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The life of the impoverished writer has an occasional upside, and one of those came along a couple of weeks ago at the Guildford Book Festival, where I did an event with Tom Collomosse, cricket correspondent for the Evening Standard and Mark Nicholas, the former Hampshire captain turned commentator. Nicholas told a story about facing Derek Underwood on an uncovered pitch. It was early in his career, which began at Hampshire in 1978. They were playing Kent in a three-day game and when the rain came down, the captains got together and negotiated a deal: Hampshire would chase 160 on the last afternoon to win.Paul Terry and Gordon Greenidge went in. Greenidge took six from the first over. Underwood opened at the other end and Terry got through it by playing from as deep in his crease as he could get. Greenidge took another six runs from the next at his end. Underwood came in again, having had six deliveries to work out the pitch. By the time Nicholas had been in and out shortly afterwards, Hampshire were 12 for 4.Derek didnt really bowl spin on wet pitches, he explained. What he did was hold it down the seam and cut the ball. When you were at the non-strikers end, you could hear it - he made a whirring sound - it was an amazing thing.Nicholas described the nearly impossible task of trying to bat against a ball that reared up from almost medium pace with fielders surrounding you and the immaculate Alan Knott breathing down your neck from behind the stumps. Hampshire lost, of course.Deadly Derek and uncovered pitches are a part of history now, but those who can recall his flat-footed, curving run and liquid movement through the crease saw a bowler who was much more than just a specialist on drying wickets. Whatever the weather, whatever the day, he had the ball for it: 2465 first-class wickets at 20.28 tell his story.Underwood had a thousand of those wickets by the age of 25 and retired in 1987 at 42. The game, and spin bowling, have changed irrevocably since, yet the spooky art is still shining, and perhaps about to enter a new golden age.R Ashwin stands at the top of the Test bowling rankings, New Zealand the latest to fall to his strange magic. His buddy Ravindra Jadeja knocks them down at the other end. Bangladesh unleashed the 18-year-old Mehedi Hasan on England, and he had a five-bag on day one. Even England - brace yourselves for this - played three spinners in that game, and may well do so throughout the first part of the winter. Far from killing spin bowling, as it was supposed to do, the new way of batting has encouraged a new style of response. To chart an evolution is fascinating. It is not so long since Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan and Anil Kumble slipped from the game, Warne having reasserted legspin, Murali reinventing offspin. The future looked as though it may be big; huge freaky turn of the kind that pair specialised in. Instead, it has become something more subtle: the notion of beating the bat narrowly on both edges.These are broad brush strokes of course, and evolution doesnt come in a straight line. Its deeply intriguing though that T20 cricket has played such a role. Through Ashwin, who emerged there, and Jadeja and Sunil Narine and others, it raised the value of cleverness, of invention. Big bats were sometimes defeated by small or no turn. The slow ball was harder to hit. As the techniques bled into Test cricket, where wickets deteriorate and change and the psychology of batting switches, they have grown in value.Were undoubtedly living through an era in which batting has been revolutionised, undergoing its greatest change in a century. Its the nature of the game that bowling should come up with an answer, and maybe were starting to see its first iterations. As Jarrod Kimber pointed out in his piece about the inquest into the death of Phillip Hughes, there are more very fast bowlers around now than for generations. Spin bowling is making its move too. And just as the small increments in speed increase in value the higher they go - ask any batsman about the difference between 87mph and 90mph, and then 90mph and 93 or 94mph - the small changes that, for example, Ashwin is producing have their dividend too.Underwood once described bowling, tongue no doubt in cheek, as, a low-mentality occupation. His variation was as simple as an arm ball, and yet in the pre-DRS age, it brought him many lbw decisions. Now the subtle changes in the spooky art are wrecking a new and welcome kind of havoc of which Deadly will surely approve. Should we call it the era of small spin? Swell Wood Bottle Canada . "I wrote 36 on my sheet at the beginning of the game," the Cincinnati coach said, referring the yard line the ball would need to be snapped from. Swell Water Bottle Canada . PETERSBURG, Fla. http://www.swellbottlesaleclearance.com/swell-water-bottle-wood-wholesale.html . PETERSBURG, Fla. Swell Bottle Ombre Canada .com) - Manchester City midfielder David Silva is expected to miss the next four weeks because of a calf problem. sWell Marble Water Bottle Canada . Bryant, who signed a five-year, $34 million contract as a free agent with Cleveland in March, reported symptoms on Monday morning, a team spokesman said. Our experts weigh in on four of the biggest questions in NASCAR:Turn 1: Who is the best active restrictor-plate driver?Ricky Craven, ESPN NASCAR analyst: Dale Earnhardt Jr. is the greatest restrictor-plate driver of his generation, but Brad Keselowski is certainly making his mark and, along with Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth, the three of them are close behind. Restrictor-plate racing is the most unique form of NASCAR competition. Driving a Sprint Cup car by yourself at Daytona and Talladega is among the easiest things youll ever do. Driving that same car at Daytona or Talladega on race day is among the most difficult. It requires many things, but most of it is confined to decision-making vs. car control. Some get better with time, acquire the skills (Kenseth) and some are born with the skills and the sense required at these tracks (Earnhardt).Ryan McGee, ESPN.com: Dale Earnhardt Jr., but I think Brad Keselowski is closing in fast. Over the past five seasons Keselowski trails Earnhardt in average finish and top-5 finishes, but barely. Over that same span he has four wins to Earnhardts three. Immediately following the Daytona race I tweeted that Brad was really good at plate racing and was immediately pounced on by Junior Nation. Hey folks, Im not making it up. The numbers are what they are.John Oreovicz, ESPN.com: For many years, the easy answer was Dale Earnhardt Jr. But after a nice little run in 2014 and 15, DEJ hasnt looked like himself at the plate races this year. Brad Keselowski seems to have taken over as the driver to beat over the past few years and now that he has a Daytona win under his belt it will be interesting to see how long it takes him to reach Victory Lane in the big race in February.Bob Pockrass, ESPN.com: When looking at wins, it would be Brad Keselowski, with five since 2009. But in 67 career restrictor-plate starts, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has 25 top-5s (37 percent) and has led 1,553 laps (average of 23 a race). In 30 starts, Keselowski has nine top-5s (30 percent) and has led just 244 laps (average eight laps a race). And then theres the matter of Earnhardts two Daytona 500 victories, which came 10 years apart. They both have been at their best when theyve had great cars, but even if the brain says Keselowski at the moment, the gut says Earnhardt.Marty Smith, ESPN.com: Somewhat like asking whos the best sports bettor. There are many very good ones, but every last one of them is subjected to the unforeseen -- and thus, the upset. Denny Hamlin is excellent. Matt Kenseth. Brad Keselowski. The Busch boys. Jamie McMurray. Tony Stewart and Jimmie Johnson. All big horses. But its Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hes the best of all time on plate tracks. Yes, I said it.Turn 2: NASCAR issued only fines to the drivers for the truck series fight at Gateway, John Wes Townley and Spencer Gallagher. Was that the correct decision?Craven: The decision made was probably the correct one. I really cant imagine anyone being frightened or concerned for the health of either driver, as it looked like less of a fight and more along the lines of a wrestling match from 1976.McGee: Yes. Anything more would have been overkill and would have drawn more attention to something that deserves to forgotten as soon as possible. I am still waiting on fines from the WBC, UFC and WWE for crimes against fighting.Oreovicz: In the Cup Series, I think at least one of them would have been fined, but in the Truck series, this fight almost provided comic relief. A Friday Night Fight undercard battle, if you will. They probably ought to at least put Townley on double-secret probation, given the number of skirmishes he seems to get into.Pockrass: No. Anyone who gets in multiple punches with a closed fist -- such as John Wes Townley did -- deserves a suspension. Unfortunately, we havent seen a good replay of the accident and the extent of the on-track retaliation. The whole thing, while somewhat entertaining and amusing, stunk -- a great race in the waning laps with a silly sideshow of drivers not in contention wrecking and fighting. Townley has been involved in too many wrecks and likely has had too many people want to deck him to be out there trying to enforce driver code.Smith: I guess. They engaged while on the racing surface, so theyre subjecting themselves to danger. That was the only danger to which they subjected themselves. That grappling match looked like a couple drunks at a music festival fightinng over a girl.dddddddddddd.Turn 3: Everyone always seems to be in such a rush to discount any Brad Keselowski success. Why is one driver the target of so much animosity?Craven: Because he speaks his opinion -- he often says exactly what he believes -- and most people on the planet arent equipped with the ability to objectively listen to what he says and appreciate the honesty, even though when they might have a totally different view. It doesnt qualify a person as being wrong, you simply disagree. Many dont like him, or are not a fan of his, and that overrides the fact he is one of the few drivers still willing to give us an unfiltered version of his views and perspective. Im good with Brad, I appreciate how hard he worked to get where he is, and I hope he doesnt change. More importantly, I hope he continues driving as though he is seeking his first win. There is no substitute for hunger.McGee: I wrote a column about this at the height of him being ganged up on back in November 2014, and I dont think its really changed since then. I think people -- rivals and fans -- target him because they dont understand him. And then when they target him and it doesnt seem to bother him very much I think that drives them all even crazier. He subscribes to the Bob Sugar philosophy of this aint show friends, its show business and he firmly believes that its his business to do whatever it takes to get to the front. Weve applauded other racers for living that way, but it usually took a while for people to come around. I really hope that one day they come around on Brad. Love him or hate him, what he has accomplished is pretty remarkable ... and hes only 32.Oreovicz: He doesnt fit the mold of either the established driver stereotypes -- southern redneck or polished West Coaster. And hes not afraid to flaunt his different-ness, mainly by speaking his mind on just about any topic. On the track, his style is a lot like the late Dale Earnhardt, which is why it surprises me that more people dont back Keselowski.Pockrass: Because he has 20 wins and hes only 32 years old. He doesnt back down to other drivers. He doesnt think like other drivers. And he says what he thinks. So many disagree with that and view it in some ways as a lack of respect. But why is being the target of animosity a bad thing? You want friends mixed with sports? Go to your local softball league.Smith: Because he talks and he doesnt back off it. Its that simple. Brads very intelligent, very cerebral. Hes a thinker whos completely unafraid to verbalize his thoughts, opinions, concerns and potential innovations. Hes not rash. Hes not boastful. Hes calculated. And hes never afraid to say his peace. That pisses off a lot of people. It annoys his competitors to no end. Know what? He doesnt care. Heres the thing: If youre going to be outspoken, you have to be successful for the words to have any credibility. Brad can wheel, too. With the best of them.Turn 4: Would any driver other than Joey Logano catch as much heat for what happened between he and Kurt Busch on the last lap at Daytona?Craven: Yes, a guy named Kurt Busch, or perhaps his brother Kyle Busch just a few years ago. This thing ebbs and flows throughout your career. Joey Logano is in the early innings of a championship career, climbing the ladder always comes with challenges and what hes experiencing right now is very similar to what some of the greats experienced at some point in their careers.McGee: See the guy featured in the previous question ... and see the other guy included in this question.Oreovicz: Keselowski, because hes likely to care what his competition thinks after he wrecks them even less than Logano does. Given his position in grandpas team, Austin Dillon might take some heat, too, especially if he wrecked a VWA (Veteran With Attitude) like Kevin Harvick.Pockrass: Yes. Well, the one driver would be a she. If Danica Patrick accidentally wrecked Kurt Busch, she would get 10 times the heat of Logano. Maybe not from Busch, because theyre teammates, but it certainly would break the internet.Smith: No. Joeys aggression has frustrated competitors for a couple of years now. But so what? You get what you give in this life. Matt Kenseth had enough of it and planted him in the fence, costing Joey an opportunity to run for a championship. ' ' '