Index






Bowling action, Over the wicket, Round the wicket


Otherwise known as mode of delivery, the bowling action is the manner in which the bowler bowls the next ball - right or left arm, over or round the wicket. The bowler in the video is bowling right arm over the wicket

Over the wicket means with his bowling arm closest to the stumps at his end, round the wicket means with his bowling arm furthest away from them

When a bowler first comes on to bowl, the umpire will ask what action he proposes to use and will then inform the striker so that he, too, knows what to expect

The bowler can change his mode of delivery at any time, but he must tell the umpire before bowling with the new one, otherwise he should be called for bowling a No ball. The reason for this is that a sudden, unexpected, change in the mode of delivery can be potentially very dangerous to the batter

Underarm bowling - which was the only legal mode of delivery many years ago - is not permitted nowadays unless a special agreement has been reached before the match begins