When bowling, different types of grips or actions can change the way the ball behaves.
Before we can show you the correct grips, you need to know about BALL CONDITION – the bowling team will always try to keep one side of the ball shiny and leave the other side to get a bit scuffed. When a ball is moving in the air, the airflow will move quicker over the shiny side of the ball while gripping onto the rough side and this is how a bowler manages to get the ball to swing. A newer ball swings much easier which is why most fast, swing bowlers go on the attack early on during the innings or when a new ball is available. Spin bowlers prefer using an older ball as it grips the surface of the pitch and creates huge variance in spin. So here are 3 different ways to bowl a delivery.
1. Seamer
The ball is held in the fingers with the seam facing straight up, with the ball resting on the third finger and thumb, and the middle and index fingers either side of the seam. Try to make the ball hit the seam as straight as possible on the pitch. Once the seam of the ball hits the pitch, it may bounce higher, lower, left or right making this type of delivery difficult for a batsman to face.
2. In-swinger
Keep the seam of the ball in a vertical position and grip it with the your first 2 fingers together on the seam with the thumb on the seam underneath. Slightly angle the seam towards leg slip position (slightly leg-side) and make sure the shiny side is facing away from the batsman. If done correctly, the airflow over the ball will grip onto the rough side while slipping over the shiny side of the ball, causing it to swing in mid-air.
3. Off-spin
Spread the joints between the middle and index fingers along the seam while resting the ball on the ring finger. When releasing the ball, turn your wrist and your index finger clockwise to generate spin towards the offside of the field. Upon its bounce, the spin generated on the ball will cause it to turn quickly towards leg-side.
There you have it! 3 different ways to deliver a ball.
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