A googly in cricket is a deceptive delivery bowled by a leg-spinner that spins the opposite way to their normal ball - the surprise weapon in a leg-spinner's armory. A regular leg-break turns away from a right-handed batter, but a googly turns back into them, while looking almost the same in the air. The batter reads it as the usual delivery, commits to a shot, and is beaten when the ball spins back the wrong way and slips through the gap. That one moment of deception is the whole point of the googly, also known as the "wrong'un."
Why Is It Called a Googly?
The delivery was invented in the early 1900s by English cricketer Bernard Bosanquet, which is why it is sometimes called a "bosie." In Australia it is better known as the "wrong'un," because the ball does the wrong thing and turns the opposite way to what the batter expects. The origin of the word "googly" itself is uncertain, but the name has stuck for more than a century.
Leg-Break vs Googly: Which Way Does It Spin?
To understand the googly, you need the leg-break first. Against a right-handed batter, a leg-spinner's stock ball - the leg-break - pitches and moves away from the bat, toward the off-side. A googly does the reverse: it comes into the batter, from the off-side toward the legs, the same way an off-spinner's ball would turn. So the leg-spinner is suddenly turning the ball the "wrong" direction, which is exactly what beats the batter. (For a left-handed batter, these directions simply flip.)
How Is a Googly Bowled?
The secret is in the wrist. For a normal leg-break, the ball leaves the front of the hand with the wrist cocked to one side. To bowl a googly, the bowler rotates the wrist further so the back of the hand faces the batter at the moment of release, and the ball rolls out over the other side of the fingers. This flips the direction of spin. The real skill is doing it with the same arm action and body language as the leg-break, so the batter cannot tell which ball is coming.
How to Spot a Googly
Reading a googly is one of the hardest skills in batting, but there are clues that help:
Watch the bowler's hand at release. If the back of the hand faces you, it is probably a googly; a normal leg-break shows more of the palm and fingers.
Look at the spinning seam in the air. The angle of the seam as the ball travels can hint at which way it will turn off the pitch.
React to the ball off the pitch, not before. Watching it land and playing late, instead of guessing early, gives you time to adjust if it turns the wrong way.
Notice the flight. A googly is often a touch slower or loopier, because the different wrist position can take pace off the ball.
Even top batters get fooled, so do not be discouraged if it takes plenty of practice to pick one early.
Why Is a Googly So Effective?
The googly works because batting is a game of split-second decisions. A batter sets up to play the expected leg-break, moving their feet and bat to cover the turn away, and then the ball does the opposite and slips through the gap they have left. This often ends with the batter bowled, trapped leg before wicket, or spooning up an easy catch. Used sparingly, it also makes the leg-spinner's stock ball more dangerous, because the batter can never fully commit when they know a wrong'un might be coming.
Googly vs Doosra and Other Spin Deliveries
The googly is one of several spinning deliveries, and it helps to see how they line up. Here is a simple comparison for a right-handed batter:
Delivery | Bowled By | Which Way It Turns |
|---|---|---|
Leg-break | Leg-spinner | Away from the batter (stock ball) |
Googly | Leg-spinner | Into the batter (the surprise ball) |
Off-break | Off-spinner | Into the batter (stock ball) |
Doosra | Off-spinner | Away from the batter (the surprise ball) |
In short, the googly is the leg-spinner's surprise ball that behaves like an off-break, while the doosra is the off-spinner's mirror-image surprise that behaves like a leg-break.
Conclusion
A googly is a leg-spinner's disguised delivery that spins back into the batter instead of away, hidden behind an action that looks just like a normal leg-break. Invented over a hundred years ago and still feared today, it remains one of the most thrilling weapons in spin bowling. Watch the bowler's wrist, play the ball late off the pitch, and you give yourself a chance - but when a googly is bowled well, even the world's best can be left looking the wrong way.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1: What is a googly in cricket?
A: It is a delivery from a leg-spin bowler that turns the opposite way to their normal leg-break - spinning back into a right-handed batter instead of away. The bowler disguises it, so the batter is often deceived and dismissed.
Q2: What is the difference between a googly and a leg-break?
A: Both come from a leg-spinner with a similar action, but they turn opposite ways. The leg-break moves away from a right-handed batter; the googly moves into them. That reversal is what makes the googly so hard to read.
Q3: Why is a googly called a wrong'un?
A: Because the ball does the "wrong" thing, turning the opposite way to what the batter expects. "Wrong'un" is the popular Australian name for the delivery, while in England it is sometimes called a "bosie."
Q4: What is the difference between a googly and a doosra?
A: A googly is a leg-spinner's ball that turns like an off-break, while a doosra is an off-spinner's ball that turns like a leg-break. They are mirror images - each is a spinner's surprise ball that goes the opposite way to their stock delivery.
