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In cricket, "bowling" is how the ball is delivered to the batter: with a straight arm, usually bouncing once before it reaches them. Bowlers fall into two broad families, pace and spin, and each has several styles. (If you came for ten-pin bowling, the types of bowling throws page covers the straight, hook and backup ball.)
Pace bowling
- Fast bowling: raw speed, typically around 85 to 95 mph (roughly 135 to 150 km/h) at the top level. The aim is to hurry the batter with pace and bounce.
- Swing bowling: the ball curves in the air. Conventional swing comes from a shiny side and an angled seam; reverse swing happens later in an innings with an older ball, and swings the opposite way.
- Seam bowling: the ball deviates off the pitch after landing on its raised seam.
- Medium pace: slower bowlers who rely on accuracy, swing and seam rather than speed.
Common pace variations include the bouncer (pitched short to rise at the batter), the yorker (pitched at the batter's feet) and the slower ball.
Spin bowling
- Off-spin (right-arm finger spin): turns into a right-handed batter. The main variation is the "doosra" or the arm ball.
- Leg-spin (right-arm wrist spin): turns away from a right-hander. Variations include the googly, the top-spinner and the flipper.
- Left-arm orthodox: finger spin from the left hand, turning away from a right-hander.
- Left-arm wrist spin: turns into a right-hander. The left-arm spin guide covers both left-arm styles.
Rules that apply to all bowling
- The arm must not straighten beyond a small tolerance during delivery. Throwing is illegal.
- Part of the front foot must land behind the popping crease, or it's a no-ball.
- An over is six legal deliveries.
Cricket bowling machines
Bowling machines throw balls at a set speed and line so batters can practice alone. They're common in academies and nets. Bowlers themselves practice in the nets against batters, not machines.