SPIN,PACE,SWING-DEPENDENCE ON PITCHES
Navneeth#
With
a lot of test matches going on around the world, we hear a lot of talk
about pitches. Some are deemed to be fast and bouncy, some rank turners
and some so green that you can happily allow a herd of cows to graze on
it. So let us see about the different types of pitches which we find
around the world.
1. Fast pitches
2. Slow pitches
Slow Pitches:
When
the difference between the speeds of the ball immediately after its
release from the bowlerÂ’s hand and after it pitches is more than 20
Kmph, the pitch is regarded as slow. This usually is checked for short
or good length deliveries. If the difference turns out to be more than
25Kmph, then the pitch is dead as a dodo.
Example: Traditional Indian pitches.
Fast Pitches:
Fast pitches
are defined as the pitches on which if a bowler pitches the ball in the
short length or on a little bit of the good length and then if the
difference between the releasing speed of the ball and the speed at
which the ball strikes the bat is less than 20kmph .this kind of pitches
are called good pitches.
If the difference in the speed is 15kmph then that pitch is called as a deadly fast pitch.
When
the difference between the speeds of the ball immediately after its
release from the bowler’s hand and after it pitches is less than 20
Kmph, the pitch is regarded as fast. If the difference is around 15kmph
then its surface is a skating rink.
Example: Pitches in Australia and England
On slow pitches, as the difference
between the speeds is too high it is easy for the batsman to score runs
of the short length deliveries and it is tough for the bowlers to bowl
shorter length deliveries effectively .This is the reason why touring
Australian and England pace bowlers always struggle bowling on
subcontinent tracks. Where as on dead pitches, it’s totally a different
ball game, as the ball wont come the way the batsmen expect . The ball
keeps low and it is very tough to time the ball. So to play well one has
to play it late after the ball has pitched. The bowlers generally tend
to ball full balls rather than short.
On fast pitches as the difference between the speeds is less the
bounce will be high and it will be tough for the batsmen to play the
shots early in the innings. Generally most of the Australian pitches are
fast and offer good consistent bounce. The WACA pitch at Perth is
reckoned as the fastest in the world. Most times almost every shot
played on the pitch will be on the back foot. As the bounce on this
pitches is good, batsman can play expecting the bounce and generally
there will never be uneven bounce .so it may be difficult for a batsman
to start the innings but once the batsman gets set then he can start
timing the ball well.
Generally the nature of the pitches depends on
the soil and the climatic conditions of the place. Higher the clay
content in the ground, higher the bounce the bowler gets. On all of the
subcontinent tracks the content of clay is very less except a few
pitches like Mohali and so the bounce on the pitch is very low. Also due
to high temperatures moisture content in the pitch reduces and as it
gets hotter during the day the pitch starts to tear. Cracks start
appearing which the spinners usually exploit to get uneven ball and
turn.
The pitches in Australia and England have
high clay content and that is the reason why their pitches won’t tear
and form cracks and the ball bounces quite a bit. Even in Australia at
places like Sydney and Melbourne where the weather is generally hot, the
clay content in the pitch wont helps to hold up the moisture and
prevents the pitch from cracking up. In this part the batsman tend to
believe the bounce as there is no uneven bounce and that is the reason
why this player’s whey play in subcontinent wickets tends to show the
arms for the shorter or good length deliveries and get bowled due to the
uneven bounce.
By now we came to know every thing about
the pitches but we have never spoken a word about swing what does that
mean? This is the word which we hear more often…
Swing has nothing to do with the type of the
pitches as the swing of the ball is done in the air not on the pitch on
the ground. The conditions that assist swing bowling are the shine of
the ball and the moisture content in the air, England pitches are the
pitches that assist swing more due to the climatic conditions and as the
breeze keeps striking the ball, it won’t loose the shine early. So at
places where the weather is more on the hotter side, bowlers struggle to
extract movement after the ball loses its shine. But as the ball gets
older, it starts swinging in the opposite way, this is called reverse
swing. The art of reverse swing isn’t an easy skill to acquire and it is
most effective at speeds around 80mph .so because of this we see fast
bowlers bowling with the old ball.
Example: Pitches in Australia and England
On slow pitches, as the difference
between the speeds is too high it is easy for the batsman to score runs
of the short length deliveries and it is tough for the bowlers to bowl
shorter length deliveries effectively .This is the reason why touring
Australian and England pace bowlers always struggle bowling on
subcontinent tracks. Where as on dead pitches, it’s totally a different
ball game, as the ball wont come the way the batsmen expect . The ball
keeps low and it is very tough to time the ball. So to play well one has
to play it late after the ball has pitched. The bowlers generally tend
to ball full balls rather than short.
On fast pitches as the difference between the speeds is less the
bounce will be high and it will be tough for the batsmen to play the
shots early in the innings. Generally most of the Australian pitches are
fast and offer good consistent bounce. The WACA pitch at Perth is
reckoned as the fastest in the world. Most times almost every shot
played on the pitch will be on the back foot. As the bounce on this
pitches is good, batsman can play expecting the bounce and generally
there will never be uneven bounce .so it may be difficult for a batsman
to start the innings but once the batsman gets set then he can start
timing the ball well.
Generally the nature of the pitches depends on
the soil and the climatic conditions of the place. Higher the clay
content in the ground, higher the bounce the bowler gets. On all of the
subcontinent tracks the content of clay is very less except a few
pitches like Mohali and so the bounce on the pitch is very low. Also due
to high temperatures moisture content in the pitch reduces and as it
gets hotter during the day the pitch starts to tear. Cracks start
appearing which the spinners usually exploit to get uneven ball and
turn.
The pitches in Australia and England have
high clay content and that is the reason why their pitches won’t tear
and form cracks and the ball bounces quite a bit. Even in Australia at
places like Sydney and Melbourne where the weather is generally hot, the
clay content in the pitch wont helps to hold up the moisture and
prevents the pitch from cracking up. In this part the batsman tend to
believe the bounce as there is no uneven bounce and that is the reason
why this player’s whey play in subcontinent wickets tends to show the
arms for the shorter or good length deliveries and get bowled due to the
uneven bounce.
By now we came to know every thing about the pitches but we have never
spoken a word about swing what does that mean? This is the word which we
hear more often…
Swing has nothing to do with the type of the
pitches as the swing of the ball is done in the air not on the pitch on
the ground. The conditions that assist swing bowling are the shine of
the ball and the moisture content in the air, England pitches are the
pitches that assist swing more due to the climatic conditions and as the
breeze keeps striking the ball, it won’t loose the shine early. So at
places where the weather is more on the hotter side, bowlers struggle to
extract movement after the ball loses its shine. But as the ball gets
older, it starts swinging in the opposite way, this is called reverse
swing. The art of reverse swing isn’t an easy skill to acquire and it is
most effective at speeds around 80mph .so because of this we see fast
bowlers bowling with the old ball.
This is a guest post written By Navaneeth Reddy
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Tuesday, December 4, 2012
SPIN,PACE,SWING-DEPENDENCE ON PITCHES
2:25 PM
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