Getting into the
swing of things
Once you've cracked getting the ball down to the
other end of the pitch, it's time to start
thinking about whether you can extract any
movement from the ball on its way down - after
all, it's much easier for a batsman to hit a
ball that goes in a straight line than one that
deviates. Swing bowlers can be equally
devastating and out-and-out speed merchants when
the conditions suit them; traditionally humid,
moist and overcast conditions have always
increased the amount of swing that all bowlers
can achieve - nobody's quite sure of the science
behind this, but the evidence is there for all
to see. Personally, the most difficult batting
conditions I've ever experienced came during a
net practice beneath skies leaden charcoal grey
in the few minutes directly before a heavy
cloudburst - every bowler I faced found
extravagant movement.
Whilst the conditions will always be a major
factor in how much swing a bowler can get, there
are several things he can do with his action to
maximise the amount of movement that he can get,
no matter what conditions he experiences.
Firstly, he must look at the type of action (see
the previous section) that he feels most
comfortable with, as the angle of the body as
the ball is released has a great bearing on the
type of swing that can be attained. A 'side-on'
bowler will find it much easier to bowl
away-swing (for a right handed bowler, moving
the ball away from a right-handed batsman)
because of the path of the arm in the action,
whilst a 'front-on' action will make in-swing
(for the right-armer, moving the ball back into
a right-hander).
To build upon the natural action, a bowler can
point, angle or 'can't' the seam of the ball in
the direction he wants it to swing. Staying with
the example of a right-handed bowler bowling to
a right-handed batsman, for an out-swinger the
seam would point towards the slip cordon, with
the side of the thumb on the seam at the bottom
of the ball. The seam on an in-swinger would aim
towards fine leg - this time, the bottom of the
thumb would lie along the seam at the bottom of
the ball. Next, the shiny side of the ball
should lie on the opposite side of the direction
in which the movement is wanted - once again,
there's some simple science behind this. A
smooth, shiny surface will move faster through
the air than a rougher surface, and on the
cricket ball this means that one side moves
faster than the other. The shiny side moves
faster through the air, and helps to increase
the movement.
Reverse-swing is a phenomenon that's become much
more present in world cricket in the last
decade, mainly thanks to the Pakistani pairing
of Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis. In its simplest
terms, it involves the shiny side no longer
being the fastest through the air, but the rough
side. For this to happen, the rough side needs
to become exceptionally scuffed and the ball
needs to be delivered at high speed - often in
excess of 85mph (140kph).
All three types of swing have one thing in
common, however, in that they need the seam of
the ball to stay straight throughout the
delivery - if the seam is scrambled, the smooth
and rough sides will not stay the same and so
the effects won't occur. To keep the seam
straight, the wrist needs to be kept straight as
the ball is delivered. It can also help if the
wrist is 'cocked' - or bent backwards - slightly
before release; this helps to attain rotations
on the ball which in turn, as they cause the
ball to rotate forwards over itself, reduce any
sideways spin that disrupts the seam position.
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