An outswinger is a type of delivery of the

ball A ball is a round object (usually spherical, but can sometimes be ovoid) with several uses. It is used in ball games, where the play of the game follows the state of the ball as it is hit, kicked or thrown by players. Balls can also be used f ...

in the

sport Sport pertains to any form of Competition, competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and Skill, skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to specta ...

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

. In such a delivery the ball curves—or "swings"—out and away from the batter's body and the

wicket In cricket, the term wicket has several meanings: * It is one of the two sets of three stumps and two bails at either end of the pitch. The fielding team's players can hit the wicket with the ball in a number of ways to get a batsman out. ...

. By contrast, an

inswinger An inswinger is a type of delivery of the ball in the sport of cricket. In such a delivery the ball curves—or "swings"—in toward the batter's body and the wicket. By contrast, an outswinger swings away from the line of the batter and the wic ...

swings in toward the batter and the wicket. Outswingers are

bowled In cricket, the term bowled has several meanings. First, is the act of propelling the ball towards the wicket defended by a batsman. Second, it is a method of dismissing a batsman, by hitting the wicket with a ball delivered by the bowler. (Th ...

by swing bowlers. The term has also been adopted into

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

commentary, in which context it describes a

cross A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines or bars, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letter X, is termed a sa ...

of the

kicked so that it curves outward from and across the face of the

goal A goal is an idea of the future or desired result that a person or a group of people envision, plan and commit to achieve. People endeavour to reach goals within a finite time by setting deadlines. A goal is roughly similar to a purpose or ai ...

, rather than on goal.

Method

An outswinger is bowled by holding the

cricket ball A cricket ball is a hard, solid ball used to play cricket. A cricket ball consists of a cork core wound with string then a leather cover stitched on, and manufacture is regulated by cricket law at first-class level. The trajectory of a crick ...

with the seam at an angle and the first two fingers running along either side of the seam. The ball must be released at 12 o'clock height. The hands should move slightly towards the left at follow through and must push down for more back-spin. Once the ball has worn on one side the shiny side should face the leg side and the seam towards first or second slip for swing. The difference of pressure caused by movement of air over the rough and smooth surfaces tends to push the ball to the left. The result is that the ball curves, or ''swings'' to the left. In case of a new ball point the seam to the direction of swing. The difference of the separation of air by the seam the ball moves away from the batsman.

Advantages

From a right-handed

batsman In cricket, batting is the act or skill of hitting the ball with a bat to score runs and prevent the loss of one's wicket. Any player who is currently batting is, since September 2021, officially referred to as a batter (historically, the ...

's point of view, the swing is away from his body towards his right, i.e. towards the

off side The off side is a particular half of the field in cricket. From the point of view of a right-handed batsman facing the bowler, it is the right-hand side of the field, or the half of the field in front of the right-handed batsman when he or sh ...

. This swing away from the body is the source of the name ''outswinger''. To a left-handed batsman, the swing is in towards the body and towards the

leg side The leg side, or on side, is defined to be a particular half of the field used to play the sport of cricket. It is the side of the field that corresponds to the batsman's non-dominant hand, from their perspective. From the point of view of a righ ...

which from a technical point of view makes the outswinger, now an inswinger. Outswingers may be considered to be one of the more difficult fast deliveries for a right-handed batsman to play. This is because the ball moves away from his body. This means that any miscalculation can result in an outside edge off the bat and a catch going to the

wicket-keeper The wicket-keeper in the sport of cricket is the player on the fielding side who stands behind the wicket or stumps being watchful of the batsman and ready to take a catch, stump the batsman out and run out a batsman when occasion arises. Th ...

slips Slips (or SLIPS) may refer to: *Slips (oil drilling) *SLIPS (Slippery Liquid Infused Porous Surfaces) *SLIPS (company) *SLIPS (Sri Lanka Interbank Payment System) *Slip (cricket), often used in the plural form *The Slips, a UK electronic music duo ...

fielders.

Tactical use

To a right-handed

, a

fast bowler Fast bowling (also referred to as pace bowling) is one of two main approaches to bowling in the sport of cricket, the other being spin bowling. Practitioners of pace bowling are usually known as ''fast'' bowlers, ''quicks'', or ''pacemen''. ...

will generally concentrate on bowling repeated outswingers, aiming to tempt the batsman to play away from his body and get him out in one of the ways described above. However, sometimes a fast bowler may attempt to deceive the batsman by bowling an

off cutter An off cutter is a type of delivery in the game of cricket. It is bowled by fast bowlers. 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 ...

instead of a standard outswinger, and look to get a batsman out either

or lbw. More commonly, variation is in the

length Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a base unit for length is chosen, from which all other units are derived. In the Interna ...

of the ball, with

yorker In cricket, a yorker is a ball bowled (a delivery) which hits the cricket pitch around the batsman's feet. When a batsman assumes a normal stance, this generally means that the cricket ball bounces on the cricket pitch on or near the batsman's ...

s and

bouncer A bouncer (also known as a doorman or door supervisor) is a type of security guard, employed at venues such as bars, nightclubs, cabaret clubs, stripclubs, casinos, hotels, billiard halls, restaurants, sporting events, schools, concerts, or ...

s. An effective delivery length is one that places the ball approaching the top of the

stumps In cricket, the stumps are the three vertical posts that support the bails and form the wicket. '' Stumping'' or ''being stumped'' is a method of dismissing a batsman. The umpire ''calling stumps'' means the play is over for the day. Part of ...

; usually between two-thirds to three- quarters up the length of the pitch.

References

{{reflist

External links

The Science of Swing
Bowling (cricket) Cricket terminology

Method

Advantages

Tactical use

See also

References

External links