Off cutter
| Types | |
|---|---|
| Fast | |
| Spin | |
| Deliveries | |
| Fast |
|
| Spin | |
| Other | |
| Actions | |
| Usual | Overarm |
| Other | |
| Illegal techniques | |
An off cutter is a type of delivery in the game of cricket. It is bowled by fast bowlers.
A bowler releases a normal fast delivery with the wrist locked in position and the first two fingers positioned on top of the cricket ball, giving it spin about a horizontal axis perpendicular to the length of the pitch. For an off cutter, a right-handed bowler pulls his fingers down the right side of the ball (from his viewpoint), in an action similar to bowling an off break, only at higher speed. This changes the axis of spin to make it more like an off break, which makes the ball deviate to the right when it bounces on the pitch. From a right-handed batsman's point of view, this deviation is to the left, or from the off side towards the leg side. This deviation is known as cut, and the delivery is called an off cutter because it moves away from the off side. What differentiates a genuine off cutter from a delivery that simply nips back off the seam is that it is deliberately bowled. A fast off cutter can also be bowled by placing the index and middle fingers on one side of the vertical seam, with the remaining fingers spread and tensed on the opposite side of the ball, as used by Brian Statham and Ray Lindwall.
Off cutters do not turn as sharply as off breaks bowled by an off spin bowler, but at the speed of a fast bowler even a tiny deviation can cause difficulties for the batsman. If he is not quick enough to react to the movement, the batsman can miss the ball with his bat and be bowled between bat and pad or out leg before wicket if struck on the pads.
A fast bowler will typically use the off cutter as a variation ball, as it is most effective when it surprises the batsman. Waqar Younis, Mustafizur Rahman, Glenn McGrath, Richard Hadlee, and Fred Trueman managed a bagful of wickets with this delivery because of the accurate lengths at which they operated, between fullish and good lengths (ball landing 2 to 3 steps in front of the batsman) at close to the off stump line. The surprise comes because, when facing rigorously accurate off-side bowlers, like those mentioned above, batters usually incorporate plans to leave the ball, or exaggerate foot movements to the pitch of the ball in anticipation.
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