The Leg Cutter in Cricket: Seam Movement Away from the Batter
The leg cutter cuts off the seam from leg to off — moving away from the right-handed batter after pitching. Learn the grip, the effect, and the best conditions to bowl it.
What Is the Leg Cutter?
The leg cutter is a pace bowling variation where the seam cuts from the leg side to the off side after pitching. For a right-handed batter facing a right-arm bowler, this means the ball moves away from them — toward the off side — after bouncing. It is the mirror image of the off cutter.
Grip and Release
For the leg cutter, the bowler rotates the fingers in the opposite direction to the off cutter — pulling the fingers clockwise across the seam at release. This imparts movement from leg to off at pitch. The delivery looks identical to a regular seamer or off cutter in the hand.
Leg Cutter vs Away Swing
Both the leg cutter and the away-swinger take the ball away from the right-handed batter, but the mechanism differs: away swing happens through the air; the leg cutter happens off the pitch at the point of bounce. A batter who has spotted the swing in the air may still be beaten by a leg cutter that moves after pitching unexpectedly.
Frequently asked questions
What direction does the leg cutter move?
The leg cutter moves from leg to off — it moves away from the right-handed batter after pitching, toward the off side.
Is the leg cutter the same as reverse swing?
No. Reverse swing moves the ball through the air in the opposite direction to conventional swing. The leg cutter moves off the pitch, not through the air. They are distinct variations.