Googly
Also known as: wrong un(term used as-is across languages)
A googly is a leg-spinner's wrist-spin delivery that turns the opposite way to the stock ball, toward a right-hander. An identical action disguises it.
The googly is wrist-spin's most famous weapon of deception. A standard leg-spin delivery pitches and turns from leg to off for a right-handed batter. It moves away from the body, threatening the outside edge. The googly looks identical out of the bowler's hand but turns from off to leg instead, into the right-hander's pads or stumps. The bowler achieves this reversal by releasing with the back of the hand facing the batter (over-the-wrist spin) rather than the palm. That changes the axis and direction of the spin imparted on the ball.
The googly's effectiveness depends entirely on disguise. Sometimes a batter reads the googly at release, from the position of the wrist or hand at the delivery point. Then it is simply a ball turning toward the body, and relatively easy to manage. A googly that stays hidden until the ball pitches, or even until it turns, is different. The batter plays the expected leg-break and finds the ball doing the opposite. That often produces an inside edge onto the stumps or a pad-before-wicket dismissal. The greatest leg-spinners in history (Shane Warne, Anil Kumble, Abdul Qadir) used the googly sparingly. They did so precisely because overuse reduces its disguise value. Batters who see many googlies learn the wrist-position tell.
For the bowler, the googly takes longer to master than the standard leg-break. It requires a different wrist action that feels unnatural until deeply ingrained. Young leg-spinners are usually advised not to develop the googly until the standard leg-break is fully automatic. Adding the googly before the stock ball is reliable tends to corrupt the stock ball's action. The wrist learns to flip for the googly rather than roll for the leg-break. This sequencing of skill development is one of the principles of high-level cricket coaching.
Tips by skill level
Before learning the googly, make your standard leg-break absolutely reliable. The googly only works as a contrast to a leg-break that batters have learned to read — without the stock ball, the googly has nothing to contrast against.
Use the googly after three or four consecutive leg-breaks to the same line, then deliver the googly to the same release point. The batter's brain patterns the previous deliveries and commits to covering the expected turn — the googly arrives at that committed-weight moment for maximum disruption.
Example
Expecting the ball to spin away, the batter is beaten as the googly turns back in and raps the pads — out lbw.
Why it matters
The googly keeps batters permanently uncertain against wrist-spin, forcing them to play defensively even against deliveries that might otherwise be attacked.
How it shows up on video
Watch the bowler's wrist position at release. A leg-break shows the palm rolling outward; a googly shows the back of the wrist facing the batter. Batters who read the wrist early step across to cover the turn. Those who miss it are visibly surprised when the ball turns in the opposite direction from their defensive commitment.
Common mistakes
- Overusing the googly. A spinner who bowls too many googlies loses the element of surprise and teaches batters the wrist-position tell. The stock ball then also becomes easier to read.
- Developing the googly before mastering the stock leg-break — the wrist action for the googly can corrupt the leg-break's natural roll if learned prematurely.
- Gripping too tightly for the googly. A tense grip kills the wrist snap required for effective top-spin and turn. The googly needs a relaxed grip through to release.
- Bowling the googly to a batter who is not on the back foot. The googly is most effective against a batter who has committed to the leg-break (weight going with the expected turn). A batter playing defensively straight is harder to deceive.
Frequently asked questions
How is the googly different from the doosra?
The googly is a wrist-spin delivery (leg-spinner's weapon) that turns opposite to the stock leg-break. The doosra is a finger-spin delivery (off-spinner's weapon) that turns opposite to the stock off-break. Both deceive by turning the wrong way for their action type. But they are bowled with fundamentally different grips and wrist actions by different types of spinners.
Why is it also called the "wrong un"?
Because it is the wrong direction — it turns the wrong way relative to what the standard action suggests. "Wrong un" is the informal cricketing name for any delivery that turns the opposite way from the stock delivery for that type of bowler. The googly is the leg-spinner's wrong un; the doosra is the off-spinner's equivalent.
Related terms
- YorkerA yorker is a delivery bowled to pitch right at the batter's feet, under the swinging bat. It is one of the hardest balls to score off and a key death-overs weapon.
- Off-SpinOff-spin is finger-spin bowling that turns the ball from off to leg, toward a right-handed batter. It uses the fingers, not the wrist, and its stock delivery is the off-break.
- LBW (Leg Before Wicket)LBW is a mode of dismissal. Under specific conditions, the umpire can rule the batter leg before wicket. That applies if the ball would have hit the stumps but the batter's pad intercepts it first.
Cricket analysis is in development
Motion Lab does not analyze this sport yet. Keep exploring the terms in this section.