English usually refers to:
The flipper is a particular bowling delivery used in cricket, generally by a leg spin bowler. In essence it is a back spin ball. Squeezed out of the front of the hand with the thumb and first and second fingers, it keeps deceptively low after pitching and can accordingly be very difficult to play. The flipper is comparable to a riseball in fast-pitch softball.
Table tennis, also known as ping-pong and whiff-whaff, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball, also known as the ping-pong ball, back and forth across a table using small solid rackets. The game takes place on a hard table divided by a net. Except for the initial serve, the rules are generally as follows: players must allow a ball played toward them to bounce once on their side of the table and must return it so that it bounces on the opposite side at least once. A point is scored when a player fails to return the ball within the rules. Play is fast and demands quick reactions. Spinning the ball alters its trajectory and limits an opponent's options, giving the hitter a great advantage.
The Magnus effect is an observable phenomenon that is commonly associated with a spinning object moving through a fluid. The path of the spinning object is deflected in a manner that is not present when the object is not spinning. The deflection can be explained by the difference in pressure of the fluid on opposite sides of the spinning object. The Magnus effect is dependent on the speed of rotation.
In baseball and softball, the curveball is a type of pitch thrown with a characteristic grip and hand movement that imparts forward spin to the ball, causing it to dive as it approaches the plate. Varieties of curveball include the 12–6 curveball, power curveball, and the knuckle curve. Its close relatives are the slider and the slurve. The "curve" of the ball varies from pitcher to pitcher.
A four-seam fastball, also called a rising fastball, a four-seamer, or a cross-seam fastball, is a pitch in baseball. It is a member of the fastball family of pitches and is usually the hardest ball thrown by a pitcher. It is called what it is because with every rotation of the ball as it is thrown, four seams come into view. A few pitchers at the major league level can sometimes reach a pitch speed of up to 100 mph. It is often compared with the two-seam fastball.
A golf ball is a special ball designed to be used in the game of golf.
GolfCross is a variant of golf developed in New Zealand by Burton Silver. It is similar to golf, except that it uses an oval ball and holes are replaced by suspended goal nets. In addition, the green is replaced by a "yard", and a player whose ball lies in the yard has the right to turn the goal net so as to face them.
A drop shot is a shot in some racquet sports in which the ball is hit relatively softly, sometimes with top-spin or under-spin, and lands just over and close to the net.
In tennis, there are a variety of types of shots which can be categorized in various ways. The grip you place on will help you have different types of shots, the lower your grip means that the ball is most likely going to be a ground stroke. According to William T. Tilden, "All tennis strokes, should be made with the body' at right angles to the net, with the shoulders lined up parallel to the line of flight of the ball." The serve is the opening shot of a point. Groundstrokes are hit after the ball has already bounced, and can be either forehands or backhands depending on which direction the racket is swung relative to the body. A lob is a groundstroke hit well over the head of an opponent who is positioned at the net. A passing shot is a groundstroke that is hit out of reach of an opponent at the net far to his left or right. A cross-court shot is a shot hit from the left side of one player's court to the left side of the other player's court, so that it crosses the lengthwise centerline of the court. A down-the-line shot is one that is hit more or less parallel to, and near to, one of the sidelines, so that it never crosses the centerline.
Wrist spin is a type of bowling in the sport of cricket. It refers to the cricket technique and specific hand movements associated with imparting a particular direction of spin to the cricket ball. The other spinning technique, usually used to spin the ball in the opposite direction, is finger spin. Wrist spin is bowled by releasing the ball from the back of the hand, so that it passes over the little finger. Done by a right-handed bowler, this imparts an anticlockwise rotation to the ball, as seen from the bowler's perspective; a left-handed wrist spinner rotates the ball clockwise.
Finger spin is a type of bowling in the sport of cricket. It refers to the cricket technique and specific hand movements associated with imparting a particular direction of spin to the cricket ball. The other spinning technique, generally used to spin the ball in the opposite direction, is wrist spin. Although there are exceptions, finger spinners generally turn the ball less than wrist spinners. However, because the technique is simpler and easier to master, finger spinners tend to be more accurate.
Table tennis is unique among racket sports in that it supports a large variety of different styles of players. As players' levels increase, the diversity of styles decreases slightly, because technically weak styles are quickly eliminated; but, even at the very top of international table tennis, there are many dramatically different styles to be found. As of 2021, attacking styles dominate most of the top places in the world. However, this may be due to the relative popularity of attack over defense, as defensive players are still able to reach the highest levels of international competition.
In ball sports, topspin is a property of a ball that rotates forwards as it is moving. Topspin on a ball propelled through the air imparts a downward force that causes the ball to drop, due to its interaction with the air. Topspin is the opposite of backspin.
In racquet sports and golf, backspin or underspin refers to the reverse rotation of a ball, in relation to the ball's trajectory, that is imparted on the ball by a slice or chop shot. Backspin generates an upward force that lifts the ball. While a normal hit bounces well forward as well as up, backspin shots bounce higher and less forward. Backspin is the opposite of topspin.
In cricket, a slider is a type of delivery bowled by a wrist spin bowler. While a topspinner is released with the thumb facing the batsman, a slider is bowled in a similar manner to a legbreak, but instead of imparting sidespin with the third finger, the bowler allows his fingers to roll down the back of the ball, providing a mixture of sidespin and backspin. Whereas a topspinner tends to dip more quickly and bounce higher than a normal delivery, a slider does the opposite: it carries to a fuller length and bounces less than the batsman might expect. The sliders will typically head towards the batsman with a scrambled seam. This has less effect on the flight and bounce but absence of leg spin may deceive the batsman. Frequently the slider is bowled with a mixture of side spin and backspin. This has the effect of making the ball harder to differentiate from the leg break for the batsmen without reducing the mechanical effects caused by the backspin. This delivery may skid straight on or it may turn a small amount.
Cue sports techniques are a vital important aspect of game play in the various cue sports such as carom billiards, pool, snooker and other games. Such techniques are used on each shot in an attempt to achieve an immediate aim such as scoring or playing a safety, while at the same time exercising control over the positioning of the cue ball and often the object balls for the next shot or inning.
In cricket, the flight of the ball is its trajectory through the air between being released by the bowler and bouncing on the pitch. The flight of a delivery may be varied by changing the pace of the ball or through use of the Magnus force.
A flat shot in tennis is made by striking the ball at a neutral level. Unlike the backspin and topspin the ball is hit with a swipe at neutral level. This effect is created by driving through the ball to push it forward rather than brushing up or down the back creating spin. The shot is commonly used for power and helps quicken the pace on the ball during play.
