Slow ball is a bowling variation in cricket that is attributed with pace bowlers. As the name suggests, a slow ball is a significantly decelerated delivery.
A pace bowler employs a slow ball in order to disrupt the batter’s rhythm. It is usually bowled at a time when a pace bowler’s past two or three deliveries were relatively quick. Compared to other deliveries, the bowler’s release of a slow ball is at times late, giving the batter lesser time to react to the incoming variation.
A slow ball can be bowled by many ways. The most common variations are by means of bowling an off-cutter or leg-cutter. This is done by using the thumb to rotate the ball, thereby imparting some spin on it. The ball cuts through the air and spins slowly after pitching. A split-seam method is another way of bowling the slower ball. The index and the middle fingers are placed wide apart from the actual seam position. The release of the ball is routine and the ball is slowed down because of the split distance between the fingers.
More complex methods of bowling the slower ball are the knuckle ball and the back-of-the-hand variants. The knuckle ball requires the bowlers to grip the ball primarily with their fingernails laid flat against the seam. There is no actual command over the grip. Thus, at the time of its release, the ball has no rotation, which causes it to dip down after pitching.
The back-of-the-hand delivery is bowled by twisting the arm completely at the time of release while the seam position is conventional. When the bowl is released, the batter cannot see the bowler’s palm. This makes it easier for the batters to decode the incoming slower ball. Similar to the back-of-the-hand delivery, a palm ball is also an easy variant of the slow ball for the batters to pick up. Since the ball is released from the palms, it does not disguise the slower ball too good.
The slow ball is an essential weapon for the pace bowler. Batters often miscue their shots which results in caught outs or bowled dismissals. Moreover, on bigger grounds, the slow ball can be used more often as batters would then have to use their complete strength to send the ball near or beyond the boundaries.
Different bowlers have different strategies for the slower ball apart from the above-mentioned ones. They can either bowl a normal seam delivery slowly, or only have one finger on the seam. Some others place the fingers across the seam while a few rely on gripping the ball more firmly then their conventional deliveries.
