How to bowl a yorker in cricket

What is a yorker in cricket?

A yorker is a full ball that lands at or just in front of the batter's feet, close to the popping crease. It pitches under the bat, so the batter can't get underneath it to drive or wait for it to bounce up. Bowled well, it's hard to score from.

Most balls give the batter something to work with. A good length ball bounces up into the hitting area. A half-volley lands just far enough in front of them to drive. A yorker lands so close to the bat that there's almost no room to swing it. The batter has to jam the bat down on it, and if they miss, it's often heading for the stumps or the toes.

That makes it a useful ball at any pace. Quick bowlers use it to finish an over or to beat a batter who's moving back. Medium pacers use it when a batter is looking to hit big. Spinners bowl a quicker, flatter version at the feet when a batter starts charging down the pitch.

Where should a yorker pitch?

On or just in front of the popping crease at the batter's end, where their bat comes down. Think of the target as the batter's toes or the base of the stumps. Land it a stride further up and you've bowled a half-volley; land it beyond the crease and it's a full toss.

The window is small. The difference between a yorker, a half-volley and a full toss is about the length of a shoe or two, which is why the ball is so hard to bowl and so hard to face. You're aiming at a strip, not a spot, and the strip moves a little depending on where the batter stands.

• Batter on the crease. Aim at the popping crease line itself.
• Batter standing out of the crease. The target moves forward with their feet. Aim at the toes, not the line.
• Batter backing away. Follow them. A yorker at where their feet were is a wide half-volley.

How do you grip the ball for a yorker?

Use your normal stock grip: first two fingers either side of the seam, thumb underneath, the seam upright. Keep the ball in your fingers rather than deep in the palm. Changing your grip for the yorker makes it easier for the batter to read and harder for you to repeat.

The yorker is a length, not a different delivery. Most bowlers keep their usual grip and run-up and change only the point of release. That keeps it disguised: the batter sees the same run-up and the same arm until the ball is already on its way.

• Seam upright. A straight seam gives a cleaner flight, and with a ball this full you want it to arrive where you sent it.
• Firm, not tight. Squeezing the ball tends to drag it down or make it slip out early.
• Same grip every time. If you need to look at your hand to set up a yorker, the batter will be watching too.

When do you let go of a yorker?

A fraction later than your stock ball, with your eyes fixed on the target at the batter's feet. A later release sends the ball on a flatter, fuller path. Keep your head still and your arm coming through straight, and let your wrist push the ball down at the target.

Where you look matters more than it sounds. If your eyes sit on a good length, that's where your hand tends to send the ball. Pick out the batter's toes or the bottom of middle stump during your run-up and stay locked on it through the crease.

Don't try to bowl it harder. Extra effort usually means a rushed release and a ball that sprays. Bowl the yorker at the pace you bowl your stock ball, from the same run-up, and let the length do the work.

How do you practise yorkers in the nets?

With a target you can see and a count you can trust. Put a marker on the popping crease at the batter's end, such as a shoe, a cone or a strip of tape, and bowl sets of six at it. Count how many land on the target, not how many felt good.

• Start with no batter. Bowl at the marker in an empty net first, so you're only thinking about length.
• Make the target small. Two shoes side by side at the crease is plenty. A big target teaches you to miss by a little.
• Short sets. Six balls, look at the results, rest, go again. Long spells of yorkers get sloppy fast.
• Mix it in. Once you can hit the marker in sets, bowl it as the fourth or fifth ball of an over, after a few stock balls, the way you would in a match.
• Add a batter. Then add a batter who is trying to score, which changes everything about where you aim.

Write down your hits out of six for each set. Over a few weeks that number tells you far more than how a single good one felt.

Which yorker should you bowl?

There are two to practise. The straight yorker, sometimes called the toe-crusher, aims at the base of the stumps and the batter's feet. The wide yorker lands full and outside off stump, out of the batter's reach. Learn the straight one first, then add the wide one.

• The straight yorker. Aimed at middle and off or the toes. If the batter misses it, you've got a chance of bowled or LBW. The risk is drifting onto the pads.
• The wide yorker. Aimed full, a little way outside off stump, so the batter has to reach for it and can't get their arms through the ball. The risk is overdoing it and bowling a wide.

Practise them in separate sets with separate markers. Move your shoe to the wide line for the wide yorker, so you're aiming at something real rather than guessing at "a bit wider".

Why do yorkers turn into full tosses?

Usually because the release is too late or the eyes drop off the target. A ball that's let go too late or pushed at the batter's body flies past the crease without bouncing. Let go too early and it lands short, as a half-volley. Small timing errors decide which one you bowl.

• Full toss. You held on too long, or you aimed at the batter rather than the ground. Aim at the crease, not the pads.
• Half-volley. You let go early, often because you eased up or looked away at the last moment. Stay on the target through the crease.
• Leg-side miss. Your front arm or your head fell away. It's the same fix as your stock ball: keep your body moving straight down the pitch.
• Sprays all over. You're trying too hard. Drop the effort a little and get the length right before you add pace back.

Your clips are the fastest way to see which of these is happening. Watch a ball that hit the marker next to one that missed and look at your release and your head position.

How do you bowl a yorker under pressure?

By practising it when you're tired and when it counts. Bowl yorkers at the end of a session, not only the start, and set yourself a target such as four from six to finish. A yorker you can only land when you're fresh won't be there at the end of an innings.

• End-of-session sets. Bowl your last over of the net as yorkers, when your legs are tired.
• Play a game. Give the batter a score to chase from six balls and bowl to stop them.
• Commit before you run in. Decide on the yorker at the top of your mark. Changing your mind halfway through the run-up is where many full tosses come from.

How do you know you hit the yorker length?

Measure it. In the nets it's hard to tell a yorker from a half-volley by eye. YORKER AI reads the length of every ball from its 3D trajectory and labels it, from Bouncer to Yorker and Full Toss, so you can see how many of your attempts really landed in the yorker zone.

Put your phone on a tripod behind the bowler's end, line up both sets of stumps and bowl. Every ball gets its line and length, where it bounced, its bowling speed and a clip. After a set of yorkers, pick Yorker on the line and length grid to see the ones that landed, then pick Half-volley and Full Toss to see the ones that didn't.

Because every session is saved, you can watch your hit rate change over weeks rather than relying on how the last net felt. Replay any ball in 3D to see where it landed against the crease. Setting up for the first time? Read the phone tripod setup guide.