A seam bowler in cricket is a player who specialized in bowling at a pace between 100-150 km/hr while imparting variations on the ball after it pitches. These variations include swinging the ball or moving the ball in different directions after it bounces.
The cricket ball that is made of cork has a leather coating and a stitched thread that runs in the centre. This stitched area is called the seam. It is the direction of the seam that dictates the movement of the ball. This dictation in turn depends on the bowler’s grip on the ball at the time of release and on the part of the ball that makes contact with the pitch.
The conventional seam position is such that the bowler placed both their index and middle fingers on the seam to grip the ball. The wobble seam is a variant where the bowler grips the ball such that the seam passes between the middle and the index finger or where the seam is positioned beside both the fingers. A cross seam is another type where the seam is positioned horizontally with respect to the bowler’s fingers. The final variant is the scrambled seam which will be discussed further.
Bowlers usually get assistance from the breeze or the pitch when the cork ball is new and shiny in order to swing the ball. However, as the ball roughens with the progression of the innings, the ball stops swinging. This is when bowlers opt for variants like the wobble or cross seam to deviate the ball’s trajectory.
A scrambled seam is also used as an alternative when the ball stops swinging. The technique for bowling a scrambled seam is such, that either the middle or the index finger rests on the seam, and the other finger is placed on the shiny leather surface. When the bowler releases the ball, the finger resting on the shinier part is the last one to make contact before release.
Like the wobble seam, the direction of the scrambled seam is not known to the batter nor the bowler. Thus, most bowlers pitch it in a line slightly outside the off stump to reduce the chances of conceding extra runs in the form of wide. The scrambled seam either sharply skids towards the batter or deviates at a bounce higher than the usual bounce with a change in direction after pitching.
The scrambling of the seam’s position is seen in other deliveries like the off cutter, leg cutter, slower ball, and the knuckle ball. However, unlike the scrambled ball, in each of these deliveries, the direction of the ball after pitching is known by the bowler. Moreover, it is also easier for the batter to read the cutter variants or the slower balls as compared to the scrambled ball.
Thus, a scrambled ball is a unique variant of conventional seam bowling which pace bowlers can opt for at any stage of the innings.
