How to bowl reverse swing

Reverse swing was made famous by Waqar Younis and Wasim Akram in the 1990’s. This pair is still regarded as the most destructive proponents of reverse swing of all time. Throughout their careers they made the ball reverse very late, at pace, and at will. They generated such prodigious swing, that they were once accused of ball tampering. From a batsman’s point of view, it is much easier for them to assess conventional swing, by picking the ball’s seam position. In contrast the reversing ball is much more difficult to judge – as the reversing ball tends to move much later in its trajectory.

Now let’s learn how to bowl reverse swing. Reverse swing is a phenomenon that occurs later in an innings, at around the 40 over mark when the ball is starting to wear. As cricket balls become more scuffed, they start to take on different characteristics. When this happens the ball ‘reverses’ - such that the behavior of the rough side takes on the shiny side. Therefore a ball delivered as an out-swinger now becomes an in-swinger and vice versa.

Reverse swing is bowled not so much with a change of technique, but rather achieved through meticulous preparation of the ball during the course of the innings. The ball must be allowed to naturally deteriorate in a way that is conducive to reverse swing. Please note that you also have to bowl in excess of 80 miles per hour to achieve reverse swing.

So here is a list of tips on how to bowl reverse swing

Shine the ball a lot and make the rough side of the ball as rough as possible. This can also be achieved by bowling the ball across the seam and bouncing it back to the keeper when fielding.

Keep the ball as dry as possible. It is much harder to reverse swing a wet ball.

Bowl the ball as full as possible. This will give it the best chance of reversing.

Flick your wrist to impart back spin on the ball and keep the seam upright at all times.

Bowl with a slightly round armed action. You will note Waqar Younis had an arm that was not perfectly upright.