Becoming great at fast bowling takes time and most importantly, requires consistent practise. We hope you liked the last blog post about bowling the leg cutter. After reading this blog, stay rest assured to reverse swing the ball like the greats. Up for the challenge? Let’s begin.

Before learning to bowl fast, it’s important that you choose your interest. If you want to become great as a batter, it’s advisable to focus on your batting skills. Although learning to bowl fast is important, choosing your passion is always the best choice. Now, from the last blog post on bowling leg cutters, it’s time to master the reverse swing. From the technique to the follow through, stay rest assured to bowl like the greats!

Before learning the right technique to bowl the reverse swing, it’s important to keep one part of the ball, next to the seam, shiny. This can be done using the moisture from your saliva. However, due to COVID, it’s highly advisable not to do so. Alternatively, rubbing a side of the ball on your trousers can keep the shine on. Therefore, for the reverse swing, it’s important to keep one part shiny, while the other part is rough and worn out.

As for the grip, place your index finger and middle finger close to the seam with your thumb supporting the ball underneath. Now, if the shinier part of the ball is facing your palm, after the release, the ball is going to naturally swing into the batter. On the other hand, if the worn-out part of the ball is facing your palm, the ball swings away from the batter. The effectiveness of the reverse swing also depends on the bounce and pace of the wicket. With the perfect line along with the bounce of the wicket, a well-executed reverse swing delivery can pose serious problems.

The trick here is to hide the seam position. Therefore, during your run-up, try confusing the batter by hiding the ball in your palm until the release. What this does is that it helps you to decide if you want to swing the ball away or into the batter. Practise hard and stay consistent as the reverse swing takes a lot of effort to master. For the next blog post, we learn how to bowl a bouncer – an all-time favourite.