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[yvk3103]

There has been much debate going on on the type of balls being used in world cricket.

There has been a significant amount of debate about BALLS...

In England we use a duke ball which has a huge seam. The Dukes if kept in a good condition will reverse swing and spin more (due to the huge seams). To the credit of the Dukes, they stay in good shape for longer (maybe due to the softness of English pitches).

The Aussies and S.Africans use a kookaburra ball, which has a flatter seam and does not last too long (again maybe due to the pitches being hard and rough)

India use SG (very similar to the Dukes). Again the SG does not last long (rough and hard pitches) but will reverse swing if maintained well and spin well given the huge seams and the nature of the pitches.

So the BIG question:

Given the different types of ball used - Do these offer the home side with an edge when playing home series in other words do the different qualities/nature of the ball make one bowling attack more potent than the other?

Or do quality bolwers just bowl regardless and take wickets?

[Bellie]

i dont think it makes a diffrence bowlers sould beable to adapt to the ball

[Howzat]

Hmm I think they do make a difference, surely a bowler would struggle having to adapt to grip the large seam? Although I would think the teams train with the balls they will be using for the tour.

I remember hearing that if a club cricket ball was used in a test match it would probably be over in 2 days, so yes I do think balls make a difference.

[Bellie]

they will train with them all the time when on tour

[Coach]

In my opinion its another aspect of touring in international cricket and does offer the home side a slight very slight advantage but its another tour challange as i said

[AtBalfour]

Just a matter of time before TTFC comments on this type of topic!

[yvk3103]

TTFC??

[Howzat]

Tea Time Fat Cat - his username is Fattus Cattus and hes a bit weird and tries to make his topics and posts have a sexual innuendo.

[Sambo]

I reckon it does. If you took a kookaburra to use in india, it would not spin as much, not reverse swing a much and would last longer than the SG. If would only swing early and only a fraction of reverse later in the match. So the indian bowlers would have to adapt to just using the new ball or pitch blemishes to get wickets. So it does make a difference.

[art]

Having played (a few years ago now lol) in both England and Australia it did take some time to get used to the English ball. Frankly with very little comparative effort it swung and cut all over the place and it took some time to be able to control the ball adequately in playing conditions. In fact I put my succes in indoor cricket later in life to be able to control the vicious swing and cut you can get on the indoor ball and that was down to the fact that I had bowled in England.

I is not only the wicket that effects how long the ball will last but also the state of the outfield. The lovely lush green grass of and english outfield does not happen as often in Australia, India or South Africa.

AS for reverse swing, frankly its whether you decide to cheat or not with the ball how well that gets going and how early.

[Sully]

Art - you do not need to cheat to bowl reverse swing. You HAVE to keep one side of the ball dry and free of sweaty spinners' hands.

[yvk3103]

i agree. As thought earlier that reverse swing could only be achieved by some malpractice, it is up to the bowlers skill and the teams effort (in maintaining the ball) and support from the pitcha nd weather conditions.

[sultanofswing]

we went on tour this year and all 3 clubs used morrant balls which swung all over the place much further than readers or dukes we normally use.

[Sully]

Also another misconception of reverse swing is the minimum speed required at which to bowl reverse swing.  some say a minimum of  80mph some say higher. But I bowl around 60-70 and can bowl reverse swing.  Hold the ball slightly looser than usual and do not 'cock' your wrist. That works for me.

With slower bowlers like me the swing takes effect much earlier but with quicker bowlers the swing should be later.

[SAF Bats]

The techie explanation!!!

The swing of cricket ball is related to it aerodynamics and therefore will dependant on a number of factors.  In this case the seam height and angle relative to the wind direction and also the atmospheric pressure and speed. 

It occurs because of an air flow trip from laminar [smooth air] flow to turbulent [rough air] flow on one side of the ball, generally caused by the seam. Depending on those factors it can happen at various speeds, i.e with lifted seam, misshaped ball, rougher scuffed side just allows it happen at the medium pace range.

This transition in air flow create a pressure difference on one side of the ball. Think of it as more pressure on one side and less on the other side so it pushes the ball to the low pressure side and therefore causes the swing. [A bit like the dimpled golf ball stuff and why a dimpled golf ball will travell further then a smooth one]

so yep different types of balls will have an effect on swing.