A googly, commonly referred to as the “wrong’un”, is a delivery that disorients batsmen by spinning in an unexpected direction. It requires a grip similar to that of leg break bowlers and specific wrist action in its delivery.
The googly first became widely used in England around the start of the 20th century. In Which Country Was The Googly Invented? It was invented by Bernard Bosanquet — an England national team player as well as Middlesex cricketer — who popularized its use.
| Year | Country | Player / Inventor | Team / Context | Significance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | England | Bernard Bosanquet | Middlesex | Invented the “Googly” while experimenting with wrist spin; first used in a match against Leicestershire. |
| 1903 | England | Bernard Bosanquet | England vs Australia (The Ashes) | First bowler to use the googly in international cricket; baffled Australian batsmen. |
| 1907 | South Africa | Reggie Schwarz | South Africa National Team | Learned the googly from Bosanquet and introduced it in South African cricket. |
| 1908 | South Africa | Aubrey Faulkner | South Africa National Team | Perfected the googly and made it a key weapon, influencing future leg-spinners. |
| 1930s | India | Subhash Gupte (inspired later) | Indian Domestic Cricket | Indian bowlers began mastering the googly, marking its spread globally beyond England. |
Bernard Bosanquet
Bernard Bosanquet of Middlesex and Oxford University fame is widely credited with inventing the googly delivery in early 1900s cricket. Bosanquet created this creative delivery, which looked similar to a normal leg break but turned off-sides. This delivery’s name may have come from its similarity to googly eyes used on fishing lures at that time – or simply due to sound similarities that mimicked his name!
Bosanquet first experimented with the googly in Oxford nets. By changing his wrist position and bowling out of the back of his hand, he discovered he could create an unpredictable googly that turned away from leg-spinner deliveries – creating an unfamiliar challenge for batsmen expecting that it would spin from leg to off. This presented batsmen with an unexpected test.
Bosanquet began his googly delivery practice in the nets before transitioning it into first-class cricket, where it wasn’t immediately successful but eventually perfected the technique and used it to confound batsmen and win several matches.
Reggie Schwarz and Ernie Vogler were two young leg spinners he helped develop the skills of, teaching them how to use googlies while helping them discover their own styles. He was also responsible for coaching Gordon White – the first South African ever to take ten wickets in an innings – as well as Aubrey Faulkner who would later become one of the world’s feared batsmen.
As soon as he returned from Australia in 1905, Bosanquet was given a chance to demonstrate what his googly could do against local teams in first-class matches. While at first his bowling was scattered about, in his second match against New South Wales Victor Trumper came into view and provided Bosanquet an opportunity to bowl to him with great success; often sitting apologetic before stumps as Bosanquet bowled to him directly.
Bosanquet used an exquisite googly to neutralise Trumper’s long strokes by moving it backwards into the covers and away.
England
England, as the primary constituent unit of the United Kingdom, is renowned for its history and rich culture. Bernard Bosanquet invented one of cricket’s most essential bowling tricks – the googly. This deceptive delivery appears as leg spin but actually turns away from batsman for maximum wickets taken off him by this googly delivery.
The googly is a variation on right-arm leg spin bowling; left-arm wrist-spinners may also use similar deliveries known as “chinamans” or “wrong’uns.” Batsmen find the googly difficult to master; it requires much practice and patience from batsmen alike. For best results, throw multiple traditional leg spins before trying your googly, creating rhythm while tempting batters into thinking their security has been assured; furthermore it works better when used while on backfoot or attacking!
Bernard Bosanquet is best-known as the creator of the googly, a deceptively misleading ball that fools batsmen by appearing as a leg break but turning out to be off break. Born in England and playing first-class cricket for Middlesex between 1898 and 1919; seven tests as an all-rounder; Wisden Cricketer of the Year Award 1905
The invention of the googly added an entirely new dimension to cricket and made leg spinners much more dangerous, sparking innovations like doosra and carrom ball. Since its introduction, googlies have become an integral part of cricket and continue to stump batsmen across all formats of the game.
Googlies can be difficult for batsmen to master, yet when used effectively can be highly effective. Practice this technique frequently and learn the subtle clues your batter may give off that indicate when a googly will come their way; things such as their wrist action, thumb position or fingers positioned can all indicate which kind of googly is coming your way.
Origins
The googly, also referred to as the wrong’un or leg spinner’s leg break, is an effective deceptive delivery that appears similar to an ordinary leg break but turns in an opposite direction and behaves more like an off break. A key weapon in leg spin bowlers’ arsenals, it can be used to lure batsmen into making mistakes that lead directly to their dismissal – making the googly one of the more challenging deliveries to master and requires great skill and deception from its user.
Bernard James Tindal Bosanquet was first credited with inventing the googly in early 1900s England cricket, playing both Middlesex and England national team cricket. Bosanquet was known to experiment with new bowling styles often and came upon googly while gambling on table top game Twiisti-Twosti table game tabletop game where it became part of his bowling style.
Bosanquet recognized that while many bowlers had unwittingly discovered similar deliveries before him, this one could be deliberately produced and utilized. After meticulously perfecting his googly delivery he soon experienced success and came to be widely recognized as one of cricket’s greatest innovations.
Bosanquet made his mark with Middlesex when touring Australia and New Zealand in 1902-3, taking several wickets using the googly. Bosanquet was immensely proud of this achievement and shared it with Reginald Schwarz – another Middlesex amateur who would go on to become an established Test cricket player for South Africa – who began using it right away as part of his attack on hard matting wickets. Soon enough it had become one of South Africa’s key weapons.
Reasons behind why googlies didn’t become as widespread in England are varied; one potential contributor could be turf wickets after World War II which impeded their spread; another factor could be due to bowlers having difficulty disguising delivery; googlies depend heavily on bowler skill to disguise delivery, so any subtle alteration to arm speed or wrist position could easily alert batsmen of its presence.
Development
A googly is a misleading leg spinner delivery designed to dizzying effect, leaving batsmen reeling. Utilizing the same grip as leg spin, but turning away from batsman in opposite direction than traditional leg breaks; it causes tremendous confusion that often results in dismissals.
Bernard Bosanquet of Middlesex and England first used googlies to bowl their deliveries in 1900; these became fully integrated into his arsenal during 1903-04 Ashes series. Even today it remains a highly effective weapon to utilize during T20 format cricket games.
Googlies can be difficult for less skilled batsmen to pick up. Their unpredictable movement often throws batsmen off guard, leading them into making mistakes which result in either an lbw appeal or stumping, flying between pads and hitting wickets or hitting off bat edges.