The ball is released by flicking it between the thumb and a bent middle finger in order to impart spin.
The first bowler known to have used this style of delivery was the Australian Jack Iverson[1] from Victoria, who used it throughout his Test cricket career in the period after the Second World War, although he did not use the name "carrom ball".
Fellow Australian John Gleeson used a similar grip a decade later,[2] but by the end of the 1970s the method was almost forgotten.
It has since re-entered cricketing consciousness because of its use by Ajantha Mendis of Sri Lanka, with the new name of carrom ball.
[3] Sri Lankan Rangana Herath is believed to be the first left handed spin bowler to have used the method in international cricket, dismissing Australian opener David Warner with a delivery in the carrom ball style during a test match.