Slower Ball Types in Cricket — Change of Pace Explained
Slower balls deceive batters expecting pace. Learn the different slower ball grips, when to bowl them, and who uses them most effectively.
What Is a Slower Ball?
A slower ball is any delivery bowled by a fast or medium-pace bowler that is significantly slower than their standard delivery — typically 10–20 mph less — while disguising the speed reduction within a normal-looking action. The batter plays the shot too early, mis-timing to a fielder or skying the ball.
Types of Slower Balls
- Off-cutter slower ball — fingers cut across to slow and deviate; one of the most common variations.
- Leg-cutter slower ball — cut in the opposite direction; moves away from right-handers more slowly.
- Back-of-hand slower ball — ball rests in the palm, delivered with the back of the hand facing the batter; generates backspin and erratic bounce.
- Knuckleball — ball held with knuckles rather than fingertips; minimal spin, floaty trajectory, unpredictable seam movement on landing.
- Split-finger slower ball — index and middle fingers splay apart on the seam; dramatically reduces pace by reducing the grip friction at release.
- Palm ball — ball pushed by the palm rather than released by the fingers; extreme slowness but harder to disguise.
Why Slower Balls Work
A batter calibrates their timing to the bowler's pace. If the bowler has been bowling at 85 mph, the batter's subconscious prepares a swing at that speed. A 68-mph slower ball arrives 0.2 seconds later than expected — the batter has already committed to the shot and gets a top-edge, a miscue, or misses completely.
Classic T20 death-over slower ball
Bowler bowls three 88-mph yorkers in a row. Batter is in position early, watching for another yorker. Bowler delivers a back-of-hand slower ball at 70 mph, pitched on a good length. Batter swings too early, gets a top-edge, and is caught at long-on. The slower ball did not need to hit the stumps — the timing error did the work.
Famous Slower Ball Bowlers
- Mitchell Starc (Australia) — back-of-hand slower ball frequently takes wickets in T20 and ODIs.
- Jasprit Bumrah (India) — knuckleball in the death overs is one of T20 cricket's most dangerous deliveries.
- Lasith Malinga (Sri Lanka) — slower yorker, back-of-hand yorker; revolutionised death-over bowling.
- Mohammad Amir (Pakistan) — subtle off-cutter slower ball used against set batters.
Frequently asked questions
How slow is a slower ball?
It depends on the bowler's pace. A 90-mph pace bowler's slower ball might be 72–75 mph — still faster than a medium-pacer's stock delivery. A medium-pacer's slower ball might be 55–60 mph. The differential is what matters, not the absolute speed.
Can batters pick the slower ball?
Elite batters try to pick it from the bowler's grip, wrist position, or release. The back-of-hand slower ball is the hardest to disguise: a telltale sign is the back of the wrist visible to the batter at release. The knuckleball and split-finger variations are harder to pick because the hand position looks normal.