Bowling is an art in cricket and, much like in baseball, the result of the team very much depends on the individual duels between bowler and batter.
Although bowlers can take wickets with just one particular type of delivery, the varying conditions of the pitches around the world mean that to achieve sustained success, bowlers need to have different variations in their locker, not least to keep batters, particularly the good ones, on their toes.
Starting off with the most popular type and that is fast bowling, with the likes of James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Brett Lee, Glenn McGrath and Courtney Walsh all falling into this category.
It is not always just a case of delivering the ball as fast as possible from one end to the other, there are little subtleties that separate the good bowlers from the great.
Fast Bowling Variations
Bouncer
This a short-pitched delivery that bounces once and will rise up around the region of the batter’s ribcage and above. As well as an intimidatory form of bowling designed to push the batter back in his crease to be susceptible to later fuller deliveries, as well as simply scare the batter, it is also an attempt to lure the opponent into a mistimed pull shot to get caught out.
Outswinger
England’s James Anderson is a true swing bowler and can manipulate the ball to swing both ways. The outswinger is a delivery that moves away from the batter in the air and often finds the edge of the bat, leading to a catch in the slips or to the wicketkeeper.
Inswinger
Once again, Anderson is brilliant at producing the inswinger. Unlike the outswinger that moves away from the batter, the inswinger is angled into the batter and is one which tends to draw LBW decisions.
Reverse Swing
This is, essentially, where the bowler sets up to bowl what looks like an outswinger to the batter but manages to get reverse swing that will see the ball go in the opposite direction. Reverse swing is normally seen when a ball gets old, usually from 40-overs plus.
Leg and Off Cutter
The cutter is a spinning delivery bowled at pace. An off-cutter is where the ball breaks from off-stump towards leg-stump, while the leg-cutter cuts away from leg-stump towards off-stump.
Yorker
This is where the ball is pitched right up at the batsman’s feet and, usually, at the stumps. In recent years, the yorker outside the off-stump has become popular in limited-overs cricket to try and stop the flow of runs.
Slower Ball
This is exactly what it says on the tin. The bowler will take the pace off the ball to try and deceive the batsman. There are different ways the slower ball can be achieved, such as the ‘knuckleball’, ‘cross-seam’ and the one which comes out of the back of the hand.
Moving on to slow bowling now and there are several variations for this method, with the late Shane Warne one of the greatest leg-spinners in the game and his name will forever be etched in history, particularly having bowled what has been dubbed as the “ball of the century” with his very first delivery in Test cricket.
Slow Bowling Variations
Leg Break and Off Break
A leg break is where the bowler’s wrist is rotated to the left and the ball is flicked by the ring finger, giving the ball an anti-clockwise spin.
As for the off break, the ball is placed in the palm of the hand with the seam running across under all the fingers. When the ball is being released, the fingers roll down the right side of the ball to spin it clockwise.
Googly
The googly is a delivery that can often bamboozle a batter and is difficult to pick. The delivery looks like a normal leg-spinner but actually turns towards the batsmen, like an off-break, rather than away from the bat.
Doosra
Another ball in the locker for an off-spinner is the doosra. This type of delivery spins in the opposite direction to an off break and aims to confuse the batter into playing the wrong shot.
Top spinner
This delivery is where the bowler puts top spin on the ball by twisting it with his or her fingers prior to releasing the ball. The ball will skid on quicker when hitting the surface.
Carrom Ball
Indian Ravichandran Ashwin is a brilliant exponent when it comes to the Carrom Ball, which is a delivery that is squeezed out of the front of the hand and can tend to die on the pitch, something that baffles batters.
Slider
A slider is bowled in a similar manner to a leg break, but instead of imparting sidespin, the bowler allows his fingers to roll down the back of the ball, providing a mixture of sidespin and backspin.