A bowler releases a normal fast delivery with the wrist locked in position and the first two fingers positioned on top of the cricket ball, giving it spin about a horizontal axis perpendicular to the length of the pitch. For a leg cutter, a right-handed bowler pulls his fingers down the left side of the ball (from his viewpoint), rolling the ball out of his hand over the little finger, in an action similar to bowling a leg break, only at higher speed. This changes the axis of spin to make it more like a leg break, which makes the ball deviate to the left when it bounces on the pitch. From a right-handed batsman's point of view, this deviation is to the right, or from the leg side towards the off side. This deviation is known as cut, and the delivery is called a leg cutter because it moves away from the leg side.
Leg cutters do not turn as sharply as leg breaks bowled by a leg spin bowler, but at the speed of a fast bowler even a tiny deviation can cause difficulties for the batsman. If he is not quick enough to react to the movement, the batsman can edge the ball off the outside edge of his bat, offering a catch to the wicket-keeper or slips fielders.
A fast bowler will typically use the leg cutter as a variation ball, as it is most effective when it surprises the batsman. The leg cutter action can also produce a significantly slower ball with little obvious change in the bowler's arm speed, making the delivery doubly deceptive.
For a legcutter, a right-handed bowler pulls his fingers down the left side of the ball (from his viewpoint), rolling the ball out of his hand over the little finger, in an action similar to bowling a leg break, only at higher speed.
Legcutters do not turn as sharply as leg breaks bowled by a leg spin bowler, but at the speed of a fast bowler even a tiny deviation can cause difficulties for the batsman.
A fast bowler will typically use the legcutter as a variation ball, as it is most effective when it surprises the batsman.
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