Advanced Spin Bowling: Arm Ball, Flipper, and the Mystery Deliveries
Beyond the standard off-break and leg-break, elite spinners have a range of mystery deliveries — the arm ball, flipper, slider, and wrong 'un. This guide explains each delivery, how they're bowled, who uses them, and why they're so effective at the highest level.
Spin bowling at its highest level is not just off-break and leg-break — it's a full arsenal of deceptive deliveries that emerge from the same release point, look identical until the last moment, and then behave in completely different ways. The best spin bowlers maintain batsmen in permanent uncertainty: will this turn, skid on, hurry through, or bounce unexpectedly? The mystery deliveries — arm ball, flipper, slider, carrom ball — are what separate elite Test spinners from merely good domestic spinners.
The Arm Ball
An arm ball is an off-spinner's variation that goes straight on (like a seam bowler's delivery) rather than turning from off to leg. The finger position is adjusted to prevent the off-spin rotation — the ball comes out slightly wider on the fingers, generating gentle away swing rather than off-break turn. Batsmen expecting the ball to turn into them play inside the line; the arm ball hits the outside edge or goes through the gate. India's Ravichandran Ashwin uses the arm ball with exceptional control.
The Flipper and Slider
The flipper (a leg-spinner's variation) is delivered by gripping the ball between thumb and forefinger and 'flipping' it out — generating backspin that causes the ball to slide through faster than expected and bounce lower. The slider is a similar delivery — delivered with slightly different wrist position, generating overspin (top-spin) rather than backspin. Both variations appear to be leg-breaks from the hand but behave differently off the pitch. Shane Warne and Anil Kumble mastered flippers; Warne and Richie Benaud were the great slider users.
The Wrong 'Un and Googly
The 'wrong 'un' is leg-spin bowled from a different wrist position that turns from leg to off (opposite to a standard leg-break). The googly (the English term) is the same delivery. Delivered identically to a leg-break at release, the wrong 'un requires batsmen to track the ball's turn in the air or off the pitch to detect. Richie Benaud, Bill O'Reilly, Abdul Qadir, Shane Warne, and Rashid Khan are among cricket's greatest googly/wrong 'un bowlers. Detecting the googly from the hand requires focus on the back of the spinning bowler's hand — if the wrist is behind the ball (rather than to the side), a googly is being delivered.
Frequently asked questions
What is an arm ball in cricket?
An arm ball is a variation bowled by off-spinners that doesn't turn — instead going straight on like a seam bowler's delivery. It's generated by adjusting finger position to prevent the off-spin rotation, deceiving batsmen who play for the turn and find the ball goes straight.
What is a flipper in cricket?
A flipper is a leg-spinner's variation where the ball is 'flipped' from between thumb and forefinger, generating backspin. It skids through lower and faster than a normal leg-break, often hitting the batsman's pads or sneaking under the bat when they play for a higher bounce.
How do you detect a googly?
Detecting a googly requires watching the bowler's wrist position at release. For a leg-break, the back of the hand faces toward the batsman; for a googly, the back of the hand faces away (downward). This wrist reversal is subtle and happens in a fraction of a second, making the googly one of cricket's most difficult deliveries to identify.