Arm ball
An
arm ball is a type of
delivery in the
sport of
cricket. It is a variation delivery of the
cricket ball by an
off spin bowler. It is the off spin equivalent of a
leg spinner's
slider or a
zooter.
In contrast to an
off break, an arm ball is delivered without rolling the fingers down the side of the ball on release. This means the ball has little or no spin on it, and it does not spin appreciably off the
pitch. Instead, it travels straight on "in the direction of the arm" - from which it derives its name. However, by keeping the seam upright, the bowler can also hope to obtain some
outswing away from the right-handed batsman, thereby confusing the batsman who expects the ball to turn towards him like a normal off-break.
The arm ball is best used as a surprise variation by a bowler who is turning his off breaks considerably. A complacent or poorly skilled
batsman playing for the expected spin can be taken by surprise and end up edging the ball with the outside edge of the
bat, possibly offering a catch to the
wicket-keeper or
slips fielders.
Saqlain Mushtaq and left-armer
Daniel Vettori use the arm ball to good effect. India's
Bishen Singh Bedi is arguably the best known exponent of this delivery.
*
Doosra
