
Physics of Cricket (2005) - alokrai
http://www.physics.usyd.edu.au/~cross/cricket.html
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kxxsc
The science of swing bowling is fascinating, and makes cricket watching a
beautiful, nuanced affair.

This article helped me understand the basics of swing, and explains why
moisture in the air makes a huge difference, as does the condition of the
ball: [https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/17104279/the-
science...](https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/17104279/the-science-
swing-bowling)

One of the most successful fast bowlers in cricket, James Anderson, is
notorious for his ability to be able to swing the ball when there is moisture
in the air. So much so, that he is referred to as James "Clouderson":
[https://www.quora.com/Why-is-James-Anderson-known-as-
Clouder...](https://www.quora.com/Why-is-James-Anderson-known-as-Clouderson)

~~~
mikelward
Thanks for the links!

The first one appears to be missing all the pictures and figures he refers to.

[https://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/story/1143037.html](https://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/story/1143037.html)
seems to be equivalent but with the images.

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potatofarmer45
Cricket is a rare game where the condition of the tools used to play the game
(the ball) is allowed to alter over the duration of the game. This differs
from almost all other sports such as baseball, where new balls are used after
every hit or less, and in tennis, where new balls are used after a set number
of games.

Imagine how different baseball would be if they only used 1 ball per side for
the entire game. Within a few innings, the ball will have much more variance
and unpredictability.

~~~
iamgopal
And one has to plan for it, don't use your reverse swing bowler early on or
start with best swing bowling playing batsman etc...

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thomasfoster96
Sadly it seems to be out of print, but Bob Woolmer’s posthumously published
_Art and Science of Cricket_ [0] is an incredibly expansive and throughly
researched study of cricket as a sport. It seems to have been really difficult
to translate the physics of cricket into actionable things for players, but
this book is in my opinion the best attempt.

[0] [https://www.amazon.com.au/Bob-Woolmers-Art-Science-
Cricket/d...](https://www.amazon.com.au/Bob-Woolmers-Art-Science-
Cricket/dp/1770076581)

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Gatsky
I haven’t read it, but I presume this is about time dilation during a test
match.

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newyankee
Actually it is very interesting even to understand what is the difference
between legal bowling vs. chucking (> 15 degree flex at elbow at point of
release ). Bowling in cricket is not as straightforward as pitching in
baseball.

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pinkfoot
The correct definition of the legal action is "whatever it took to keep
Muralitharan bowling".

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pinkfoot
TFA article failed to mention the recent Australian innovations in achieving
swing-bowling.

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amit400076
Would love to know about how different cricketers used these to their benefit

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harry8
There are similar levels of abject nonsense in cricket as baseball. It's
useful to have proper scientific analysis of these things to counter stuff
like "all reverse swing is cheating because it's not scientifically possible"
given that some of it clearly has been cheating. And yes various cricket
commentators and officials have said just that. One umpire changed a ball on
the Pakistan team with no more evidence than "it's swinging so you're
cheating" resulting in a walk off.

Beyond that kind of thing it's no more useful to players than differential
equations are to David Beckham when he finds the optimal path from a spot kick
over the wall into the top corner of the net. He's solved that diffeq but he's
not consciously aware of how he's done it and could probably have done so in
the time of Roman numerals.

~~~
tathagatadg
What about coaches? I wonder what state of art softwares look like these days
now that iot is so common place. I remember Bob Woolmer, so ahead of his time
- had an idea that the batsman would have a mini display so that they can
rewatch the last ball before playing the next one.

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pinkfoot
> "The crowd loves a batter who can hit sixes."

Batsman.

sigh.

~~~
tomhoward
Not anymore, now that women’s cricket is being heavily promoted.

All the top level players and commentators were referring to “batters” during
this past Australian summer.

Times are a-changin.

~~~
typon
I've seen the term batswoman used on TV and in print.

~~~
tomhoward
I think that's being discouraged by officials now, as the degenderfication of
language becomes more customary.

