The Googly (Wrong 'Un) in Cricket: The Leg-Spinner's Surprise Ball
The googly turns the opposite way to the standard leg-break, bamboozling batters who play for spin in the expected direction. Learn the mechanics, history, and who bowls it best.
What Is the Googly?
The googly — also called the wrong 'un, the bosie (after its inventor B.J.T. Bosanquet), or simply the wrong one — is a delivery bowled by a leg-spinner that turns from off to leg for a right-handed batter, the opposite direction to the stock leg-break. It is bowled with a wrist position that is turned completely over, causing the ball to come out from the back of the hand.
How Is It Bowled?
Instead of the wrist rotating outward (as in a leg-break), the leg-spinner's wrist rotates inward and over — the back of the hand faces the batter at release. This reverses the spin direction, imparting off-spin rotation. The challenge is making this unusual wrist position look identical to the leg-break until the moment the ball leaves the hand.
History of the Googly
The googly was invented by English cricketer B.J.T. Bosanquet around 1900 and used in the 1903–04 Ashes tour of Australia. It caused confusion for years because batters had no reference for a delivery that appeared to be a leg-break but turned the other way. The delivery was so associated with Bosanquet that in South Africa it was called the 'bosie' for decades.
How It Takes Wickets
- A batter conditioned to the leg-break plays outside the line, expecting the ball to move away — the googly hits the stumps
- Left-handed batters are particularly vulnerable — the googly turns into them like a normal off-break
- A googly bowled into the rough outside right-hander's leg stump can deviate back sharply to hit the stumps
- The surprise factor — bowled after a sequence of leg-breaks — creates hesitation and mistiming
How Batters Try to Read It
- Watch the bowler's wrist — the seam orientation visible at release can indicate which way the ball is spinning
- Study the seam direction in flight — a googly has the seam rotating in a different plane to a leg-break
- Pick up on the bowler's release point and hand position — most bowlers have subtle tells
- Experienced batters watch the amount of wrist 'cock' — too much suggests the wrist has gone over for a googly
Frequently asked questions
Can every leg-spinner bowl a googly?
Not all leg-spinners develop a credible googly. It requires extreme wrist flexibility and significant practice to disguise. Some leg-spinners — including some Test-level players — never develop a consistent googly, relying on the top-spinner and flipper instead.
Is the googly more common in any particular format?
The googly is used in all formats. In T20 cricket, bowlers sometimes bowl it more sparingly — the risk of a loose googly being hit for six is high. In Test cricket, a well-disguised googly in the right moment can end a long partnership.
Who has the best googly in cricket history?
Shane Warne, Anil Kumble, Leg-spin maestros from Pakistan like Abdul Qadir, and more recently Rashid Khan (Afghanistan) are all cited. Rashid Khan's googly in particular has been called the best active example — he bowls it with near-identical action to his leg-break.