What is a Beamer in Cricket?

In cricket, there are terms that make the sport a collection of encyclopedias. Apart from sporting equipment like bats, balls, gloves, bails, stumps, helmets, etc., there are other terms that are used for different shots played by a batter, types of deliveries bowled by a bowler, types of dismissals, etc.

One such word is beamer, which is a type of delivery that is dangerous for batters. But what is a beamer?

Let’s understand the beamer delivery and its repercussions in cricket.

Meaning of Beamer in Cricket

A beamer is a high full toss that is bowled above the waist height of a batter, and it is dangerous as it can hurt a batter badly because most parts of the body aren’t protected, so it is called a no ball.

How is a Beamer Bowled?

It can be an accidental delivery when the ball might slip away from the hands of a bowler due to dew, when there is sweat in the bowler’s palms, or when a bowler tries to bowl a yorker. And if it isn’t controlled well, it can lead to a beamer. 

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Consequences of Bowling a Beamer

When a bowler bowls a beamer, then the umpire warns the bowler, and if a second beamer is bowled, then that bowler won’t be allowed to bowl any further in that innings.

In modern-day cricket, if a bowler bowls a beamer, then a free hit will be given, but in Test matches, there isn’t any provision for a free hit.

Controversies Around Beamer

There have been incidents in the past when there have been controversies between the batter and the bowler over bowling a beamer. The bowler apologises for bowling this delivery, but some batters may react angrily.

A beamer bowled by a pacer is more dangerous than a spinner as it travels fast and the batter gets little time to play a shot, block it, or get out of the way, which may lead to the batter getting injured.

In one of the instances during the India vs. Bangladesh 2015 World Cup match, Bangladesh pacer Rubel Hossain bowled a waist-high full toss. Rohit Sharma, who was batting on 90, hit it straight into the hands of the deep midwicket fielder, but as it was above the waist height, the umpire called it a no-ball.

India scored 302 and won the game by 109 runs. Later, Bangladeshi fans reacted angrily to this decision as they criticised umpire Aleem Dar on social media.

In another instance, Brett Lee bowled a beamer to Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar, but the former India legend highlighted his gentle nature without getting angry and shook hands with the pacer, who apologised immediately.

Controversies are bound to happen when beamers are bowled but in the end, apologies make cricket ‘The Gentleman’s Game.’

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