What is seam bowling?





A cricket ball has a raised seam around the middle. Seam bowling is when you try and make the ball land on the seam so that it bounces unexpectedly, causing the batsman to miss or edge the ball.

Seam bowlers tend to bowl quickly and are often big, tall, gangly stick men.

If you're ludicrously out of proportion, why not renounce basketball and take up seam bowling instead. Women will love you. Chicks dig line and length automatons.




What is swing bowling?


Swing bowlers attempt to make the ball swerve through the air, describing an arc rather than a straight line. The aim is to make the batsman miss or edge the ball.

The ball swings better when the weather's humid or it's cloudy.


What is reverse swing?





To be honest, reverse swing is just swing in many respects. The ball curves through the air. It might curve to the left. It might curve to the right.

Cricketers always shine one side of a ball and let the other scuff up. If the ball is bowled with one of these sides on the left and the other on the right and the ball retains this position through the air, then the ball can swing.

With normal swing, which happens when the ball is newer, the ball will swerve towards the rough side. With reverse swing, which happens when the ball is older, the ball will swerve towards the shiny side. You don't want to know why.

What is spin bowling?


If you spin a ball when bowling, it grips the pitch on landing and rather than continuing in a straight line, it bounces slightly to the left or right, depending on which way you've spun it. The aim is to make the batsman miss or edge the ball.

Spin bowlers tend to bowl slowly as the ball will tend to move with the spin more when it lands.

The role of the spin bowler in English cricket is to take two wickets in an over and then get taken off because they also bowled a wide. English people don't get spin. It frightens them.




What is leg spin?


A leg spin bowler's typical delivery veers to the left after bouncing - from the bowler's (and most cameras') point of view.

Leg spin bowling is also known as 'wrist spin' because it's the movement of the wrist which spins the ball.

Leg spin is widely regarded as the most difficult form of bowling, due to its complex technique. A good leg spinner will be lauded by cricket fans the world over, if he can prove his worth. He may also receive other benefits, such as text messages from English nurses, diuretics off family members and even hair growth endorsement opportunities.

Leg spinners often bowl a variety of different deliveries as well, in addition to their standard delivery, the leg break.


What is off-spin?


An off-spun delivery, bowled by a right-hand bowler will veer towards the right after bouncing - from the bowler's (and most TV cameras') point of view.

Off-spin is often referred to as 'finger spin' as this is how the ball is spun. Off-spinners are usually the workmanlike poor relations of the leg spinner. Their job always seems to be to 'keep things tight' and 'not give away easy runs'.

However, in recent years, the off-spinner has been getting more glamorous. Exponents such as Muttiah Muralitharan and Harbhajan Singh have upgraded off spin bowling from a trade to an art by taking wickets and introducing a greater range of deliveries such as 'the doosra'.

However, there are still many off-spin bowlers for whom 'the one that goes straight on' is their most devastating delivery



The Off Cutter: A well bowled off cutter is the equivalent of facing a fast off spinner.

This delivery moves the ball off the pitch from the off side of a batter towards the leg side.
The hard work's done in the fingers because they cause the ball to rotate on release.
This also means the ball is released at a reduced pace so this is an excellent way of bowling a slower ball.
The ideal spot to land an off cutter would be on or outside a right-handed batsman's off stump. Again, the amount of movement off the pitch is determined by how straight the seam us, the pitch, the condition of the ball and of course, the bowler.

The Leg Cutter: Imagine facing a leg break. Now imagine the ball hurtling down at you at 80mph.

As you've probably guessed, bowled correctly, a leg cutter is a very difficult ball for a batsman to contend with.
The ball moves off the pitch from the batsman's leg side towards the off side.
The amount of movement will depend on the bowler, state of the pitch and the condition of the ball.
Bowled on or around the batsman's off stump, the leg cutter will give a bowler a greater chance of getting an edge to the wicketkeeper or slips.
Australia's Glenn McGrath and South Africa's Shaun Pollock have picked up plenty of Test wickets with this particular delivery. Often, you'll find the faintest of movement off the pitch will get the wickets.


The inswinger moves in the air from the off side of a right handed batsman to the leg side.

The later the bowl swings into the batsman, the more effective it will be.
The amount of inswing a bowler can generate depends on plenty of different factors like the weather, the bowler's action and the condition of the ball.
But the most important factor to consider is the grip on the seam of the ball and its direction.
Another point to remember is to work on shining the ball on one side during and before each delivery. This will help the ball to swing more in the air.

The inswinger:

Ask any batsman what delivery they hate facing and 99% of the time they'll reply the outswinger.
Bowled at its best, the outswinger is one of cricket's finest sights.
The ball swings from the off stump of a right handed batsman towards the slip fielders.
Top bowlers like Brett Lee and Matthew Hoggard have the ability to make batsmen "fish" outside off stump, especially when the ball swings late. This gives them a greater chance of getting the batsman out caught behind the wicket forcing a false stroke.