User:MattDP/fast bowling

Fast bowling, sometimes known as pace bowling, is one of the two approaches to bowling in the sport of cricket. The other is spin bowling. Practitioners are usually known as fast bowlers or pace bowlers although sometimes the label used refers to the specific fast bowling technique that bowler prefers, such as swing bowler or seam bowler.

The main aim of fast bowling is to bowl the hard cricket ball at high speed and to induce it to bounce off the pitch in an erratic fashion or move sideways through through the air, the combination of these factors making it difficult for the batsman to hit the ball cleanly. A typical fast delivery has a speed in the range 140-150 km/h (87-95 mph). The fastest delivery that has ever been officially recorded clocked in at 161.3 km/h (100.2 mph) and was bowled by Shoaib Akhtar of Pakistan during a match against England in the 2003 Cricket World Cup. The unfortunate Batsmen on the end of the delivery was Nick Knight but it didn't take his wicket.

In most cricketing countries, fast bowlers are usually considered to be the mainstay of a team's bowling attack, with slower bowlers in support roles. In the subcontinent, especially including India and Sri Lanka, the reverse is often true, with fast bowlers serving mainly to soften the ball up for the spinners. This is mainly due to the condition of the pitches used in those countries which gives more help to spinners than to fast bowlers, but at an international level it is also a reflection of the outstanding skills of their spinners compared to their often-mediocre pace bowlers.

Categorisation of Fast Bowling

It is possible for a bowler to concentrate solely on speed, especially when young, but as fast bowlers mature they pick up new skills and tend to rely more on swing bowling or seam bowling techniques. Most fast bowlers will specialise in one of these two areas and will sometimes be catergoried as either a swing bowler or a seam bowler. However, this classification is not satisifactory because the categories are not mutually exclusive and a skilled bowler will usually bowl a mixture of fast, swinging and seaming balls even if he prefers one style to the others.

Instead it is more common to subdivide fast bowlers according to the average speed of their delivery as follows.

*Classification of fast bowlers*
Type	mph	km/h
Fast	90 +	145 +
Fast-Medium	80 - 89	129 - 145
Medium-Fast	70 - 79	113 - 129
Medium	60 - 69	97 - 113
Medium-Slow	50 - 59	80 - 97
Slow-Medium	40 - 49	64 - 80
Slow	below 40	below 64

For comparison, most spin bowlers in professional cricket bowl at average speeds of 40-55 mph (64 - 90 kph). Confusingly, spin bowlers are sometimes referred to as "slow" bowlers, even though they bowl slightly faster than the official "slow" category of fast bowlers!

The slower the fast bowler, the more they have to rely on the variation techniques listed below to get wickets while fast and to a lesser extent fast-medium bowlers can often get batsmen out through sheer speed and agression. In practice, very few bowlers fall into the medium-fast and medium categories and they are mostly batsmen who can bowl a few part-time overs on occasion. The medium-slow, slow-medium and slow categories are non-existant in professional cricket as they are simply too easy for a good batsman to play.

Technique in Fast Bowling

The first thing a fast bowler needs to do is to grip the ball correctly. The basic fast bowling grip to achieve maximum speed is to hold the ball with the seam upright and to place the index and middle fingers close together at the top of the seam with the thumb gripping the ball at the bottom of the seam. The image to the right shows the correct grip. The first two fingers and the thumb should hold the ball forward of the rest of the hand, and the other two fingers should be tucked into the palm. Other grips are possible, and result in different balls - see swing and seam bowling below. The bowler will usually hold his other hand over the hand gripping the ball until the latest possible moment so that the batsman cannot see what type of grip he is employing and prepare accordingly.

A fast bowler needs to take a long run-up toward the wicket in order to generate the momentum required to bowl a fast delivery. Fast bowlers will measure their preferred run up in strides and mark the distance from the wicket. It is important for the bowler to know exactly how long his run-up is because it needs to terminate at the popping crease. If the bowler steps over this, he will have bowled a no ball.

At the end of the run-up the bowler will bring his lead foot down on the pitch with the knee as straight as possible. This aids in generating speed but can be dangerous due to the pressure placed on the joint by this action. Knee injuries are not uncommon amongst fast bowlers: for example the English pace bowler Devon Malcolm was sidelined for many months after splitting his kneecap in two. The pressure on the leading foot is such that some fast bowlers cut the front off their shoes to stop their toes from being injured as they are repeatedly pressed against the inside of the shoe. The bowler will then bring his bowling arm up over his head and release the ball at the height appropriate to where he wants the ball to pitch. Again, the arm must be straight although this is a stipulation of the laws of cricket rather than an aid to speed. Bending the elbow and "chucking" the ball would make it too easy for the bowler to aim accurately at the batsmans wicket and get him out.

Fast bowlers tend to have an action which leaves them either side-on or chest-or at the end of the run up. While this does not affect the speed at which they bowl, it can limit the style of balls that they can bowl. Effective swing bowling usually requires an a side-on action.

After the ball has been released, the bowler follows through at the end of his action. This involves veering to the side so as not to tread on the pitch and taking a few more strides to slow down. Striding on to the pitch at the end of a delivery can damage the surface resulting in rough patches which spin bowlers can exploit to get extra turn on the ball and doing so is illegal according to the laws of the game. Bowlers who persistantly run onto the pitch can be warned, with three warning disqualifiying a bowler from bowling again during the innings.

Line and Length

An effective fast bowler needs to be able to hold a consistant line and length, or in common terms, to be accurate. In this context line refers to the path of the ball towards the batsman, in the horizontal dimension running from the off to the leg side while length describes the distance the ball travels toward the batsman before bouncing. Length is generally seen as being the more important of the two for a fast bowler. The faster the bowler, the harder it is to achieve consistant line and length but sheer speed can make up for the shortfall. Really quick bowlers who also manage to be accurate can be devestatingly effective.

Line

Bowling a good line means aiming for the corridor of uncertainty which is cricketing jargon for the area just outside the batsmans off stump. It is difficult for the batsman to tell whether or not such a ball in likely to strike his wicket, and thus to know whether to attack, defend or leave the ball. Precise mastery of the line of the ball is best utilised when a batsman is known to have a weakness hitting a particular shot because a bowler with an effective line can place the ball in the weak spot delivery after delivery. Failing to overcome a persistant inability to hit balls on a certain line has been enough to end the careers of innumerable batsmen once they'd been found out by skilled line bowlers.

Length

A good length ball is one that arrives at the batsman at around waist height. There is no fixed distance to a good length, or indeed any other length of ball in cricket since the distance required will vary with the speed of the ball, the state of the pitch and the height of the bowler and batsmen. The diagram to the right should help explain what the different lengths mean.

A ball which bounces a little way before the good length and rises to the batsmans abdomen is said to be short pitched or described as a long hop and is easier for a batsman to hit as he will have had more time to see if the height or line of the ball has deviated after bouncing. A short-pitched ball is also at a more suitable height for the batsman to play an attacking pull shot. A ball which bounces way before the good length and reaches shoulder or head height is a bouncer and can be an effective delivery. Any ball which is short enough to bounce over the batsmans head is usually called Wide by the Umpire. Bowling short pitched or wide balls is a bad idea as they are relatively easy for the batsman to defend or attack.

At the other end of the scale, balls which bounce slightly closer to the batsman than the good length are said to be full pitched or overpitched or described as a half volley. These are easier for the batsman to play than the good length because they don't have time to move much after bouncing off the seam. Closer still to the batsmans feet is the Yorker, a very effective length if bowled correctly. If the ball fails to bounce at all before reaching the batsman it is labelled as a full toss. It is very easy for a batsman to play such a delivery as it will not have deviated at all from bouncing off the pitch.

It is because the three effective lengths (good length, bouncer and yorker) are all interspersed by lengths which are easy for the batsman to hit that control of length is an important discipline for a fast bowler. Spin bowlers on the other hand are almost always aiming for the good length but need a much finer control of flight and line to be effective.

Aggressive Bowling

Aggressive bowling is the term usually applied to balls that attempt to get a batsman out through sheer speed, rather than trying to make the ball move through the air or off the pitch. Against top class batsman, these techniques are usually only successful when employed by genuinley quick bowlers in the fast and fast-medium categories. Slower bowlers occasionaly use them, especially against tail-end batsmen, but this can backfire resulting in easy runs for the batsman. However, aggressive bowling techniques can be combined with swing bowling and seam bowling techniques to create nigh-on unplayable balls in the hands of a bowler of any speed. The inswinging yorker is seen as particularly deadly.such bowlers will realy be sucsessful

Bouncer

see main article bouncer

A bouncer is a ball which is aimed to pitch in the first half of the crease, meaning it has had time to rise sharply to chest or head height by the time it reaches the batsman. This causes two problems for the batsman who recieves the ball. If he attempts to play it, his bat will be at eye-level making it difficult for him to watch the ball onto the bat and time his shot correctly. If he leaves or misses the ball it may strike him a painful blow on the head or chest and occasionally result in injury. For this reason, bowling spells containing many bouncers are said to be intimidatory bowling.

The usual response to a bouncer is for the batsman simply to duck underneath it, but this requires fast reflexes and a strong nerve and the batsman is sometimes hit in any case. The natural reflex is to attempt to defend one's head with a straight bat but this should be surpressed if possible as the likely result of this will be that the ball flies off the bat at an uncontrolled angle making for an easy catch. Most batsman have panicked and lost their wickets in this fashion several times in their career after prolonged spells of bouncers.

Physically powerful batsmen often attempt to strike the ball on the rise, even though this obstructs their vision of the ball since it's not uncommon that their sheer brute force combined with the speed of the ball will cause it to fly to the boundary. This possibility, combined with the difficulty that the wicketkeeper will have trying to stop a high ball means that bouncers can be expensive in terms of runs against skilled batsmen.

Slower Ball

see main article slower ball

A slower ball is a ball which is delivered exactly like a usual pace delivery in terms of action and run-up but where the grip is changed slightly in order to slow the ball down. This decieves the batsman, who is likely attempt to play the ball as though it were at full speed, causing him to mistime his shot. The result is usually that the ball strikes the edge of the bat instead of the middle, causing the ball to pop up into the air for an easy catch.

The different grip is illustrated to the right. Essentially the only difference is that the middle and and index fingers are split and come down on each side of the seam. This causes more drag on the ball as it leaves the hand, slowing down the delivery.

Yorker

see main article yorker

A yorker is a ball which bounces off the pitch right in front of the batsmans feet, an area known as the block hole. Because of the usual stance of the batsman and the regulation length of the cricket bat the bat is not usually held near the ground while the batsman prepares to strike the ball, so playing a yorker requires the batsman to alter the height of his bat very quickly after detecting a yorker has been bowled. This is difficult, and the yorker can often squeeze through the gap and break the wicket.

Bowling a yorker requires pinpoint accuracy since bowling it slightly too long will result in a full toss which is easy for the batsman to play because the ball has not deviated by bouncing off the pitch. It also has most of it's value as a surprise ball. For these two reasons, yorkers are not common deliveries.

Seam Bowling

see main article seam bowling

Seam bowling is the act of using the seam of the ball to cause the ball to bounce in an unpredictable fashion when it hits the pitch. A good batsman will be able to predict where a ball is going to bounce and from that work out what height the ball will be when it reaches him. By generating variations in bounce, the bowler can make it more likely the batsman will make a mistake in his assessment of the ball and give away his wicket.

The basic technique of seam bowling is to employ the normal fast bowling or slower ball grip and to try and ensure that the seam remains upright until the ball hits the pitch. If the seam is upright and the ball is spinning around its horizontal axis, there is no appreciable Magnus effect and the ball will not move in the air. The seam of the ball is raised and will cause variations in bounce and movement if it is the first part of the ball to hit the pitch.

Seam bowlers can get a lot of help from certain types of pitches. Hard pitches that have a cracked or ridged surface are best for seam bowling since the hardness makes it easier to bounce the ball without loosing speed while the uneven surface adds to the unpredicatbility of the bounce when the ball hits the pitch. This is known as variable bounce. On rare occasions a pitch with is extremely hard and uneven will be declared as too dangerous to play on since the batsman cannot predict the ball at all and is likely to be hit on the body repeatedly as a result. Green pitches can also assist the seam bowler since the tiny tufts of grass represent an uneven surface although this is a mixed blessing since the green surface also slows the ball slightly. It is difficult for a seam bowler to be effective on a very flat and even-surfaced pitch (known as a flat track in cricket vernacular) and seamers usually resort to agressive bowling tactics and/or bowling cutters on such surfaces.

Cutters

see main articles off cutter, leg cutter

A cutter is the term used to describe a fast ball which is spinning, that is rotating around the opposite axis to the seam instead of keeping the seam straight. While this rotation is nowhere near as much as that achieved by a spin bowler the small variations it can produce are still enough to discomfort a batsman due to the speed of the ball. Cutters can be an effective way for a seam bowler to get the ball to move if he's not recieving much assistance from the pitch.

A ball rotating around the seam will move either left or right when it hits the pitch, depending on which way the ball is spinning. A ball bouncing to the left is said to be a leg cutter as it is travelling from leg stump to off stump for a right-handed batsman. Conversly a ball which bounces to the right is an off cutter, travelling from off to leg stump for a right-handed batsman. Cutters are usually aimed so that they hit the pitch just outside the batsmans off stump and move away from the wicket. This will cause the ball to catch the outside edge of the bat instead of the middle and fly up to be caught in the slips.

The bowl a cutter, the bowler employs a different grip. The two grips are shown to the right, with the uppermost one producing an off cutter while the lower one shows the grip required for a leg cutter. As well as changing the grip, the bowler must pull his fingers down the appropriate side of the ball as it leaves his hand in order to impart the required spin. The action of bowling a cutter also increases drag on the ball as it leaves the hand, causing the ball to slow in the same way as a slower ball and this can also help to confuse the batsman.

Swing Bowling

see main article swing bowling

Swing bowlers attempt to cause the ball to move while it's in the air instead of off the pitch like a seam bowler. Although the action of the bowler plays a big part in their success at getting the ball to swing, it is essential prerequisite that one side of the ball is shiny while the other is rough. New cricket balls are shiny on both sides, so swing bowlers rarely open the bowling. The reason you often see cricketers licking and polishing the ball is to attempt to keep the shine on one side while natural wear makes the other side rough. The swing is caused by air moving at different speeds across the different sides of the ball - it moves faster over the smooth side than it does the rough side.

A swinging ball is classed as either an outswinger, which moves away from the batsman or and inswinger which moves in toward the batsman. In most cases the outswinger is seen as the more dangerous ball because, if the batsman fails to recognise it, it will catch the outside edge of the bat instead of the middle and fly up to be caught in the slips. Inswingers have their place too, especially combined with the Yorker as the inswinger can catch the inside edge and break the wicket.

Swing balls are bowled with the same grip and technique as fast balls although the seam is usually angled slightly rather than straight, and the slower ball grip may be used. For an outswinger the shiny side of the ball is nearest the batsman and the seam is angled away from him while for an inswinger, the rough side needs to be nearest the batsman and the seam angled toward him. A bowler cannot achieve swing with a cutter grip since the ball will spin in flight, varying the orientation of the shiny and rough surfaces as it moves through the air. Many bowlers swear that swing is easier to achieve in humid or overcast conditions, and also that the red ball used in test cricket swings more than the white ball used in the one-day game. There is no scientific evidence to back up either claim.

Reverse Swing

Reverse swing is a phenomenon which causes the ball to swing in the opposite direction to that usually produced by the orientation of the shiny and rough sides of the ball. When the ball is reverse swinging, the shiny side of the ball nearest the batsman will produce an inswinger and vice-versa. Balls which reverse swing move much later and much more than is usual in swing bowling, both factors increasing the difficulty the batsman will have in trying to hit the ball.

Reverse swing is much more dependant on conditions than normal swing, and so it is nearly impossible to achieve consistantly. Reverse swing doesn't usually happen until the ball is around 45 overs old and requires the weather to be hot and dry. The techinque of getting reverse swing was first perfected by Pakistani bowlers in the 1980s but has since spread through all the cricketing nations, and in particular features greatly in England's bowling attack in the 2005 Ashes series.

Dippers

see main articles indipper, outdipper

A dipper is a swinging ball which is deliberately bowled as a yorker or a full toss, the latter not normally being a ball that a fast bowler would choose to bowl. The indipper moves in to the right-handed batsman while the outdipper moves away.

In order to be effective, a dipper has to generate a lot of swing to make up for the variation in movement lost because the ball is not bouncing on the pitch. However, because the batsman usually expects a full toss to be an easy ball to score off, dippers have huge surprise value and can be extremely difficult to play especially if the bowler is very accurate and managers the yorker rather than a genuine full toss.

Tactics

Because nearly all cricket teams will contain several fast bowlers of differing speeds and styles, the tactics of fast bowling depends not only on changing the field placements but on changing the bowler and the types and sequences of deliveries bowled as well. The precise tactics will be determined by many factors including the state of the game, the state of the pitch, the weather and the relative energy and skill levels of the various players available to bowl.

Fast bowling requires a great deal of energy and most fast bowlers can be expected to bowl a spell of 4-6 overs in a row before requiring a rest. Depending on conditions, they may be required by the team to bowl a longer spell although this usually results in drop in effectiveness toward the end of the spell as the bowler tires. Choosing which balls to bowl as part of a spell and what order to bowl them in is a tactical discipline all of its own.

Deployment of Bowlers

Most sides contain a mixture of fast bowlers who specialise in aggressive and/or seam techniques and those who specialise in swing. When the ball is new it usually swings very little but it will generate a lot of speed, bounce and variation off the seam (because the seam on a new ball stands out more than that on an old ball). So seam bowlers are usually chosen to bowl with the new ball either at the start of an innings or when a new ball has been taken, an option the fielding side has once a ball is 80 overs old. In contrast, swing bowlers are more effective once the ball has started to wear and reverse swing requires a well worn ball. Reverse swing bowlers can continue to extract large amounts of movement from balls well over 80 overs old.

Two seam bowlers are usually expected to bowl in tandem for the first 10 or so overs, after which time the ball may begin to swing and one or both of them is substituted for a swing bowler or a spin bowler. This is why most sides opt to include at least two seam bowlers who are known as opening bowlers. Seam bowling usually becomes very ineffective with older balls and is virtually useless after 60 overs or so and as a result the bowling places in the side are filled with swing or spin bowlers.

Deployment of Fielders

Fielding for a fast bowler is usually agressive, that is to say that it is set up for the purpose of getting a wicket rather than preventing the flow of runs. On occasion, particularly when the fielding team is batting last and is chasing a total, a defensive field is required. As a general rule it is difficult to bowl defensive fast bowling - that task is better suited to spin bowlers.

The various techniques of fast bowling lend themselves to three ways of getting the batsman out. He may be bowled or caught LBW either by speed, the yorker or by seam or swing causing the ball to move in toward him, in which case placement of fielders is irrelevant. Swing or seam may be employed to move the ball away from the batsman in which case the ball will strike the outside edge of the bat and may be caught in the slips. A badly-played bouncer will either fly off the outside edge as above or maybe result in a mistimed shot that can be caught near the boundary.

It follows that the most effective field placements for agressive fast bowling are to pack the outfield and the slip cordon and gully since these are the positions in which the batsman is most likely to be caught. Placing fielders in the outfield has the additional benefit of limiting the number of places where a batsman can score a boundary. Other close fielding positions such as silly mid on/off and the various midwicket positions are generally redundant.

In contrast, a defensive field for fast bowling will pack the mid-wicket positions such as gully, point and cover in a full circle round the batsman. One or two slips and one or two outfielders will remain in case of a catch. Because batsmen usually try and play shots down on to the ground rather than risking being caught this field can stop most boundaries while remaining close enough to the pitch to attempt to run out the batsmen if they attempt a single. Defensive fast bowling is difficult because a skilled batsman set this type of field will simply trust his technique and score from boundaries that he has hit over the midwicket ring and away from any outfielders present.

Bowling an Over

The primary goal of any bowler is to take the wicket of the batsman. The secondary goal is to prevent the batsman scoring runs. The latter is often a route to the former as a batsman deprived of runs will often become frustrated and is more likely to attempt risky shots in order to score. In addition, stopping the batsman from scoring will usually mean that the bowler gets to bowl several consecutive balls at the same batsman, giving him the opportunity to set up some kind of tactical sequence.

Counterintuitivley, the best approach for a fast bowler is not to aim consistant balls at the wicket as this prompts an obvious and easy response. The batsman can simply defend his wicket and pick off the occasional bad ball. A far more effective approach is to create uncertainty by bowling a line and length at which the batsman is unsure as to whether he should attack, defend or leave and by mixing up the types of delivery so the batsman is never sure what type of ball is coming next. The majority of balls in a well-bowled spell will usually be swinging or seaming balls that pass at waist hight, just outside the off stump and move away from the batsman because this is the area where it is most difficult for the batsman to choose the most appropriate response. Common variations and their tactical appliaction are discussed below.

The precise balls chosen by the bowler during an over will depend on the situation of the match, the skill of the batsman and how settled the batsman is at the crease. It is common to attack batsmen who've recently come to the wicket with successive short-pitched balls or bouncers with the dual aim of getting them out and stopping them from settling into an attacking mode of play for as long as possible. Short balls are more risky against batsmen who have settled at the crease since they make easy boundaries, but most bowlers will still mix a few in during a spell, just to keep the batsman guessing.

Most batsmen prefer to play shots off either the front or back foot and this will influence the bowlers' choice of balls. It is difficult to play short balls off the front foot so bowlers will bowl more short balls at batsmen who prefer the front foot. Likewise, it's hard to play yorkers and full pitched balls off the back foot so those are the deliveries of choice against back foot players. If a bowler can successfuly get a batsman playing off his less-favoured foot with a sequence of appropriately pitched balls he can then gain an element of surprise by suddenly throwing down the opposite kind of ball - a yorker after a succession of short balls or a bouncer after a succession of full balls. An unobservant or complacent batsman can easily be caught unawares and loose his wicket.

Another variation, especially against batsmen who have settled at the wicket and are starting to score more freely, is to switch the line of attack from the area just outside the off stump to bowling directly at leg stump. The batsman has to react to these balls as he otherwise runs a high risk of being bowled or trapped LBW but as he does so his bat moves over to the leg side, leaving the off side vulnerable. If the bowler can induce enough movement to the off side with swing or seam techniques it will often catch the outside edge of the bat offering a catch or knock off stump out of the ground.

It must be remembered that surprise is a big element in bowling, and bowlers will often shun these common tactical approaches in the hope of simply confusing the batsman into playing the wrong shot. For example, bowling a yorker at a new batsman who will likely be expecting bouncers or at least standard line and length balls has been the cause of many batsmen loosing their wicket first ball.

Notable Fast Bowlers

Currently Playing

These are the top rated fast bowlers in the world according to the LG ICC cricket ratings as of 25 August 2005.

Name	Nationality	Speed	Test Average
Glenn McGrath	Australia	Fast-Medium	21.19
Chaminda Vaas	Sri Lanka	Fast-Medium	28.92
Shaun Pollock	South African	Fast-Medium	22.09
Makhaya Ntini	South African	Fast	29.21
Shoaib Akhtar	Pakistan	Fast	24.78
Andre Nel	South African	Fast-Medium	25.45
Andrew Flintoff	England	Fast	32.63
Matthew Hoggard	England	Fast-Medium	29.79
Steve Harmison	England	Fast	27.84
Shane Bond	New Zealand	Fast	20.80

Historical

References

Hughes, Simon (2002), Jargonbusting: The Analyst's Guide to Test Cricket, Channel 4 books, ISBN 0752265083
Lewis, Tony (Editor) (1995), MCC Masterclass, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, ISBN 0297815784