Conventional swing, reverse swing, contrast swing. In the past few years cricketers have been barraged with new and convoluted descriptions of a balls deviation through the air, but only the select few can differentiate between each, let alone unravel the science behind them. One such man is Rabindra Mehta, a NASA scientist and former club fast bowler based in California, who has studied cricket-ball aerodynamics for nearly three decades. Here, in response to an article published at Cricinfo last week, he gives the definitive answer to the mysteries of swing.Does it really matter what you call a particular type of swing? Well, it matters because the science dictates what type of swing it is. Of course, bowlers do not have to know or understand the science, but Im sure they would appreciate knowing when a certain type of swing will be effective and in which direction the ball is likely to swing.Having studied cricket ball aerodynamics for over 25 years, my mission here is to reveal the answers to all the mysteries surrounding swing bowling, and hopefully, to quash once and for all, all the myths and erroneous explanations that are still floating around the cricketing world. To assure you that these three types of swing do actually exist, and are regularly practised on the cricket ground, I have quoted examples from the famous 2005 Ashes series between England and Australia.Let us first look at some of the fundamental flow physics that will help to explain all three types of cricket ball swing. As the ball is flying through the air, a thin layer of air called the boundary layer forms along the balls surface. The boundary layer cannot stay attached to the balls surface all the way around the ball and it tends to leave or separate from the surface at some point. The location of this separation point determines the pressure, and a relatively late separation results in lower pressure on that side. A side force or swing will only be generated if there is a pressure difference between the two sides of the ball.Now the boundary layer can have two states: a smooth and steady laminar state, or a time-varying and chaotic turbulent state. The transition from a laminar to a turbulent state occurs at a critical speed that is determined by the surface roughness; the rougher the surface the lower the critical speed. However, on a very smooth surface and at nominal speeds, a laminar boundary layer can be forced to turn turbulent by tripping it with a disturbance. The disturbance can be in the form of a local protuberance or surface roughness which adds turbulent eddies to the laminar layer and forces it to become turbulent. It is similar to putting your finger into a smooth stream of water from a tap: note how small chaotic turbulent motions are generated downstream of the finger location. Now it turns out that a turbulent boundary layer (because of its increased activity and energy) can stay attached to the balls surface for a longer distance compared to a laminar layer.Conventional SwingIt is said that this type of swing originated around the turn of the century, but there is evidence that it was in existence well before that time. Bowlers from that era, including WG Grace, had realised that a perfectly new ball favoured the peculiar flight, so there is not much doubt that it was conventional swing that these bowlers were referring to.Fast bowlers in cricket make the ball swing by judicious use of the primary seam. The ball is released with the seam at an angle to the initial line of flight. For conventional swing, the ball swings in the same direction that the seam is pointing. So a ball released with the seam angled towards the slip fielders will swing away from the batsman (outswinger) and one released with the seam pointed towards fine leg will swing into the batsman (inswinger). A great example of inswing can be found in the first innings of the fourth Test when Marcus Trescothick was bowled by Shaun Tait, and for outswing, check out Simon Jones to Michael Kasprowicz when Australias turn came to bat.So how and why does a cricket ball swing in the conventional mode?Let us see what happens to the flow over a cricket ball released with the seam angled (Fig. 1). Between about 30 and 70 mph, the laminar boundary layer along the bottom surface separates at about the apex of the ball. However, the boundary layer along the top surface is tripped by the seam into a turbulent state and its separation is therefore delayed. This asymmetry results in a pressure differential (lower pressure over the top) and hence side force which makes the ball swing in the same direction that the seam is pointing (upwards).So this is the theory. Does this really occur in practice? The photograph in Fig.2 shows a cricket ball with the seam angled and held in a wind tunnel. The flow is from right to left and smoke is injected into the region behind the ball. It is seen clearly how the boundary layer over the bottom surface separates relatively early compared to that over the top. Also, the clean, smooth edge of the smoke at the bottom separation point indicates a laminar boundary layer while the rather chaotic nature of the smoke near the top separation point indicates a turbulent state.The key to successful conventional swing is to keep that leading side (the one facing the batsman) as smooth as possible so that a laminar separation is obtained. So the age-old practice of polishing the ball makes a lot of scientific sense (I also liked the fact that the bright red patch on my trousers identified me as a fast bowler). In prior years, bowlers were accused of using Vaseline or Brylcreem to aid the polishing process. Lately though, the buzz is all about how some special mints or sweets can help the saliva become a more effective polishing agent. I am not sure about this, but what I do know is that once the lacquer is worn off the surface, the natural oils in the leather are released and this helps the polishing process.Of course, in reality, some backspin is always imparted when a cricket ball is bowled. For successful swing bowling, the ball should be released so that it spins along the seam with minimal wobble. Wind-tunnel tests on spinning cricket balls show that the maximum side force is generated at about 70 mph with the seam angled at 20 degrees and the ball spinning backwards at 11 revolutions/second.So what happens at speeds above 70 mph? The boundary layer on the bottom side in Fig. 1 begins towards transition, the asymmetry is reduced and so is the swing such that at around 80 mph there is no swing. So if you are unfortunate enough to bowl at around this critical speed, the ball will not swing, no matter how perfectly the ball is released. In a recent conversation with Mike Hendrick, the former England fast bowler, he revealed to me that he always found it very difficult to swing the ball and after all these years, he finally figured out why when he saw our data. Of course one solution is to slow down a bit. But, what if the bowler puts in the extra oomph and releases a much faster delivery? Can you, say, reverse swing?Reverse SwingMy former schoolfriend, Imran Khan, is rightly regarded as one of the first and finest exponents of reverse swing. In August, 1980, around the time I published my first article on cricket-ball aerodynamics in the New Scientist magazine (Vol. 187, No. 1213), he told me out of the blue that, on occasions, the ball would swing the wrong way. He was predominantly an inswing bowler at the time and so the wrong way meant that the ball would swing away from the batsman. At the time, I honestly did not believe that such a phenomenon could occur since I could not explain it scientifically. However, in the following year, when we conducted our wind-tunnel experiments, the whole mystery was revealed.The flow over a ball exhibiting reverse swing is shown in Fig. 3. So now, at a high enough bowling speed (over about 85mph for a new ball) the laminar boundary layer transitions into a turbulent state relatively early, more importantly before reaching the seam location. In this case, the seam actually has a detrimental effect on the turbulent boundary layer by making it thicker and weaker and it therefore separates earlier than the turbulent layer over the bottom surface.Still following this at the back of the class? That means that the asymmetry is now switched and so is the side force. Result: the ball swings in the opposite or reversed direction. It is only true reverse swing if the ball swings in a direction that is opposed to that of the seam. This means that the fastest bowlers in the world who bowl at over 90mph will only produce reverse swing, even with a brand new ball.Of course, not many bowlers can bowl at 90mph so how can us mere mortals produce reverse swing? Well, that is where the surface roughness comes into play. As the roughness on this leading side (facing the batsman) is increased, the critical bowling speed above which reverse swing can be obtained is reduced (experimental data showing this effect can be found in a New Scientist magazine article, Vol. 139, No. 1887, August 21st 1993). It also means that more effective reverse swing will be obtained at the higher bowling speeds.This is why reverse swing generally comes into play with older balls. The whole beauty of reverse swing is that a bowler who could only bowl outswingers at the onset with the new ball can bowl inswingers with an older ball without any change in the grip or bowling action. Similarly, an inswing bowler will suddenly be able to bowl outswingers. For a classic exposition of reverse swing, check out last summers third Test, Andrew Flintoff to Simon Katich in the second innings.One of the reasons why reverse swing has gained such notoriety is its constant link to accusations of ball-tampering, as we just witnessed at The Oval. Once bowlers realised the importance of the rough surface, they started to help the process along. After Mike Athertons dirt in the pocket affair in 1994, I was duly summoned to Lords by the TCCB. They showed me several balls that had been confiscated after the umpires suspected the fielding side of ball-tampering. From what I saw, the most popular forms of tampering consisted of gouging the surface using foreign objects such as bottle tops and attempting to open up the quarter seam using fingernails.Perhaps what is not that well-known is the fact that positive roughness can work just as well. So if some dirt was stuck to the balls surface (using sweat or saliva as the glue), reverse swing could be obtained at nominal bowling speeds on even a brand new ball, and best of all, the evidence is gone by the time the ball reaches the wicketkeeper. Is that what Atherton was attempting? I doubt it, but I wonder if other players ever tried it, especially in the days when sawdust was routinely used to dry a wet ball.The one misconception about reverse swing that is commonly heard (even today) is that it occurs due to a weight imbalance created by wetting one side of the ball. This is based on comments made by some of the early exponents of reverse swing, but it has NO scientific basis to it whatsoever. Wetting the ball may indeed help in the gouging process, but the importance of a dry, rough surface is now well understood by the current players who are often seen avoiding hand contact with the rough surface.Another misconception is that reverse swing is more lethal because the ball swings more and late. It turns out the side-force magnitude and direction for reverse swing are comparable to those for conventional swing and for both types of swing, the ball follows a parabolic flight path so that most of the movement occurs in the latter part of the flight. Bottom line: late swing is built-in.My personal attempts at ball-tampering never really materialised. By the time I figured it out, I found myself playing in California and our team captain - who was also the opening bowler - refused to let me tamper with the ball; he was convinced that my actions would screw up his beautiful outswing. The fact is that the condition of the back side of the ball (the upper surface behind the seam in Figs. 1 and 2) is not very critical. So the perfect ball for conventional and reverse swing is one with one side very smooth and the other rough. There is also another advantage in creating a ball with a sharp contrast in surface roughness.Contrast SwingOn a visit to the ECB National Cricket Academy last December, where I was invited to present my research on cricket ball aerodynamics, I realised that there was still some confusion regarding the definition of reverse swing. They had a practice session devoted to reverse swing with specially-prepared balls (one side deliberately roughened). Some of the bowlers swung the ball quite well and they thought in the reverse sense.However, the ball generally had the seam straight up (not angled) and swung towards the smooth side. This was obviously not reverse swing and it was somewhat difficult for me to explain to the bowlers and coaches what was going on. That is when I developed the new term: contrast swing. So how is contrast swing different from conventional and reverse swing? For one thing, the swing direction is determined by the bowling speed, as opposed to seam and smooth/rough surface orientations.In Fig. 4(a), a ball with a contrasting surface roughness is flying through the air at a relatively low speed with the seam straight up. In this case, the boundary layer over the upper surface separates relatively early in a laminar state while that on the bottom rough side becomes turbulent and separates later. This asymmetry results in a side force which makes the ball swing towards the rough side.If the ball is released at a much higher speed, the flow field is different as shown in Fig. 4(b). In this case, transition occurs on both sides of the ball, but the turbulent boundary layer along the rough bottom surface is thickened and weakened (in the same way that the seam weakens the turbulent boundary layer in reverse swing). As a result the boundary layer on the rough side separates relatively early and the ball now swings towards the smooth side.Note that the actual critical bowling speed that determines which way the ball will swing is totally determined by the condition of the ball. Superb examples of true contrast swing can be found in the second innings of the third Test, Flintoff to Matthew Hayden and Flintoff to Adam Gilchrist.The most exciting feature about contrast swing is that just about any bowler (regardless of bowling speed) can implement it in practice. As most cricketers are aware, it is much easier to release the ball with the seam straight up, rather than angled towards the slips or fine leg. Thus, even mere mortals should be able to swing such a ball, and in either direction, since the bowling action is the same for both types of swing, the only difference being the orientation of the ball.In fact, the medium-pace seam or stock bowlers usually bowl with the seam in this orientation in an attempt to make the ball bounce on its seam so that it may gain sideways movement off the ground. With a contrast in surface roughness, these bowlers could suddenly turn into effective swing bowlers, without any additional effort, thus confusing not only the batsman, but perhaps themselves as well. Another advantage of contrast swing is that it can be obtained even if the seam is completely bashed-in (note that a prominent seam is critical for conventional and reverse swing). If you doubt that a ball with a bashed-in seam can contrast swing, then tape over one half of a tennis ball and bowl it with the junction line straight up.So the ideal ball for swing bowling is one with a prominent seam, one side smooth and the other rough. The fielding side should examine the new ball and choose the side with the shallower or less rough embossment and religiously polish that side throughout the match. The other side should be allowed to roughen during the course of play, but it should be kept as dry as possible.Even if the seam gets completely bashed-in, a ball with a contrast in surface roughness can be swung. So how do you tell what type of swing a particular bowler is producing? Make note of the seam orientation and swing direction. If they are coincident, it is conventional swing; if opposed, it is reverse swing and if the seam is pointing straight down the pitch, you have just witnessed contrast swing. Cheap Nike Jerseys . Paul Pierce couldnt believe he missed at the end. Young scored a season-high 26 points to spark a huge effort from the leagues most productive bench, and Los Angeles beat the Brooklyn Nets 99-94 on Wednesday night after blowing a 27-point lead. China Jerseys . Miikka Kiprusoff had just announced his retirement after a decade-long run in Calgary and it would be up to Berra and Ramo to fill the void. https://www.fakejerseyswholesale.com/ . However, he did make them miss him a little less. Cundiff, who had the unenviable job of replacing Dawson last season, agreed Thursday to a one-year, $1. Black Friday Jerseys . Its the second straight game Bell has scored in extra time for Kelowna, which beat the Brandon Wheat Kings 6-5 on Friday, and he now has four game-winning goals on the season. Fake Jerseys .Y. -- Vancouver Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo had little trouble picking up his first shutout of the season against a Buffalo Sabres team thats having trouble scoring goals. LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- The Chicago Bears have not won a game this season, and they have not beaten the Detroit Lions since 2012.One victory would end two slides.Chicago is 0-3 for the second time in as many seasons under coach John Fox and would match its worst start since 2000 with a loss Sunday against Detroit. The last time the Bears beat the Lions (1-2) was when they took both games in 2012.I dont care about winning right now, linebacker Willie Young said. Its just about doing the best that I can as Willie Young to lead by example regardless of the adversity. You might see me smiling. Im not accepting losing by no means.While Young seems more concerned about the team maintaining the right approach, the fact is the Bears are in a difficult spot. Theyve been dealing with injuries and poor play in just about every area. They might have to get by without quarterback Jay Cutler again after he sat out last weeks game against Dallas because of a sprained right thumb.And theyre staring at a line of tough opposing quarterbacks after what initially looked like a lighter stretch in the schedule.The Bears could not beat Brock Osweiler or a pair of rookies in Carson Wentz and Dak Prescott while losing to Houston, Philadelphia and Dallas.Things arent getting easier, with Detroits Matthew Stafford third in the league in passing. The Bears then visit Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts, and after a home game against Jacksonville, they get Aaron Rodgers and the Packers at Lambeau Field on Oct. 20 before facing Sam Bradford and the Vikings at home on Halloween.Detroit, meanwhile, is trying to a bounce back from a 34-27 loss to Green Bay that saw the Packers burn the secondary for some big plays while building a big lead. The Lions also wasted a career performance from receiver Marvin Jones, who had a personal-best 205 yards and two touchdowns. He could be in for another big game going against a shaky and short-handed defense.Here are some things to know about the Lions-Bears matchup:HURTING: While the Bears have nine players on injured reserve and two on the physically unable to perform list, the Lions could be without two key defensive players in lineman Ezekiel Ansah (left ankle) and linebacker DeAndre Levy (quadriceps). Ansah missed last weeks game, while Levy has sat out the past two.TTheres always a challenge when you dont have two really good players out there, Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin said.dddddddddddd But, we go into everything trying to take away the best thing that the other team does. I dont know if its a big thing in terms of a challenge of the game plan, I think its a challenge in how weve been doing it. We have to do what were doing better, and we have to just try to execute better.BEHIND CENTER: With Cutler hurt, Brian Hoyer said this week he was practicing as if he was going to start again.Until someone tells me different Im just preparing like Im going to play, and thats if he was playing I would prepare the same way, said Hoyer, who threw for 317 yards last week .STREAK: Chicago is one of the few teams the Lions have had an extended period of success against. One thing about the streak: five of the six wins were by single digits.Every game is different, especially every year, year to year, Stafford said. In order to win on the road or even at home, you have to go out there and execute and play well. Weve done that the last few times weve played these guys.RUNNING STRUGGLES: The running game was a concern for Detroit coming into the season, and an injury to Ameer Abdullah (left foot) has limited the options for the Lions. Theo Riddick had a promising season opener but had only 9 yards on 10 carries last weekend against Green Bay. Rookie Dwayne Washington ran 10 times last week.HELLO AGAIN: Running back Joique Bell signed with Chicago on Tuesday, just in time to see his old team again.Bell was released by the Lions in February and worked out for them last week with Abdullah going on injured reserve. But general manager Bob Quinn passed. The Bears -- down a few running backs -- did not.Bell had nearly 2,000 yards from scrimmage in 2013 and 2014. But his role diminished last season because of injuries as well as the emergence of Abdullah as a rookie, along with Riddicks as a pass-catching threat out of the backfield.Chicago was looking for help in the backfield because of injuries to Jeremy Langford (ankle) and KaDeem Carey (hamstring).---Online:AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '