Arm Balls....

[Iolanthe]

Hi all,

Can someone please explain to me what an "Arm Ball" is??!! The commentators keep using it, in fact Tuffers used it on TMS yesterday but they never explain themsleves...

....and I may as well be the first to say it.....I know we've had some England collapse's, but wasn't that one today up there with the worst!!

Many thanks

[TheKentishFledgling]

It's a varied ball that an off spinner will bowl.

By rolling the fingers down the side of the ball (rather than around it which is conventional off spin), the bowler aims to create backspin, meaning they'll be little turn from the off to leg side (assuming right handed batsman) and the ball will pretty much track in line with the arm of the bowler - hence the name.

I don't think England's batting on Monday was necessarily on their greater collapses - once Trott went, the odds were heavily in SA's favour, barring some special batting from the lower-middle order, which Swann and Prior almost managed to produce. There was no way Andrerson and, particularly, Finn would hold out for long against Philander, Steyn and the like.

[Iolanthe]

Many thanks Kentish Fledgling. At last I know what they are talking about! I will have to delve into my cricket bag and have a practical with a ball (not that I have any sort of pretence at ALL to be a spinner!! Medium pacers are the best |I can conjure up! )