The Run Up helps you gain momentum and direction ahead of your fast bowling action. It is the first part of your bowling technique that can impact how fast and straight you can bowl in practice and cricket matches.
Swing is a term that describes how a cricket ball will move laterally in the air once it has left the bowlers hand. Instead of travelling in a straight line towards the batsman, the ball will curve through the air. Some bowlers will swing the ball away from the batsman – this is called outswing. Some bowlers will make the ball swing in towards the batsman – this is called inswing.
An outswinger is a type of delivery in the sport of cricket. It is bowled by swing bowlers. An outswinger is bowled by holding the cricket ball with the seam at an angle and the first two fingers running along either side of the seam. Once the ball has worn and been polished so that one side is rougher than the other, the rough side is placed on the left. When the bowler delivers the ball, he angles the seam so that it points slightly to the left as well, and releases the ball rotating about a vertical axis with the seam along the rotational axis. The angle of the seam to the direction of motion produces an aerofoil effect as the ball moves through the air, pushing it to the left. This is enhanced by differential air pressure caused by movement of air over the rough and smooth surfaces, which also tends to push the ball to the left. The result is that the ball curves, or swings to the left. From a right-handed batsman's point of view, the swing is away from his body towards his right, i.e. towards the off side. This swing away from the body is the source of the name outswinger.
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 about a horizontal axis perpendicular to the length of the pitch. For an off cutter, a right-handed bowler pulls his fingers down the right side of the ball, in an action similar to bowling an off break, only at higher speed. This changes the axis of spin to make it more like an off break, which makes the ball deviate to the right when it bounces on the pitch. From a right-handed batsman's point of view, this deviation is to the left, or from the off side towards the leg side. This deviation is known as cut, and the delivery is called an off cutter because it moves away from the off side. What differentiates a genuine off cutter from a delivery that simply nips back off the seam is that it is deliberately bowled. Off cutters do not turn as sharply as off breaks bowled by an off 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 miss the ball with his bat and be bowled between bat and pad or out leg before wicket if struck on the pads.
