The science of swing bowling is fascinating, and makes cricket watching a beautiful, nuanced affair.<p>This article helped me understand the basics of swing, and explains why moisture in the air makes a huge difference, as does the condition of the ball: <a href="https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/17104279/the-science-swing-bowling" rel="nofollow">https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/17104279/the-science...</a><p>One of the most successful fast bowlers in cricket, James Anderson, is notorious for his ability to be able to swing the ball when there is moisture in the air. So much so, that he is referred to as James "Clouderson": <a href="https://www.quora.com/Why-is-James-Anderson-known-as-Clouderson" rel="nofollow">https://www.quora.com/Why-is-James-Anderson-known-as-Clouder...</a>
Cricket is a rare game where the condition of the tools used to play the game (the ball) is allowed to alter over the duration of the game. This differs from almost all other sports such as baseball, where new balls are used after every hit or less, and in tennis, where new balls are used after a set number of games.<p>Imagine how different baseball would be if they only used 1 ball per side for the entire game. Within a few innings, the ball will have much more variance and unpredictability.
Sadly it seems to be out of print, but Bob Woolmer’s posthumously published <i>Art and Science of Cricket</i>[0] is an incredibly expansive and throughly researched study of cricket as a sport. It seems to have been really difficult to translate the physics of cricket into actionable things for players, but this book is in my opinion the best attempt.<p>[0] <a href="https://www.amazon.com.au/Bob-Woolmers-Art-Science-Cricket/dp/1770076581" rel="nofollow">https://www.amazon.com.au/Bob-Woolmers-Art-Science-Cricket/d...</a>
Actually it is very interesting even to understand what is the difference between legal bowling vs. chucking (> 15 degree flex at elbow at point of release ). Bowling in cricket is not as straightforward as pitching in baseball.