Quick Dips

But Is It Cricket?

Cricketers may learn a thing or two this summer, with the publication of the world's first text on the aerodynamics of bowling. It's the research hobby of Brian Wilkins, Honorary Research Fellow at Victoria University.

Much that is said on bowling is more old cricketers' tales than fact, according to Wilkins. Very little study has been made of spin and swing, the effects of stitching and and the place of release timing.

"If modern sport is any guide, cricket of the future will require human skill and endeavour to be even more firmly based on technical understanding," he maintains.

Wilkins has been using wind tunnel testing to mirror the behaviour of the cricket ball as it spins through the air. The tests hark back to one of the first scientific examinations of spin swerve, when an 18th-century gunnery expert discovered it by firing musket balls through tissue paper.

There's some hope for the hapless batsman facing a new, improved bowler. Researchers at DSIR Grasslands are analysing soil and grass types to define the quintessential cricket pitch. Like Wilkins, DSIR researcher Warren Hunt says that tradition is the main source of received wisdom on wickets and their conditions.

"There's a lot of mystique surrounding cricket wickets," he says. "But now we are starting to understand what makes a fast wicket on different types of soils."

The researchers have found that the type of soil is every bit as influential as the turf covering it. The degree of moisture and compaction strongly influences whether a wicket will be slow or fast, ultimately determining the state of play itself.