 1906  As a matter of market practice, insurers have been prepared to write policies on a "Policy Proof of Interest" or "PPI" basis and not require the assured to prove an insurable interest. These are technically void and unenforceable under English law.

In cricketing parlance, the word "chinaman" is used to describe the stock delivery of a left-arm "unorthodox" spin bowler (though some reserve it for the googly delivery. The name has its origins in a Test match played between the West Indies and England at Old Trafford, Manchester, in the year 1933. Elliss "Puss" Achong, a player of Chinese origin, was a left-arm orthodox spinner, playing for the West Indies at the time. According to folklore, Achong is said to have had Walter Robins stumped off a surprise delivery that spun into the right-hander from outside the off stump. As he walked back to the pavilion, Robins said to the umpire, "fancy being done by a bloody Chinaman!, leading to the popularity of the term in England, and subsequently, in the rest of the world.

I have passion for Marine and Cricket and see one in another….

With regards – S. Sampathkumar