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The science behind Mohammed Shami's unplayable seam movement
Mohammed Shami (Source: Getty Images)

The science behind Mohammed Shami's unplayable seam movement

Originally posted on Mr Cricket UAE  |  By Rupesh Kumar  |  Last updated Nov 7, 2026 11:32 AM ET
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For a long time, cricket fans viewed fast bowlers as belonging to one of two categories: those who could light up the speed gun and those who could make the ball hoop around corners with prodigious swing.

Yet, there exists another breed of fast bowlers who earn their living by making the ball seam off the surface. Seam bowling is an art in which the ball exhibits little to no movement through the air after release but deviates sharply upon pitching. It is a highly specialised craft, one that only a select few have mastered at the highest level of the game, and few have embodied its nuances quite like Mohammed Shami.

How Mohammed Shami became a master craftsman of seam bowling

The secret behind Mohammed Shami's exceptional seam bowling lies in his wrist position. At release, Shami's wrist stays perfectly cocked, while the gap between his index and middle fingers is marginally wider than a conventional swing bowler's. This subtle adjustment helps keep the seam upright, ensuring minimal deviation in the air and increasing the likelihood of the ball landing seam-first on the pitch.

Batters at the international level rely heavily on visual cues and are astute readers of the game. They closely monitor a bowler's use of the crease, whether the release point is closer to the stumps or wider of the crease, while also tracking any movement through the air. But seam bowling essentially robs them of many of those clues.

Because the ball deviates little, if at all, before pitching, batters are often left operating with a degree of uncertainty, almost as if they are playing blindfolded.

In seam bowling, the movement only occurs after the ball lands. When that movement is generated by a bowler of Shami's calibre, operating consistently in the early 140kph range, it becomes an altogether different challenge. By the time the batter registers the deviation, precious little time remains to adjust. More often than not, that fraction of a second proves decisive.

The Alastair Cook dismissal: A seam-bowling masterclass in deception 

One of Shami's finest seam-induced dismissals came during the first innings of the Visakhapatnam Test between India and England in November 2016. Armed with a brand-new SG Test ball, Shami methodically set up England captain Alastair Cook.

Twice, he drew Cook forward with deliveries that moved away after pitching from close to the stumps. Having planted the possibility of further movement away from the southpaw, Shami then produced a vicious nip-backer from essentially the same area of the crease.

The ball darted back just a touch, squeezed through the narrow gate between bat and pad, and shattered Cook's off stump. Remarkably, the only discernible difference between the wicket-taking delivery and the two that preceded it was that it pitched marginally fuller.

It was a dismissal that captured the essence of elite seam bowling. Shami had offered Cook three deliveries that looked strikingly similar out of the hand, yet one was enough to see the back of him. By the time the England skipper realised the ball was coming back in, the contest had already been decided. That is the beauty and brutality of high-class seam bowling: the mistake is often recognised only when it is too late.

This article first appeared on Mr Cricket UAE and was syndicated with permission.

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