Swing Bowling - Secret of Dynamics (Cricket)

What is Swing Bowling? How is it possible?

Contrary to what cricket fanatics may have you believe, the 'swing' in swing bowling is not enhanced by humidity over the pitch, according to experimentation by scientists in England and New Zealand.

Only a few tactful fast bowlers are able to give the ball a trajectory that suddenly curves mid-air, confusing the batsman. But these artists are not always consistent with the swing effect as it is prominent in some matches and ambiguous in others.

This mystery around the 'game’s dark art' has created a lot a conjecture around it, with commentators discussing the chances of swing balls along with how heavy the air is with water.

Puzzled scientists decided to put this 'swing theory' to the test in a climate controlled chamber where laser scanners would track balls repeatedly in varying degrees of humidity.

In a paper published in Procedia Engineering, they say: “This study shows there is no direct or indirect manner in which humidity can significantly affect the ability of the bowler to make the ball swing.”

The swing is a result of asymmetric air flow on sides of the ball — turbulent air flow on one side compared to a smoother flow on the side.

This is why aged balls with wear and tear on just one side suit swing bowlers like Wasim Akram, a patron of this tactic. The altitude and age of the ball have an enhancing effect on the swing but humidity has nothing to do with it.

Vegetarian Food - a Thought

Physical Exertions, especially athletics require more body power. For that to be achieved, body requires more calories for sustained release of joules of energy.

Non- vegetarian food was thought to be an ideal source. 

But, consider an important point.

• ELEPHANT and RHINOCEROS are vegetarians, but they are much stronger than almost all the animals.
• DEERS are vegetarians. They are faster than many mammals.

Of late, the perception of athletes is also changing. Some athletes feel that a vegetarian diet improves their performance, it has been revealed.

Ultra-marathoner Scott Jurek has detailed his astonishing runs of 160 kilometres or more fuelled by foods like quinoa porridge with almond milk in his new book ‘Eat and Run’.

Jurek is convinced that making the switch from a diet big on barbecues, burgers and fries improved his performance - although he’s not sure whether it’s because of what he''s eating or what he’s leaving out, like trans fats and refined carbohydrates.

“It’s a question that’s already been answered because so many athletes have shown that it can,” the Age quoted exercise physiologist Darren Morton as saying.

“When it comes to high-end performance, a high carbohydrate intake is important for endurance events as well as for power and strength and this is what plants can provide,” Morton, a senior lecturer in health and exercise science at Avondale College of further Education in Lake Macquarie, said.

As for the extra protein required for serious bodybuilding or strength most people use protein shakes based on whey or soy that are suitable for vegetarians anyway, he adds.

Does a vegetarian diet have any added benefits for athletic performance? That’s still not clear, according to the Australian Institute for Sport, but Morton wonders if the extra plant foods might reduce the number of sick days that keep athletes away from training.

Although regular moderate exercise is considered an immune system booster, some research suggests that the stress of strenuous training at an elite level can make athletes more susceptible to colds and flu.

“It may be that a vegetarian diet is protective. If you eat a plant based diet you’re getting a lot of extra antioxidants from vegetables and fruit so perhaps you’re less likely to get sick so often and you can front up for training every day,” he said.

Morton, a recreational triathlete who’s followed a diet that’s vegan – if you don’t count chocolate - for about four years.

“What I’ve noticed is that I don’t get sick now, whereas before when I was doing high volume training I got a lot of colds,” he said.

But if there’s a downside to vegetarian eating for athletes, especially vegan diets that skip dairy products and eggs too, it’s that plant foods tend to be low in kilojoules.

“Athletes who train at a high level need to work at eating a lot of food in order to get enough kilojoules. “But for non-athletes that can be an advantage of a vegan diet – you can still eat more food and weigh less,” he added.

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Diet Programs End up in the same Familiar Situations, usually

The typical diet

As with most things these days, everyone wants rapid results and when looking to lose weight, we’re no different. The problem is that rapid weight loss is unsustainable, as illustrated in the typical regimen below:

1. Begin diet. Calorie intake cut from 3,000 to 1,000 calories per day or even less.

2. Rapid weight loss occurs. After two weeks, weight loss is approximately 3.5kg (8lb).

3. Weight loss slows. After three weeks, total weight loss is either approaching or static at 3.5kg.

4. Metabolic rate slows. To conserve body resources and because the rapid weight loss has included metabolic rate boosting muscle, the body elicits the ‘starvation response’. (Metabolic rate is the body’s calorie burner; the more muscle you have, the faster you burn calories).

5. Weight loss stagnates. Weight loss halts, motivation plummets.

6. Previous eating patterns resumed. Having achieved some weight loss, original eating plan is resumed.

7. Weight increases. To guard against future ‘famine’, the body stores more food as body fat, effectively laying down more reserves as a self-protection mechanism. This is compounded by a lower metabolic rate due to loss of muscle during the diet phase.

8. Significant weight gain occurs. After a few weeks, not only has the lost weight been put back on, but more weight has also been gained overall, resulting in the dieter ending up heavier than before the diet began.

Circle completed