How to swing a cricket ball

How do you swing a cricket ball?

Hold the seam upright and angle it slightly towards where you want the ball to curve. Keep your wrist firm and behind the ball as you let go, so the seam stays still in the air. Bowl with one side of the ball shiny, and pitch it up so it has time to move.

That's the whole idea of conventional swing. The rest of this guide takes each part in turn: the grip for the ball that moves away from a right-hander, the grip for the one that comes back in, what your wrist and fingers do at release, how to look after the ball, and how to practise so you can tell what worked.

Swing is a skill that comes and goes, even for bowlers who have it. Some days the ball moves a lot and some days it barely moves at all. The aim in the nets is to make your seam position and release repeatable, so that when the ball is ready to swing, you're ready too.

How do you bowl outswing?

For a right-arm bowler to a right-handed batter, hold the seam upright and tilt it a little towards first slip, with the shiny side facing the leg side. Release with your wrist behind the ball and your fingers coming straight down the seam, then follow through towards your target.

• The grip. First and second fingers either side of the seam, close together but not touching, with the thumb resting on the seam underneath. Hold the ball in your fingers rather than deep in your palm.
• The seam. Upright, pointing slightly towards the slips. A small angle is enough. If you tilt it a long way, the seam tends to wobble.
• The shine. The shiny side faces the batter's leg side, which puts the rough side on the off side, the way you want the ball to go.
• The line. Start it on or just outside off stump, so the batter has to play and the ball moves away from the bat.

Left-arm bowlers and left-handed batters flip the picture: the seam still points the way you want the ball to move, and the rough side faces that way too.

How do you bowl inswing?

Mirror the outswinger. Hold the seam upright but tilt it a little towards fine leg, with the shiny side facing the off side. Keep your wrist behind the ball, let it go with the seam still, and aim to start the ball outside off stump so it curves back towards the stumps.

• The grip. The same two fingers either side of the seam, with the seam now angled towards fine leg.
• The shine. Turn the ball round so the shiny side faces the off side and the rough side faces the leg side.
• The body. Many bowlers find inswing easier with a more open, chest-on action, and outswing easier side-on. Find out which comes naturally to you before you try to bowl both.
• The line. Start it wider than you think. An inswinger that starts on the stumps often ends up down the leg side.

What should your wrist do at release?

Stay firm and stay behind the ball. Your wrist should be upright, with your fingers behind the ball and pushing through it towards your target. If your wrist falls sideways or your fingers roll across the ball, the seam wobbles and the ball comes out straight.

A wobbling seam is the most common reason a ball with a good grip still doesn't swing. Watch the ball in the air in your clips. If you can see the seam spinning round or tumbling, the release is the place to start.

• Fingers down the back. Feel your first two fingers come straight down the back of the ball as it leaves your hand, with a little backspin.
• Relaxed grip. Hold the ball firmly enough to control it but not tightly. A tight grip makes it harder to release cleanly.
• Follow through. Let your bowling arm carry on across your body towards your target. Cutting the follow-through short often drags the wrist off line.

Which side of the ball should you shine?

Pick one side and keep it shiny all session, while the other side is left to roughen up. For conventional swing, the rough side faces the way you want the ball to go and the shiny side faces away. Agree as a team which side you're shining so nobody undoes it.

Shine the ball by rubbing it on your trousers. Keep the shiny side dry, and don't throw it in hard along the ground on the shiny side. In the nets, mark your practice ball so you always know which side is which, and keep it for swing work rather than using it for everything.

Does the ball or the weather make a difference?

Yes, both. A newer ball with a hard, proud seam and a good shine tends to swing more than an old, soft one. Some days the air helps and the ball moves for everyone, and some days it doesn't. Your job is to give it the best chance with your seam and release.

You can't control the weather, but you can control what you practise with. Swing work in the nets is easier to learn from with a good ball you look after, rather than one that has been knocked about for weeks. If one session the ball moves and the next it doesn't, don't rush to change your action. Check whether the ball and the day were different first.

How do you practise swing bowling in the nets?

Bowl in short sets with one aim each. Put a marker on a full length, bowl six outswingers at it, then six inswingers, and keep the same run-up and effort throughout. Check every ball for how far it moved, so you know which grip and release gave you swing.

• Pitch it up. A full length gives the ball more time in the air to move. A short ball has little time to swing before it pitches.
• Stump target. Put a single stump or a marker where you want the ball to finish, not where you want it to start. It makes you think about where the swing takes the ball.
• Same effort. Bowl at a pace you can repeat. Swing is easier to control a little below flat out, so try both and see which works for you.
• Note it down. Write down which grip and seam angle you used for each set. Next week, start from what worked.

New to filming your bowling? Read the phone tripod setup guide before your next net.

Why isn't my ball swinging?

Usually it's the seam or the wrist. A seam that wobbles in the air, a wrist that falls away at release, or fingers that roll across the ball all stop swing. A worn ball, a short length or a seam pointing straight down the pitch can also leave it coming through straight.

• Wobbling seam. Slow down your grip and release in a few gentle throws before you bowl, and watch the seam in the air.
• Seam pointing straight. Without a small angle towards slip or fine leg, the ball has no reason to curve one way or the other.
• Falling away. If your head and body fall sideways in your delivery stride, your wrist usually goes with them. Keep your head still and your eyes on your target.
• Too short. Pitch the ball up. If it's moving late but you're bowling short of a length, the batter never sees the movement.
• Swinging too early. If the ball curves a long way straight out of the hand and ends up wide, start it straighter and reduce the seam angle.

How do you know if the ball really swung?

Measure it instead of trusting your eyes. From the end of your run-up it's hard to tell how far a ball moved, or whether it seamed off the pitch instead. Tracking every ball shows the swing in the air, so you can see which grip and release gave you movement.

Swing is how far the ball moved sideways in the air. That's different from the change of direction off the pitch, and the two are easy to confuse from behind. Having the swing of each ball in front of you makes it clear which one you're getting.

Every ball has its clip too. Watch a ball that swung next to one that didn't, and compare the seam in the air and your wrist at release. If you share the net, YORKER AI groups the balls by who bowled them, so you can filter to your own and share the session with your coach in a Huddle.

Curious how one phone can see the ball's path? Read how ball tracking works.