Bowling in cricket, a symphony of precision and deception, is an art form that demands a delicate balance of strength, skill, and strategy. Each bowler, a maestro of the leather, crafts their unique melody on the pitch.
From the rhythmic pace of a fast bowler to the deceptive revs of a spinner, every delivery is a brushstroke on the canvas of the pitch. The art lies not only in the execution but also in the anticipation of the batsman’s response.
The bowler, a mind-reader of sorts, must anticipate the batsman’s intentions, outwit their defenses, and induce the fatal error that leads to dismissal. It is a dance of intellect and instinct, a battle of wills that unfolds with every ball.
Bowling tips from the masters of this art
James Anderson – The only seamer to complete 700 wickets and the highest total wickets in his career among pacers, shared his tip on the positioning of the seam for getting the swing on the ball.
The orthodox technique of swinging the ball advises holding the seam towards the fine leg for inswing by a right-arm pacer and towards the third man for outswing delivery, in addition to that, Anderson used his index and middle finger to get the revolutions on the ball for backspin.
For an inswing delivery, he gets his index finger on the seam while releasing the ball for the backspin. Similarly, for the outswing delivery, he positioned his middle finger on the seam to provide the backspin. This technique was used and implemented by him which resulted in making him one of the greatest bowlers in the history of cricket.
Adil Rashid – England’s leg spinner who consecutively gets to play for his nation and is one of the most successful bowlers on the team. He shared his tip on the significance of pitching the ball in which line and length for a leggie.
In the ODI World Cup 2019, he dismissed Virat Kohli when he was well settled on the pitch and was playing in his 70s, Adil bowled a leg spin with a great seam position which when pitched gave a quick sharp turn to the ball and hit the off stump direct.
Virat Kohli’s reaction was enough to show, what a great delivery that was with a perfect seam position, line, and length of the delivery by Adil Rashid.
Stuart Broad – The retired legendary pacer of England, holds the record for joint most wickets taken in test cricket alongside James Anderson. Stuart shared his tip on bowling a slower ball to a batsman with the same wrist position.
When a pacer releases the ball, he uses his wrist to flick at the end to get more pace on the ball. Stuart developed a technique of bowling a slower ball by not flicking his wrist at the end of the release and holding the ball with no gap between palm and ball. This results in bowling a slower delivery with the same seam and action to deceive the batsman.
Nathan Lyon – An Australian right-arm off-break bowler with 530 international wickets in Test cricket is considered to have the best technique for bowling an off-spin delivery. His run-up, action, and position of the front leg are highly noticed by the aspiring cricketers and many of them follow him for his brilliance.
He shared a tip on run-up and action used in bowling an orthodox off-break delivery. For rhythm, he marks a seven-step run-up which helps him provide the right momentum while bowling. He twists his body while releasing the ball from his front leg to get more revolutions on the ball and takes time to analyze the right pitching line and length.
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