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, seam bowler or strike bowler.

Line and length

An effective fast bowler needs to be able to hold a consistent 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 consistent 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.

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Line

Bowling a good line means aiming for the corridor of uncertainty which is cricketing jargon for the area just outside the batsman's 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 persistent inability to hit balls on a certain line has been enough to end the careers of innumerable batsmen once they had been found out by skilled line bowlers.

Related Topics:
Jargon - Stump

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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.

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A ball which bounces a little way before the good length and rises to the batsman's 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.

Related Topics:
Bouncer - Wide - Umpire

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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.

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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.

Related Topics:
Bouncer - Yorker - Spin bowlers

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