Types of Bowling Lengths In Cricket

What are the different bowling lengths in cricket? 

Key: 

              - Yorker Length

              - Full Length 

              - Good Length

              - Short Length

 

In cricket, length, as the name suggests, is a measure of the distance from the stumps a bowler pitches a ball. The effectiveness of bowling a particular length is dependent on the type of wicket (pitch) on offer. 

 

Learn more about types of wickets (pitches) >>here<<

 

When there is lateral ball movement off the surface on offer, a slightly fuller length would be ideal as the ball may just nip away from the batsman as he is looking to drive. This brings the keeper and slip fielders into play.

 

On a fast, bouncy wicket the back of a good length can give a batsman quite a bit of trouble as this length is just short enough to give the extra bounce time to take effect but at the same time just full enough not to give the batsman extra milliseconds to take evasive action or choose not to play at the delivery.

 

Slower bowlers tend to prefer fuller lengths because at their speeds a batsman would not be troubled by their short ball. 

Faster bowlers on the other hand can incorporate the short ball into their repertoire as a way of maintaining an air of unpredictability.

 

Above all, it's always nifty to bowl a certain length as per batsman's weakness. 

If a batsman is known to struggle playing short balls then you might as well pepper him with the short stuff a fair bit.

Yorker length   

Also called the blockhole. It is both an effective wicket-taking delivery and a run-saving delivery for the fielding side. 

However, it is has very small room for error on execution and can be quite costly when executed poorly.

Full toss

This is the delivery that reaches the batsman without touching the deck, baseball style.

Although full tosses occasionally claim wickets, no bowler intentionally balls a full toss. It is very often an attempted yorker gone wrong. For any batsman, a full toss is easier to play than a bouncing and deviating ball.

Full length 

These generally get to the batsman at half volley length. They therefore tend to draw a batsman onto his front foot.

 

The potency of a full length delivery is often dependent on swing, seam movement, or both.

This makes a full length delivery a good option on a wicket that is offering assistance to the bowler.

The slot

This can be generally painted as a full delivery.

What distinguishes a slot delivery from any other full delivery is that a slot delivery, although full, is just a touch shorter in length and closer to the good delivery length.

 

This means the half volley nature of a slot delivery just gives the ball a little extra bounce, just enough for the batsman to get his bat underneath the ball and give it a full, natural swing.

Slot deliveries therefore run a greater risk of being hit for maximum runs.

Good length

Also called a length ball, a good length delivery is shorter in length to a full delivery.  

Unlike a fuller length delivery, a good length delivery tends to push a batsman onto his back foot, or have him stuck in-between front and back foot.

Like the rest of deliveries, the type of pitch on offer determines how threatening a good length delivery is. For example, variable bounce can go well with a good length delivery as it becomes frustratingly unpredictable to a batsman whether the ball will skip over the wicket or not.

Back of a length 

Because a good length delivery is synonymously called a length ball, a back of a length delivery is simply a good length delivery that is on the shorter side of a good length.

Sounds familiar? 

Of course it does. Just as how a slot delivery is on the shorter side of a full length, a back of a length delivery is one that is on the shorter side of a good length.

Short length 

This is arguably the simplest to comprehend.

Anything shorter than a good length is called a short ball.

No ifs, buts, or maybes, a short length ball will always make an orthodox batsman play on the back foot. Emphasis on "orthodox."

 

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