Ways of Bowling

A bowler is a member of the fielding side who runs up to the wickets and throws the ball to the batsman, with a full arm, trying to hit the wicket to get the batsman out. There are different ways of Bowling. They are; 

Swing and Swerve

The ball can be made to swing in the air, either away from the batsman or into him. If there is a lot of humidity, the ball will swing more appreciably than on a dry sunny day. The amount of wind and its direction will also have a certain effect on the swinging of the ball

Away Swing Grip

The seam should point to the batsman and the shiny side of the ball faces the on side.

In Swerve Grip

Here the shiny side should face the opposite direction (off side) with the seam pointing very slightly in the direction of fine leg. To bowl on in swerve, the right hand must go slightly past the vertical position and towards the leg in an arc which will take the hand past the right leg.

Off Spin

The off spin bowler aims to pitch the ball on the off side and bring it back into the wicket. The off break is spun in a clockwise direction from left to right, the ball being held between the first two fingers, the two other being curled slightly over the ball, with the thumb on the opposite side. The main finger is dug into one side of the seam and the second finger far away enough to exert some pressure on the first finger. Each bowler should find the correct distance between the first and the second fingers according to the size of his hand. Do not force the ball between the fingers or use a grip which does not feel comfortable. The ball can be held with the fingers round the seam or across, provided the top joint of the first finger can get some pull on the ball.

The right arm should be taken right back, making a full sweep. As the arm comes over, the right wrist is cocked, the palm will now be facing upwards and the thumb pointing to the off. The action should finish in exactly the same way as the basic action, although, if care is taken not to go too far, the left foot may be placed slightly towards the left side to enable a little more drag to be put on the body. This is transmitted to the arm and eventually, through the first finger, to the ball.

Leg Breaks

The leg break is spun with the fingers over the ball and in most of the cases the ball is given in the direction of the spin. The leg break, bowled with fingers over the ball and in a somewhat downward motion, penetrates the surface of the wicket and turns quickly. It is stock ball. A young bowler interested in leg breaks, should concentrate on the basic bowling action, particularly the high arm and follow through past the left leg, spinning the ball and bowling a length.

Grip

The ball is held in the first three fingers, which are spaced comfortably apart. The top joint of the third finger which is under ball, takes most of the pressure of  the thumb which has very little part in spinning the ball and naturally rests on the seam. The ball should be kept quite firmly. The wrist is bent to almost ninety degrees and the back of the hand is uppermost. On delivery the ball is spun off the third finger by the synchronization of the action plus the flicking and twisting of the wrist in an anti-clockwise direction. For better spin, the right arm should be fully extended, with a large goal of swing. The back of the right hand must be uppermost throughout the swing, as this will ensure a leg break bowling.

Top Spin

It is a difficult bowling. Right arm straight above your head and wrist bent. Ball is to be held like leg-break. Twist the arm slightly until the seam of the ball points straight down the wicket.
Delivery : The arm is turned until the hand, if held upright, is sideways on to the batsman. If the ball is held in the same way with the wrist bent to ninety degrees, the seam of the ball will not be pointing straight down the pitch to the batsman. The wrist is flicked straight and the right arm pushed through towards the batsman and the follow through should take the right hand to the left knee.

Googly

It is an off break with a leg break action. The grip of the ball is like leg break, with the wrist turned down to ninety degrees. The arm is turned in an anti-clockwise direction with the back of the hand now pointing towards the batsman. As the wrist is flicked straight, the ball will come out of the back of the hand and generally in an upward direction, but will not hit the pitch quiet so hard and will plop rather than turn or bounce over the third finger. There is no need to alter the action. Do not drop the left shoulder or point the left foot.

Off Cutters Grip

The ball is held with the seam pointing in the direction of fine leg. The first two fingers are placed almost together diagonally across the seam, with the finger tops dug in behind the seam on the off side. 
Delivery : The wrist is cocked and as the ball is bowled the straight fingers cut down across it in a clockwise direction. The right hand should finish the delivery by going well past the left side. The palm of he hand should face the off side.