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Inswinger and Outswinger Bowling Actions

Hello friends, welcome to the Cricket Coaching Section of CricketFundas.com. I am M.R.Baig, Senior Cricket Coach of the M.L.Jaisimha Cricket Academy, Hyderabad, India. This episode is for all the aspiring swing bowlers. Let’s have a look at the actions and other things involved for bowling inswingers and outswingers. Go through the article and I am sure once you implement the things discussed, you would become a better bowler. Feel free to drop in your queries, feedback about the lessons, I will try my best to answer all of these. Email your queries to our editor at [email protected] .

Bowling is all about Basic Action, Length and Direction, Field Arrangements, bowling to a plan and following tactics.

A bowling action has three key positions – 1. Run Up, 2. Action and 3. Follow Through.

Outswinger for a Right Armer

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Above pic shows the Diagonal Run Up to bowl an outswinger for a right arm pacer

Above pic shows Step 2 : Getting into a side on position (Jump)

Above Pic shows Step 3 : Delivery Point for an Outswinger

Above Pic shows Step 4 : Follow Through for an Outswinger

Inswinger for a Right Armer

Above pic shows the Straight Run Up to bowl an inswinger for a right arm pacer

Above pic shows Step 2 : Getting into an Open Chested position (Jump)

Above pic shows Step 3 : Delivery Point for an Inswinger

Above pic shows Step 4 : Follow Through for an Inswinger

1. Run Up : The objective of a run up is to bring the bowler upto the crease completely balanced with the necessary momentum to bowl. It should be smooth and relaxed. For an outswinger, the run up should be a diagonal one (making an angle to the stumps). For an inswinger, the run up should be straight.

2. Action : There are four key positions of a bowling action, they are JUMP, DELIVERY POINT and FOLLOW THROUGH.

JUMP : A diagonal run up which is used for an outswinger sets the bowler into a side on position. A straight run up which is used for an inswinger sets the bowler up in an open chested action.

POSITION OF BACKFOOT : For an outswinger, the backfoot should be parallel to the bowling crease. And for an inswinger, the backfoot should be at right angle to the bowling crease.

POSITION OF FRONT LEG : For an outswinger, the left knee for a right armer needs to be parallel to the bowling crease. For an inswinger, the left knee should be pointing towards the batsman.

DELIVERY POINT FOR AN OUTSWINGER : The bowler releases the ball with a seam slanting towards the first slip direction for an outswinger. The palm should be facing the slips. For a left armer, when he has the seam slanting towards the slips, the ball moves away from a right handed batsman. The ball is called as an INSWINGER but not an OUTSWINGER!

DELIVERY POINT FOR AN INSWINGER : The delivery point for an inswinger, the seam is slanting towards fine leg. The palm position should be towards fine leg. And for a left armer, his incoming delivery is called as an OUTSWINGER and not an INSWINGER!

3. FOLLOW THROUGH : Follow through is defined as an intentional movement of body towards the first slip and which is important for releasing the strain on the muscles and easing down the body momentum.

The follow through for both outswingers and inswingers is towards slip direction. However, there is a small difference in the palm position. For the outswinger, the palm shapes away from the thigh. And for an inswinger, the palm moves towards the thigh. An ideal follow through should be an aggressive one with atleast five steps towards the first slip direction.

What is PIVOTING?

The front foot of the bowler lands with the toe pointing towards the fine leg direction naturally. But at the time of the delivery point, the toe pivots or twists or turns towards the first slip direction. This action is quite natural and need not be exaggerated.

To avoid landing on the danger area (an area which is 5 feet in front of the batting crease and one foot on the either side of the middle stump).

For a left armer, all the above points apply vice-versa, refer to the photos below for a left armer.

Inswinger for a Left Armer

Above pic shows Step 1 : Diagonal Run Up for Inswinger

Above pic shows Step 2 : Getting into a side on position (Jump)

Above pic shows Step 3 : Delivery Point for an Inswinger (i.e. an OUTGOING DELIVERY for a Left Armer)

Above pic shows Step 4 : Follow Through for an Inswinger

Outswinger for a Left Armer

Above pic shows Step 2 : Straight Run Up for Outswinger

Above pic shows Step 2 : Getting into an Open Chested position (Jump)

Above pic shows Step 3 : Delivery Point for an Outswinger (i.e. an INCOMING DELIVERY for a Left Armer)

Above pic shows Step 4 : Follow Through for an Outswinger

Spotting Faults in the four key positions of action and ball grip

Action : The action should be rhythmic, not like the one shown in the picture below. The bowling arm should not be round arm, it should be close to the head. The ball bounces for a high arm action with the delivery point being at right angle and the bowler uses maximum height. In a round arm action, the ball tends to skid.

Above pic shows Round Arm Action

Above pic shows Round Arm Delivery Point

Bowling Grip

Above pic shows a bowler gripping the ball in the palm which is incorrect

Above pic shows a bowler gripping the ball with the finger tips which is also incorrect

Bowling Grip : As shown in the above picture, the ball is stuck in the palm which is faulty. This slows down the release of the ball, which means that the bowler is losing on pace. The second picture, shows the bowler holding the ball with his finger tips which is also faulty. This also doesn’t give the desired pace to the ball, but can be used for variation of pace.

Notes :

1. For getting the ball to swing in both directions, the bowlers has to release the ball rather than banging it on the turf.

2. The right length is important for the bowler to achieve swing. The ball should be given enough air to give it a chance to swing. The line is important in controlling the swing. The bowler has to judge on where he has to start his outswingers or inswingers depending on the swing he gets.

3. These days, the concept of bowling outswingers with an open chested action is coming up. It is recommended that the traditional method of bowling the outswingers with a side-on action be used by learners. The open chested concept is just one of the many subtle variations used to outsmart the batsmen.

I hope the above episode is useful for all the upcoming swing bowlers. Further lessons will be on seam bowling, spin bowling, reverse swing and many more. So keep checking this site for more… Queries on Cricket Coaching can be sent to [email protected]. Please mention your name, age and your location along with your Query.