As we all know, there are different kinds of bowling, which helps the team take the batsmen’s wickets. To do that, bowlers use different tactics and techniques to take out the players of the opponent teams. We will talk about one such delivery made by a leg spin bowler.
There is a technique called Googly ball in cricket, in which the leg spinner of the team will bowl. When this kind of delivery is made, it would seem like a leg break bowling, but after the pitch, the ball will go opposite the expected direction.
When a normal leg spin delivery was made, the ball would turn from the leg side to the off side of a right-handed batsman. But when Googly ball delivery was made, it would do the exact opposite, meaning it would turn towards the leg side of the right-handed batsman. From the bowler’s perspective, the clockwise spin can identify the googly ball in cricket.
Some players were left-arm unorthodox spinners, who are known as chinaman bowlers. When chinaman bowlers attempt googly deliveries, it is known as chinaman googly.
Who Invented Googly Ball in Cricket?
Bernard Bosanquet was an English cricket player who played international matches from 1903 to 1905. He was a right-handed batsman and a leg-break googly bowler.
He was an acknowledged inventor of the Googly ball in cricket. He spent many practicing sessions practicing googly. The first-ever public recognition on the ground was when he represented Middlesex and played against Leicestershire, which happened at Lord’s. Bernard used this technique to take out the wicket of the player, Coe, who had less than two runs to hit a century. That was the first recognition of the Googly ball in cricket; the rest is history.
Cricket Googly Bowling Tips
Googly ball in cricket was one of the deliveries made by a right-handed bowler to a right-handed batsman. The googly is otherwise known as the ‘wrong-un.’ It is one of the handy tools for the leg break bowler, which would make the batter go insane when bowled at the right time of the match. To take on more wickets by using this technique, there are some notable points to perfect this art. Let us dive into it.
To perfect this art, the leg break bowler should excel in three areas: the ability to spin the ball, the accuracy of the bowling, and strategy.
How do you Hold a Googly Ball for Delivery?
For making a googly delivery, the bowler should hold the ball exactly as he would for the leg break delivery. The bowler has to place his index finger and middle finger at a seam length apart in a comfortable way for him. It should neither be too close nor be too apart. The ring finger of the bowler should be on the side of the ball for support. Thumb fingers should be placed at the ball for support. There should be a slight gap between the ball and the palm, allowing the bowl to spin the ball easily when releasing. In other words, a relaxed grip helps the bowler make a smooth delivery.
Run Up for the Googly Ball in Cricket
Run up before the delivery should be 5-10 paces in length. It should start at a walking pace and increase the pace a little before making the delivery. The movement of the bowler should seem like skipping. His focus should be on the delivery of the ball and nothing else.
Position of the Hand for Making Googly Delivery
The moment when the bowler releases the googly ball in cricket is crucial. The bowler should turn the arm and wrist a bit further than he would for leg break delivery. The right-arm bowlers should turn their arm and wrist in a way, their palm pointing in the direction of 2 on the clock face. In other words, we could say, in the way of the northeast on a compass.
The left-arm bowlers should turn their arm and wrist, and their palm should be facing 10 on the clock face. In other words, it should be like the northwest direction of the compass. For the googly ball in cricket, the ball’s seam should be positioned in the northeast direction, and the palm should be in the southeast direction, meaning four on the clock face.
When Releasing the Googly Ball in Cricket
At the time of the release, the bowler should forcefully rotate the ring finger and the little finger over the top of the ball in the direction the seam is facing.
Landing of the Googly Ball
The leg break bowlers should always aim with the target to take out the opponent’s batsmen. The bowler should plan on making googly deliveries where the batsman would never imagine bowling.
The bowler should make a googly ball delivery at the batsman. He should go through the covers on the ground when he hits the ball. In other terms, the bowler should aim at bowling two meters in front of the batter. As for the line of the ball, the bowler should bowl at the offside or outside. It is recommended not to bowl wider than 30 cm.
Who is Famous for Googly?
Bernard James Bosanquet, an English cricketer, is famous for the Googly ball in cricket. But other famous cricket players also excel in the art of this technique in modern cricket. There is Shahid Afridi from the Pakistan cricket team, known as the King of Googly ball in cricket. Mushtaq Ahmad is one of the best leg break googly bowlers worldwide. Shane Warne from the Australian cricket team, Anil Kumble, and Ravichandran Ashwin from the Indian cricket team also join the list of the best googly bowlers worldwide.
Conclusion
Googly ball in cricket is the best weapon to use to take out the crucial wicket, which would help the team to take on the deserved victory. With the change of the cricket era the new generation of spinners are not going with the orthodox style of bowling has lead to missing such awesome deliveries in the game.
