Top 5 Game-Changing Deliveries Every Fast Bowler Must Know - From Killer by Malinga ( Fast bowling techniques )

In the high-stakes world of cricket, a bowler can shift the momentum of a match with a single, well-executed delivery. That’s exactly what Lasith Malinga, one of the most feared fast bowlers in modern cricket, did throughout his career. His book Killer is not just a memoir but a practical blueprint for fast bowling mastery. Here are five of Malinga’s most trusted game-changing deliveries and tips on how you can understand, practice, master and add them to your own arsenal.

1. The Wide Line Slow Ball Yorker

This is Malinga’s secret sauce for death-over-domination. The wide line slow ball yorker is bowled targeting the wide line on the off side, at a slower pace, forcing the batter to reach, often resulting in a mishit or a dot ball.

This delivery can be considered a "disruptive delivery." To achieve sucess this needs to be paired with a specific field (Field setup? It’s in Killer. Grab your copy now.). This field has the ability to create psychological pressure and limit scoring options.

This delivery has its own risks. Mitigating these risks through mindful practice is the key to mastery. This aspect too is explored in detail in the book.

2. The Inswinging Yorker

Few deliveries are as lethal as the inswinging yorker, especially when delivered with Malinga’s pace and accuracy. This delivery bends late into the batter, targeting the base of the stumps or the batter’s toes, often catching them off guard.

What makes it game-changing is its ability to control and dismiss batters. Malinga credits this ball with many of his most spectacular wickets, including David Warner in the 2011 IPL. Executing this delivery requires supreme control, and Malinga emphasizes perfecting it through hours of target-based training drills with both new, old and semi-old balls.

3. The Bodyline Quick Bouncer

The bodyline bouncer is not just aggressive, it’s strategic. Malinga reveals how this delivery, targeted at the batter’s ribs or chest, forces awkward footwork and defensive reactions.

In T20s, where batters come hard, this bouncer takes away their ability to free their arms. It’s not aimed at the helmet but just short enough to rise uncomfortably. Often, it leads to top-edge catches or indecisive shot-making.

The section on this delivery decodes how to set the batter up for this delivery and how to execute it to make it sucessful.

4.The Straight Slow Ball Bouncer

This one’s a mind game tool. Malinga uses this as a variation when batters are settled into a comfortable rhythm.

What makes this delivery powerful is its subtlety. There's no big action change, just a reduction in pace through grip or finger release. Batters swing early, mistime, and sky the ball into deep fielders’ hands. In pressure situations, it can silence a stadium and lift a team’s morale.

5. The Out-Swinging Good Length Delivery

Though fundamental, Malinga insists this is one of the most underutilized deliveries in modern cricket. Consistently pitching on a fourth-stump line with the ball moving away, this delivery tempts batters to drive.

The genius lies in repetition. Malinga describes this delivery as the “pressure builder.” It doesn’t always take wickets directly, but it sets the stage for the ones that do.

Lasith Malinga’s Killer is more than a guide, it’s a mindset. These five deliveries have won World Cups and many crunch moments for the teams Malinga has represented. What makes them deadly isn’t just how they’re bowled, it’s when and why they are bowled.

Mastering these deliveries, as Malinga says, isn’t just about skill it’s about thinking smart like with a killer attitude to prevail over the batter in battle between bat and ball.

Grab your copy of Killer by Lasith Malinga