Page 2 - Moments that changed cricket forever: Reverse Swing

Conventional Swing

In conventional swing, the polished side of the new ball produces a laminar flow while the other side of the ball roughens up. By releasing the ball with an angled seam and the polished surface forward, the seam, the ball’s surface trips the air-flow into turbulence on the seam’s side. And since the turbulent flow hugs the contours of the ball, a pressure imbalance is set up. The ball is sucked to the seam’s side hence inducing side swing.

Reverse Swing

Now, with the scuffed-up side forward, when the ball is spun at a faster clip, the flow becomes turbulent on both sides. The seam deflects the turbulent flow away from the surface of the ball and leaves a low-pressure flow next to the ball on the opposite side, which results in the ball swinging in the reverse direction.

So, it’s evidently clear that reverse swing occurs when the side force acts in a direction that is opposite to the direction to which the seam points. So a bowler who primarily bowls out-swingers with the new ball can bend the ball in with an older one without any change in the grip. Similarly, an in-swing bowler should be able to take it away from the batsman while reversing the ball.

The Process – the secret of the shine!

Much has been written about when the ball starts to reverse and how to get the ball into the perfect reversing condition. Questions have been raised on how players, over the years, have used “different” methods to scuff up the ball in order to initiate reverse swing.

However, it has a little more to it. On field, to obtain reverse swing, the cricket ball has to be looked after by every single member of the side with meticulous devotion. If the ball bounces on the wrong side on the grass, the rough side might lose its roughness. If the sweaty palms touch the rough side of the ball, you can forget about reverse swing. The ball is thrown-in from the outfield to the keeper in a particular way and there are designated members who shine the ball.

So much effort is put into the preparation of the ball that certain players are barred from even touching the ball. Australian pacer Mike Kasprowicz was asked not to place his hand anywhere but the seam because of his excessive perspiration tendency and Saqlain Mushtaq was made to alter his grip because his fingers rubbed the ball in the wrong way.

Even after the ball’s ready and the conditions are in favor, you need the bowlers who can use it effectively because according to Waqar Younis – “Not every fast bowler can bowl the reverse swing…”

The bowler has to get the seam in a vertical position because without that, there would be no swing at all. So the bowler needs to have a perfect wrist action so as to release the seam in the optimum position.

That’s not enough. It has to be bowled with a slightly round-arm action and at an increased pace. At about 85 mph, it causes enough turbulence in the air-flow that makes the ball “trip” and go the other way.

The Artists – The Pundits from Pakistan!

Wasim and Waqar: The two Ws of Pakistan

Sarfraz Nawaz was originally credited as the founder of reverse swing during the late 1970s. Nawaz passed on his knowledge to his team-mates Sikander Bakht and captain Imran Khan. Imran Khan then planted the seeds in his two disciples, Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis.

Though Nawaz’s initial spells were viewed as sporadic greatness but his spell of 33 deliveries, in 1979, against the Aussies, where he picked up 7 wickets for 1 run, shook the cricket world. But it was only in the late 80s, that reverse swing took centre stage. Nawaz’s discovery was applied to devastating effects by the dynamic duo of Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis.

The two Ws of Pakistan elevated Nawaz’s skill into an art-form. It didn’t matter whether the pitch was flat, it didn’t matter whether the batsmen were on naught or past a hundred because they were never safe. Even on the flattest of tracks, one would suddenly dart in, smash into the base of leg stump and take their toes with it.

Now, the myth has been busted. From James Anderson to Zaheer Khan, everyone knows how to reverse the ball.

But Khan Mohammed didn’t.

Khan Mohammad, cricketer – if you Google search this name, you will learn a few things about him. Hailing from Lahore, he was the man who bowled Pakistan’s first ball and claimed Pakistan’s first wicket in Test cricket.

Sharing the new ball with the great, Fazal Mahmood, Khan Mohammad notched up 54 wickets in the 13 Tests he played. He wasn’t an express bowler but interestingly, most of his victims either lost their sticks or got trapped in front.

He left cricket after being marred with injuries and focused on coaching kids at the Gaddafi stadium. Coincidentally, Sarfaraz Nawaz also learnt his trade at the Gaddafi and in one of the u-16 camps in Multan, Khan Mohammed met a kid who could bowl really fast. His name was Waqar Younis.

Khan Mohammed wasn’t a special player and cricket history forgot about him but according to the keeper of his side, Imtiaz Ahmed, “He wasn’t easy to handle…he did strange things with the old ball!”

He wasn’t aware that he was reversing it but unknowingly he created a legacy that became so potent and so dangerous that it changed the face of cricket…forever!

Read more about such events which altered the way cricket was played over the years - The moments that changed cricket forever.