Yorker

A yorker is a delivery pitched right at the batter's feet or the base of the stumps, so that it arrives under the bat rather than on it.

A good yorker is almost impossible to score from. The batter cannot get under it to hit it in the air and cannot get down on it to drive, so the best result is usually a jammed-out single, and a missed one hits the stumps or the pad in front. That is why it is the stock delivery of the death overs, where the batter is trying to hit every ball for six and the bowler's economy is the whole game. Yorkers are also used against new batters and tail-enders in every format, and the swinging yorker with a newish ball is one of the great sights of the sport.

The trouble is the margin for error. A yorker a foot too full is a full toss and disappears; a foot too short is a half-volley and does the same. Bowlers who can land it under pressure, ball after ball, are rare and expensive, and even they will mix it with a slower ball, a bouncer or a wide line to stop the batter premeditating.

In Masterstroke: yorker is one of the lines you can ask for on any ball, and the effort and intent you attach to it decide whether the bowler lands it.