Seam bowling is a phrase used for a cricket bowling technique whereby the ball is deliberately bowled onto its seam, to cause a random deviation. Practitioners are known as seam bowlers. Darren Gough bowling In the sport of cricket, bowling is the action of propelling the ball toward the wicket defended by a batsman. ... In cricket, at the start of an innings the bowling team opens its bowling by using their pace bowlers first. ... Fast bowling, sometimes known as pace bowling, is one of the two approaches to bowling in the sport of cricket. ... Swing bowling is a technique used for bowling in the sport of cricket. ... Spin bowling, sometimes known as slow bowling, is a technique used for bowling in the sport of cricket. ... Finger spin is a style of bowling in the sport of cricket. ... Off spin is a type of bowling in the sport of cricket which is bowled by an off spinner, a right-handed spin bowler who uses his or her fingers to spin the ball from a right-handed batsmans off side to the leg side (that is, towards the... Animation of a slow left arm delivery. ... Wrist spin is a style of bowling in the sport of cricket. ... Animation of a leg break. ... Animation of a chinaman delivery. ... In the sport of cricket, throwing (commonly referred to as chucking) occurs when a bowler delivers a ball with an illegal straightening of the elbow. ... Bold textBold textBold textBold textBold textBold textBold textBold textBold textBold textBold textBold textBold textBold textBold textBold textBold textBold textBold textA delivery or ball in cricket is a single action of bowling a... A full toss is a type of delivery in the sport of cricket. ... In the terminology of the game of cricket, a beamer (less commonly beam ball) is a type of delivery in which the ball, without bouncing, passes above the batsmans waist height. ... In the sport of cricket, a bouncer (or bumper) is a type of delivery, usually bowled by a fast bowler. ... In cricket, an indipper is a delivery that curves into a right-handed batsman before the ball pitches (bounces on the pitch). ... An inswinger is a type of delivery in the sport of cricket. ... A leg cutter is a type of delivery in the sport of cricket. ... An off cutter is a type of delivery in the sport of cricket. ... An outswinger is a type of delivery in the sport of cricket. ... In the sport of cricket, a reverse is a type of slower ball. ... In the sport of cricket, a slower ball is a slower-than-usual delivery from a fast bowler. ... In cricket, a yorker is a delivery where the cricket ball bounces on the cricket pitch on or near the batsmans popping crease. ... An arm ball is a type of delivery in the sport of cricket. ... Animation of a chinaman delivery. ... A doosra (Urdu: دوسرا, Hindi: दूस्रा) (doo-srah) is a particular type of delivery by an off spin bowler in the sport of cricket. ... Hi Waller. ... In cricket, a googly is a type of delivery bowled by a right-arm leg spin bowler. ... A leg break is a type of delivery in the sport of cricket. ... An off break is a type of delivery in the sport of cricket. ... In cricket, a slider is a type of delivery bowled by a wrist spin bowler. ... In cricket, a topspinner is a delivery where the ball comes out the top of the bowlers hand, causing it to spin in the direction of travel. ... Teesra (from a Urdu/Hindi word, translating to the third one) is a cricket delivery that is being developed by Pakistani off spinner Saqlain Mushtaq. ... In cricket, underarm bowling is as old as the sport itself. ... In cricket, roundarm bowling is a style that was introduced in the early years of the 19th century to supercede underarm bowling. ... In cricket, overarm bowling refers to a delivery in which the bowlers hand is above shoulder height. ... In cricket Lob Bowling is a disused, and now illegal, style of bowling used in the game in the 19th Century where trajectory was the most important consideration. ... Bowler Shaun Pollock bowls to batsman Michael Hussey. ... Darren Gough bowling In the sport of cricket, bowling is the action of propelling the ball toward the wicket defended by a batsman. ... Muttiah Muralitharan bowling A bowler in the sport of cricket is usually a player whose speciality is bowling, analogous to a pitcher in baseball. ...

Seam bowling is generally classed as a subtype of fast bowling, although the bowling speeds at which seam can be a factor include medium-pace bowling. Although there are specialist seamers that make deliberate use of off-cutters and leg-cutters at the expense of bowling slower than regular fast bowlers, most bowlers employ the seam to some effect so therefore the terms "seamer" and "fast bowler" are largely synonymous. Fast bowling, sometimes known as pace bowling, is one of the two approaches to bowling in the sport of cricket. ...

Physics of seam bowling

A cricket ball is not a perfect sphere. The seam joining the pieces of leather is circumferential and the stitching is noticeably raised. If the ball is bowled such that the seam hits the pitch when it bounces, this irregularity can cause the ball to deviate sideways in its path. Cricket ball A cricket ball is a hard, solid ball used to play cricket. ... A sphere is a perfectly symmetrical geometrical object. ... Cricket pitch (not to scale) A wicket consists of three stumps that are placed into the ground, and topped with two bails. ...

In order to achieve this effect, a seam bowler usually delivers the ball with the seam held upright, with rotation about a horizontal axis. This keeps the seam aligned vertically as it travels towards the batsman, making it likely that the ball will bounce with the seam on the pitch. Warwickshire batsman Mike Powell A batsman in the sport of cricket is, depending on context: Any player in the act of batting. ...

The direction and degree of deviation from a straight path are dependent on the small-scale alignment of the seam and any irregularities in the pitch surface. This means that deviation caused by seam is chaotic and unpredictable. A plot of the Lorenz attractor for values r = 28, σ = 10, b = 8/3 In mathematics and physics, chaos theory describes the behavior of certain nonlinear dynamical systems that under certain conditions exhibit dynamics that are sensitive to initial conditions (popularly referred to as the butterfly effect). ...

However, it is also possible, by holding the seam at an angle and rolling the fingers over the surface of the ball, to produce a deliberate off cutter in which the ball veers away from the off side when it bounces on the pitch, or leg cutter in which it veers away from a right-handed batsman. Former Australian bowler Dennis Lillee employed a leg cutter of this sort to considerable effect; however, deliveries of this kind will be slower than if the bowler simply bowls with the seam upright, hoping for movement one way or the other. Some bowlers deliberately use cutters more for their surprise slowness than the deviation off the pitch - a tactic that can also be effective. An off cutter is a type of delivery in the sport of cricket. ... For usage in other sports, see offside rule. ... A leg cutter is a type of delivery in the sport of cricket. ... Dennis Keith Lillee (born July 18, 1949 in Subiaco, Western Australia) was an Australian cricketer. ...

Often the deviation caused by seam is not large enough to cause a batsman significant problems with playing the ball. Occasionally, however, the ball can deviate far enough to hit the edge of the cricket bat instead of the middle, producing a catch for nearby fielders. Swing bowling is a way of getting greater deviation, but is harder to control. A cricket bat is used by batsmen in the sport of cricket. ... Fielding in the sport of cricket is what fielders do to collect the ball when it is struck by the batsman in such a way as to either limit the number of runs that the batsman scores or get the batsman out by catching the ball or running the batsman... Swing bowling is a technique used for bowling in the sport of cricket. ...

Australian fast-medium bowler Glenn McGrath has used his seaming ability to great effect in his distinguished career. The ball 'seams' at its best at the start of a teams innings, when the ball is new. A pitch which has cracks in it may assist a seam bowler as well. This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... An innings, or inning, is a fixed-length segment of a game in any of a variety of sports – most notably baseball and cricket – during which one team attempts to score while the other team attempts to prevent the first from scoring. ...

These days there is a distinct lack of left-arm swing bowlers in the game. One of the most famous left-arm bowlers is Sri Lanka's Chaminda Vaas. Warnakulasuriya Patabendige Ushantha Joseph Chaminda Vaas, (born 27 January 1974 in Mattumagala), usually known as Chaminda Vaas, is a Sri Lankan cricketer (fast bowler). ...

See also

• Cricket terminology
• Swing bowling