Types of Deliveries in Cricket: Bowling is a complicated but highly rewarding art in the game of cricket. Understanding the many kinds of deliveries that they can bowl is the first step that many cricket players take toward becoming bowlers. The split-finger delivery of Glenn McGrath, the reverse swinging balls of Flintoff, and the slider of Shane Warne all captivated us right away.
Around that time, I started my quest to learn about the various delivery styles and the rationale behind bowlers’ decisions to employ them. I’m confident that my blog post will be a big help to you if you find yourself in a similar situation to mine at the moment! You’ll discover how many distinct kinds of cricket deliveries there are, their names, and the kinds of bowlers who are responsible for delivering them if you keep reading.
So, how many types of deliveries are there in cricket?
The primary deliveries in a cricket match are twenty-five. Fast bowlers, who seek to beat hitters with their pace and mobility in the air or off the pitch, bowl 14 of these. The remaining 11 are delivered by spin bowlers, whose goal is to outsmart hitters by changing their pace, spin, and flight, among other attributes.
You’re probably wondering what each form of delivery is named now that you know how many there are! Check out the lists below to learn more if you want to.
Types Of Deliveries In Cricket
The following deliveries are bowled by fast bowlers:
- Outswinger
- Inswinger
- Reverse swinging delivery
- The Bouncer
- The Yorker
- Cross Seam Delivery
- The Wobble ball
- Slower balls
- The Off Cutter
- The Leg Cutter
- Split Finger Delivery
- Back-of-the-Hand Delivery
- The S.L.O.B (Slower Obsolete Ball)
- The Knuckleball
- The Palm Delivery
The following deliveries are bowled by spin bowlers:
- The Leg Break
- The Googly
- Top spinner (Leg Break Bowlers)
- The Slider
- The Flipper
- The Off Break
- Top spinner (Off Break Bowlers)
- The Arm Ball
- The Doosra
- The Carrom Ball
- Under Cutter
Additionally, there are the two deliveries listed below that don’t fall into either category, but I’ll still discuss them in this post:
- The Full Toss
- The Beamer
Types Of Deliveries In Cricket | Fast Bowling Deliveries
Outswinger
A delivery in which the ball “swings” through the air is known as an outswinger. This indicates that the ball does not move directly toward the batter at the other end of the pitch after the bowler releases it. Rather, the ball’s flight path has a small curvature. An outswinger for right-arm bowlers will swing away from a right-handed hitter, from right to left. An outswinger for left-arm bowlers will swing away from a left-handed batsman from left to right. If you want to know what I mean, take a look at the diagram below!
A bowler will attempt to land the ball on a decent or full length just outside the off stump when bowling the outswinger. The aim is to entice the batter to play an expansive drive when the ball is flying away from them in the air is the aim. The hitter has a good possibility of getting an outside edge on the ball and nicking it through to the keeper or the slip fielders if they slightly mistake their shot. In cricket, this is an extremely common way to get dismissed.
Inswinger
An inswinger is the reverse of an outswinger, as you may have already surmised! Accordingly, an inswinger for a right-arm bowler will swing from left to right, or in the direction of a right-handed batter’s torso. An inswinger will swing right to left or in towards a left-handed batter’s body and stump for fast bowlers with a left arm.
A fast bowler may decide to aim for the batter’s pads or the stumps when bowling an inswinger. This is especially effective when the inswinger is utilized as a surprise ball!
The batsman can easily miss the straight shot and be out of the game or leg before wicket since they have been accustomed to playing with the ball traveling away from them. It is also possible to bowl the inswinger on a line outside the off stump. To successfully defend or attack the ball, the hitter will then need to estimate the precise amount that the ball will swing. This may result in inner or outer edges.
Once more, how well a bowler bowls an inswinger depends a lot on the state of the ball, how they hold it, and how they release it from their hand. The instructions below provide a basic guide on how to accomplish this!
Verify that the ball is in the right shape for swing-bowling. The ball should ideally be brand new or have just had one side polished, allowing the other side to wear down and get scuffed.
Reverse Swinging Delivery
The idea of a reverse swing is one that many cricket players and fans find confusing. As previously explained, getting a cricket ball to reverse swing is far more difficult than getting it to bowl on an outswing or inswing.
What distinguishes the reverse swing from the traditional inswing or outswing, then? The primary distinction is that with reverse swing bowling, the ball will always swing toward its glossy side. The ball will swing towards the dull or worn side when bowled normally, either with an outswing or an inswing. The second distinction is that only an old ball that has been permitted to significantly deteriorate may be used to bowl a reverse swing. You cannot get a new ball to swing in the opposite direction!
The Bouncer
One of a fast bowler’s most lethal tools is the bouncer. In case you are unaware, it is essentially a delivery that the bowler attempts to land unfriendly, roughly halfway down the cricket pitch. By the time the cricket ball reaches the batter after landing in this location, it will have risen in the air. By the time the ball reaches them, it should be between shoulder and head height. When delivering a bouncer, the bowler’s line of attack should always be directed at the batter’s body. The batter can easily dodge the ball if it is bowled down the leg side or wide of the off stump.
The Yorker
I think my favorite fast bowling delivery is the Yorker! You’ve been missing out if you haven’t heard of it before!
A yorker is a very long delivery that is often placed near the batsman’s feet or the popping crease. If you’re having difficulties picturing this, my diagram below should help!
Because the yorker is the hardest delivery to score runs off and batsmen are more likely to be in attacking mode in T20 and 50-over cricket than in test cricket, you will surely see the yorker employed more frequently in those formats than in test cricket. If the bowler throws an accurate yorker, it will be nearly tough for a hitter to get underneath the ball and knock it for six. A hitter in a test match doesn’t have to score runs; they can only play defensively and block the ball. That does not negate the Yorker’s usefulness as a ball in long-form cricket, though! I promise—it functions in every format!
Cross-Seam Delivery
Surprisingly few fast bowlers are familiar with the cross-seam delivery, but it’s a ball that should be utilized more often!
When facing grounds that don’t naturally suit their style of bowling, fast bowlers will use variations like the cross seam delivery to try and get the ball to bounce oddly. A fast bowler will turn the ball in their hands such that the seam is running across the fingers rather than grasping it with the seam running parallel to the fingers as they would while delivering a regular delivery.
Wobble Ball
In the past 15 years, fast bowlers such as Stuart Broad, Jimmy Anderson, and Mohammad Asif have contributed to the wobble ball’s increasing importance in test cricket. In essence, a bowler will utilize this delivery when neither the ball nor the pitch is swinging very much. The batter and bowler are both in the dark about the ball’s exact behavior, but the wobble ball aids in the ball’s seaming around.
Off Cutter
One of the various slower balls that a fast bowler can produce is an off-cutter. Because they normally become accustomed to playing their shot quickly against a fast bowler’s quicker deliveries, slower balls frequently confound batters. Therefore, they frequently finish their shot too soon when they get a slower one. This may cause them to hit the ball straight up into the air or softly toward a fielder, or it may cause them to miss the ball completely!
What distinguishes the off-cutter from other slower ball bowling techniques? The fast bowler needs to utilize a slightly different grip and roll their fingertips along one side of the ball as it leaves their hand to bowl the off-cutter. The delivery is much slower since the fingers are spinning the ball as it exits the hand rather than pushing it forward.
Leg Cutter
As you might have guessed, a leg cutter is the opposite of an off-cutter and is another slower ball available to fast bowlers. The leg cutter demands that the bowler spin the ball in the opposite direction and have a slightly different grip! Although I know many bowlers who like this one, I have always considered the leg cutter to be harder to bowl than the off-cutter!
Split Finger Delivery
Another extremely basic slower ball that fast bowlers can use is the split-finger delivery. The Australian legend Glenn McGrath was the first bowler I saw utilizing this ball.
Back of the Hand Ball
Another slower ball delivery that is frequently seen in professional cricket is the back-of-the-hand delivery. It’s one of the most difficult deliveries, in my opinion, since the bowler has to release the ball very differently than they are accustomed to. You will need to spend a ton of time honing this delivery in the nets before you can begin bowling it accurately in a real cricket match!
The S.L.O.B (Slower Obsolete Ball)
Still, another rather basic slower ball is the S.L.O.B. To be able to bowl it, you don’t need to alter your grip or bowling style significantly, although many quick bowlers struggle to maintain control and deliver accurate bowls. All you have to do is modify your grip right before you release the ball.
Knuckle Ball
Many professional fast bowlers use the knuckleball, which is an extremely efficient slower ball. I saw Jofra Archer use this several times, and it confused a lot of batters. It constantly seems to float towards the batter and then dip at the last second, which makes it difficult for them to play, though I’m not sure why it works so well.
The Palm Delivery
Stuart Broad mentioned this ball in an interview. The palm delivery is essentially a different variety of slower balls that depends entirely on the fast bowler’s grip of the ball.
Types Of Deliveries In Cricket | Spin Bowling Deliveries
The Leg Break
The first spinning delivery technique we’ll discuss in this piece is the leg break. Leg spin (or wrist spin) bowlers bowl it, and if you’ve ever watched a bowler like Shane Warne, Adil Rashid, or Yuzvendra Chahal bowl, they were most likely delivering this delivery most of the time!
The Googly
The most well-known “variation” delivery used by leg spin bowlers is the googly. Many hitters are confused because they think the bowler is going to bowl leg breaks. After all, it spins in the opposite direction from a leg break. There is a good probability that the batter will attempt a false shot against the googly and be dismissed if they fail to notice the change in the bowler’s action as the ball is released from their hand. The three best googlies in world cricket right now are Shadab Khan, Adam Zampa, and Adil Rashid, so keep an eye out for them the next time you watch them play!
Top Spinner (Leg Spin Bowlers)
Leg spin bowlers have access to an additional delivery variation: the top spinner. Making the ball spin directly in the direction of the batter is the aim of a top spin delivery. Therefore, a delivery like the top spinner that travels straight on could catch the hitter off guard if they were anticipating the ball to spin away from them or in towards them.
The top spinner has an additional advantage in that it can quickly dip on the batter throughout the flight and bounce much more than usual because of the overspin applied to the ball. It’s an extremely lethal throw that spinners should have in their repertoire, and it can be especially hazardous on hard, buoyant fields.
The Slider
Another common variant bowled by leg spin bowlers is the slider. This ball has the same appearance as a typical leg break, but when it strikes the pitch, it “slides” straight in the direction of the batter rather than spinning. I recall Shane Warne making excellent use of this ball, particularly during the 2005 Ashes. He would often set up batsmen such as Ian Bell with a succession of powerful twisting leg breaks, which would move the batsman across the crease, and then he would follow it up with a slider to trap them LBW. He was truly an expert in his field!
The Flipper
The last variation we will discuss for leg spin bowlers is the flipper. It’s arguably the hardest leg spin variation to explain and the hardest to bowl! You’ll need to dedicate a significant amount of practice time to this ball if you want to be able to bowl it consistently and accurately in actual game scenarios, even for the renowned Shane Warne, who took a long time to master it.
The flipper features a whole different release technique, which not many spinners will find comfortable, but it still employs the same grip as all the other leg spin varieties. If you can master it, though, the rewards are immense. It travels on a different trajectory and emerges much faster than some other spinning deliveries, shooting straight and low toward the batter.
The Off Break
Off-spin bowlers such as Moeen Ali, Ravindra Jadeja, and Ravi Ashwin use the off-break stock delivery. The off break for right-arm off-spin bowlers will shift from left to right, or in the direction of a right-handed batter’s body. The off break for left arm off spin bowlers will shift from right to left, away from a right-handed batter’s torso.
Once more, bowlers who use off-spin should try to land their off-breaks on a full length, which will inspire hitters to drive or play defensively. If they are successful in doing this, they will have access to a lot more ways to be dismissed, such as inside edges to short leg, LBW, and bowling, as well as edges to the keeper and slips.
Top spinner (Off Spin Bowlers)
The first variation I’ll discuss here for off-spin bowlers is the top spinner. It acts just like the top spinner for leg spin bowlers, as you may have guessed: it tends to bounce higher than a typical ball and dive sharply on the batsman while in flight.
The Arm Ball
Another common delivery variation among off-spin bowlers is the arm ball, which, when executed properly, can be quite lethal. Spinning the ball is not the goal when bowling the arm ball. Rather than spinning like a typical delivery, it will go fairly straight towards the batter and be bowled faster. In addition, the ball can even swing through the air if the arm ball is bowled correctly! It’s probably accurate to state that an arm ball bowled by a medium-pace bowler reacts differently than one bowled by a spin bowler!
The Doosra
The Doosra is arguably the most well-known off-spin delivery in cricket, but it’s also arguably the most difficult to bowl correctly. When delivering the ball, bowlers are only permitted to bend their elbows up to a maximum of 15 degrees. Interestingly, very few off-spin bowlers can deliver the Doosra without bending their arms beyond this point! This explains why so few people use it in matches.
The Doosra is one of the most lethal deliveries in sports if a bowler can bowl it. The Doosra spins in the opposite direction from an off-spinner’s typical off-break delivery, spinning from left to right for a left-arm spin bowler and right to left for a right-arm bowler. Plus, it’s really hard for hitters to spot! It can therefore bewilder and drive even the most skilled players to make mistakes.
The Carrom Ball
Off-spin bowlers frequently use the carrom ball, a special kind of delivery, as a change from their regular deliveries. Two of the mOff-spin bowlers frequently use the carrom ball, a special kind of delivery, as a change from their regular deliveries. Two of the most well-known off-spin spinners in contemporary cricket are Mujeeb Ur-Rahman and Ravichandran Ashwin, who usually bowl Carrom balls.
The Under Cutter
The undercutter represents the last major delivery type I will discuss in this essay, and it is a fitting place to end! The undercutter is essentially a slider modified for off-spin bowlers. It is extremely difficult for the batsman to pick up and distinguish the undercutter out of the hand because, from their vantage point, it appears extremely similar to the typical off-break. The goal of bowling this ball is to have it “slide” on toward the batter without producing any spin at all. The batsman may be bowled or out LBW if they fail to pick up the delivery and the ball does not spin.
Other Deliveries
The following two deliveries are not particularly restricted to fast bowling or spin bowling; they can be bowled by any kind of bowler.
Full Toss
A delivery that does not bounce before it reaches the hitter is called a full toss. These kinds of deliveries are frequently made, particularly in limited-overs cricket matches where quick bowlers attempt to produce yorkers. It’s really simple to bowl the ball a little bit fuller and complete a throw when bowling a yorker!
A batter may find it simpler to time a full toss and hit it to the boundary with remarkable ease on occasion. On the other hand, occasionally a full toss will catch a batter off guard and cause them to misjudge the ball entirely.
Beamer
A beamer and a full toss are extremely similar. There is a crucial distinction between these two deliveries, even though they both fail to bounce before they reach the batter! Not only will the beamer not bounce before it hits the batter, but it will also be pointed at their head or upper body, increasing the hazard of the delivery.
Also read, Different Types Of Cricket Bats
