Leg-Cutter
Also known as: leg cutter, leg-side cutter
The leg-cutter is a pace bowling variation where the ball is cut off the middle and ring fingers to move towards the leg side off the pitch, acting like a slow leg-break.
Whereas the off-cutter turns to off, the leg-cutter turns to leg. The bowler cuts the middle and ring fingers down the left side of the ball at release, imparting anti-clockwise (leg-break) rotation. On pitching, this causes the ball to deviate towards the leg side. Because the ball moves in towards a right-handed batter rather than away, the leg-cutter can result in LBW, bowled, or a leading edge caught to the off side. Like the off-cutter, it is most effective on pitches that offer grip — old, worn, or slightly damp surfaces. When a pace bowler can bowl both off-cutter and leg-cutter, they can surprise batters on the same pitch from the same delivery position by switching the direction of deviation.
Example
The pacer bowls a leg-cutter that nips back sharply from outside off stump and crashes into middle-and-leg, baffling a batter who played outside the line.
Why it matters
The leg-cutter adds an unexpected inward movement to a pace bowler's armoury. SwingVantage's cricket analysis (in development) will detect finger and wrist angles at release to help bowlers learn and perfect this high-value variation.
Related terms
- Off-CutterThe off-cutter is a pace bowling variation where the ball is cut off the index finger and middle finger to spin towards the off side off the pitch, acting like a slow off-break without a full-length spin action.
- Slower BallThe slower ball is a variation delivery bowled by a pace bowler at significantly reduced speed — usually 20–30 km/h below full pace — to deceive a batter expecting the standard pace.
- Seam BowlingSeam bowling is a style of pace bowling where the ball is gripped so the seam is upright and the ball lands on the seam, causing it to deviate unpredictably off the pitch.
Put this into your swing
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