Bowling events are the first part of each delivery you capture when coding a match. This article covers what to record before the delivery, how to plot it, and the delivery details.
In this article
1. Pre-delivery
Ball status
| Status | When to code it |
|---|---|
| New ball | The first delivery with a brand-new ball. Needed once in limited-overs and T20 matches, and possibly twice in multi-day matches. |
| Replacement ball | The first delivery with a ball that has replaced a damaged or lost one. |
Over / round the wicket
| Position | What it means |
|---|---|
| Over the wicket | The bowler's bowling arm is the one nearer the stumps. |
| Round the wicket | The bowler's bowling arm is the one further from the stumps. |
2. Plotting the delivery
Depending on the level of the match, the camera angles and technology available can make it hard to plot the X/Y of a delivery accurately. Where they're available, connect Hawk-Eye or AthleteAI. See Incoming and Outgoing Feeds and Coding Process for how.
Pitch impact
Plot the exact spot where the ball hit the pitch.
- The map only covers 13 metres of the pitch. Keep that in mind when you plot: it isn't the full length of the pitch.
- Coders tend to plot deliveries too full. Research comparing coders with automated tracking found pace deliveries plotted 1–1.5 m fuller than they landed, and spin 0.5–1 m fuller.
To improve your accuracy:
- use AthleteAI if it's available
- when you have time, go back over the deliveries you've plotted and adjust for the conditions
- ask your reviewers for feedback.
Reviewers can overwrite your pitch impact through Collaborative Coding.
Beehive
Plot the beehive after the pitch impact. It needs more care, because it records how the batter dealt with the delivery.
There are two ways to plot the beehive, and either can then be viewed in 2D or 3D:
| Style | How you plot |
|---|---|
| Flat | Against a batter figure (scaled to the batter's height if applicable), marking where contact was made. |
| Perspective | Against the stumps, marking where the ball passed the batter. |
3. Delivery details
Bowler variation
What it is: a delivery that differs from the bowler's stock ball to deceive the batter, such as a change of pace, extra revolutions from the fingers, or a different position on the crease.
- Where Hawk-Eye or a speed gun is available, use it to help pick up variations.
- Bowlers tend to use more variations towards the end of an innings.
Common variations:
| Variation | Bowler | What it is | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| Back of the hand | Pace | The ball is released from the back of the hand rather than the front. | Watch |
| Knuckle ball | Pace | A slower ball released off the knuckles to take pace off it. | Watch |
| Leg cutter | Pace | The bowler runs their finger down the inside of the ball, adding spin and changing the pace. | Watch |
| Off cutter | Pace | The bowler runs their finger down the outside of the ball, adding spin and changing the pace. | Watch |
| Arm ball | Spin | Usually bowled by an off-spinner: it barely spins and goes straight on with the arm. | Watch |
| Googly | Spin | Bowled by a leg-spinner: it looks like a leg break but turns the other way. | Watch |
Ball speed
Standards for ball speed are still being written. For how to record speeds from a speed gun, see the ball speed section of Coding Process.
Where to go next
- Batting Event Standards: the second part of each delivery.
- Fielding Event Standards: what each fielding event means and when to use it.
- Coding Process: the standard coding requirements for every delivery.
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