22 TYPES OF BOWLING IN CRICKET WITH VIDEO:SIMPLE EXPLANATION

As you all know there are several types of bowling in cricket and it is very difficult for a common man to understand all the types of bowling quickly. So through this article, I will clearly explain to you all the types of bowling in cricket and will help you to clearly understand and distinguish between each type of bowling.

If you are an aspiring cricketer then it is very substantial for you to know all the types of bowling in cricket because if you are or if you become a captain you need to understand what each bowler in your team can do by analyzing his bowling style and if you are a bowler you need to understand all the types of bowling and want to select the bowling style which is suitable for you.

TYPES OF BOWLING IN CRICKET

Basically, there are two types of bowling in cricket they are spin bowling and fast or pace bowling. Fast bowling means the ball is bowled above 110kmph. A Spin ball is a ball bowled below 100kmph and the ball usually turns to left or right after pitching. But there are numerous variations (types) of bowling under both spin bowling and pace bowling. First, we are going to discuss about the types of fast bowling in cricket.

TYPES OF FAST BOWLING IN CRICKET

Basically, fast bowlers are four types fast pace fast-medium,medium-fast and medium pace. Generally, The bowlers who bowl above 142kmph are called fast pacers, and bowlers who bowl above 130 but not above 141 are called medium pacers, and the bowlers bowling between120 and129 kmph are called medium-fast bowlers. But based on the movement the ball produces while bowling, bowling can be classified into the following types :

A)SWING BOWLING

Swing bowling is a bowling technique in which the bowler tries to deceive the batsman by making the ball move in the air either after releasing the ball or after the ball has pitched. Swing bowling is considered one of the nicest in the types of fast bowling, especially in test cricket.

The swing is either produced by adjusting the angle of delivery while using a new ball or by making use of the air turbulence by keeping one side of the ball shiny by continuously polishing it by applying saliva or sweat while using an old ball. Based on the movement of the ball, swing bowling can be classified into three types.

TYPES OF SWING BOWLING IN CRICKET

a) Inswinger: When the ball is bowled over the wicket and pitch outside the off-stump and travels into the batsman after releasing it or pitching on the ground then it is called an inswinger. 

For the ball to swing- in, either the ball needs to be angled in( if the ball is new) or the rough side should be facing the batsman while bowling, if it is an old ball with one well-maintained side.

Source:newindianexpress.com

b) Outswinger: When the ball is bowled into the direction of stumps or pitches in the line of the stump and travels away from the stump or batsman after the ball is released or after the ball is pitched then it is an outswinger.

For the ball to swing away from the batsmen either the ball needs to be angled out (seam of the ball should be slightly tilted to the right side of the bowler)if the ball is new or the shiny side should be facing the batsman if it is an old ball with one side well maintained.

C) Reverse swing: when the ball becomes very old (when bowled 40-50 overs) and one side is well maintained the ball will move towards the side of shine it means that if you grip the ball or angel in the ball for an inswinger then it will swing out and become an outswinger and an outswinger bowled will swing into the batsman.

B)CUTTERS

A cutter is a fast bowl that is rotating (spinning). A ball bowled is said to be a cutter when the fast bowler slightly spin the ball while releasing it and the ball rotates around the axis. The minor spin on the ball is enough to confuse the batsman and make him play the wrong shot. Depending on the side to which the ball turns there are two types of bowling a cutter.

a) Leg cutter: A ball bowled is said to be a leg cutter when after the ball pitches it turn and bounce to the left. It means that if the ball pitches on the line of the leg stump it will turn and bounce to the line of off stump.

b) Off cutter: A ball bowled is said to be an off-cutter when after the ball pitches it turns and bounces to the right. It means that if the ball pitches on the line of the off-stump it will turn and bounce to the line of the leg or middle stump.

C)BOUNCER

When a ball is pitched in the first half of a pitch(short-pitched) it will bounce sharply to the chest or head level of the batsman such balls are called bouncers. Bouncers are very difficult to play for an average batsman but batsmen with great reflexes and power can easily turn bouncers into sixes. 

Bouncers are the major weapon of Australian bowlers like Mitchell Johnson, Mitchell starc, Hazelwood, Brett lee, etc., and Mitchell Johnson of is one of the best bowlers who can ball bouncer effectively. A bouncer is considered the most dangerous legal delivery from all the types of bowling in cricket.

D)SLOW BALL

It is a technique used by a bowler to deceive batsmen by bowling a slow delivery after bowling 2-3 continuous fast pace balls. When a slow ball is bowled after fastballs the batsmen will either play early which leads to the batsman missing the ball and hitting the stumps or he will hit it high which can lead to catching.

In limited-overs cricket slow ball is not only used to take wickets but also to slow down the scoring rate because it is not very easy to hit a slow ball to the boundary because batsmen need to hit with too much power for the ball to reach the boundary.

E)YORKER

TYPES OF BOWLING IN CRICKET-YORKER

A ball that pitches near or exactly at the batsman's feet is called a yorker. It means that if the batsman is having a normal stance then the ball that pitches near or exactly at the line of popping crease is called a yorker.

 A yorker is considered as the most difficult delivery to bowl and bat. Jasprit Bumrah of India is the best yorker bowler of modern-day cricket and Lasith Malinga of Sri Lanka is the best yorker bowler in cricket history.

F)BEAMER

A Beamer is a full toss ball that passes above the waist height of a batsman. Sometimes such a ball can come towards the head of a batsman when a bowler losses his control over the ball due to sweaty or wet hands. A beamer is an illegal delivery and is bowled most of the time un-intentionally when the bowler loses control over the ball while trying to bowl a yorker or full toss. A beamer bowled can result in a free hit and penalty runs in limited-overs cricket and In test cricket, only penalty runs are awarded for bowling a Beamer.

G)KNUCKLE-BALL

A knuckleball is a slow ball bowled by a bowler to deceive the batsmen to play a delivery too early so that he either misses the ball and it hit the wicket or he may hit the ball high in the air and may lead to a catch.

The difference between a slow ball and a knuckleball is that while bowling knuckleball the bowler grips the ball with the knuckles of the index and middle finger instead of using the whole index and middle finger. One of the important features of the knuckleball is that when bowled it looks like a normal delivery and can easily deceive the batsman

H)FULL TOSS

Any ball bowled which reaches the batsman without pitching is called a full toss. Full toss is very rare in cricket and it mostly occurs when bowlers make mistakes while trying to bowl a yorker.

TYPES OF SPIN BOWLING IN CRICKET

There are mainly two types of spin bowling in cricket they are leg-spin and off-spin bowling and there are 6 types of bowling styles under each type.

LEG SPIN BOWLING:

A delivery is called a leg spin when the ball pitches on the leg side of a right-handed batsman and turns and bounces towards the middle stump or off stump.

Shane Warne and Anil Kumble are considered as the greatest bowlers in the history of cricket and both of them are leg spinners. The greatest spinner of present-day cricket Ravichandran Ashwin is also a leg spinner.

TYPES OF LEG-SPIN BOWLING

a) Leg break: The basic delivery(it means that the ball pitches in the leg side of a right-handed batsman and turn and bounces towards the off stump) in leg spin is known as a leg break. A leg break can be bowled over the wicket or around the wicket. A leg break is a very difficult delivery for a batsman to play because the ball is moving away from him and it is very difficult to judge how much it will turn.

b) Googly: A googly is also known as wrong'un and a ball bowled is said to be a googly when a leg spinner bowls a ball in the style(action) of a leg-spin but it turns into the stumps or batsman(right-handed) instead of moving away from the batsman. It means that the ball turns like an off-spin even when it is bowled with the action of a leg-spin.

c) Top spinner: It is a delivery in which the bowler imparts a topspin on the ball with his fingers or wrist. It can be bowled by both finger spinners and wrist spinners

A topspin delivery is bowled like a normal leg-spin(inaction) but doesn't move away or towards the batsman. It will travel in the same line and go straight on towards the batsman.

d) Flipper: a flipper ball is similar to a top spinner but it doesn't bounce like a topspin. A batsman may feel that it is short of length bowl but it doesn't bounce up to that height and instead of bouncing, it skids and hits the stump or pads.

e) Ficker ball: A the name suggests the ball is flicked by placing it between the thumb and a bent middle finger.

f)Slider: It looks similar to a basic leg-spin delivery until it pitches and after pitching it shows a different variation of spin.

OFF SPIN BOWLING :

A delivery is called an off-spin when the ball pitches on the offside of a right-handed batsman and turns and bounces into the stumps or batsman. An off-spin delivery is generally a finger spin.

Sir. Muttiah Muralidaran is the greatest off-spinner in the history of cricket and he is the person who has taken the most wickets in both ODI and Test cricket.

TYPES OF OFF-SPIN BOWLING

a) Off break: The basic delivery in off-spin is called as an off-break. You can use the same definition of off-spin bowling to define off-break bowling. The name off-break means that when the ball pitches it pitch on the offside and then it break away from the offside.

b) Doosra: A delivery is called a doosra when an off-spin bowler pitches a ball on the offside and instead of moving into the stump it moves away from the stump. It means that the ball pitched on the offside turns like a leg-spin 

C) Top spinner: It is the same as a topspin delivery in leg-spin. While bowling topspin the bowler imparts a topspin on the ball with his fingers or wrist. 

An off-spin bowl is said to be a topspin when the ball pitches on the offside and neither turn into the stump nor turns away from the stump instead it travels on the same line and goes straight on towards the batsman.

D) Carrom ball: In a carrom ball, a ball is flicked by placing it between the thumb and a bent middle finger for giving it a spin. Varun Chakravarthy and Ravichandran Aswin are the best carrom bowlers in the present day.

E) Arm ball: It is one of the important variations of off-spin bowling. The specialty of this bowling is that the ball doesn't spin and it moves like a delivery bowled by a medium pacer. The ball usually travels in the same line after it pitches but if it is bowled with the seam upright then it can produce some swing and easily deceive the batsman.

F) Teesra: For bowling teesra, the ball is held in a normal grip of an off-spinner but when the ball is released the bowler moves his wrist and turns the ball, and does not turn the ball with fingers.

ADDITIONAL VIDEOS

IF YOU WISH TO SEE A VIDEO ON EACH STYLE OF BOWLING CHECK THIS YOUTUBE CHANNEL SIKANA ENGLISH

MOST COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS

1) How many types of bowling are there in cricket?

Ans: There are various types of bowling in cricket and it is not always possible to number it because each bowler tries to do something new in each ball but there are around 21-23 types of bowling in cricket that are most commonly bowled.

2)How many types of spin bowling are there in cricket?

Ans: There are around 12 types of spin bowling in cricket.

3) Which type of bowling is the best spin or fast bowling?

Ans: Both types of bowling have their own place in cricket and it is difficult to say which is best. But based on the country where cricket is played we can say that a particular type of bowling is best for playing in that country. Spin bowling is best if you are playing within the Indian subcontinent but fast bowling is the best choice if you are playing in none Asia countries.

4) What is the different types of bowling based on the speed of the ball?

Ans: Fast bowling - above 142kmph

Fast-medium bowling- between 130-141kmph

Medium fast bowling - 120-129 kmph

Medium pace bowling- 100-119 kph

5) who is the fastest bowler in the history of cricket?

Ans: Shoaib Akthar is the fastest bowler in the world, with an average bowling speed of 158.06 Kmph.

6)who all are the Legends of fast bowling in cricket?

Ans: Shoiab Akhtar, Malcolm Marshal, Brett Lee, and Mitchel Johnson are considered the best fast bowlers in the history of cricket.

7)why is chucking illegal in cricket?

Ans:Chucking is illegal because it provides a bowler an unfair advantage. If a bowler is chucking he can produce some additional speed which was otherwise not possible through normal delivery.

8)What is the 15-degree rule of bowling in cricket?

Ans: During bowling, a bowler should not bend his arm more than 15 degrees. If a bowler bends his arm above 15 degrees then it is an illegal bowling action and he will not be allowed to play until he proves that he had made changes to his bowling, style. If a bowler can prove that his arm is bend from birth then he is allowed to bowl in that particular angle and not beyond that.

CONCLUSION.

You might not be able to remember all the types of bowling in cricket for a long time even if you have read about all the types of bowling from this article. The key to remember all the types of bowling is that you need to try it in practice or you need to try to distinguish between each type of bowling while you see it while watching or playing cricket.