Some time back, we looked at the fielding positions in a cricket field - a strategic outline of where a fielding team’s captain would place his men to put the pressure on the two batsmen on the field and restrict the rate of scoring in the match.
Now let us look at that part of the game where the actual action takes place - between the batsman and the bowler. For a batsman it is not just about hitting any ball that he faces. In order to be a specialist batsman, one should be able to judge the pace at which the ball is being delivered, its movement once it pitches and the right stroke to hit it.
For a bowler, his credibility lies in giving the ball the right pace and swinging or spinning it in order to make it difficult for the batsman to judge its movement. Let us take a look at two most common bowling types.
FAST BOWLING
As the name suggests, fast bowlers are known for the speed of the delivery of their ball which may range anywhere between 130 to 150 km/hr. If you have watched a cricket match you would have noticed fast bowlers like Dale Steyn, counting and measuring their steps on the field before the delivery. This is in preparation for the crucial part of a fast bowler’s bowling stint, the run-up, when the bowler runs a required distance to gather enough speed that will in turn enable him to release the ball at a high speed at the batsman.
Over time as fast bowlers begin to gain experience and age, they try to produce varieties in their bowling while trying to reduce their speed. One of the variations includes swinging the ball and such bowlers are called swing bowlers.
Swing bowling A ball when delivered by a fast bowler can also be made to swing in the air. This particular technique is something that most fast bowlers strive to achieve. A ball can swing either toward a batsman - i.e., inswing or away from a batsman i.e., outswing.
How to swing a ball? You would have noticed that fast bowlers frequently rub one side of the ball against their pants. This is done to keep that part of the ball shiny while the other part of the ball is let to wear out and remain rough during regular play. So, when the bowler bowls the ball with two different textures, the ball will tend to move toward the rougher side causing a swing in its motion.
Inswing An inswing delivery is one where the ball pitches on the off side of a right-handed batsman and moves towards his leg side.
Outswing An outswing delivery is one where a ball pitches on the off side of a right-handed batsman and moves outwards towards the slips.
Reverse Swing While inswing and outswing are usually possible with a new ball, a reverse swing is typically possible when the ball gets old. As the name suggests, in reverse swing a ball will behave in exactly the ‘opposite’ or ‘reverse’ manner because of wear due to continuous play. That is, an outswinger will behave as an inswinger and vice versa. In reverse swing, the ball swings at the later stages of the delivery proving it difficult for the batsman to judge where it is going.
SPIN BOWLING
Spin bowling is a type of bowling where the bowler concentrates on spinning the ball instead of delivering it at a fast pace. Spin bowlers do not have great speeds - usually less than 100 km/hr. Spinners usually use their wrists or fingers to spin the ball in a particular way.
Off spin An off spin is produced when the ball moves from the off side to the leg side of a right-handed batsman when pitched. This delivery is also called an off break and is bowled by a right-handed spinner. An off spinner uses only his fingers to spin the ball, and more the rotations on the ball before it is released the more the ball will turn after it pitches.
Leg spin A leg spin is produced when a ball moves from the leg side to the off side of a right-handed batsman when pitched. This delivery is called a leg break and is bowled by right-handed spinner. A leg spinner uses his wrist to spin the ball in this case.
Doosra A doosra is a special delivery that was popularised by Pakistan bowler Saqlain Mushtaq. It is similar to an off spin delivery. However, in a doosra the ball delivered will act more like a leg break instead of the conventional off-break. That is, instead of turning from the off side to the leg side the ball will turn the opposite way (leg side to off side) thereby confusing the batsman.
Googly Often called the ‘wrong ‘un’, a googly is something like a doosra that is delivered by a leg spinner. That is, instead of swinging from the leg side to the off side in a typical leg break, the ball will spin from the off side to the leg side.
