How-to guide
Cricket speed gun or a speed gun app?
A cricket speed gun, often called a radar gun, is a handheld radar you point down the pitch. It reads how fast the ball is travelling towards it or away from it. A speed gun app does the job with a phone camera on a tripod instead, and checks every ball, with its line, length and a clip.
What is a cricket radar gun?
A handheld radar, the usual kind of cricket speed gun, that someone points down the pitch. It reads how fast the ball is moving towards it or away from it and shows that as a bowling speed in mph or km/h. You get a number for each ball it was aimed at.
A radar gun is simple to use, but someone has to hold it and aim it for every ball, and if you want a record, they write each reading down.
Where do you stand with a speed gun?
In line with the ball's path. That means behind the bowler's stumps pointing down the pitch, or behind the batter's end pointing back at the bowler. Radar reads the part of the ball's speed coming straight towards it or going straight away, so you want the ball travelling along the line you're pointing.
- Stay out of the run-up. Behind the bowler's stumps, stand far enough back that the bowler never has to think about you.
- At the batter's end, stay behind the net. Never stand in front of it to get a clearer line.
- Aim before the ball is bowled. Point the gun at the bowler as they run in and hold it steady through the delivery.
Which bowling speed should a speed gun read?
Release speed. The ball is fastest just after it leaves the hand, then slows a little through the air and more off the bounce. A reading taken later in the flight comes out lower, which is why you point the gun along the line the ball is released on.
Release speed is what most people mean by pace. Our guide on how to measure bowling speed with your phone covers mph, km/h and the sums between them.
What does a speed gun app do?
It uses the phone's camera instead of radar. Where a speed gun needs someone to aim it, the phone sits on a tripod behind the bowler's stumps and follows the ball itself, so nobody has to hold anything and every ball you bowl gets a reading.
With YORKER AI, each ball also gets its line and length, where it bounced, swing, spin, release height, 3D trajectory and a clip to watch back. The bowling speed app page sets out how the app works the speed out, and how ball tracking works explains the 3D part.
How do you set up each one?
A speed gun needs someone to hold it in line with the pitch and aim it for every ball. A speed gun app needs a tripod behind the bowler's stumps, both sets of stumps in view and about thirty seconds to line them up.
Setting up a speed gun
- Pick your endBehind the bowler's stumps or behind the batter's end, in line with the middle of the pitch.
- Get somewhere safeClear of the run-up, and behind the net if you're at the batter's end.
- Aim and holdPoint the gun at the bowler as they run in and keep it steady through the delivery.
- Write it downIf you want a record, note each reading ball by ball.
Setting up a speed gun app
- Phone on a tripod behind the bowler's stumpsIn line with the middle of the pitch, in portrait, with both sets of stumps and your last few strides in view.
- Line up the stumpsGet the batter's stumps in the far box and the bowler's stumps in the near box, then calibrate. The app needs a full 22-yard pitch.
- Bowl as normalEach delivery is picked up, measured and clipped on its own, and every session is saved.
Our guide to phone tripod setup in the nets covers height, light and the mistakes that spoil footage.
Check your bowling speed on every ball
Track your bowling speed with YORKER AI, coming to the App Store for iPhone. Put your phone behind the bowler's end, line up the stumps and bowl. Every ball gets its bowling speed, line, length, swing, spin, 3D trajectory and a clip, and every session is saved.
See how the bowling speed app works.
Quick answers
Is there a speed gun app for cricket?
Yes. YORKER AI is a speed gun app for iPhone, coming to the App Store. It checks the release speed of every ball from a phone on a tripod behind the bowler's end, with line, length, swing, spin and a clip.
Where should you stand with a speed gun in the nets?
In line with the pitch, either behind the bowler's stumps or behind the net at the batter's end. Keep out of the run-up and never stand in front of the net.
What bowling speed does a speed gun show?
The speed of the ball along the line the gun is pointing, towards it or away from it. Stand in line with the pitch so that line matches the ball's path, and compare release speeds.
Do I need a radar gun to check my bowling speed?
No. A radar gun works, but someone has to hold it and aim it for every ball. A speed gun app on a phone tripod checks every ball on its own and adds the line, length and a clip of each delivery.