Off Cutter in Cricket: The Pace Delivery That Moves from Off to Leg
The off cutter is a medium-pace delivery where the bowler cuts their fingers from off to leg at release, making the ball deviate toward the right-handed batsman's body after bouncing.
What Is the Off Cutter?
The off cutter is a delivery bowled by medium-pace bowlers where the bowler cuts their fingers from the off side across the ball at release. This imparts spin that causes the ball to deviate from off stump toward leg stump after bouncing — moving into the right-handed batsman's body. It can jam the batsman up, result in LBW decisions, or take an inside edge onto the stumps.
How the Off Cutter Is Bowled
- Ball gripped with index and middle fingers on the seam
- At delivery, fingers cut from the off side (right) toward the leg side (left)
- Ball exits the hand with clockwise spin (from bowler's view)
- On landing, the spin causes the ball to deviate from off to leg
- The delivery looks like a normal seam-up ball until it deviates
Off Cutter vs Inswinger
Both the off cutter and inswinger move from off toward leg. The difference: the inswinger moves in the air before bouncing; the off cutter moves off the pitch after bouncing. The off cutter is more effective on rough pitches; the inswinger on pitches that help lateral movement through the air (humid, overcast conditions).
Famous Off Cutter Bowlers
Bhuvneshwar Kumar of India uses the off cutter brilliantly in the powerplay, early in T20 spells. James Anderson and Bhuvneshwar are known for using both cutters interchangeably, making them hard to read for batsmen.
Frequently asked questions
What is an off cutter in cricket?
The off cutter is a medium-pace delivery where the bowler cuts fingers across the ball from off to leg, causing it to deviate from off stump toward leg stump after bouncing.
How is an off cutter different from an inswinger?
An inswinger moves in the air before bouncing; an off cutter moves off the pitch after bouncing — both go from off toward leg but by different mechanisms.
When is the off cutter most effective?
On rough, dry pitches where the surface creates more grip for the cutter's spin to take effect after bouncing.