The Back of Hand Slower Ball in Cricket
The back of hand slower ball is delivered with the palm facing the batter at release, dramatically cutting pace and producing a floating, dipping trajectory. Learn the grip and technique.
What Is the Back of Hand Slower Ball?
The back of hand slower ball is a variation where the bowler rotates their wrist at the point of release so that the back of the hand (rather than the palm) faces the batter. This produces a delivery with sharply reduced pace, often accompanied by significant dip or float and sometimes a degree of spin.
How to Bowl It
- Set up with a standard pace grip and normal run-up
- As the arm comes over at the point of release, rotate the wrist inward
- The back of the hand faces the batter rather than the palm
- The ball is pushed out rather than released off the fingers normally
- This rotation dramatically reduces pace and often adds late dip
Famous Users
Wasim Akram and Jasprit Bumrah are widely admired for their back of hand slower balls. Bumrah's ability to bowl this delivery at high accuracy in the final over of a T20 innings has been credited with numerous match-winning performances for India.
Frequently asked questions
Is the back of hand slower ball hard to bowl?
It requires significant wrist flexibility and practice to execute accurately. The change of wrist position can alter the ball's landing point significantly, making it difficult to control before developing mastery.
Does it spin like a leg-spinner?
The delivery can look like leg-spin to a batter but does not spin as sharply off the pitch as a true leg-break. The main effect is pace reduction and flight variation rather than significant lateral spin.