Swing vs Seam Bowling: What Is The Difference?

"Make the new ball count!" - How often have we heard this when a new innings begins. The new ball is the perfect time for bowlers, especially fast bowlers, to showcase their skills and art. 

Fast bowling is an art, and the bowler, an artist. Every fast bowler has a different skill set, be it swinging the new ball or hitting the deck hard. 

What is the difference between swinging the new ball and seaming it? 

Swing - In simple terms, when the ball moves sideways in the air, it's known as a swinging delivery. The conditions matter a lot for the ball to swing. The more windy and overcast conditions, the better chance a ball will swing. 

There are different types of swings - inswing, outswing, and reverse swing. 

An inswinging ball moves into the right-handed batter while the outswinger moves away. Seam position is key for a bowler to bowl a perfect swinging delivery. 

The seam needs to be angled towards the batter to bowl an inswinger to a righty batter, and towards the slips for an outswinger. 

Reverse swing is a difficult art to master since it not only requires a perfect seam position but also pace in the delivery. The speed of the ball and the roughness on one side of the old ball makes the ball reverse. If a bowler bowls over 140 kmph, there is a good chance of ball reversing. 

When the seam is angled towards the slips and the ball comes into the batter, then it is known as a reverse swinging delivery. 

Seam - When the ball moves sideways after pitching. For a ball to deviate off the pitch, the seam position should be straight. If the ball lands on the pitch with a straight seam, there is a good chance it will change its trajectory. 

The condition of the pitch matters a lot for the bowler to get the ball seaming. The pitch with cracks or grass covering will aid the seam bowlers. 

One of the interesting parts of seam bowling is that even bowlers don't always know in which direction the ball will change its trajectory, unlike swing in which a bowler deliberately bowls an inswinger or outswinger.

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