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Pace bowlers, or fast bowlers or pacemen, rely on speed to get a batsman out. This type of bowler can be further classified according to the speed at which they bowl the ball on average. These classifications are not official, but are used by the media to give a fair idea as to how fast a bowler bowls. For this reason, the following table gives only a general idea as to the speed divisions.
| Category | mph | km/h |
|---|---|---|
| Fast (Express) | 90 + | 145 |
| Fast-Medium | 80 - 89 | 129 - 145 |
| Medium-Fast | 70 - 79 | 113 - 145 |
| Medium | 60 - 69 | 97 - 113 |
| Medium-Slow | 50 - 59 | 80 - 97 |
| Slow-Medium | 40 - 49 | 64 - 80 |
| Slow | below 40 | below 64 |
Bowlers in the slow and slow-medium range are non-existent in professional cricket as a batsman will find it very easy to hit the ball at that speed. Most pace bowlers are medium-fast to fast. In general, bowlers of this type (if they are right-handed, as most are) are described as "Right-arm fast", "Right-arm medium-fast", and so on. Brett Lee of Australia and Shoaib Akhtar of Pakistan are the fastest bowlers in the history of the game.
Swing bowlers are pace bowlers who, apart from being fast, use the seam of the ball to make it travel in a curved path through the air. This is achieved by systematically polishing one side of the ball, while allowing the other side to become roughened and worn. The differing airflow around the two sides will cause the ball to swing in the air, toward the roughened side. By changing the orientation of the ball in his hand a bowler may, therefore, cause the ball to swing into or away from the batsman. In addition to a well polished ball, other factors help the ball to swing, notably damp or humid weather conditions. Medium and medium-fast bowlers tend to swing the ball more than the outright fast bowlers.
Though younger pace bowlers tend to rely exclusively on speed, as bowlers age they tend to develop this more sophisticated art of swing bowling. Swing bowlers are more effective than sheer pace bowlers as the swing can confuse a batsman. Wasim Akram of Pakistan was a master of this skill, and was capable of causing an older, misshapen ball to swing the opposite way from normal, i.e. toward the shiny side. This is known as reverse swing.
Seam bowlers or seamers are pace bowlers who attempt to land the ball so that the raised stitching (the seam) hits the ground, causing the ball to deviate when it bounces. The ball is held with the seam upright, and backspin imparted by the fingers so that the seam maintains its vertical orientation as the ball travels through the air. Good pace bowlers can combine the disciplines of swing and seam, giving them a chance to take wickets when the conditions are not conducive to swing bowling.
Pace bowlers frequently dismiss batsmen through variation and deception. A batter who has been "softened up" by a series of short bouncers, that pass through around head height, or even hit the batsman, may tend to look to play the next ball on the back foot, and thus be susceptible to a full length yorker delivery, that bounces at his toes. Many bowlers also develop a "slower ball". These are bowled with the same arm action as their normal delivery, but come slower from the hand, usually due the bowler gripping the ball differently or cocking his wrist at the last moment. With luck, the batsman will misread the pace, and have finished his shot before the ball arrives. Other common variations include the leg cutter and off cutter, medium pace deliveries bowled with a spinner's wrist action, that can sometimes bounce like spin bowling.