Swing Ball – Technique, Types and Top Swing bowlers

It is important for the sportsman to be skilled enough to compete with world-class players. There are different techniques in each game, which makes him prominent among all others. Swing ball is also one of those techniques used in cricket to deceive the batsman. It is classified as the subtype of fast bowling and the player using this approach is known as a swing bowler. It’s a skill possessed by few renowned bowlers, unlike negative tactics to frustrate the batsman and audience.

How the ball swings?

The major objective of swing is to move the ball in the air. The batsman judges the ball coming from one side while it changes position, and the batsman may play it wrong. In spin bowling, the ball changes direction after making contact with the ground. So, it’s different and shouldn’t be confused with swing balling. The new ball is necessary to perform this technique with perfection.

The swing bowlers continuously use saliva or sweat and rub with their clothing to polish one side of the ball. While keeping the other side rough.

When the airflow through both sides of the ball. It tends to move the ball toward the rough side and away from the smooth side. The ballers also use subtly altered grips to intensify the swinging effect.

Forms of Swing Ball

There are three types of swing ball

Inswing  
In this form of swing, the ball begins wider from the body of the batsman and then changes its position towards the stumps. This is the most common form of swing.

Outswing
In this form, the ball is towards the stumps in the beginning while it changes direction away from the stumps. Both inswing and outswing are effectively performed with the new ball.

Reverse Swing   
When the ball gets older, it tends to move toward the shinier side. Hence the inswing becomes the outswing and vice versa in a reverse swing.

The major factor for this technique is the condition of the ball. Hence, many ball-tampering controversies have been witnessed in the past. Bowlers intentionally try to change the condition of the ball to perform the swing better.

Top Swing Bowlers

Some of the famous swing bowlers are Wasim Akram (Pakistan), Zaheer khan (India), Alan Davidson (Australia), and Chaminda Vaas (Sri Lanka). However, Waqar Younis from the Pakistani team was known as the specialist in the reverse swing.

This technique requires a lot of training and practice, to make the world-class batsman indecisive. The players capable of delivering swing balls effectively may rapidly boost their careers and become the top-ranked bowler in cricket.