Categorisation of fast bowling

It is possible for a bowler to concentrate solely on speed, especially when young, but as fast bowlers mature they pick up new skills and tend to rely more on swing bowling or seam bowling techniques. Most fast bowlers will specialise in one of these two areas and will sometimes be categorised as swing or seam bowler. However, this classification is not satisfactory because the categories are not mutually exclusive and a skilled bowler will usually bowl a mixture of fast, swinging, seaming and also cutting balls, even if he or she prefers one style to the others. Instead, it is more common to subdivide fast bowlers according to the average speed of their deliveries, as follows.

• Fast - Naturally refers to bowlers who can bowl the quickest. The cut-off point is generally an average delivery speed in the late 80s, but many quicks exceed that on a consistent basis.
• Fast medium - Sometimes used interchangeably with medium fast, this refers to bowlers between 80 and 87 miles per hour on average.
• Medium fast - Slower still, this is for bowlers who check in at between 70 and 79 miles per hour on average.
• Medium - Blurring the distinction between spinners and quicks by relying on their guile to take wickets, medium pacers are often part-time bowlers or batting all-rounders coming in at around 60 and 69 miles per hour on average.