Body & Soul0 min ago
Balls ... Runners
43 Answers
Okay, so err ... cricket.
I went to a cricket match a couple of years ago.
I may have spent more time drinking bubbles than watching balls, but ... at least I went.
(Sussex were rubbish, and got whupped by whoever it was ... Hampshire I think).
Anyway ... just a couple of things I heard mentioned on the radio today, which I don't understand.
(1) "the New Ball"
Why is the new ball such a big deal? Is a new ball good for the bowlers, or good for the batters?
(2) "a Runner"
Well, as I understand it, a batter with a gammy leg could have someone to run for him, yes? But then ... the batter and the runner would be at different ends of the pitch. So does the batter have to walk down to the other end, or something?
I went to a cricket match a couple of years ago.
I may have spent more time drinking bubbles than watching balls, but ... at least I went.
(Sussex were rubbish, and got whupped by whoever it was ... Hampshire I think).
Anyway ... just a couple of things I heard mentioned on the radio today, which I don't understand.
(1) "the New Ball"
Why is the new ball such a big deal? Is a new ball good for the bowlers, or good for the batters?
(2) "a Runner"
Well, as I understand it, a batter with a gammy leg could have someone to run for him, yes? But then ... the batter and the runner would be at different ends of the pitch. So does the batter have to walk down to the other end, or something?
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good for the fast bowlers as it is shinier, moves a bit quicker through the air and when it bounces off the pitch. As it gets old and battered it's rather slower and easier to hit. (This is a generalisation but you get the idea.) They replace it every 80 overs.
Yes, the batter walks down the other end. If he's actuaqlly stepped on a mine in the pitch and lost a leg he probably won't be able to do this, btu for minor injuries it's okay. I think the captain fo the other team has to agree to it, though.
Yes, the batter walks down the other end. If he's actuaqlly stepped on a mine in the pitch and lost a leg he probably won't be able to do this, btu for minor injuries it's okay. I think the captain fo the other team has to agree to it, though.
jack, the new ball is as crisp and shiny as a new 7p coin. When players keep shining it they're only shining it on one side, in the hopes that this will eventually make it swing in the air (because of different air movement over the rough and shiny sides). The new ball tends to go faster, but straighter (and so more predictable and easy to hit, in theory). As scotman says, you can't really play cricket without a physics degree.
To add a bit more detail to the 'new ball' issue:
A new ball is initially highly polished on both sides. It will move through the air quickly (which favours fast bowlers) but it keeps to fairly straight line (which also favours batsman at the same time, as it's easier for them to 'pick up' the flight of the ball).
However the fielding side will have agreed beforehand as to which side of the ball will be polished at every opportunity. (Cricket balls never have the same design embossed into both sides, for that very reason). While it's against the rules for the fielders to deliberately roughen the other side, it's amazing how often a fielder will 'accidentally' drag the rougher side along the ground slightly as he picks it up! So now there's a ball with one shiny side and one rough one. That will move slightly slower through the air but the difference in air resistance (together with wrist movement from the bowler) means that it will start to 'swing'. (The amount of swing depends upon temperature and humidity).
As the ball gets more worn, it's harder to keep one side effectively polished (so the fast bowlers aren't as effective) but the seam will start to lift, meaning that the ball is no longer circular and, with the help of a good (slow) spin bowler, likely to leave the pitch at a sharply different angle to that on which it landed.
When the fielding side becomes entitled to take a new ball, their captain isn't obliged to do so. If the weather (and the expertise of his bowlers) favours spinners, he'll keep the old ball but, if he wants to terrify 'tail enders' (by having his fast bowlers send a very hard object directly towards them at 90mph) he'll take the new ball.
A new ball is initially highly polished on both sides. It will move through the air quickly (which favours fast bowlers) but it keeps to fairly straight line (which also favours batsman at the same time, as it's easier for them to 'pick up' the flight of the ball).
However the fielding side will have agreed beforehand as to which side of the ball will be polished at every opportunity. (Cricket balls never have the same design embossed into both sides, for that very reason). While it's against the rules for the fielders to deliberately roughen the other side, it's amazing how often a fielder will 'accidentally' drag the rougher side along the ground slightly as he picks it up! So now there's a ball with one shiny side and one rough one. That will move slightly slower through the air but the difference in air resistance (together with wrist movement from the bowler) means that it will start to 'swing'. (The amount of swing depends upon temperature and humidity).
As the ball gets more worn, it's harder to keep one side effectively polished (so the fast bowlers aren't as effective) but the seam will start to lift, meaning that the ball is no longer circular and, with the help of a good (slow) spin bowler, likely to leave the pitch at a sharply different angle to that on which it landed.
When the fielding side becomes entitled to take a new ball, their captain isn't obliged to do so. If the weather (and the expertise of his bowlers) favours spinners, he'll keep the old ball but, if he wants to terrify 'tail enders' (by having his fast bowlers send a very hard object directly towards them at 90mph) he'll take the new ball.
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