The Inswinger...

The inswinger moves in the air from the off side of a right handed batsman to the leg side. The later the bowl swings into the batsman, the more effective it will be. The amount of inswing a bowler can generate depends on plenty of different factors like the weather, the bowler's action and the condition of the ball.

But the most important factor to consider is the grip on the seam of the ball and its direction. Another point to remember is to work on shining the ball on one side during and before each delivery. This will help the ball to swing more in the air.

Step One

Grip the ball with the first two fingers close together on the seam, with the seam in a vertical position. The thumb should be on the seam underneath.

Step Two

Angle the seam towards leg slip or, but keeping it vertical. The shiny side of the ball should be furthest from the batsman.

Seaming The Ball...

To get the best possible chance of any sort of movement in the air or off the pitch, a fast bowler should grip the ball "seam up".

Learning this basic grip will get your wrist behind the ball, an essential starting point for any bowler.

With the seam vertical, the ball is held in the fingers, resting on the third finger and thumb, with the middle and index fingers either side of the seam.

Try to land the seam as straight as possible on the pitch.

This will give you a much greater chance of any sort of movement, especially with a brand new cherry in your hand.

You'll find some days the ball will swing and seam almost every delivery, while on others it will do almost nothing.

This is because movement relies on four key factors:

· The bowler : Some bowlers have bowling actions which naturally help the ball to swing in the air.

A good side-on action will help a bowler to swing the ball away from the bat.

· The pitch : Green tops favour bowlers because there's usually moisture under the pitch, which helps the ball to swing, especially if the sun's out.

Bowlers can get movement off the wicket if the pitch is cracked. You may have seen cricket commentators showing cracks on Test pitches on TV.

Aiming for the cracks can help the ball move quite considerably.

· The weather : A cloudy, overcast day is perfect for swing bowlers. The moisture in the air will help the ball swing more.

· The condition of the ball : A brand new ball will swing more because of the shiny lacquer coating and a hard seam.

As the ball gets older, it gets softer and loses its shine.

But polishing one side of the ball will help keep the ball moving in the air.