338:. Walker was a famous opening batsman who had a solid defensive technique and was notoriously difficult to dismiss. He was also a more than useful bowler who was always looking for ways to improvise. Legend has it that he and some of his fellow players in the "Hambledon Era" used to practise in a barn during the winters. Walker worked out that he could generate more bounce and variation of pace if he bowled with his arm away from his body and soon realised that these deliveries gave the batsman added problems. He tried to use the style in
379:, Willes opened the bowling for Kent and was promptly no-balled for using his roundarm action. He had been trying at various times to introduce the style since 1807. Being no-balled on this occasion was the final straw, for Willes reportedly threw the ball away and withdrew from the match, literally going straight to his horse and riding away. He refused to play again in any important fixture.
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319:. The story goes that when bowling to her brother in the garden at home in the 1800s, Willes found herself inconvenienced by her large, lead-weighted dress which prevented her from performing the underarm action. Elevating the arm to just above waist height, she bowled without interference from her attire. According to
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The ball must be bowled (not thrown or jerked), and be delivered underhand, with the hand below the elbow. But if the ball be jerked, or the arm extended from the body horizontally, and any part of the hand be uppermost, or the hand horizontally extended when the ball is delivered, the
Umpires shall
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Whatever the origin, John Willes realised that the pace and bounce generated by this raised arm action made the delivery potentially more difficult to play than a conventional underarm one and so he adopted the style himself with his arm coming through at shoulder height. He tried, without success,
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The spread of roundarm in the 1820s was a natural reaction to the growing predominance of batsmen over the age-old underarm style of bowling. Its adherents argued that the legalisation of roundarm was essential to restore the balance between batting and bowling. However, high-scoring matches were
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finally amended the Laws of
Cricket to make it legal. The relevant part of the Law stated: "if the hand be above the shoulder in the delivery, the umpire must call 'No Ball'." It was not long before bowlers' hands started to go above the shoulder and the 1835 Law had to be reinforced in 1845 by
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Although Willes had quit the game, he had made his point and others were willing to pick his ball up and persevere. In 1826, Sussex had the best team in
England and were acclaimed as the "Champion County" in some quarters. Their success owed much to the prowess of two top-class bowlers
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has a very distinctive action which is authentic roundarm, earning him the name "Slinga
Malinga". There are some who question the legality of this action, but it is legal, because his arm does not straighten from a bent position as he bowls. This is the strict definition of bowling
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Although underarm bowlers did not fade away, roundarm became the predominant style until another controversy erupted about overarm in 1864. Prominent roundarm bowlers to succeed
Lillywhite and Broadbridge were
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modified Rule 10 to permit the bowler's hand to be raised as high as the elbow. Lillywhite, Broadbridge and their supporters continued to bowl at shoulder height and the umpires did not no-ball them.
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were arranged, but no immediate decision was made about legalisation. Lillywhite and
Broadbridge used roundarm to great effect against the England batsmen who made loud objections.
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391:, both of whom were champions of the roundarm style, when they could get away with it. Lillywhite was one of the all-time great bowlers and was nicknamed "the Nonpareil".
327:, the story is unlikely to be true for reasons of fashion more than cricket because hooped skirts were out of fashion during the period of the Napoleonic War.
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extend their arm about 90 degrees from their body at the point where they release the ball. Roundarm fell into decline after 1864 when the current style of
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throwing. In fact, many bowlers bowl with a slightly bent arm; the key is that they do not straighten it as they bowl.
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removing benefit of the doubt from the bowler in the matter of his hand's height when delivering the ball.
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But the batsmen were losing the argument. In 1828, following the Sussex v
England roundarm trials,
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and had to return to his usual underarm lobs, with which he was by no means unsuccessful.
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style that was introduced in the first quarter of the 19th century and largely superseded
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The matter was controversial enough for a law to be introduced in 1816 into the
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still comparatively rare owing to vagaries in pitch conditions.
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In 1827, to test the validity of roundarm bowling, three
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Roundarm was said to have been devised in the 1790s by
415:By 1835, powerless to prevent the use of roundarm,
589:Cricket: A History of its Growth and Development
311:The idea of roundarm is sometimes attributed to
456:In the modern game, the Sri Lankan pace bowler
619:Scores & Biographies, Volume 2 (1827–1840)
609:Scores & Biographies, Volume 1 (1744–1826)
299:continued to use it to the end of his career.
436:bowling a round arm delivery against Pakistan
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375:On 15 July 1822, in the MCC v Kent match at
287:by the 1830s. Using a roundarm action, the
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569:A History of Cricket, Volume 1 (to 1914)
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355:to have it accepted in senior cricket.
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350:Prohibition and eventual legalisation
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645:English cricket in the 19th century
579:A Social History of English Cricket
511:"Lasith Malinga, Sri Lanka, Bowler"
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571:, George Allen & Unwin, 1962
591:, Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1970
1:
315:, sister of Kent cricketer
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559:The Glory Days of Cricket
498:The Glory Days of Cricket
477:, the baseball equivalent
295:was legalised, although
362:to prohibit roundarm:
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403:roundarm trial matches
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179:Spin bowler deliveries
119:Fast bowler deliveries
601:, HarperCollins, 2007
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635:Cricket terminology
104:left-arm unorthodox
621:, Lillywhite, 1862
611:, Lillywhite, 1862
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385:William Lillywhite
34:Bowling techniques
640:Bowling (cricket)
340:important matches
313:Christiana Willes
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85:left-arm orthodox
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599:More Than A Game
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325:More Than A Game
285:underarm bowling
277:roundarm bowling
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605:Arthur Haygarth
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549:Further reading
538:Laws of cricket
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360:Laws of Cricket
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532:External links
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458:Lasith Malinga
434:Lasith Malinga
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518:. Retrieved
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447:John Jackson
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136:Knuckle ball
68:Spin bowling
43:Fast bowling
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555:Ashley Mote
494:Ashley Mote
451:W. G. Grace
443:Alfred Mynn
396:All-England
334:, known as
317:John Willes
297:W. G. Grace
191:Carrom ball
161:Slower ball
629:Categories
595:John Major
565:H S Altham
482:References
332:Tom Walker
321:John Major
231:Topspinner
151:Outswinger
146:Off cutter
141:Leg cutter
463:vis-à-vis
344:no-balled
216:Off break
211:Leg break
131:Inswinger
543:CricInfo
469:See also
342:but was
186:Arm ball
99:leg spin
80:off spin
26:a series
24:Part of
500:, p.127
475:Sidearm
369:No Ball
367:call, "
289:bowlers
281:bowling
273:cricket
201:Flipper
126:Bouncer
424:Legacy
400:Sussex
377:Lord's
303:Origin
226:Teesra
221:Slider
206:Googly
196:Doosra
166:Yorker
75:Finger
520:6 May
279:is a
94:Wrist
55:Swing
522:2022
449:and
387:and
50:Seam
417:MCC
410:MCC
323:in
271:In
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496:,
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371:".
275:,
28:on
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260:e
253:t
246:v
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