After the game Siraj spoke about how bowling the wobble seam delivery has really helped him, saying – “It is always difficult for batters in all formats if you bowl the right line. I started bowling with wobble seam in the nets to develop the in-swinger. The wobble seam keeps the batters guessing where the ball will go.”
So what really is the wobble seam delivery?
Here’s a quick explainer in 6 points:
– When a fast bowler bowls such a delivery, the seam will wobble slightly from side to side, unlike a conventional pacer’s delivery in which the seam stays upright.
– If the bowler bends his back and hits the deck hard, the wobble-seam delivery will deviate unpredictably off the pitch.
– England pacer James Anderson is credited with inventing the delivery, which he says he developed after watching Mohammad Asif up close on Pakistan‘s tour of England in 2010.
– The delivery is usually bowled by holding the ball as one would for a regular seamer’s delivery, with the ring and middle finger on either side of the seam, but much wider apart so that the seam is more visible.
– The trick lies in how the ball is released, with the wrist ‘locked’ so the ball is not ‘pushed’ out of the hand like an usual delivery, giving it a chance to wobble.
– Many top international bowlers, like Siraj, now have their own version of the wobble-seam delivery.
(With inputs from Prasanth Menon)