Cricket is not an easy sport, there are a lot of complications involved. It is not at all easy to be on the pitch or be on the field and play with that huge mental and physical pressure. Be it batting, bowling, fielding, and wicket keeping everything is really very complicated and not at all easy to be done. 

As you might have guessed till now by the heading that in this article, we will talk about the swing ball technique and a step-by-step guide for you to make it easy and convenient for you so that it is easy for you to understand and master it. 

Balling is already not an easy thing instead it’s a really difficult and complex thing in cricket. Here since we are talking about swing ball, it is even more complex and considered to be one of the most difficult balling techniques. 

 Without wasting more time, we will now jump directly to the main part, and hence here we go with a step-by-step guide to make it easy for you –  

Types of Swing Ball – 

You must be aware that the swing ball is an important thing and tool for fast ballers, the specialty of this ball is that it can deceive the batter by swinging while the ball is in the air itself. This helps the baller to confuse the batter by not letting them predict the direction and length of the ball.  

There are two types of Swing balls which are Conventional Swing and Reverse Swing:  

Conventional Swing –  

This swing is basically based on the seam position and wrist orientation. This swing occurs when the ball is at a low speed rather than its obvious fast pace and moves either inswing or an outswing.  

Reverse Swing –  

This happens when the ball is at a fast pace and not at a lower speed like the previous one. The speed might be around 85 mph or even more, but definitely not less than that. It happens when the older ball swings in the opposite direction from the shiny part. This might be difficult to master or learn but is super effective during the match to take wickets of the opposite team when learned perfectly.  

Now before the ball is thrown to the batter it is prepared before that to get the best outcomes this preparation is done by following two steps –  

• Polish on one side – The swing means the balance between air and throw in an amazing way to make it swing in the air. Hence the ball is polished on one side to make it shiny and the other remains as it is which is rough in texture. This creates a friction between the ball and the air that causes the ball to swing.  

• Excessive Polishing – Here by polishing we don’t mean to make any physical changes in the ball, the ball remains as it is externally by every means as if we do say it alters the rule of cricket.  

Grip of the Ball –  

Now before the ball is delivered to the batter, you need to know that here the grip on the ball matters the most, if you have a wrong grip on the ball. You will not be able to deliver a perfect swing and might end up making a huge blunder causing harm to your team which might turn out really devastating to your team. 

Here are a few key points you need to keep in mind about the grip of the ball –  

• Irrespective of inswing or outswing you should keep in mind that both your index and middle fingers should be placed on the seam adjacently with the distance of another finger between them. 

• Now for In Swing, the shiny side is to be kept on the right side for the right-hand bowlers. In order to swing the ball towards the batter, one should angle the seam towards the leg slip. 

Wrist Position –  

After the grip, one should be concerned about the position of the wrist. The wrist position is another crucial element for the swing ball to land perfectly and benefit you –  

• The first step is a firm and stable wrist, it is the most necessary part of the throw.  

• While the seam is pointed towards the outer surface, one should have their back hand towards the slip cordon for the out swings. 

• Whereas for the In swing, one should rotate their hands a little in a way such that the seam can point towards the inner side and the back part of the hand should be facing towards the batter.  

Wind and the Pitch –  

Here are two another important factor that plays an important role in the delivery of the swing ball.  

Wind – If the wind is favorable which is during the crosswinds. Now in order to use this in your favor which is from one side to another, you should be positioned in such a way that it benefits your swing throw delivered to the batter. 

Pitch – This is last but not the least factor important for the delivery of the swing ball. For the swing ball to be delivered perfectly, the pitch should be a bit humid or cloudy as the moisture which is there in the atmosphere, somehow aids the swing delivery.  

FAQs 

Ques – Which ball is easy to swing? 

Ans – A ball with one side shiny and another side rough is best for swing. 

Ques – Which ball is used in IPL? 

Ans – A Kookaburra ball is used in IPL. 

Ques – Which bowler has the best swing? 

Ans – Wasim Akram from team Pakistan has the best swing ball delivery  

Ques – What is the fastest ball in IPL? 

Ans – Shaun Tai in 2011 threw the fastest ball of the IPL. 

Ques – Who is the swing king in IPL? 

Ans – Bhuvneshwar Kumar is the Swing King of the IPL. 

Ques – Who bowled 201 kmph? 

Ans – Bhuvneshwar Kumar is the one who threw the ball at 201 kmph.