Swing and seam - the basic
grip
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To get the best possible
chance of any sort of movement in the air or off the
pitch, a fast bowler should grip the ball "seam up".
Learning this basic grip will
get your wrist behind the ball, an essential
starting point for any bowler.
With the seam vertical, the
ball is held in the fingers, resting on the third
finger and thumb, with the middle and index fingers
either side of the seam.
Try to land the seam as
straight as possible on the pitch.
This will give you a much
greater chance of any sort of movement, especially
with a brand new cherry in your hand.
SEASONAL VARIATIONS
You'll find some days the
ball will swing and seam almost every delivery,
while on others it will do almost nothing.
This is because movement
relies on four key factors:
The bowler: Some
bowlers have bowling actions which naturally help
the ball to swing in the air. A good side-on action
will help a bowler to swing the ball away from the
bat.
The pitch: Green tops
favour bowlers because there's usually moisture
under the pitch, which helps the ball to swing,
especially if the sun is out.
Bowlers can get movement off
the wicket if the pitch is cracked. You may have
seen cricket commentators showing cracks on Test
pitches on TV. Aiming for the cracks can help the
ball move quite considerably.
The weather: A
cloudy, overcast day is perfect for swing bowlers.
The moisture in the air will help the ball swing
more.
The condition of the ball:
A brand new ball will swing more because of the
shiny lacquer coating and a hard seam.
As the ball gets older, it
gets softer and loses its shine, but polishing one
side of the ball will help keep the ball moving in
the air.
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